A Fine Balance - Part 2
Insulin
In this part, we’re taking a deep dive into insulin. What it’s used for, why we need it, and how it dances with cortisol. We’ll also look at the cause of stubborn belly fat and how high cortisol & insulin can trigger mega sugar cravings.
What is insulin & why do we need it?
Insulin is a hormone that our body uses to manage the sugar in our bloodstream. Glucose, our main energy source, rises in our blood after we eat and reduces a few hours later. But, glucose is like a teeny tiny shard of glass…it can damage the cell if there’s too much.
Insulin is released in concert with glucose and helps the cell manage this little shard of glass. Insulin binds to a receptor site on the cell and opens up the glucose gate for one molecule to go in. Insulin stops glucose from flooding into the cell and causing damage.
We can see how helpful insulin is when we look at our brain and eyes. They don’t use insulin and are the first organs damaged by high blood sugar. This is why diabetics are at risk of blindness and cognitive problems. Our whole body would be at risk if it wasn’t for our friend insulin.
But, like with all good things, too much is a problem.
If insulin is too high in our blood, then it triggers inflammation. High insulin comes from high blood sugar and high cortisol. So, first, let’s look at high blood sugar.
Blood Sugar Rollercoaster
So many of us are on the blood sugar rollercoaster that it seems normal. Of course, I get testy when I’m hungry. Of course, I get tired and crave sugar in the afternoon…doesn’t everyone?
Yup, everyone on the blood sugar rollercoaster does :)
(this video is from our Blood Sugar Masterclass…so those handy dandy pictures I refer to at the beginning of this video are in that masterclass)
Symptoms of imbalanced blood sugar (rollercoaster symptoms) –
· Tired and craving sugar around 4pm
· Feeling hungry within 3 hours of eating
· Your hunger feels demanding, changes your personality, lowers your energy
· You wake up feeling hungry or feel hungry in the middle of the night
· You feel GREAT after a sweet treat…and then feel impatient, tired, and frustrated after about an hour
· You have sore joints, inflamed skin, etc (Inflammation is triggered when our blood sugar is high)
Blood Sugar, Insulin, Insulin Resistance & Type II Diabetes
Your blood sugar and the hormone insulin dance together all day, every day. They’re partners and need each other to work properly.
When we eat food, our digestive system breaks it up into its chemical properties, carb, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, etc. For this story, we’re going to focus on carbs.
The carbs in our diet breakdown into sugars – glucose, fructose, galactose. ALL carbs break down to these sugars eventually (including non-starchy veggies) and that’s GOOD. We need these sugars!
Our body likes to run on a steady supply of glucose. Fructose and galactose are converted to glucose when needed by the liver. And extra sugars are stored in the muscles and fat cells for later use.
When we eat whole food carbs with lots of their natural fibre, it takes time for those foods to be broken down, so we get a slow and steady drip of glucose into our bloodstream.
When we eat refined carbs and especially when we drink a sweetened drink, the glucose heads into the bloodstream super quickly and we get a high boost of glucose. This puts us right on the blood sugar rollercoaster.
Now comes insulin -
Glucose in our blood stream needs to move into our cells, and that’s where insulin comes in. Our pancreas gets a signal to secrete some insulin anytime we have glucose in our blood.
Insulin is a hormone that acts as a gatekeeper for our cells. Our cells want glucose, but too much can damage the cell. If a cell is “hungry”, then insulin binds to a receptor site on the cell and that allows just enough glucose to enter the cell.
That process continues happily until the glucose gets low in the blood stream…and then we feel hungry and it all starts over again!
When there’s too much sugar… (Insulin Resistance)
When there’s chronically too much sugar in the blood stream, insulin becomes like an annoying neighbour to the cell.
Instead of waiting until the cell is hungry, insulin needs to get rid of all of this glucose so comes knocking at the cell. If the cell gets too much sugar for too long, then it might break its insulin receptor so the insulin can’t bother it anymore.
But…the cell will need sugar eventually and so it sends a signal that it’s hungry but the insulin can’t bind anymore.
When this happens we can feel hungry all the time even though our blood sugar is pretty high. And the high blood sugar can trigger inflammation and damage arteries.
If this process continues and too many cells have damaged receptor sites, then our blood sugar can be high in blood tests. (this is fixable too…so don’t worry if you’re feeling these symptoms).
