4 Hidden Causes of High Blood Sugar (It’s NOT Your Fault) | 12 Core Defects of Diabetes Revisited

Are you doing everything right but your blood sugar is still high? You are not crazy, and you are not being gaslit by your body. In this episode of The Diabetes Podcast, Amber (RD, CDCES) and Richie break down 4 of the 12 core defects of diabetes to help you understand exactly what is happening behind the scenes.

We explain why your blood sugar spikes overnight (The Dawn Phenomenon), how stress and cortisol create stubborn visceral fat, and why your brain might be ignoring the "I'm full" signal. We also dive deep into how prescription steroids like prednisone cause massive blood sugar spikes and share our "Steroid Sandwich" strategy to keep your numbers safe. Remember, it’s not your fault, but it can be your fight!

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Chapters:
00:00 - The 42 Factors That Affect Blood Sugar
02:00 - Why You Feel Gaslit By Your Blood Sugar
06:40 - The Dawn Phenomenon Explained
10:50 - How Cortisol & Stress Spike Blood Sugar
16:20 - Your Liver: The Sugar Bank (Hepatic Glucose Production)
19:10 - Glucagon & Alpha Cell Dysfunction (The Broken Thermostat)
24:20 - Brain Insulin Resistance (Why You Never Feel Full)
30:30 - Stress Belly & Visceral Fat
37:25 - How Steroids (Prednisone) Affect Blood Sugar
48:10 - The "Steroid Sandwich" Strategy
53:30 - Free Cortisol Bingo Card
55:20 - 7 Habits to Lower Cortisol and A1C

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