#1 Step to Healing!
Along with sleep and pooping, blood sugar is third in the non-negotiable trifecta! In fact, if we really take an honest look at our daily rhythm, many of us can probably admit that we are accidentally starving ourselves?
After all, with all the talk about intermittent fasting, it’s become quite the norm to skip meals. Or maybe you binge at dinner or maybe you don’t really eat much at all? Perhaps you feel better when you don’t eat? I hear that a lot! Sluggish livers and toxic/sluggish bile can most certainly lead to a loss of appetite. Is this loss of appetite accompanied by blurry vision, perhaps a migraine, moodiness? Do you blame it on your cycle, either during ovulation or PMS? Please be thinking about your liver with ALL of these symptoms and then also be thinking about blood sugar!
That joint pain and brain fog that is worse in the afternoon, the insomnia at night, this is all related to blood sugar!
In fact, even slight up and down swings in blood sugar can lead to a ton of symptoms!
Blood sugar swings set into motion a cascade of events that can quietly wreak havoc on your hormones.
When blood sugar drops, your body interprets this as a threat. The sympathetic nervous system is activated, cortisol is released, and your body temporarily shifts its priorities. Instead of focusing on digestion, hormone clearance, and repair, it diverts energy toward raising blood sugar quickly to keep you safe. In this stress-driven state, digestion slows and liver detoxification capacity is reduced. If this pattern happens repeatedly, you may not be breaking down food efficiently or clearing excess hormones effectively. Over time, chronic blood sugar instability increases cortisol demand. This can suppress progesterone production, since progesterone plays an important role in buffering the stress response. When progesterone is low relative to estrogen, the body can shift toward relative estrogen dominance—even when estrogen levels themselves are not elevated.
At the same time, unstable blood sugar and frequent insulin spikes place additional strain on the liver and gut, which are responsible for metabolizing and eliminating estrogen. When estrogen clearance slows, estrogen activity increases. In this scenario, the issue is often not “too much estrogen,” but impaired hormone balance and detoxification capacity.
This chronic stress pattern also drives inflammation and keeps the body stuck in a heightened fight-or-flight state. Elevated cortisol can irritate and weaken the gut lining, increasing intestinal permeability. When cortisol remains high, blood sugar often remains elevated as well—feeding microbes and triggering repeated insulin release.
Over time, constant insulin signaling can contribute to insulin resistance. Excess glucose is then more likely to be stored as fat in the liver, leading to fatty liver. A fatty liver does a poor job of breaking down hormones and toxins, which further compounds hormonal imbalance.
Do you see how everything is connected?
This is why we can’t skip this foundational step when we are trying to balance hormones, support the liver, or improve energy.
So many of us chase complex health solutions while overlooking these non-negotiables. If you’re not feeling well, start by making sure you are not skipping meals. Pay attention to your body.
Intermittent fasting can be helpful—but only when your system is stable. If you regularly reach the afternoon having not eaten since 10 a.m., and it’s now 3 p.m. and you feel dizzy, irritable, or light-headed—especially if you are rushing to pick up your kids and end up eating the rest of their lunch in the car—that is a sign your body needs nourishment, not more stress.
Other things that can spike your blood sugar:
• Rushing around to get ready in the morning
• Skipping meals
• Staying up past your bedtime (catching that “second wind”)
• A stressful event
• High-carbohydrate meals
• Overeating or excessive protein intake
• Coffee, especially on an empty stomach
• Poor sleep
• Dehydration
• Infections, including dental infections
Ways to support blood sugar regulation:
1. Pay attention to your body. Are you eating breakfast before symptoms like dizziness, nausea, or shakiness appear?
2. Remember that intermittent fasting windows should only be extended once blood sugar stability has been established.
3. Prioritize regular meals that include protein, fat, and carbohydrates to reduce stress signaling.
4. Support sleep and circadian rhythm—late nights and poor sleep directly impact blood sugar control.
5. Reduce unnecessary stressors where possible, especially in the morning.
Blood sugar regulation is not just about food—it is about safety signaling. When your body feels safe and supported, hormones, digestion, and detoxification can do their job.
Lab testing for blood sugar and what can it tell us?
Fasting glucose: is your blood sugar staying high! Remember glycemic issues have profound effects on the thyroid as well as weakening the immune system and impairing your ability to detoxify.
HbA1c: hint: when this is elevated but fasting glucose is normal, this means that blood sugar isn’t returning to fasting levels quickly enough and as a result, glycosylation (carbs attaching to a protein or fat) is happening. This triggers an immune response leading to oxidative stress. Remember, the liver plays a huge role in glucose metabolism.
Insulin: Insulin is obesogenic and inflammatory due to excess sugar running around. When we see excess insulin, we can suspect that there is some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin is also directly related to cholesterol levels!
LDH: When we see elevated Lactate Dehydrogenase, we are thinking about possibly liver/biliary dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, tissue inflammation or even viral infections. When we see this low, we might be thinking about reactive hypoglycemia, keto adaptation or insulin resistance.
To learn more about your own blood sugar markers and start connecting the dots to better health, schedule your free 20 minute consult.