Metabolic Health
We're all about keeping blood sugar balanced
—and for good reason.
So many of us have been taught that we need to “rev up” our metabolism by eating every few hours, drinking icy water, or sprinkling cayenne into our morning drinks. These ideas, rooted in diet culture, can distract us from what really matters: supporting our body’s natural ability to regulate itself.
Metabolism is simply the process of all the chemical reactions in your body that keep you alive and thriving. And a key player in that process? Blood sugar. When your blood sugar levels aren’t stable, it can throw everything off—your hormones, energy, inflammation, thyroid health, adrenals, weight, brain function, immune system, and even autoimmune conditions.
That’s why we focus so much on blood sugar management with our clients. It’s not just about avoiding the spikes and crashes—it’s about creating a strong foundation for your whole body to feel its best.
Many everyday symptoms can often be linked to unstable blood sugar levels—things like feeling constantly tired, having trouble sleeping, dealing with chronic pain and inflammation, feeling anxious, lacking energy or motivation, mood swings, and even brain fog. If you’re facing any of these issues, getting your blood sugar in check can make a world of difference.
So, let’s dive into some common signs of both low and high blood sugar—and what you can do about it.
First off, it’s not always one or the other; blood sugar levels can swing between high and low, often creating a rollercoaster of symptoms. That’s why balance is key! Understanding these fluctuations and learning how to manage them can help you feel more energised, clear-headed, and in control of your health.
Signs of Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycaemia)
Low blood sugar often triggers an irritable, "hangry" state—where mood swings and sudden anxiety or nervousness take over. It can also lead to brain fog, poor memory, and forgetfulness, making it hard to focus or recall details. These mental symptoms are your body’s way of signaling that it’s running low on energy.
Physical signs of hypoglycaemia include chronic headaches, feelings of agitation or nervousness, and sensations of spaciness, jitters, or shakiness. These symptoms occur because your body isn’t getting enough glucose to fuel its normal functions, resulting in noticeable discomfort and instability.
A common experience is a noticeable energy boost immediately after eating, particularly when you’ve been fatigued from low blood sugar. However, this is often followed by a rapid drop in energy, which can lead to a reliance on coffee and sugary snacks throughout the day. Additionally, skipping meals may result in irritability or lightheadedness, reinforcing the need for regular, balanced meals to maintain stable energy levels.
How to Address Low Blood Sugar
These simple, manageable steps can make a big difference in stabilising your blood sugar and supporting your overall well-being.
Prioritise Balanced Nutrition:
Kickstart your day with a breakfast rich in protein, healthy fats, and fiber to stabilise energy levels from the outset. Maintain steady blood sugar by eating light snacks every 2-3 hours, ensuring you include protein with every meal and snack, and opting for fiber-rich carbohydrates—such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables—to prevent spikes and crashes. Consistently eating regular meals is key to keeping your blood sugar in check.
Optimise Your Beverage and Post-Exercise Routine:
Avoid consuming caffeine on an empty stomach; always pair it with food to prevent a rapid drop in blood sugar. After exercising, replenish your energy with a blend of protein and carbohydrates, which helps restore your blood sugar levels and supports overall recovery.
Effectively Manage Stress:
Recognise that chronic stress can significantly disrupt blood sugar balance. Incorporate stress-relief strategies into your daily routine—such as mindfulness, deep breathing, or light physical activity—to help maintain stable blood sugar levels, ensuring that your energy, mood, and focus remain on track.
Did you know that low blood sugar can actually mess with your cortisol levels?
An often under appreciated fact: Low blood sugar can act as a stressor on the body.
It’s something we often overlook, but when your blood sugar dips too low, it triggers a stress response in your body. In fact, low blood sugar acts as a stressor, causing your body to release cortisol (the stress hormone) to bring those levels back up. This constant fluctuation not only impacts your energy and mood but also places extra strain on your adrenal glands over time.
Remember, when blood sugar levels drop, cortisol levels rise.
let’s talk about something we’ve all been taught to believe:
that cutting back on food is the key to reaching aesthetic or weight loss goals.
So, you go into your next workout class thinking less food and more exercise is the magic formula. But then something happens—you start feeling lightheaded, shaky, or just "off" during or after the session. What’s going on? It’s likely that you're not properly fueling your body before the workout. This can cause your blood sugar to crash, which then triggers the release of cortisol.
