Are You Riding the Blood Sugar Roller Coaster?
Do you crave sugar throughout the day?
Do you get to the end of the day and feel like you need something sweet?
Many of us ride a blood sugar roller coaster, and it may be affecting our health.
In clinic, we even find that people who eat a great, healthy wholefood diet can experience blood sugar dysregulation.
Common Signs of a Blood Sugar Imbalance
Common signs that your blood sugar may be out of balance include:
- Fatigue, not just in the morning and after eating
- Having trouble getting off to sleep and waking up in the night (hello, adrenals)
- Constant sugar cravings
- Feeling "hangry", moody or anxious, especially if you don’t eat every two hours
- Having trouble losing weight
- Carrying extra fat around your belly
- Brain fog or poor memory
If you have diabetes, or you are concerned about your blood sugar, please speak with your GP, who can check your levels.
As mentioned above, blood sugar dysregulation can happen for many reasons, and it is NOT just diet related. Please read that again.
Why Blood Sugar Can Get Out of Balance
Here are some of the factors we see in clinic that may contribute to blood sugar issues:
- Gut infections like parasites and pathogens
- Over-consumption of sugar (that is an obvious one!)
- Adrenal fatigue
- Not drinking enough water
- Not getting enough sleep
- Inflammation (even from certain foods, which can be looked at with food sensitivity testing)
- Detoxification pathways that are struggling to remove toxins
- Mineral imbalances, for example copper
- Heavy metals, for example mercury, lead and arsenic
To support blood sugar regulation in the body, it is important to work on your stress levels. Stress is not just the everyday stress we feel. There is often hidden stress too, which can be internal.
There is a strong relationship between your stress levels and blood sugar, because cortisol is your stress hormone, and one of its main jobs is related to glucose (sugar) regulation.
When you are under stress, you produce more cortisol, and your body uses glucose to deal with this stress. This is part of your "fight or flight" response.
So, What Can You Do to Help Support Your Blood Sugar?
Interestingly, diet is not the only thing to think about when it comes to blood sugar:
- Investigate your digestion. Do you have enough stomach acid? Having enough stomach acid helps with overall digestion.
- Check for mineral deficiencies, such as magnesium, zinc, potassium, sodium and calcium, which all play a role in blood sugar regulation.
- Check your heavy metal status, as this may be affecting your blood sugar.
- Support your adrenals and liver.
- Cut back on processed foods, especially sugar and hidden sugars.
- Make sure you get enough quality fat and protein in your diet.
If cravings and energy crashes are a big part of your story, the Metabolic Balance Program is a 12-week personalised nutrition program based on detailed blood analysis.
Find out more about functional testing.
If you’d like to understand what may be affecting your blood sugar, book a free 30-minute phone call.