In this post, I wanted to cover the link between eating in a way that helps to stabilise blood sugar levels throughout the day, and how spikes and crashes in blood sugar from poor eating habits contribute to hormonal imbalances.
There’s an overwhelming amount of conflicting dietary advice available online nowadays, ranging from carnivore to plant-based, from Paleo to Mediterranean diet.
Managing blood sugar through diet sits in a category of focusing on WHAT foods to eat to stabilise blood sugar, but also HOW to eat.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of all the ways the blood sugar affects the endocrine system, but they are common issues seen in a lot of people.
Blood Sugar Management Basics.
Firstly, blood sugar management, or stability, refers to eating in a way that optimises stable release of sugar into the blood and a steady absorption of that sugar from food into the cells of the body.
If blood sugar spikes quickly, it falls quickly.
Things that cause blood sugar to spike quickly include
- High refined carbohydrates (sugar, white bread, white rice, cakes, cereals, highly processed snacks)
- Eating carbohydrates without fibre, fat or protein
- Liquid sugar (juice, soft drink, sweetened coffee/tea, energy drinks)
- Large amounts of carbohydrates
- Already established insulin resistance
- Stress
In order to bring blood sugar down and transport the sugar into the cells, the body releases insulin from the pancreas.
This is the hormone that helps sugar get into cells, mainly large skeletal muscles in the body.
High/quick spike = lots of insulin = low/quick drop in blood sugar.
This drop in blood sugar is often when symptoms appear, including feeling fatigued, low mood, irritability, weakness.
Once blood sugar drops, the body releases adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenals in order to sustain energy.
This helps to signal to the body to release glycogen from storage to bring some sugar back into the bloodstream.
This is more of a survival type mechanism, and the more that we rely on this pattern to get our energy, the more we push our body into undesirable patterns of dysregulation.
Blood sugar and female hormones
High insulin levels from chronic blood sugar instability may cause increases in androgen production, interference with ovulation, and increased inflammation.
This is why Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is often linked with insulin resistance and blood sugar dysregulation.
Research estimates that insulin resistance occurs in roughly 50–80% of women with PCOS (Zhao, 2023).
Even outside PCOS, blood sugar swings can influence premenstrual (PMS) severity, mood changes, food cravings, and energy levels across the menstrual cycle.
Some women notice they tolerate unstable blood sugar *much worse* in the luteal phase (before menstruation).
Blood sugar and cortisol (stress hormone)
When blood sugar drops too low or fluctuates rapidly, the body releases cortisol to raise glucose back up. Short-term, this is protective to the body, but long term is taxes the body.
Chronic or long-term blood sugar instability can contribute to:
- Chronically elevated cortisol
- Feeling “wired but tired”
- Sleep disruption
- Anxiety
- Increased abdominal fat storage
- Fatigue
- Increased inflammation
Poor sleep and chronic stress then worsen blood sugar control, creating a feedback loop of ongoing Dysregulation and fatigue.
Blood Sugar And Thyroid Function
Blood sugar instability doesn’t directly “cause” thyroid disease, but chronic stress and cortisol dysregulation can affect thyroid signalling and conversion of thyroid hormones.
People with chronic stress, under-eating, or unstable glucose may experience symptoms overlapping with low thyroid function:
- Fatigue
- Coldness
- Brain fog
- Low mood
- Low resilience
Signs your blood sugar may be affecting your hormones
Possible symptoms of blood sugar dysregulation include:
- Energy crashes
- Strong sugar cravings
- Shakiness if meals are delayed
- Waking at 2–4am
- Irritability when hungry
- Irregular cycles
- PMS worsening
- Abdominal weight gain
- Fatigue after high-carb meals
- Feeling dependent on caffeine
How To Support Blood Sugar Regulation.
- Eating enough overall
- Regular meals
- Adequate protein
- Fibre-rich carbohydrates
- Healthy fats
- Sleep support
- Stress reduction
- Movement and building muscle mass
- Avoiding constant under-eating or extreme dieting
Once these foundations are in place, getting support from a herbalist, naturopath, or nutritionist can help to go the next step with accurate supplementation.
References
Zhao, H., Zhang, J., Cheng, X., Nie, X., & He, B. (2023). Insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome across various tissues: an updated review of pathogenesis, evaluation, and treatment. Journal of Ovarian Research, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13048-022-01091-0
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