Stress and Blood Sugar
The link between stress and blood sugar
You’ve probably heard stress is bad for you, but do you know why? I’ll try to explain in this post how psychological stress can impact your blood sugar levels, and what you can do to fix it.
A little about cortisol, your main stress hormone
Cortisol is your primary stress hormone, synthesised from cholesterol and released when you perceive a threat to either your physical, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. Physiologically, it looks like this:
Your hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
CRH stimulates your pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH)
ATCH stimulates your adrenal glands to release cortisol
Cortisol is important for a lot of functions, including immune response, inflammation, metabolism, and of course the stress response. It affects many organs and most bodily systems, including your immune, cardiovascular, reproductive, nervous, integumentary, musculoskeletal, and respiratory systems.
Cortisol and blood glucose
Cortisol increases the availability of blood glucose to the brain via a number of mechanisms, including:
suppressing the release of insulin from the pancreas (insulin brings blood glucose into your cells)
decreased glucose uptake by muscles and cells
increasing the genesis of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources in the body, such as muscle tissue, aka gluconeogenesis
increased insulin resistance
This works really well in a dangerous situation where we feel threatened so we can go into ‘flight or fight’ mode, and worked as an evolutionary trait that enabled our ancestors to survive in the wild. However, prolonged stress can cause insulin resistance, and may contribute to the onset of diabetes type II.
Common causes
Stress can be caused by many things, and this is a non-exhaustive list but is designed to give you an idea of what you may need to address.
-social media
- relationship troubles (romantic, friendships, familial)
- lack of community or connection
- loneliness
- the workplace
- financial concerns
- lack of purpose or direction
- studying
- unaddressed trauma
So how do you treat stress?
The first and most important thing you can do is address the issue that is causing you stress. I will list some basic strategies you can use to destress, but addressing the source is the most effective thing you can do. Speaking to a therapist may be able to shift your mindset and help you deal with your stress.
Dietary strategies
Some nutrients are particularly good for stress, including magnesium, zinc, omega-3, fibre, antioxidants, high quality protein, probiotics, and B vitamins. The best way to incorporate these nutrients is to follow a whole foods diet as close to 90% of the time as you can. Make sure you’re following these basic rules:
- fatty fish at least twice a week
- aim for 7 different vegetables per day
- 2 different pieces of fruit per day
- choose whole grains every time
- handful of nuts and seeds per day
- choose lean proteins
- try lentils, beans, and chickpeas
- include probiotic-rich foods like yoghurt, kim chi, kombucha, miso
- eliminate or reduce caffeine
- eliminate or reduce alcohol
- eliminate or reduce added sugar
- eliminate or reduce sweeteners
Lifestyle strategies
- find a hobby you love
- try meditation (different types, don’t just try one)
- deep breathing exercises
- yoga
- walking, running, and exercise
- getting out in nature
- listening to music or reading a book
- doing something that makes you laugh (live comedy, a new movie, dance classes, team sports)
Supplements
In some cases, supplements may be beneficial to help you build resilience to stress. It’s always best to speak to a practitioner first to make sure you don’t overdo any supplement as this can have negative consequences, and also to make sure you are getting a high-quality supplement. However, here is a list of supplements that may help:
- magnesium
- zinc
- B vitamins
- omega-3
- probiotics
- glycine
- GABA
- L-theanine
I hope this article has shown you that it’s possible to deal with stress through making positive changes to your diet and lifestyle. It’s possible to reverse blood glucose dysregulation through these changes, and if you stick with this plan you will feel so much better for it!
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