Is Low blood sugar Worsening Your anxiety?

A closer look at why hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a missed root cause when it comes to treating mental health + metabolic symptoms in a conventional setting.

Dr. Allen Whipple was a man who devoted his life to the study of islet cell tumors of the pancreas, one cause of hypoglycemia. In 1952, he made history when he set forth a thesis which has since been accepted by the medical world as the "Whipples Triad."

This was only meant to be used to detect organic hypoglycemia that was caused by a pancreatic tumor.

But it is commonly (not always) used today to diagnose hypoglycemia. It is based on the criteria of:

• The patient must develop the hypoglycemic attack during a fasted state.

• 24 hour fasting blood sugar levels below 55 if not diabetic + 70 if diabetic.

• Immediate recovery from the attack on administration of IV glucose.

The problem with this? None of the three points, either collectively or individually were meant to be used to diagnose hypoglycemia, reactive, or functional hypoglycemia. And since most providers mistakenly use the second criteria and blood sugar levels must go below 55 to diagnose functional hypoglycemia, many cases of reactive hypoglycemia are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, overlooked, or mistreated. This plays a huge role in hypoglycemia being a missed root cause and often results in misdiagnosing + prescribing. Here is an example of what that can look like:

When you present with anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, + chronic fatigue, GI symptoms, and your fasting blood sugar is "within normal range," at your 15 minute appointment, instead of digging into blood sugar imbalances because hypoglycemia is known to contribute to these symptoms + nutrition, you are often sent away and told your labs are "normal," or told to "carry a snack with you." A thorough provider will likely even refer you to a cardiologist for a heart evaluation + when you return with normal results, you may likely then be referred for a psychological evaluation.

Here is the problem with this:

Reactive hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar dips after a carb heavy meal because your body produces too much insulin. This can lead to symptoms like:

• Shakiness.

• Anxiety

• Dizziness or lightheadedness.

• Sweating.

• Hunger.

• Heart palpitations.

• Feeling weak or tired.

• Feeling irritable or anxious.

• Headache.

Long term this can contribute to worsening anxiety + depression, GI issues, and even heart disease. The problem is these symptoms are very similar to popular diagnoses today. So...

When you present with anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, + chronic fatigue, GI symptoms, and your fasting blood sugar is "within normal range," at your 15 minute appointment, instead of digging into blood sugar imbalances because hypoglycemia is known to contribute to these symptoms, you are often sent away and told your labs are "normal," or told to "carry a snack with you." A thorough provider will likely even refer you to a cardiologist for a heart evaluation + when you return with normal results, you may likely then be referred for a psychological evaluation.

often this looks like anxiety, fatigue, low mood, GI complaints, heart palpitations, sometimes feeling hungry all the time. But a fasting glucose + Hgb A1C is not a reliable test and full picture for uncovering blood sugar imbalances.

And missing this can mean missing a HUGE opportunity to intervene early and catch chronic disease + reverse symptoms. For example, if you have hypoglycemia related to insulin resistance, you can catch this early. This is because years before (studies show even 10 years before) you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, your fasting insulin begins to rise. But fasting insulin is not commonly checked.

This is important to be aware of because there are millions and millions of people right now walking around with a unexpectedly lower fasting glucose ""within normal range," yet struggling with off-and-on hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) symptoms where their fasting insulin is actually 12 or 15 (optimal is 4-5).

On top of this, if you are told to use a snack as a remedy but not educated on optimal nutrition + how minerals play a role, or covering symptoms with a pill, this means you will likely have low blood sugar more often because the root was never addressed. So then what happens?

This creates a vicious cycle because as you have more episodes of low blood sugar, and stress hormones like cortisol + adrenaline begin coming to the rescue.

Which progresses into a chronic sympathetic state and leads to things like insomnia (or waking up anxious at 1am-3am), food cravings to help soothe the low mood that accompanies low blood sugar, worsening anxiety as stress hormones come on board, eventual weight gain (in some cases) as insulin rises, eventual burn out + chronic fatigue as cortisol imbalances occur. It can even contribute to chronic gut issues due to its impact on transit time. And long term, if left unchecked, this can lead to heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, and more.

This is a common dynamic that is so often missed and can be devastating long term.

Which is why I am so passionate about sharing it, because when it is caught and interventions are made, so many chronic symptoms can improve and reverse.

If you have symptoms of low blood sugar and are wondering, where do I start to explore this? Check out the Refined Wellness Membership where I provide tangible tips, PDF downloads, + mini courses on topics like this. I will be posting a new article on this topic next week with tips to explore it.