why should we should spend time working on our blood sugar rather than taking a supplement to boost her memory?
why should we should spend time working on our blood sugar rather than looking at hormone therapy to support hot flashes and/or weight gain?
Are you exhausted all the time… and it’s even worse after meals?
Carrying extra pounds?
Craving every sweet in sight?
Hangry when your Zoom meeting goes too long?
WARNING: these “little impediments” are all red flags for a metabolic system on the edge of a full-blown revolt! They’re your body’s way of saying, “Hey, we need a little help over here!” and can indicate high blood sugar.
Energy is greatlyaffected by what the heck is going on in your bloodstream. We’ve all heard of “blood sugar” and “insulin”, but often blindly associate both with diabetes. We think, “welp, if I don’t have diabetes, this is definitely not something I need to be paying attention to.” ...which is completely false. Blood sugar dysregulation is when the sugars from foods you eat in your blood are being absorbed either too fast or too slow. Blood sugar dysregulation impacts everything from your energy level and hunger to your libido (aka S3X DRIVE) and ability to sleep through the night.
The “endocrine” system is what we call the system in charge of hormone regulation. Hormones are the M.V.P.’s of our body. When we think “hormones”, we often think of the classic “puberty” hormones like testosterone, estrogen, etc.
Endocrine is a system of complex relationships, so we want to always support the whole as well as the parts. Some stand out hormones you may be already familiar with are:
- insulin, which controls the level of glucose (i.e.: sugar) in the blood right after consuming a meal; this glucose will be stored and later turned into energy for exercise and basic human functions (breathing, walking, etc.)
- adrenaline, which increases blood pressure and heart rate when the body is under stress,
- melatonin regulates your sleep patterns, and thyroid hormones, called “T3 and T4”, are like a car’s gas pedal; the less gas you = uses less fuel). When body temperature is very high (like hot flashes) your thyroid hormones might be in overdrive.
For a properly functioning endocrine system in women a girl produces estrogen & progesterone in the adrenals during childhood. Then, when puberty hits, that task is passed to the ovaries. During onset of menopause, this task is passed back to adrenals.
However, while you might feel like you are exhibiting the 'textbook' menopause symptoms, these are often overlapping symptoms of HPA AXIS Dysfunction (known as "adrenal fatigue") – aka blood sugar imbalances. So, your adrenal glands are already overwhelmed playing whack-a-mole doing a plethora of other jobs. The last thing they can and want to be doing is taking over estrogen and progesterone production.
With this in mind, adrenal function MUST be supported at this time, so we therefore begin with balancing the blood sugar handling system. Many symptoms my clients report - like craving bread / noodles / chocolate, craving sugar in afternoon, sleepy in afternoon, and night sweats - are all tell-tale signs of blood sugar dysregulation.
Chronic stress output means chronic cortisol output because the body thinks it’s repeatedly on the verge of elimination. So, it associates each perceived stressor as a top priority that must be addressed. The adrenals might even start to steal nutrients and hormonal precursors away from hormonal precursors from these other endocrine glands (like thyroid and gonads) because we prioritize survival.
By eating more balanced meals containing quality fats, proteins, and helpful carbohydrates, finding ways to mitigate chronic stress, as well as avoiding high intakes of caffeine…we can master this blood sugar balancing act.