Early symptoms of insulin resistance –
- sugar cravings after meals
- feels tired after meal
- trouble sleeping
This can be seen in a blood test, the Hgba1c. If you’re above 5.7 you may be dealing with insulin resistance. Check out our Blood Sugar Masterclass for tips on how to find balance.
(I thought we could use a cute picture of a dog before we get into this next section…)
How this all connects to Cortisol
You know those extra pounds that make their way to your waist when you’ve been under stress? This is high insulin/high cortisol weight.
When cortisol is high, insulin resistance increases. This means your body requires more insulin to push it into your cells. This situation will lead you to gain weight around the middle of your body because you’re not burning fat but storing it. This is one of the reasons you will gain this kind of stubborn belly fat under conditions of burn out and adrenal fatigue.
(Hormone changes around menopause also causes your body to store extra weight around your belly)
Two different kinds of belly fat –
We store fat around our belly in two different ways – subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. They affect our body very differently, so let’s dive in:
Subcutaneous fat –
This fat lives right under your skin and tends to be a tad…jiggly. But, this type of belly fat is no more harmful than extra fat on your thighs and is preferred over visceral fat. This kind of fat actually produces two helpful hormones: leptin (suppresses appetite) and adiponectin (regulates storage of extra fats and sugars)
Visceral fat -
This fat lies under your abdominal muscle and surrounds the organs. This is “beer belly” fat – the type that’s rock hard on the outside since it’s underneath the muscles.
This type of fat can trigger low-grade inflammation and can lead to insulin resistance.
Men tend to have more visceral fat, as well as post-menopausal women. Balancing cortisol and insulin can help to melt away those extra pounds (slowly is always the best way).
High Cortisol + High Insulin = High Sugar Cravings
When your body is out of balance it can send signals that keep it out of balance. This happens when the body is in the stress state and is trying to fix a problem in the moment. When under stress, the body is only paying attention to short-term issues, it’s trying to keep you alive.
This is why you crave tons of sugar when your cortisol & insulin levels are high. Your body can’t keep these high levels of cortisol up without a steady supply of energy so your body starts requesting your favourite sweet treat. High insulin levels also put you on the blood sugar rollercoaster, so you’re prone to blood sugar crashes (another source of sugar cravings).
What happens with your blood sugar if your cortisol is really low –
When your adrenal glands get really tired and your cortisol is low or flat all day, your body reacts a little differently when it comes to your blood sugar.
Due to insulin’s role in the fight or flight reaction, cortisol’s job is to turn off the faucet of insulin when there’s enough in the blood stream.
Too little cortisol = a slower reaction to turn off insulin = higher amounts of insulin in the blood.
What you’ll most likely feel is a big blood sugar crash an hour or two after eating. This can be similar to the crash that someone on the blood sugar rollercoaster can feel…but this will happen after a balanced, healthy, low-sugar meal.
As your adrenals recover and your cortisol becomes more balanced, this symptom will go away. In the meantime, always have a little something sweet with you in case of a crash. 1 tsp of honey, a date, or a piece of fruit will bring your blood sugar right back up.
When you feel the crash, have that little bit of sweet and then sit quietly for 10 – 15 mins and wait for your blood sugar to rebound. You’re going to want to have more but be patient. Having too much sugar in this moment will cause a spike and another crash. Only have more if you feel really light-headed or about to faint.
How to find balance:
This one is a bit tricky because of how much these hormones influence each other. Low blood sugar triggers cortisol and cortisol raises insulin levels. But, some simple tricks that can help balance them :)
1. Eat every 5 hours – don’t use up extra cortisol just to keep your blood sugar up. Skipping meals puts you automatically into fight or flight, but that can be thwarted by having a snack. A piece of fruit or a couple of squares of dark chocolate can get you to your next meal.
2. If you feel your blood sugar is high or if your cortisol is high – exercise. The best and quickest way of lowering both cortisol and insulin is through exercise. A vigorous walk, a 15 min exercise video on YouTube, or climb some stairs. Doesn’t matter what – just get moving and get your heart pumping!
3. Watch your caffeine – too much caffeine triggers cortisol. If you feel like your stress level is pretty okay but you’re starting to get a “stress belly”, take a good look at your caffeine intake. Are you having an extra cup of coffee or tea?
4. No sweet drinks – putting sugar in your coffee/tea, drinking pop, or other sweetened beverages is a sure-fire way to bump up your insulin and cortisol levels. Take out the sugar & artificial sweeteners, or switch to stevia
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)