Blood sugar balance is often overlooked when it comes to our overall health and when it comes to the topic of autoimmunity. In particular, most people don’t even know what blood sugar balance is, don’t know its symptoms, and/or do not know that it can be a trigger for autoimmunity.

Firstly, what is blood sugar and why should it be balanced?

Blood sugar is used to refer to the amount of sugar, particularly glucose that is in our bloodstream. Now, glucose by itself isn’t inherently bad as it serves as a source of fuel for all our body’s activities throughout the day. In fact, blood glucose levels tend to fluctuate as our day goes by, especially when we are at work.

To further explain, when we take in carbohydrates into our body via eating foods, it is broken down through the process of digestion into the monomer glucose. Eating too many carbohydrates can cause our blood sugar levels to spike up, and not eating anything for long periods of time can cause it to drop down. This is where our hormones such as insulin and glucagon come in.

Glucagon raises blood sugar levels by working with the liver to turn glycogen which is stored in the liver into usable glucose. On the other hand, insulin works in the opposite direction by lowering blood glucose levels as it instructs cells and organs such as the liver to use and store glucose for future use. When blood sugar levels spike up, insulin is released and when it drops down, glucagon is released.

Both insulin and glucagon are released by the pancreas and help in regulating our blood sugar levels. Now, when we eat starchy and sugary food way too often, our pancreas has to work extra hard to keep our blood sugar levels normal as it constantly rises and falls.

Now, what does this have to do with autoimmunity?

You see, an unstable blood sugar level is one of the many issues those with symptoms of autoimmunity face. Having an unstable blood sugar level is detrimental to having balanced energy levels and even to our brain health.

Here are the signs and symptoms of an unstable blood sugar level:

• Brain fog
• Gut problems
• Fatigue
• Chronic pain
• Vertigo
• Dizziness
• Mood imbalance
• Anxiety
• Sleep problems
• Migraines
• Poor concentration
• Strong cravings for sugary or starchy foods
• Blood pressure problems
• Fatigue
• Sudden weight loss or weight gain

In conclusion, it’s important for us to know just how important our blood sugar levels are. It’s vital that we understand how it works and how it can impact other aspects of our lives as well. This is even more vital as it can have a connection with autoimmunity as well. Hence, we must always get our blood sugar levels checked whenever we can and have a balanced diet to keep our blood sugar levels stable.

A little reminder of some fabulous ways that you can work with me….

Louise xx