I know not all my readers of this article are going through perimenopause, so before you stop reading, just know this information is good for everyone!! Anxiety can be so frustrating but creating a care plan can be helpful in tackling it and getting to the root of the problem. I love working in the functional nutrition and health space because it allows me to help my clients completely heal, not just cover up their symptoms. And when it comes to anxiety, there are many root causes, including blood sugar imbalances.
Anxiety and Blood Sugar Connection
When you eat something that has carbohydrates, the digestive system breaks down the carbohydrates into glucose (sugar). The glucose is absorbed into the blood stream and blood sugar rises. This is a normal process, but the blood likes to remain homeostatic…fancy word meaning the blood likes to be stable and keep steady levels of all its contents. So, the sugar has to go somewhere else. That’s when insulin is released so the sugar can go into one of several places like to be used by muscles, the brain or heart or to be stored as glycogen or fat.
The problem arises with the big swings in blood sugar. After eating a high, simple carbohydrate meal, blood sugar is spiked. Insulin is then released to get all that sugar out of the blood and then blood sugar drops quickly. The big swings can trigger anxiety in people.
Anxiety in Perimenopause
Women in perimenopause are particularly prone to feeling anxiety. Perimenopause is a wild ride of unbalanced hormones. The dramatic swings in estrogen and slow decline in progesterone send inconsistent communication to the brain, which can cause anxiety. The swings in estrogen can also cause insulin resistance. Insulin is the key to let glucose into the cells. If the cells don’t recognize that key, blood sugar stays high. Well, the blood doesn’t like that so more insulin is signaled to be released, quickly dropping blood sugar and again triggering anxiety. Over time, insulin resistance can become a problem because insulin release drives fat storage and puts stress on the pancreas and can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Care Plan for Anxiety Based on Blood Sugar Levels
If blood sugar swings is a root cause for your anxiety, making a care plan for anxiety based on blood sugar levels will help you heal from (or at least dramatically reduce) your anxiety. There are three easy steps to implement right away. Again, this isn’t just for someone in perimenopause, this will help everyone!!
Care Plan for Anxiety: Carbohydrate Intake
It’s kind of a catch 22…carbohydrate rich foods are necessary, but they can be a problem. They aren’t all a problem, though, and they aren’t a problem all the time. What you pair them with, order in your meal, and quality of carbohydrates are important.
Care Plan for Anxiety: Muscle Mass
The more muscle you have, the better you can control blood sugar swings. Muscles require carbohydrates to fuel themselves. Muscles are also responsible for clearing most of the sugar in your blood after you eat. If you have a lower muscle mass, more insulin has to be released to get the blood sugar down.
Care Plan for Anxiety: Timing of Movement
Ok, you know how I told you the blood doesn’t like to have a lot of sugar in it, so insulin is released to pull the sugar into cells. But with age, poor diets, weight and perimenopause, we can become insulin resistant and have to pump out more insulin to get the sugar out of the blood (to then just be stored). Well, if you add movement right after eating, your muscles will take the sugar straight from your blood without needing insulin. Building a 10-15 minute walk into your care plan for anxiety can be helpful to reduce blood sugar fluctuations and anxiety triggers.
Let’s Connect!
I love helping women build care plans to find the root causes to nagging symptoms and find lasting health! Have you ever built a care plan for anxiety (or any other symptom) you’d like to share with me? If so, respond…I’d love to hear your story.
