Glucose And The Brain

What is it that gives you a sudden tremendous surge of energy to be able to fly over a gate while there is a rottweiler targeting your backside? What is it that makes you so irritated that once someone looks at you sideways you want to immediately engage in hand-to-hand combat?

In this week's episodes a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner related how our food is intertwines with mental health and the worse culprit is glucose, the sugar we ingest. Before and after the show recordings, I can talk personally and privately with so many professionals in fields of discipline, and with many takeaways, it is amazing and will be sharing these with you.

Having said that, today we are talking about two different hormones, cortisol, and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline).

Adrenaline and cortisol are both hormones and neurotransmitters. This hormone is made and released by your adrenal glands, which from my understanding are hat-shaped glands that are situated right above each kidney. As a neurotransmitter, this chemical messenger helps the interconnection of nerve signals from nerve endings to other nerve cell, including muscle cell, therefore, both a hormone and a neurotransmitter, thus, you can protect your backside from a rottweiler.

So, the question is, what triggers the adrenal glands to produce these two hormones when it is needed?

The hormone production by the adrenal glands is controlled by the pituitary gland and incidentally, the pituitary is a pea-sized gland at the base of the human brain that is also known as the "master gland" because of the health spectrum it provides for the entire body. Do you see the connection?

When you come to in the morning or wake up and you begin your exercise routine or you are managing a stressful occasion, your pituitary gland responds. It stirs up the adrenal glands to produce the appropriate quantity of adrenaline and cortisol.

But what happens when you go for the better of a day without eating, on an empty tank? Anytime we go for an extended period without eating, our blood glucose or blood sugar levels will naturally decrease. As a result, it will trigger the release of stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol. In a sense, epinephrine and cortisol are circling the wagons as if it were for your protection.

However, these stress hormones only temporarily protect us from instant injury of low blood glucose incidents. But do you give thought of how you feel to be low on blood glucose?

This accounts for the reaction or response of shakiness, overwhelming anxiety, confusion, altered mood, fatigue, even visual changes, hmm I will have to give thought to that, and not to mention an irregular heartbeat or palpitations. And of course, sleeplessness.

This decreased blood glucose levels can precipitate mental and emotional symptoms, hence, mental instability. It feels like a low hum of too many worries, it is an inner unsettling with scattered thoughts, unable to concentrate no matter how hard you try.

Blood glucose measurements are often captured first thing in the morning, especially after an 8+ hour fast. My guest says that at any time during the day, symptoms of hypoglycemia will present the foregoing issues when our blood glucose level decreases below 70mg/dL. This stress hormone release is usually triggered once the blood glucose level falls below 55mg/dL

So, without enough supply of energy that comes from glucose, we subject the human brain to experience emotional and physical instability.

We need to ask ourselves, how can we Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar levels?

This is where the pancreas steps in to provide the necessary insulin to regulate the body’s blood sugar, and this amazing organ is situated and cozied below our liver.

Obviously, the foods we ingest, our body breaks down, removing energy to power our body’s organs. We get a major part of our glucose from carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products. And if we do not receive enough natural glucose because of the lack of proper food, adrenaline, and cortisol kicks in, and if prolonged it will affect our emotional and physical state, not a good place to be.

Here are some tips to help regulate our blood sugar:

Movement: like everything else, keep it moderate - Super strenuous exercise is not going to help because medical research found it releases stress hormones that will increase your blood sugar temporarily. I am sure many of us like this first suggestion.

Diet: If you do not want to shock your system and have it work overtime to balance your system, The key is to keep your blood sugar stable by keeping the intake of white breads and white sugar to a minimum and stay away from highly processed foods. Endeavor to ingest food of the highest quality.

When we think of having the highest quality of food, I am reminded of going to a high-end restaurant several years ago. As I finished ordering the main dish, the waiter asked what kind of starch I wanted with the main dish. The point is, starch converts into blood sugar, and I must say that evening was tarnished by his comment, or he did me a service, it is the latter.

Manage stress: look for regular activities to manage the stress in your life, such as community service. Take five minutes in the morning, noon, and in the evening to meditate on the things you are grateful for. Also, soothing music will have a positive effect at placating the nervous system.

Before I wear out my welcome, allow me to conclude and say that "your health is your wealth, take care of it."