BLOOD SUGAR AND MENTAL HEALTH
Blood sugar and mental health —
YA’LL! This is huge.
Clinically speaking, symptoms of anxiety (and depression) include irritability, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, lethargy, headaches, insomnia, feeling on edge, and tiredness. While these symptoms can be of serious clinical concern, nowadays given the Standard American Diet, our blood sugar can produce anxiety- and depression-like symptoms and convince us there is something to be diagnosed.
When our blood sugar is imbalanced, we tend to experience a roller coaster of both physical and mental symptoms. If we consume a high glycemic index carbohydrate (i.e. muffins, cakes, white bread, soda, cereals, cookies), sugar, or starch, our blood sugar can skyrocket. For example, someone who eats a chocolate croissant, and Frappuccino every morning on his or her way to work. This high dosage of sugar spikes his or her glucose levels upon consumption. Inevitably, what goes up must come down. If his or her blood sugar spikes, it will also then plummet. He or she may experience an initial burst of energy from the high, however, the low she experiences thereafter includes symptoms, that can resemble anxiety (or depression), or what doctor Ellen Vora, describes as “false anxiety.”
Ellen Vora defines ‘false anxiety’ as:
“The body communicating that there is a physiological imbalance, usually through a stress response, whereas true anxiety is the body communicating an essential message about our lives. In false anxiety, the stress response transmits signals up to our brain telling us, something is not right. And our brain, in turn, offers a narrative for why we feel uneasy. It tells us we are anxious because of our work, or our health or the state of the world. But the truth is, there is always something to feel uneasy about. And the reason we’re stuck with anxiety in this moment actually has nothing to do with the office and everything to do with the state of physiological and balance in the body.”
With the low, and the subsequent symptoms, we may experience the mid morning crash that leads us to reaching for another cup of coffee, another form of sugar, and ultimately perpetuate this roller coaster ride for the entirety of the day, leading to poor quality sleep at night.
Our brain is always trying to make sense of our environment, our experiences, how we feel, etc. If we are experiencing any symptoms that feel like anxiety/depression, our brain will work towards making meaning. It is unlikely our brain will attribute these symptoms to a blood sugar wave and it is MORE likely it will convince you your boss is mad at you or your friends are hanging out without you.
Ways to Balance Blood Sugar:
1. Get moving! After your meal, take a walk, dance around the kitchen, do a few squats — this will help your blood sugar exceptionally by curbing the spike and help you beat the post meal sleepiness I’m sure we are all familiar with.
2. There is research to support that having a savory breakfast vs. a sweet breakfast (cereal, pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc.) has a drastically positive influence on blood sugar stability for the remainder of the day. My fave includes pasture raised eggs with sautéed greens and avocado toast!
3. Drinking apple cider vinegar + water before a meal has been shown to stabilize glucose levels from a meal in comparison to not drinking anything at all.
4. Dressing up your sugar/starch with protein, fat, and/or fiber dramatically influences your blood sugar and slows the spike of glucose in the blood profoundly. Always always always BALANCE!
5. Choose your sweets after having a meal.
6. You become more insulin resistant as the day progresses - choose larger meals earlier in the day instead of overwhelming your physiology later at night.
7. Sleep deprivation plays a role in blood sugar imbalances — be sure to get adequate rest. It also makes us more vulnerable to cravings and dampens the role of hunger hormones (i.e. grehlin) so adequate sleep is critical for making the most health sustaining, blood sugar supporting choices.
8. Stress, as well, has an influence on blood sugar through the release of cortisol, so managing your stress is essential.
Experiment with your blood sugar by dressing up your carbs (‘don’t eat your carbs naked!’) and practicing blood sugar hygiene. It is incredible how much of an influence this can have on your mood, energy levels, and overall quality of life.