While cortisol is often labeled as the stress hormone, it plays a crucial role in helping your body mobilise glucose to provide energy. Both your body and brain need a steady supply of glucose to function properly, which is why blood sugar regulation is such a tightly controlled process.
When blood sugar levels fall too low, your body releases cortisol to raise them by tapping into stored glycogen. If you're constantly dealing with unstable blood sugar, you might unknowingly be relying on cortisol to keep you going. Over time, this chronic dependence on cortisol can wreak havoc on your hormonal balance and overall well-being, making it even more important to keep your blood sugar steady.
And here’s where the problem lies: while cortisol can help maintain your blood sugar in the short term, it can actually hold back your weight loss progress in the long run. Plus, it can mess with your mental health, hormones, and metabolism. So, the idea that eating less and working out more is the path to success? It’s a myth. Proper nourishment and balanced blood sugar are the real keys to feeling good and achieving your goals!
… Wondering how you’ll know if your low blood sugar is finally in check?
No more sugar cravings: Those intense cravings for sweets or quick carbs? They disappear when your blood sugar is stable.
Steady energy throughout the day: You’re no longer riding the highs and lows of energy crashes. Instead, you feel balanced and consistent in your energy levels.
Hunger before irritability: You notice when you’re hungry and eat before those feelings of irritability, brain fog, or fatigue kick in.
Food satisfies hunger, not boosts energy: Eating doesn’t give you a sudden jolt of energy—it just makes you feel satisfied and keeps hunger at bay.
Uninterrupted sleep: You’re sleeping through the night, with no sudden wake-ups, which is a great sign that your blood sugar and cortisol levels are balanced.
Signs of High Blood Sugar & Insulin Resistance
If you find yourself reaching for sweets or caffeine after meals, it may indicate that your body isn't processing sugar effectively. This ineffective processing can lead to intense sugar cravings and a persistent feeling of hunger, as your cells struggle to utilize the glucose from your food. These symptoms often signal that your body is not getting the energy it needs, even when you've eaten.
Experiencing a crash in energy after eating—especially after consuming carb-heavy meals—can be a sign of insulin resistance. Instead of providing a steady energy boost, your body might be reacting with fatigue and irritability (often referred to as being "hangry") when you skip meals or when your blood sugar levels fluctuate. This cycle of highs and lows is a clear indication that your body's ability to regulate blood sugar is compromised.
Insulin resistance often manifests through physical changes in your body. Elevated blood sugar levels can lead to increased triglycerides, which contribute to inflammation, joint pain, skin issues, and swelling. Additionally, insulin resistance is commonly associated with excess abdominal fat, where your waist girth becomes larger than your hip girth, making weight loss increasingly difficult even with diet and exercise adjustments.
Understanding Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance occurs when the insulin receptors on your cells become less responsive to insulin. Under normal conditions, insulin helps glucose enter your cells, providing them with the energy they need. However, when these receptors lose their sensitivity, glucose stays in the bloodstream, causing elevated blood sugar levels.
This excess glucose can be converted into triglycerides, raising your risk of heart disease, or it can form free radicals, which contribute to oxidative stress and accelerate aging. Over time, insulin resistance fosters a pro-inflammatory state, heightening oxidative stress and paving the way for a variety of health issues.
Effectively managing insulin resistance is crucial for preventing these adverse effects and supporting your long-term health.
Menopausal and post-menopausal women often face a new set of challenges when it comes to insulin resistance.
A very common pattern that emerges during this time includes:
- Low sex hormones (like estrogen)
- Imbalanced cortisol levels
- High fasting glucose and HbA1C
- Elevated insulin levels
During menopause and the years that follow, the natural decline in estrogen can cause significant changes in how your body manages blood sugar. Estrogen plays a critical role in making cells more sensitive to insulin. So, when estrogen levels drop, it becomes harder for your body to use insulin effectively, leading to insulin resistance.
This insulin resistance is more than just a blood sugar issue—it opens the door to metabolic syndrome, which significantly raises the risk of serious health conditions like Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, heart disease, and accelerated aging.
