a little about blood sugar

I was talking not long ago about hormones (if you missed it here's my blog post) and I dropped a little info that balancing blood sugar was important to support hormones; to be honest I believe that it is one of the most crucial parts of supporting our hormones.  Not to mention balance energy, cravings, sleep, mood, mental health and on it goes. It really is a phenomenal preventative health tool.  It's often the first thing I work on with clients when we work one on one.

We've all experienced those energy highs and then the crash after a sugar overload. Have you ever wondered how those energy rollercoaster rides are effecting your health?

Carbohydrate Metabolism

When you eat any type of carbohydrate – bread, potato, quinoa, candy, fruit, etc. – your body needs to break it down to a usable form for energy called glucose. Your saliva and digestive juices start the breakdown process while the liver finishes by converting them to their final form. The liver then releases glucose into the bloodstream and then taken up by your cells with the use of insulin.

The more complex a carbohydrate is, the longer it will take to break down and the steadier your blood sugar and energy will be. Simple carbohydrates – such as sugars and refined flours – will convert faster into glucose, creating a spike in blood sugar.

Developing Insulin Resistance

When you eat sugar or refined flour foods, they create a spike in blood sugar. This creates a spike in insulin production to bring blood sugar within normal range. These spikes, however, can lead to overcompensation – shuttling too much sugar into cells. This creates low blood sugar, fatigue, mental fogginess and more sugar cravings. This sends you on an endless rollercoaster ride of energy.

When insulin spikes repeatedly, your cells eventually stop listening. Insulin becomes the The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf to your body cells – insulin can only call wolf so many times! Soon your cells reduce their insulin receptors from approximately 200,000 to only 2,000! A constant intake of refined flour foods and sugars eventually lead from rollercoaster ride to insulin resistance.

Why Cravings and Energy Crashes

As explained above when we are on the glucose roller coaster we are having peaks and valleys because of the dance between sugar and insulin. When you have a crash your body signals for food and sugar to bring your blood sugar back up- cue cravings. When we can minimize these peaks and valleys. We are able then able to minimize the amount of insulin released, we are then able to get energy from the food we eat, and not feel tired and crave food between meals. Say good bye to that 3 pm crash!

How does this relate to Hormones?

An all too familiar story I hear from my clients is that their exhaustion, bloating and hormone challenges like PMS, perimenopause or menopause are normal and that there’s nothing you can do.  

I’m here to tell you it’s not true!

There’s actually a significant connection between your blood sugar and your hormone health. 

Let’s take your menstrual cycle for example. There are four primary hormones affecting the menstrual cycle; estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). Each hormone affects blood sugar and sensitivity to insulin differently. We see the same with women in menopause.  More fluctuations in blood sugar are associated with hot flashes and big shift in mood.

The more we can reduce those peaks and valleys on a daily basis we are able to minimize the shifts throughout our cycle.

Sooo.... I hope that you can see the importance of each of us in learning to balance out blood sugar.  

Here are my top 5 Tips for balancing blood sugar:

1) Include: Fibre, Fat and Protein with each meal and snack
2) Eat your starches and sugars at the end of your meal.
3) Start every meal with a portion of greens ie. a starter salad
4) Start your day out strong with a good breakfast (enough protein is key here!)
5) Move after you eat- a 10 min walk after eating 

If you find that this information resonates please reach out ask your questions or share with someone that this may help!