It’s a situation that millions of us experience every year. You’re sitting with your doctor, reviewing the results of your annual bloodwork, when the doctor looks at you with concern and says, “Hmmm, your blood sugar levels look a bit high. You need to cut way back on the sugar.”

Americans do have high rates of sugar consumption, but it’s only part of the story. Overeating in general – and in particular, eating a diet high in carbohydrates – also dramatically raises blood sugar levels. And, after years of a high-calorie, high-carbohydrate diet, many of us have underlying pancreatic dysfunction and insulin resistance. As a result, we have become incredibly efficient at storing excess glucose in the bloodstream as fat – and ineffective at burning it off! The result is that almost 40% of Americans are walking around with high blood sugar and its consequences, including increased belly fat, uncontrolled weight gain, and disease-promoting inflammation. In many cases, this leads to prediabetes – a condition where fasting blood sugar levels are consistently between 100 and 120. Untreated, prediabetes often leads to type 2 diabetes, with blood sugar levels consistently above 120.