The connection between declining estrogen and rising insulin resistance is a key reason why managing blood sugar becomes so important during menopause. Keeping an eye on hormone balance, blood sugar levels, and insulin resistance can be crucial steps in reducing these risks and supporting long-term health.
What You Can Do About It
Check Carb & Sugar Consumption
If you're noticing signs of high blood sugar, it’s essential to evaluate your intake of sugars and carbohydrates. Depending on your unique needs, some might find that simply avoiding processed sugars is sufficient, while others may need to cut back on overall carb consumption more significantly. The key is to discover the balance that works best for your body to help stabilise blood sugar levels.
Your circadian rhythm is crucial for effective glucose processing and maintaining insulin sensitivity. Insufficient sleep disrupts this delicate balance, leading to a spike in stress hormones, elevated blood sugar, higher insulin levels, and increased hunger cues. Research shows that sleep deprivation can drive an extra calorie intake of 385 to 549 calories per day—roughly the equivalent of four and a half slices of bread. Focusing on quality sleep is vital for your metabolic health, weight management, and overall well-being.
Managing high blood sugar and insulin resistance isn’t just a physical journey—it also involves addressing any feelings of shame or stigma that may arise. Embracing self-compassion and patience is crucial as you work towards better health. Remember, you’re not alone, and acknowledging the emotional challenges is an important part of your overall progress.
Nurture Your Gut Health
A healthy gut microbiome is essential for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. Boosting the beneficial bacteria in your gut through a diet rich in plant-based, fiber-packed foods can improve insulin sensitivity and promote metabolic balance. Prioritising gut health is an important strategy in managing blood sugar effectively.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a powerful method to control blood sugar by increasing your body’s glucose demand and activating the AMPK pathway—a critical factor for insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. Complementing HIIT with weight lifting can further enhance your body’s ability to utilize glucose efficiently, helping regulate fat storage and overall metabolic function.
Engaging in light physical activity, such as a short walk after meals, can help reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes and improve overall glucose control. Even brief walks can have a significant impact, making this an accessible and effective way to support your metabolic health.
It’s crucial for people to realise we hold more power than we've been led to believe.
Implementing these straightforward strategies can make a significant difference in managing high blood sugar levels!
Hormonal Health Program
Hormones play a vital role in regulating many essential functions in both men and women. They influence everything from weight management, skin health, and hair growth to metabolism, reproductive health, and libido. When our hormones are in balance, our bodies function smoothly. But when that delicate balance is disrupted, it can lead to a range of health problems.
The causes of hormonal imbalances can vary, but many of them stem from lifestyle factors such as stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and exposure to environmental toxins. Addressing these imbalances is crucial, as they don’t just affect physical health but can also take a toll on mental well-being.
While modern medicine offers treatments for hormonal issues, a holistic approach that combines lifestyle changes with an understanding of the root causes can be even more effective. At Raworganica Nutrition, we believe in the body's innate ability to heal when given the right support. Our team of integrative health experts specialises in identifying and treating the underlying causes of hormonal imbalances, helping to prevent and manage a wide range of health conditions.
By addressing hormone imbalances through this comprehensive approach, we help our clients restore optimal health, improve energy levels, support mental clarity, and promote overall well-being. This program is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to take control of their hormonal health naturally and sustainably.
The key benefits of the Hormonal Care Program
This program is designed to sync hormones back in harmony through an integrative approach and in a sustainable way. The key benefits of this particular program are:
Personal attention by professionals
Benefit from a holistic and integrative approach used by our team of experts ranging from clinical dietitians, nutritionists, and lifestyle coaches, who have been specifically trained to manage hormonal disorders.
Addressing the root cause
Identify and address the condition right from its root and not just the symptoms.
Four-pronged approach
Focus on the four pillars of health, namely, balanced nutrition, adequate exercise, quality sleep, and emotional well-being to bring your hormones back in sync.
Inculcating habits and lifestyle changes that bring hormonal harmony
Learn key lifestyle changes, tips, and remedies that can help bring your hormones back in sync.
Emotional counselling by experts
Access expert guidance from a trained counsellor to strengthen your emotional resilience and tackle your emotional concerns effectively. Attend a customised online seminar with Arvind Tomar as he delves into specific mental health issues and shares valuable techniques to enhance your overall wellness.
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