Are your hormones affected by sugar?
There is a direct connection between sugar, hormonal health and blood sugar regulation (insulin resistance).. These food choices can disrupt hormones, which are chemical messengers throughout your body. These messengers dysregulate your hormonal balance. This article will also provide you with information about types of sugar/carbohydrates that can balance your hormones and cycles.
Many women experience disordered hormones at some time. Disordered hormone symptoms can include very heavy and painful periods, bloating, breast tenderness, fatigue and low energy, sugar cravings, and weight gain, mood swings/irritability, headache, loss of libido, depression or mental fog. Additional issues can be smells and unusual discharge, also influenced by hormones as well as the gut.
Dietary sugar plays a role in unbalancing your hormones. Sugar that is naturally within whole foods like fruit, vegetables and whole grains (consumed as a whole) is not the culprit. It when they are consumed without their fibre/skin in highly processed food such as cakes, crackers, white bread, lollies, bottled juice and more. When these highly processed carbohydrates (and sugar) are regularly eaten, blood glucose spikes flood the blood stream, causing the hormone insulin to be released to shuttle the excess glucose from the blood into the cells. In a healthy person, insulin is super sensitive to increases in blood glucose. If these intense spikes (and troughs) happen many times throughout the day, every day, then over time this can instigate insulin resistance. This is when the fat cells, liver and muscles become less likely to store the excess glucose, causing intense, longer lasting and high glucose blood spikes and troughs.
Insulin spikes can also lead to lower levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), lowering its ability to bind to excess oestrogen and testosterone, which increases the production of testosterone, which converts to more oestrogen by fat tissue around your waist. This reduces the ratio of oestrogen to progesterone, known for keeping us happy and calm, as your period approaches, which can lead to anxiety, irritability, insomnia and more. As women approach menopause, symptoms intensify, and can include night sweats and hot flushes as well.
The afternoon slump is a common sign of low glucose levels while digesting lunch, and this is where you find yourself reaching for more sugary snacks or coffee to give you a boost[1]. Are you sick of feeling tired and moody, here are some things you can do:-
-Eliminating sugar and reducing alcohol is great start to balancing your blood sugar.
-Lower your stress burden, as high levels of stress can disrupt blood sugar levels, increase cravings and disrupt the oestrogen to progesterone ratio.
-Swap refined foods (white flour/pasta/refined food, fruit juice/cordial/soft drink) for slow glucose releasing foods (leafy greens or whole seeds/grains, wholemeal sourdough, whole seed crackers, brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats, brown rice, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, and root vegetables, berries, green apples).
Here are just some of the ways I assist you:-
· How to balance your food to maximise sustained energy throughout the day, to counter fatigue;
· How to reduce foods and products that mimic oestrogen;
· What foods to eat and when for your issues. Let me help you step by step, one meal at a time;
· Gentle re-balancing hormones with herbal medicine to further assist, while you are working on your diet.
If you have any of the symptoms of disordered hormones noted above, or more, or even if you have a strong family history of PCOS, Endometriosis, Diabetes type 2, give me a shout and we can have a chat about what can be done for you and your particular hormonal issues.
References
[1] Lara Briden (2017) Period repair manual
[2] Lara Briden (2017) Period repair manual
[3] Benton (2002) Carbohydrate ingestion, blood glucose and mood.