Balance your blood sugars, boost your energy

The one topic I find myself constantly returning to with clients is “eating to balance blood sugars.”

Today, I saw a woman with chronic fatigue and a teenage girl with anxiety. Last week, it was a man with chronic kidney disease. Three different people, with different needs. Yet with all of them I found myself discussing the same thing: the importance of eating in a way that balances blood sugar.

So, I thought I’d share an excerpt from my book Drowning Lifeguards to give you a sense of what I mean by “eating to balance your blood sugars.” And if you recognise yourself in the description below, you might find my book helpful - it walks you through, step by step, how to balance your blood sugars simply and effortlessly.

How to Tell If You’re Experiencing Low Blood Sugar

Do you:

• Struggle with brain fog?
• Often feel light-headed?
• Get irritable or short-tempered when you haven’t eaten for a while?
• Crave chocolate, chips, bread, pasta, or sugary/starchy foods?
• Find it hard to lose weight, no matter how strict your diet or how much you exercise?
• Get recurrent infections, especially fungal ones like thrush?

If you answered yes to the questions above, you may have a condition called hypoglycaemia. It’s often referred to as low blood sugar levels or low blood glucose levels.

What Is Hypoglycaemia?

Sugar, or glucose, is the energy source for every cell in your body. When your cells need to work, to function, to reproduce, to do anything – they need energy, and they get that energy from glucose.

So where does glucose come from?  It comes from the food you eat. Whatever you eat is broken down into glucose and carried around your body in your blood.

At any given moment, your body only needs about one teaspoon of sugar circulating in your blood. Too much can lead to high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia), and too little can lead to low blood glucose levels (hypoglycaemia). Both of these can become dangerous if left untreated so it’s important to have balanced blood sugars. Not too high and not too low.

Low blood glucose levels are common in people with fatigue and can be diagnosed through blood tests.

Common Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar

Symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Mood swings (irritability and/or tearfulness)
• Poor concentration
• Trembling, shaking, weakness
• Hunger and/or food cravings
• Light headedness and dizziness.

Why You Crave Sugar When You’re Tired

When you have low blood glucose levels you’ll instinctively reach for a sugar-fix such as a coke, muffin or large bowl of pasta to help bring your blood sugars up. These cravings are normal and your body's instinctive way of trying to get energy as quickly as possible.

Refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes, chocolate and sweets (oh, the list is endless!) break down quickly into glucose. That might sound helpful, especially when you’re tired, because they give you an energy boost. But here’s the catch: that sudden glucose spike can be seen as dangerous by your body. So, your body releases hormones to bring your blood sugar down. If levels drop too low and there’s no steady supply of glucose, your cells start to panic. They send signals to your brain: We need fuel!

As a result, you get hungry. But not just hungry - you instinctively crave foods you know will break down rapidly into glucose. For example, sugar. This is why you get energy crashes followed by cravings for quick sources of glucose such as sugar and refined carbohydrates. It’s like being on a roller-coaster of energy crashes and sugar cravings.

What Is Insulin Resistance?

If you’re on that blood sugar roller-coaster for too long, you can develop what’s known as insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone that helps glucose move from your bloodstream into your cells. Think of insulin as a little key that opens a door, allowing glucose inside to be used for energy.

When there’s too much glucose in your blood too often, your body releases more and more insulin. Over time, your cells become less responsive to it. It’s as if they’re saying, “We’ve had enough of you. We're changing the locks!”

As insulin resistance develops, your cells struggle to take in glucose, and your energy levels drop. To compensate, your body produces even more insulin, creating a vicious cycle.

How Insulin Resistance Affects Your Health

Your doctor can test for insulin resistance by checking both fasting glucose and fasting insulin levels. Common signs include fatigue, brain fog, weight gain (especially around the belly), sugar cravings, and energy crashes.

If left unaddressed, insulin resistance can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and for women, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Hopefully by now you can see how important it is to control your blood glucose levels!

PS. If you’re feeling drained or running on empty, my book Drowning Lifeguards offers a gentle guide to understanding fatigue and finding your way back to balance.

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Please note: The health and nutritional information provided by Ruth Hull is intended for general educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute or replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns regarding your health and before making any changes to your lifestyle or diet you should always consult your general medical practitioner or other health professional.

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