Blood sugar. More specifically, I am talking about your blood glucose levels. Blood glucose is the sugar that the bloodstream carries to all cells in the body to supply us with energy. This sugar (glucose) comes from the foods we consume.
Normal fasting blood glucose levels for non-diabetics should typically be between 3.9 and 7.1 mmol/L (70 to 130 mg/dL). The numbers will fluctuate throughout the day, but for the most part, they are usually relatively stable.
That’s because our blood sugar levels are regulated by insulin, which prevents them from getting too high or too low. Stable blood sugar is beneficial for things like brain function, because your brain needs energy (in the form of glucose) to support your balanced brain chemistry and the prevent neurodegeneration.
Brain activities such as thinking, learning and memory are closely linked to our blood glucose levels and how efficiently your brain uses this fuel source. (Ever wonder why we are always told to eat a solid breakfast to start the day? There is a lot of logic behind it!)
Your brain is rich in nerve cells (or neurons) which have an incredibly high energy demand. This means that they require continuous delivery of glucose from the bloodstream. If there isn’t enough glucose in the brain, then the brain’s chemical messengers (known as neurotransmitters) are not produced. This causes the communication between the neurons to break down. Similarly, when neurons in a certain region in the brain lose the ability to use glucose efficiently as a fuel, your brain cells begin to atrophy, which also contributes to neurodegeneration.
Why keeping your blood sugar balanced is important
Blood sugar imbalances occur when your blood sugar swings out of a normal, steady range. Blood sugar imbalances can present as symptoms that include:
- Brain fatigue
- This can impact your attention and cognitive function, or make you feel nervous, lightheaded, anxious, spacey or irritable
- Poor brain function
- Depression
- Have you ever thought that maybe a lot of people would no longer need anti-depressants if they just started eating properly? Food for thought…
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- It can be either the things that you DO EAT or the things that you DO NOT EAT that cause this
- Chronic pain
High blood sugar can also trigger an inflammatory response, leaving you feeling lethargic or drowsy. The inflammatory cascade that is triggered by excessive blood sugar in the brain can also impact your mood, contributing to feelings of depression, anxiety, or irritability.
Maintaining stable blood glucose levels is important because constant fluctuation in blood sugar levels throws your body into a state of chronic stress, adding fuel to your inflammatory fire. That’s where insulin comes in – insulin’s key function in your brain is helping your brain to utilize glucose, so when the brain becomes resistant to insulin it does not assimilate glucose properly.
Your cortisol rhythms are also associated with blood sugar stability. Excess blood sugar can result in chronically high cortisol levels (the stress hormone), which can damage and atrophy an area of the brain known as the hippocampus that plays an important role in memory and brain function. When your adrenal glands (which are responsible for releasing cortisol) become stressed, they release excess cortisol which can trigger an increased production of inflammatory proteins associated with a heightened immune response.
Stabilizing your blood sugar in the brain may help stabilize many autoimmune, inflammatory, and brain-based disorders.
Balancing your blood sugar
To balance blood sugar in the brain, it’s important to observe how eating impacts your energy and brain function. If your energy and focus are enhanced after eating, you are probably dealing with low blood sugar. When blood sugar is balanced in the brain, eating should not impact your energy or functioning.
Insulin resistance occurs when the cells in your muscles, body fat and liver start resisting or ignoring the signal that the hormone insulin is trying to send out. A common symptom of insulin resistance is becoming extremely sleepy after eating. Blood sugar imbalances and things like insulin resistance can also interfere with your neurotransmitters (like serotonin) and can contribute to symptoms of depression. Insulin resistance also throws your “pleasure and reward” neurotransmitter dopamine off balance which can trigger low dopamine feelings of hopeless, worthless, or feeling unmotivated, and short-tempered.
Balancing your blood sugar
I know that all sounds pretty scientific and scary, but trying to balance out your blood sugar is easier than you might think! Here are a few simple things you can do to your your blood sugar under control:
- Eat breakfast!
- Something as simple as eating breakfast within an hour of waking (containing a source of protein and complex carbohydrates) can provide your body with a source of fuel that will slow down the release of glucose in the system
- An ideal health and balanced breakfast might look like two scrambled eggs, with some multi-grain toast topped with coconut oil and a hefty side of a low-glycemic fruit (such as grapefruit, plums, apples or oranges)
- Pre-plan your meals
- Taking the time to meal plan using fresh, good quality ingredients can really help you to control your blood sugar and ultimately improve your mood, energy and overall health
- Meal planning can be as simple as sitting down with your family on the weekend and spending maybe 30 minutes deciding what to eat that coming week. You can shop for all of the ingredients in one swoop and prep a lot of the food on the weekend when you have a bit of free time, then pop it in the fridge to use throughout the week
- Make our meals as nutrient-dense as possible
- Try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, while avoiding overly processed foods
- Your best option is to fill your plate with colourful, whole foods that are minimally processed and low GI, which will work to lower your blood sugar levels and avoid spikes
- Avoid foods that cause a major spike in your blood sugar
- This includes things like refined white sugar, white breads and pastas, or anything that falls high on the Glycemic Index, like soda pop
- The Glycemic Index is a numerical scale that tells us how quickly and by how much a particular food can raise blood sugar. The lower the GI or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels
- Foods with a low GI score (like apples, grapefruit, broccoli, lentils, nuts and seeds) are great for keeping blood sugar levels stable
- Foods with a medium GI score are good when you need a quick energy boost but don’t want to spike your blood sugar. Medium GI foods include brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and peas
- This includes things like refined white sugar, white breads and pastas, or anything that falls high on the Glycemic Index, like soda pop
- Ensure that your main meals are well balanced
- Balance is crucial to good digestion! Each meal should include protein, healthy fats and fibre. When we consume healthy sources of carbohydrates with plenty of good fat and protein, the glucose from the meal enters our blood slowly, which is what we want
- Eat smaller, but more frequent meals throughout the day
- Large, infrequent meals will cause bigger shifts in blood sugar, than smaller more frequent meals
- This means that smaller portions throughout the day with simple snacks in between should help you to maintain steadier blood sugar levels
- Be prepared, plan your meals and bring snacks with you
- Large, infrequent meals will cause bigger shifts in blood sugar, than smaller more frequent meals
- Make sure you’re getting enough protein
- Protein helps to slow the release of glucose into your bloodstream when you include protein with every meal
- This is also important for the growth and repair of muscle tissue
- Don’t shy away from healthy fats
- Healthy fats help slow the release of glucose in the bloodstream and also provide a feeling of more satiety for longer periods of time
- Think things like coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds… great in moderation!
- One serving of almonds is roughly 23 almonds (or about ¼ cup to one handful)
- One serving of cashews is about 16 cashews (about 1/3 cup)
- Get moving and exercise!
- Exercise helps the cells in your muscles take up more glucose in order to use it for energy and tissue repair and lowers blood sugar in the process
- Long term exercise makes cells more responsive to insulin while helping to prevent insulin resistance
- Try to get your heart rate up and sweat at least 3 times a week
- Get enough good quality sleep
- Not getting enough quality sleep can raise your stress and appetite hormones (cortisol and ghrelin) that make you hungry
- This makes it harder to say no to those sugary snacks… ever wonder where a lot of your cravings are coming from? Amazing how simple it can be to fix that!
- Not getting enough quality sleep can raise your stress and appetite hormones (cortisol and ghrelin) that make you hungry
References:
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