Uncovering Potential Roots: Anxiety + Depression
While I have successfully helped multiple clients reverse anxiety and depression in their God-designed bodies, I have also reversed them in my own life. So, I can honestly tell you, there are many unique root causes for both anxiety and depression.
One commonly overlooked cause is blood sugar imbalances. This doesn’t just apply to or happen in diabetics.
Glucose is your brain’s source of fuel, and it is vital to have stable blood sugar to support your neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine. When the brain is deprived of fuel due to blood sugar dropping too low, your body begins producing symptoms such as shakiness, headache, blurred vision, difficulty concentrating, and other neurological symptoms.
Imbalanced blood sugars often lead to many misdiagnoses due to the impact of neurotransmitters and some of these behaviors:
feeling easily upset or agitated
feeling shaky, jittery, spacey, or like your brain is foggy
overly dependent on coffee and sugar for energy
cravings for sweets between meals
irritability if meals are missed
waking up at 3-4:00am feeling wide awake and/or anxious (Why? When blood sugar levels drop too low overnight, the adrenal glands release cortisol. This triggers the breakdown of glycogen, stored in the liver and muscles, to release glucose into the bloodstream. However, if a person’s cortisol is low, the release the glycogen can’t be adequately triggered to raise blood sugar. Instead, the adrenals release epinephrine and norepinephine as a backup, which results in anxiety.)
On the other hand, high blood sugar also impacts anxiety and depression. In fact, one study published in 2010 followed over 65,000 women for a decade and showed that women with diabetes were 30% more likely to develop depression. Here are some symptoms:
increased appetite and thirst
difficulty losing weight
insatiable cravings for sweets after meals
general fatigue
tired after meals
aches and pains
(It’s important to note that you can have a combination of low blood sugar and insulin resistance.)
Why do these symptoms occur?
Low blood sugar leads to an increased production of our fight-or-flight hormones: epinephrine and norepinephrine (which are stimulating). High blood sugar promotes surges of serotonin and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which makes you crave a nap after eating.
A common example from Kelly Brogan’s book, A Mind of Your Own:
“When you eat sugar in an obvious form like a candy bar, or even in a non-obvious form such as bread or pasta made from refined flour, you’re going to see an elevation in blood sugar and then a compensatory spike in your insulin levels. And that spike ultimately leads to a crash in your blood sugar and a compensatory cortisol response (responsible for moving sugar out of storage and into the bloodstream), which generates more of the same: craving for more carbs and sugars — a vicious cycle. (Your brain can only last a few minutes without a steady source of fuel. If it has been dependent on sugar rather than the more steady source fat, you are in for a world of hurt when blood sugar crashes!)
In this state, you’re likely to feel jittery, anxious, headachy, nauseous, irritable, edgy, moody, tired, and foggy. Sound familiar? All of these symptoms can come under a diagnosis of depression and anxiety.”
Why should I care about my blood sugar?
Your entire body is interconnected. From your gut to your immune system, to your endocrine system, to your brain and more. Solely focusing on your brain when it comes to anxiety and depression management is not a root-cause solution, and it can result in many long-term health conditions in the process. It also leads to misdiagnosis and medication that only suppresses symptoms, eventually leading to a build up of medications to counteract side effects caused by the previous medication.
Eating to balance your blood sugar is a huge step towards optimal health.
How can I support my blood sugar?
Stop blaming sugar for what inflammatory oils have done, and do your best to get rid of processed foods and oils such as vegetable, soybean, canola and corn oils. Why? When these oils are heated, they become highly inflammatory, and when you consume them, it adds fuel to the fire of chronic disease and blood sugar disruption.
Avoid artificial sugars. They disrupt your microbiota, and your microbiota health (gut health) impacts your blood sugars.
Eat a high-quality breakfast, and do so before drinking coffee. If you do not have an appetite, this is a sign your metabolism needs some work. Try a light breakfast such as bone broth with an egg and a half-cup of fruit. Drinking caffeine on an empty stomach increases cortisol levels first thing in the morning, resulting in cravings throughout the day and dysregulated blood sugar.Eating processed foods in the morning is a recipe for imbalanced sugars for the day.
Helpful testing:
Hgb Arc (optimal: below 5.0)
Fasting glucose (optimal: 90 or less)
Fasting insulin (optimal: 4-7)
Leptin (optimal: 4-6 ng/dL)
Cortisol testing (see post on cortisol awakening response)
Continuous glucose monitoring trial for those with extra zeal!
Helpful supplement considerations for insulin-resistant-related anxiety and depression:
**This is not medical advice. As always, be sure to discuss with your primary care physician before enacting any of these things in your own life/health.
Inositol: To counter depression or anxiety, consider higher doses (6-18g/day). For example, a dose of 18g/day was found to be as effective as fluvoxamine (an SSRI) after a month of use in treating in panic disorder.
L-Theanine
Magnesium Clycinate
Probiotics
Adaptogens, depending on stress hormone status
As with everything provided on my website or social media, please consult with your physician before enacting any of these practices, supplements, etc. in your own life. I do not necessarily know you or your unique body and its needs.
If you would like to work toward your own refined wellness with me, check out my “Work With Me” page. There, if interested, you can sign up for my One-on-One Refined Wellness Program or a Refined Wellness Session.
I hope you’ve found this post helpful. If you’re looking for more content like this, you can follow along with me on Instagram and sign up for my email list. I can’t wait to see you there!
