If I were going to give you one fundamental piece of advice for balancing your hormones naturally, it would be to start by looking at blood sugar.   This piece of nutritional advice is the cornerstone of hormonal health, whether you are dealing with fertility, PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, or anything in between.  Read on to find out why.

What has blood sugar got to do with hormones?

So what has balancing blood sugar levels got to do with hormones?  Everything!

All hormones are connected, and balancing blood sugar levels is all about the hormone insulin, which interacts with:

• Our stress hormone, cortisol;
• Our sex hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone;
• Our sleep hormone, melatonin;
• And our hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin.

It is the interaction of insulin and cortisol which is particularly interesting, as this is what has the largest impact on the other hormones.

Simply put, when insulin goes up, so too does cortisol.  This may result in:

• Lower progesterone;
• Impaired oestrogen function;
• Excess testosterone;
• Thyroid dysfunction;
• Impaired leptin and ghrelin function;
• Dysregulation of melatonin

 

How Blood Sugar Works

Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar.  When we eat sugar, the pancreas releases insulin to transport sugar from the bloodstream to the cells to be used as energy.  When the cells are full, glucose is stored in the liver as glycogen to be released as energy at a later date.

When we eat a sugary meal, the pancreas very quickly releases insulin to remove the sugar from the bloodstream, and we experience a blood sugar crash.  At the point of the crash, the body thinks it’s under attack and starts releasing cortisol as a protective mechanism – that includes releasing that stored sugar to give you the energy to ‘fight or flight’.

Blood Sugar and Long-Term Health

If we eat too much sugar daily, eventually the cells and liver become full and shut down the ability to store the sugar.  The bloodstream remains full of glucose, the pancreas keeps releasing insulin in an attempt to clear it.   We have excess glucose and excess insulin in the blood, which also results in excess cortisol in the system.  Meanwhile, the cells remain in shut-down mode and end up starved of glucose, and we start feeling tired, foggy-brained, hungry and craving sugar.  This leads to a vicious circle of feeling tired and in need of more sugar to make it through the day.  Longer-term, we become resistant to insulin and then we are looking at diabetes.

 

Blood Sugar’s Impact on Hormones

• • Increased levels of insulin lead to increased levels of our stress hormone, cortisol – which leads to weight gain, inability to deal with the little things that upset us and sleep disturbances.
  • Cortisol and progesterone sit on the same hormonal pathway. The body will always prioritise making cortisol over all other hormones, so increased levels of cortisol will be at the expense of progesterone resulting in ovulation, period and fertility problems
  • Long term lowered progesterone levels can result in low oestrogen and testosterone.
  • Excess cortisol has an impact on sleep.  Impaired sleep together with raised insulin levels affects the human growth hormone and our ability to use fat as energy. When we have excess fat in the body, it will act as an endocrine organ and produce oestrogen.
  • Blood sugar imbalances block the hormone leptin – the hormone that tells us we have had enough to eat. Leptin is paired with our hunger hormone ghrelin, so if leptin is out, ghrelin will be too.  This means we end up feeling hungry, more often, less satisfied after a meal and craving sugar.

 

So for me, when thinking about balancing hormones, whether that be painful periods, PCOS, menopausal symptoms or anything in between, blood sugar balancing is an absolute must.

Nutrition Plan for Balanced Blood Sugar

If you need help with blood sugar balance and would like a nutrition plan to follow, then check out my online course, Metabolic Reset, where I will guide you through how to balance blood sugar so you can have better mood, energy and even weight.  This is aimed at those who don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen or spend a ton of money on fancy ingredients – just quick and simple hormone-friendly wins.

Chelsea x