Myths and Facts

Healthy blood sugar regulation is essential for energy, mood, brain function, heart health, immunity, and whole-body wellness. So, which of these myths have you heard (or believed)?

1. MYTH: I need frequent snacks to keep my blood sugar balanced.
• FACT: Grazing exposes your cells to repeated bursts of sugar and insulin, which could potentially contribute to insulin resistance. Feeling the need to snack often can be a sign of blood sugar swings (spikes and dips) rather than healthy blood sugar regulation.
2. MYTH: I look thin so my blood sugar must be fine.
• FACT: The type and distribution of fat in the body matters more than outward appearances. Even people who appear thin can have unhealthy visceral fat (around internal organs) that can contribute to inflammation and insulin resistance.
3. MYTH: My body is changing because of hormones, not blood sugar.
• FACT: While it may be true that your body is changing because of hormones, declining levels of estrogen at menopause can increase the risk for insulin resistance. Insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormone, and estrogen all interact to affect blood sugar balance.
4. MYTH: I need to improve my cholesterol levels, not my blood sugar.
• FACT: When you eat more sugar than your cells can use for energy, the excess is converted into triglycerides (fats), and the liver makes more LDL cholesterol. Unhealthy cholesterol is also a blood sugar issue.
5. MYTH: Only people with diabetes need to pay attention to blood sugar.
   • FACT: Early changes in blood sugar regulation are driven by insulin resistance, which can develop years before a diagnosis of diabetes.

Surprised by any of these?

Signs

There are signs of blood sugar imbalance you may not know. But first it’s important to be clear that you cannot know if you have blood sugar problems strictly by the way you feel.

The only way to know is to test.

That being said, here are some of the outward signs:

• Belly fat
• Sugar cravings
• Energy crashes
• Brain fog
• Mood swings
• Skin tags
• Darkened skin creases

These signs give us clues that you may have insulin resistance, which means your cells have become less responsive to insulin and less effective at using glucose from your blood as energy.

Left unchecked, insulin resistance can also fuel inflammation, weight struggles, and heart disease.

Sugar Spikes

Pause the scroll and spend a minute with me.

Ready for a crash course in exactly what happens at the cellular level when you eat too much sugar at once (let’s say, a big gulp slushie)?

When the sugar hits your digestive tract, it’s absorbed into your bloodstream as glucose (aka blood sugar), which signals beta cells in your pancreas to release insulin (a hormone) into the blood as well.

Remember this: because we’re dealing with a slushie here, a large spike in blood sugar triggers a large spike in insulin.

Insulin facilitates the movement of glucose into cells so it can be used as energy.

Sounds great, EXCEPT, because of the sudden nature and magnitude of the sugar spike and insulin spike, glucose is quickly moved into cells and blood sugar drops dramatically (the CRASH).

Cue hunger, cravings, shakiness, brain fog, anxiety, you-name-it.

The point is that our bodies were not made to deal with excessive sugar intake. If repeated day in and day out, eating high amounts of sugar or refined carbs without healthy fats, fiber, and protein is the main cause of insulin resistance.

Factors

What are the factors that influence blood sugar balance?

Keep in mind, if blood sugar problems run in your family, that does not mean you are destined for them, too. Genetics and age are admittedly two factors you cannot control. But there are many other factors that also influence your risk for insulin resistance and blood sugar problems.

Factors you CAN control include:

• Diet
• Exercise
• Stress
• Hormones
• Sleep

When you tip the scales in your favor by optimizing these factors you can control, you set yourself up for a lifetime of health.

Blood Sugar and Stress

Which comes first?

When you’re stressed, your body produces cortisol and adrenaline. These increase glucose in the blood as a source of energy for your cells to respond to the perceived threat (fight or flight!).

BUT, when you aren’t actually running from a saber-toothed tiger, that spike in blood sugar is …well…EXTRA.

That’s how stress can be a driving force behind insulin resistance and blood sugar problems over time.

Now let’s look at the other way around.

When you eat an excess of sugar or refined carbs, you get a sugar spike followed by a crash, which your body perceives as a stress and releases cortisol and adrenaline.

That’s how sugar causes stress.

Think about your lifestyle and determine which comes first for you? Is it the sugar or the stress?

Blood Sugar and Aging

Sugar is making you age faster. Not to be dramatic, but the truth is that sugar spikes cause a biochemical process called glycation and the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Turns out that AGEs play a big role in skin aging.

