1) The document discusses how eating a large amount of candy at lunch before an afternoon of physics classes would cause the author to feel very tired and unable to focus. 2) It explains that sugar causes a spike in blood glucose levels, triggering the release of insulin which then causes blood glucose and energy levels to rapidly drop, making one feel sleepy. 3) It recommends eating foods that break down more slowly, like proteins, vegetables, and whole grains, to avoid spikes and crashes in blood sugar and energy levels that disrupt focus.

1. CANDY CRUSH
Year 13, Thursday lunchtime, was ‘Prefect duty’. More specifically, it was my responsibility to
run the school tuck-shop. This was not a particularly difficult task, more an opportunity to spend
time with my best friends and consume as much candy as I wished (the tuck shop was not
rigorously audited!). Following this assignment, was an afternoon of A-Level physics classes.
I made two mistakes every Thursday. The first was to opt for physics A-Level - it bored me
stupid and double physics, a whole afternoon of physics lessons, 2 hours of my life for 2 whole
years(!), is still etched on my mind as something akin to torture. But, to make matters worse, to
compound the misery, each week I sent my body into ‘shut down’ by eating so much candy. As
my teachers tried, unsuccessfully, to inspire me with quantum mechanics or particle theory, all I
can recall is the sensation of desperately wanting to sleep, of fighting with my eyelids to keep
them open and resorting to biting my hand or pinching myself, in an attempt to prevent my body
collapsing in a heap at the back of the classroom.
I’m guessing you may recognise this feeling….... Fatigue hits all of us at times during our
studies, especially as we head towards major exams, but what I’ve learnt is that there are some
things we can do to reduce ‘studying stupor’ and many of them involve altering what we put into
our mouths.
Candy crush saga:
Why was my Thursday lunchtime, tuck-shop binge such a mistake? Candy, as you might have
guessed, is mainly made of sugar (though it’s presence is
often artfully concealed by the food industry, through it’s
many different names). When we eat sugar, our intestines
break it down into glucose, which is the most simple type of
sugar that there is. Glucose is a perfectly designed little
molecule that is very good at leaving our gut and entering
our bloodstream quickly. As a result, shortly after my tuck
shop gluttony, my blood was being rapidly infused with
glucose and this blood, was then bathing my cells. Just as
you or I might soak in a jacuzzi, my cells were soaking in
and soaking up glucose. Sometimes this has advantages.
If I was Rebecca Adlington competing for glory in the 800m
freestyle, this quick supply of energy would be helpful, but it
really wasn’t required when I was sitting motionless in an A
Level physics lesson! In fact, too much glucose, left
hanging around in the blood, is poisonous for our cells.
However, our body responds to this toxic environment, by releasing a very clever hormone
called insulin. We produce this in our pancreas. (At least, most of us do. If you know a young

2. person who has diabetes, they probably have to inject themselves with insulin several times a
day, as their body can’t produce it. They’d die without insulin, which gives you some idea of
how important it is). Insulin acts to balance the level of glucose in our body, so that it doesn’t go
too high or too low. After my ‘nutritionally balanced’ lunch of pure candy, my blood sugar would
have risen too high, and this would have triggered a release of insulin from my pancreas into my
blood. This insulin would have opened ‘gates’ in my cells, to allow glucose to enter, much like a
farmer opens a gate in his field to allow his cows access to new pasture. As a result, more
glucose would have been present inside my cells and less was free to continue flowing in my
blood.
But, here’s the rub. I guess I did learn something from those
physics lessons, after all; Every action has an equal and
opposite reaction (Newton’s 3rd Law). When we eat copious
quantities of candy, our blood glucose levels rise more quickly
and reach a higher level, than if we ate healthily. In reaction to
this, our pancreas produces a larger amount of insulin and this
then causes a more rapid drop in blood glucose. Since blood
glucose is our main supply of short term energy, when our
blood glucose levels drop, so do we - we shut down, zone out
and become as efficient as a sloth having a bad day!
Further, the extra glucose that enters our cells from our blood
stream has to be stored somewhere - and that ‘somewhere’
ends up being our fat cells. That’s the reason why we tend to
get fat if we eat too much candy!
Unfortunately, candy is not the only food that triggers this response. All
carbohydrate containing foods cause this reaction, particularly the ones
we tend to like, such as cookies, crisps, muffins, white bread and
cereals. This is because all carbohydrates are made from glucose. I
like to imagine carbohydrate as looking like a bead necklace, in which
each of the individual beads is made from a glucose molecule. When
we eat carbohydrates, our digestive juices cut the necklaces into
individual glucose beads (molecules). These individual glucose
molecules then enter our blood and start the process outlined above.
Less healthy foods such as cookies, tend to be made of carbohydrates
necklaces that are short in length. Being short, the body can cut them up quickly and the newly
released glucose molecules rush into our blood like a crowd clamoring for the latest Apple
product. By contrast, more healthy foods, such as brown rice, contain longer carbohydrate
necklaces, which are more time consuming for the body to break down. Consequently, glucose
enters our blood with the haste of your grandparents ambling around a garden centre and this is
healthier for your body and more conducive to your study.

