Let’s be Balanced.
When I was a teenager, I was a sugar-fueled monster but didn’t know it at the time. I had intense mood swings, would get easily irritated, was hungry ALL the time, had horrible cramps, bad skin, and didn’t sleep well. My mom called this being full of piss and vinegar. As I got older it developed into extreme fatigue, depression, and anxiety. I would literally sleep the weekends away. I was diagnosed with bipolar, a mood disorder, and was put on countless medications but the list of ailments continued to grow. I loved spending time with friends but I was so tired. I eventually devised this genius plan to host happy hours once a month and I would invite all of my friends and acquaintances. People loved it! They had an excuse to hang out and mingle. I looked like a serious networker but I was just hiding the fact that I did not have enough energy to have a full social life.
I was eventually diagnosed with a gluten allergy. This was a big moment for me - probably one of the most pivotal moments in my LIFE. The way I was eating was making me sick; I had to learn how to eat differently. I started reading blogs, reading books, and listening to nutrition lectures. I was getting better in some ways - I wasn’t physically sick every week anymore - but still falling apart. I finally saw a nutrition counselor who started asking me really important questions like How do you feel after you eat your breakfast? How do you feel after you eat dinner? Or your snacks?
I honestly never thought about how I felt after eating unless it involved a trip to the bathroom. I learned about carbs, proteins, and fats. I had no idea what those were or how they interacted with my body. I learned that my previous diet - from birth until I discovered my gluten allergy - had been fueled mostly by carbohydrates. AND I learned, I didn’t feel good when my life (body?) was fueled mostly by carbohydrates. Then I started to learn about blood sugar and my mind almost exploded! The idea that what I ate could affect how my body felt and that you could see it on a blood test blew my mind.
What is Blood Sugar?
What is blood sugar? To answer that we need to know what glucose is. Glucose is a sugar molecule created by plants through photosynthesis that turns CO2 (carbon dioxide) + H2O (water) into glucose from sunlight - pretty neat party trick, right? Plants can then use this fuel to feed themselves or build themselves. Plants are very smart and like people, they like to have a backup plan. It’s not always sunny so plants make a little extra glucose and store it as starch. You may have heard this word before - someone might say potatoes are starchy or the pasta pot is hard to clean because of the starch. Starch is basically a long chain of connected glucose molecules that can be saved for later. And getting back to that potato, most of the starch is stored in the plant's roots which give us root vegetables that we like to eat - beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. The other place plants need glucose storage is in their seeds so when they are planted they have the energy to start growing right away. We also like to eat plant seeds because they are a good source of energy - rice, beans, lentils, corn, and wheat.
There is another plant substance called fiber we also eat. It helps support the plant so it tends to be in leaves and stalks but it also exists in fruits and vegetables. We can call all of the plant substances we eat - sugars, starch, and fiber - collectively carbohydrates.
That brings us back to our original question, what is blood sugar? The simple answer is the amount of glucose floating around in your blood. The better question is how glucose gets into your blood AND why it affects your mood. Most of the glucose in your blood comes from the foods you eat. We break down carbohydrates in the form of fruit, vegetables, and grains into glucose and fiber. The glucose is used as energy and the fiber is used by your gut to feed your microbiome. Now, this is where it gets interesting - if you fell asleep pay attention to this part. Glucose is your primary energy source. If you don’t eat it, your body can make it. If you eat too much your body gets frazzled - your blood sugar becomes unbalanced. It has a very efficient process of sending sugar to cells as they need it. Imagine if your NY apartment had a wood-burning stove to power all of your daily needs. You would get a wood delivery every morning so you could never run out. What would happen if you got a double delivery? At first, you might be pleased and think oh this is great, I won’t run out. Never hurts to have a little extra.
But what if that delivery man kept knocking on your door delivering more and more wood until your entire apartment was full and you couldn’t walk around? You might stop answering the door. That is exactly what your cells do when they get overloaded with sugar, they stop answering the door for glucose deliveries. This causes big spikes and drops in your blood glucose levels - your blood sugar becomes unbalanced. When your cells no longer can answer the door because of glucose overload they can start to become damaged because they can’t effectively manage the extra glucose. This is called oxidative stress. You may have heard of oxidative stress because it’s connected to Cardiovascular disease, aging, type 2 diabetes, and wrinkles. When cells are burdened with oxidative stress they are sluggish and inefficient - kind of like you when you are bogged down by stress.
In the short term having unbalanced blood sugar can look like food cravings, brain fog, being tired all the time, feeling constantly run down, headaches, and trouble sleeping. In the long term, unbalanced blood sugar looks like (create?) insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, anxiety, depression, and skin issues like acne.
So what happened after I learned about blood sugar and improved my diet? Well, I stopped being hungry all the time. I was less irritated. My moods evened out. I no longer needed my mood stabilizer med. I had more energy. My sleep improved. I began to have this strange sensation in my body where I would feel like smiling. Not for any reason in particular, just because I was walking down the street and the sun was out. It was extremely odd. I later learned that feeling is called joy. Who knew - joy was a real thing that people FELT and not something just in books and movies. I felt less anxious. I felt like people were nicer to me and I was nicer to them. I could also make it through a day without needing a snack every 2 hours. I could go 4 or 5 hours without food and without the fear that I would get hangry, shaky, have a headache, or have a racing heart. All of this was because I learned to pay attention to what I was eating.
So what can you do to balance your blood sugar and improve your mood?
Start your day with a protein and fiber-rich meal
Always have your carbohydrates with protein or fat - better yet, have both!
Go for a walk after your meals - or have a dance party - to use some of the energy you just ate
Cut back on sugary drinks and add more water
Eat as many colorful vegetables and fruits as you can
Protect your sleep by scheduling 8 hours to be in bed every single night.
Spend time in nature
Spend time with friends, family, and community
Resources
Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé
Eat & Flourish by Mary Beth Albright