They accumulate in the skin, compromise collagen, and contribute to fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin.

Sure, glycation is a natural process that increases with age anyway, but diets that are high in sugar or refined carbs without a balance of healthy fats, fiber, and protein accelerate the process.

Holistic Health Tips

Nutrients to Support Blood Sugar

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is one of the best ways to optimize your hormones, brain health, energy levels, and overall well-being. While blood sugar responds to the macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbs) in your diet, it also depends on micronutrients for regulation.

Such as (in no specific order):

• B Vitamins
• Magnesium
• Chromium
• Zinc
• Omega-3s
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin D

Each of these nutrients carry out specific functions related to blood sugar, but many support the action of insulin or the enzymes needed for energy metabolism.

So what? So this means that eating nutrient-dense foods is just as important as balancing out carbs with protein, fat, and fiber.

Sabotage Blood Sugar

Stop doing things that are sabotaging blood sugar regulation.

Lots of times, people are concerned about their blood sugar, and they’re already doing a lot of things right. They know they need to eat a healthy balance of macronutrients and to move their bodies every day.

Here are some surprising things many people don’t realize can spike their blood sugar and sabotage their efforts.

1. Eating carbs alone – Without protein, fiber, or fat, carbs are quickly digested and cause a sudden spike in blood sugar.
2. Eating while stressed – Stress hormones signal cells in the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream as an energy source to face the perceived threat. That’s not helpful if real sugar is also coming in the form of food.
3. Coffee on empty stomach – Coffee triggers the release of adrenaline (a stress signal), which signals cells to release sugar into the bloodstream. This can set the stage for poor blood sugar regulation for the day.\
4. Dinner late at night – Food is meant to be digested and then utilized for energy. If you eat a large meal right before bed, the excess energy will be stored as fat or disrupt blood sugar levels in the night.
5. Sleep deprivation – Studies show that even one night of sleep deprivation can worsen insulin resistance the next day.

Breakfast

Following are three things that impact blood sugar in the morning.

If you’re being proactive to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, here’s what you need to know about that morning meal:

1. Cortisol – The natural circadian rhythm will cause an elevation of cortisol first thing in the morning to help you feel awake and alert. Cortisol is a stress hormone that also increases blood sugar levels. That means your morning meal may result in a higher blood sugar response than meals later in the day.
2. Carbs – When your stomach is empty, there is nothing to slow the digestion and absorption of carbs. That’s why it’s even more important at this time of day to not eat carbs alone.
3. Caffeine – Even though black coffee has no sugar, the caffeine triggers the release of the stress chemical adrenaline. One effect of adrenaline is to trigger the release of glucose from liver cells into the bloodstream, effectively elevating blood sugar levels.

Lifestyle

For anyone wanting better blood sugar regulation, consider lifestyle changes.

While foods have a big effect on blood sugar, so do other lifestyle choices! Here are five non-food-related ways to support healthy blood sugar balance:

• Daily movement
• Walks after meals
• 7+ hours of sleep
• Plenty of water
• Stress management

Nothing happens in isolation.

Food Pairing

Have you heard about food pairing for blood sugar balance?

Food pairing is a way to combine two or more foods in a single meal or snack to support a healthy blood sugar response, rather than a quick sugar spike.

If you’ve heard of the glycemic index, the idea is similar but more practical.

Whereas the glycemic index gives an idea of how much a specific food will raise blood glucose levels, some perfectly healthy foods (like grapes and pineapple) have a high glycemic index.

With food pairing, it’s possible to still eat foods with a high glycemic index as long as they are paired with foods that slow their digestion and absorption.

Studies show that the blood sugar response to carbohydrate-rich foods can be lowered by combining them with protein, fat, fiber, or vinegar.

Like this:

• Grapes & Cheese
• Carrots & Hummus
• Apples & Almond Butter
• Tomatoes & Olive Oil & Vinegar

Just remember: when it comes to blood sugar regulation, each person is unique. It’s always best to test and to work with a functional medicine practitioner on a diet and plan that is specific to you!

Benefits

Why should you care about your blood sugar?

Because healthy blood sugar regulation can translate into:

• Sustained Energy
• Mental Clarity
• Fewer Cravings
• Better Sleep
• Stress Resilience
• Clear Skin
• Stable Mood

And those are just the effects you’ll notice. Because over time, healthy blood sugar regulation supports your hormones, brain, heart, and healthy aging.