3. Have a look at the graph below. It was created by a Swedish doctor who fed himself the two
different types of foods shown in the photographs. Can you see how much his blood sugar rose
and then fell when he ate potato chips and a chocolate bar and how stable it was after a tuna
salad? 1
‘Careless carbohydrate consumption’ is perhaps the most important nutritional mistake we
make, if we want to remain awake and alert. It’s also a big mistake if we want to remain
healthy. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease are
increasingly being linked to excessive carbohydrate consumption. We are all apt to eat too
much of the wrong type of carbohydrate and society makes it very easy for us, because all the
popular 'grab and go' foods are full of carbohydrates. If you regularly experience daytime
sleepiness there's a good chance that carbs are playing a role and it might be wise to take a
look at what you are eating (that's assuming you're not maintaining an intimate relationship with
your iPhone into the early hours....!).
1
"Diet Doctor - Real food for your health." 2002. 2 Oct. 2014 <http://www.dietdoctor.com/>

4. I’m Wide Awake!
I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
'Till I woke up on
On the concrete…….. (Katy Perry)
Katy Perry is clearly a closet nutritionist…….she’s fully aware that if you dive into the sweet
stuff, you’ll end up in a carbohydrate induced, soporific stupor on the concrete floor…..!!
So, what’s the alternative? What foods would be more wise to consume? You only have to
take a look at the graph above to see that a tuna salad would be a very sensible lunch option,
because proteins (contained in foods such as meat, fish, eggs, tofu) as well as vegetables and
salad contain little or no carbohydrates and so it's much easier for our body to maintain a more
stable blood glucose level. So, if you like tuna salad, or any other salad for that matter, then go
for it, but if that doesn't float your boat, there are some relatively painless changes you can
make, to reduce the carbohydrates in your diet.
● You've heard this before, but switching from white bread, pasta, rice to the brown
version of these foods is a good start, because it slows down the entry of glucose into
your blood, as I explained above (remember - grandparents....garden centre....etc, etc).
● Arguably, rice is the most healthy carb to eat and if you can't face brown rice, basmati
rice works well. Although it's white, it has an unusual chemical structure which means it
releases glucose more slowly2
. Sticky rice, so prevalent in S.E Asia, is not so hot on this
front.
● Most processed supermarket breads are so far removed from what my grandmother
would have made and eaten, that arguably, they should no longer be given the same
name. Personally, I try to avoid eating them, but if that's not possible, try reducing the
amount you eat. If you have toast for breakfast, try to avoid having a sandwich for lunch,
or consider turning the sandwich into and 'open sandwich' by discarding one layer of
bread.
● Go for quality over quantity! If you're anything like me, never eating another piece of
cake again is just not an option, but what does make sense is to only eat cake in
moderation and when it's really good. What's the point in glucose overload if it doesn't
even taste good?
2
"How Rice Affects Blood Sugar & Hunger | Healthy Eating ..." 2012. 11 Nov. 2014
<http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/rice-affects-blood-sugar-hunger-1588.html>

5. ● Soda. I'm sorry! I know this is boring, but it's basically
sugar and sh*t and I can't find any redeeming thing to
say about it. Just take a look at the attached image and
make your own choice about how much of this you want
to put into your body. 3
● Quit the low fat products, such as low fat yogurt. Fat
gives yogurt taste. If you remove the fat, you have to
add sugar, or it will taste disgusting! So every time you
think you're eating a 'healthy low fat yogurt', you're actually eating a big dose of sugar.
Not only is this likely to make you sleepy, but the extra sugar gets stored as fat - rather
defeats the purpose doesn't it....? In contrast, new thinking suggests that fat in natural
products (eg. meat, dairy, fish, nuts, seeds, avocados etc), is relatively healthy, is
packed full of good things like vitamins, keeps you full and protects you from becoming
overweight.
● Try to increase the proportion of protein on your plate. Even if you’re at McDonald’s,
ordering a double burger and skipping the fries moves you in the right direction. More
preferable, would be a better quality burger, eaten as an open sandwich or even better,
consider eating just the burger with a large plateful of salad or vegetables.
● Most vegetables and salad contain very little sugar and are fantastic foods, containing
many of the the vitamins and minerals you require. Good health, healthy weight, clear
skin, mental alertness and perhaps overall Nirvana will come to all those who eat their
vegetables in copious quantities…….! (Caveat: From a nutritional perspective, potatoes
are considered a carbohydrate, not a vegetable and hence, enlightenment will not come
from potato crisps or french fries!).
● Fruit is also packed full of vitamins, minerals and fibre, but in addition, does contain
fructose (a type of sugar), which is why it tastes sweet. However, this fructose is
contained within the tough cell wall of the fruit and our body’s digestive system can’t
break this wall down very easily. Consequently, much of the sugar in fruit doesn’t enter
the body - it just passes out of us, so eating 2-3 pieces of fruit a day is a good thing.
However, take more care with juices and smoothies. Mechanical juicing smashes open
the fruit’s cell wall and releases more sugar, which ensures you get a bigger, faster
sugar hit.
Your body is as unique as your fingerprints and no one set of rules is appropriate for everybody.
Explore and experiment with these ideas and if you notice an increase in mental focus, as well
as perhaps more physical energy, less hunger or a drop in weight, it may be a sign that cutting
carbs works for you.
Of course, there are other foods you can eat and behaviours you can engage in that will also
increase your mental alertness, but if this article gets any longer, I’ll be responsible for sending
you to sleep! We will explore more in the next issue…….
3
"How Much Sugar in Sodas and Beverages? - Sugar Stacks." 2009. 11 Nov. 2014
<http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm>