Nutrition

Midday Energy Crash? Your Blood Sugar Might Be to Blame

Why You’re Crashing at 3 PM: The Role of Blood Sugar in Energy Levels

If you’ve ever felt like you hit a wall mid-afternoon—struggling to stay awake, think clearly, or muster the energy to finish your day—you’re not alone. These energy crashes are incredibly common and can be more than just an inconvenience. They might be your body’s way of signaling an imbalance in your blood sugar, often referred to as the “blood sugar rollercoaster. ”

Let’s explore why this happens, how your diet plays a role, and what you can do to stabilize your energy levels and avoid the dreaded afternoon slump.

Understanding the Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

Your body relies on glucose, a type of sugar from the foods you eat, as its main source of energy. When you eat, your blood sugar levels rise, prompting your pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that helps transport glucose into your cells to be used for energy.

However, when your blood sugar fluctuates too much—spiking high and then plummeting low—it can leave you feeling drained, irritable, and unfocused. This cycle of spikes and crashes is what we call the blood sugar rollercoaster. 🎢

What Causes Blood Sugar Spikes and Crashes?

Several dietary and lifestyle habits contribute to this rollercoaster effect:

  1. High-Carb, Low-Protein Meals: Meals high in refined carbs (like white bread, pastries, or sugary snacks) are digested quickly, leading to a rapid blood sugar spike followed by a sharp drop.
  2. Skipping Meals: Long gaps between meals can cause blood sugar to dip too low, leaving you feeling fatigued.
  3. Caffeine and Sugary Drinks: That afternoon latte or soda might give you a quick energy boost, but it’s often followed by a crash.
  4. Lack of Balanced Nutrition: Meals lacking in fiber, protein, and healthy fats don’t provide the sustained energy your body needs.
  5. Stress and Poor Sleep: These factors can make your body less sensitive to insulin, leading to more significant blood sugar fluctuations.

Signs Your Energy Crash is Blood Sugar-Related

  • Feeling shaky, dizzy, or lightheaded
  • Intense cravings for sugar or carbs
  • Irritability or difficulty concentrating
  • Fatigue, especially after meals
  • An energy surge followed by a sudden drop

How to Balance Your Blood Sugar and Avoid Crashes

The good news is that small, intentional changes to your diet and lifestyle can make a big difference. Here’s how:

  1. Choose Balanced Meals: Include a mix of protein, healthy fats, and fiber at every meal. For example, pair chicken or tofu with roasted vegetables and avocado for a nutrient-rich, blood sugar-friendly dish.
  2. Snack Smarter: Keep healthy snacks on hand, like nuts, seeds, or a hard-boiled egg, to avoid reaching for sugary options when hunger strikes.
  3. Stay Hydrated: Dehydration can exacerbate fatigue, so drink plenty of water throughout the day.
  4. Manage Stress: Incorporate stress-reducing activities like yoga, deep breathing, or a short walk to help regulate your hormones.
  5. Consider a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM): A CGM allows you to see how your blood sugar responds to different foods, helping you make more informed dietary choices.

How the INSIGHT Blood Sugar Reset Program Can Help

If energy crashes are a regular part of your day, it might be time to take a closer look at your blood sugar. That’s where my INSIGHT Blood Sugar Reset Program comes in. Using cutting-edge continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), this program will give you personalized insights into how your body processes food and help you build habits to keep your blood sugar steady.

By combining CGM technology with practical guidance on diet, movement, and lifestyle, you’ll not only experience fewer energy crashes but also improve your overall health and well-being.

Take Control of Your Energy

You don’t have to live with the daily drag of energy crashes. With the right tools and support, you can stabilize your blood sugar, regain your energy, and feel your best. Ready to get started? Join the INSIGHT Blood Sugar Reset Program today and take the first step toward balanced energy and a healthier you.

 

7 Ways to Combat Inflammation this Holiday Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! A typical holiday season is filled with love, joy, family, and friends. If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that this is not your typical year! While you may not be attending large gatherings, it sill may be a season filled with stress, lack of movement, and over-consumption of sugar and alcohol which means systemic inflammation can be at an all-time high. In this article, I’ll discuss 7 ways to combat inflammation this holiday season!

1.  Stay hydrated.

Water is the most important nutrient in your body! It flushes toxins, enables cellular hydration, and transports nutrients, which all play a huge factor in managing and combating systemic inflammation. 

As a general rule of thumb, aim to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces of hydrating fluids each day. For example, if you’re a 140 lb person, your daily goal is 70 oz of hydrating beverages. These hydrating beverages include high-quality filtered water, coconut water, bone broth, and uncaffeinated herbal tea.

Keep in mind, for every 8 oz of dehydrating beverage you consume (coffee, tea, juice, alcohol, soda) you’ll want to add another 12 oz of hydrating beverage to your daily baseline. 

2. Move your body. 

Moving your body is crucial for a variety of reasons. Regular physical activity has health benefits that includes stress reduction, weight control, strengthening of the heart, bones, and muscles, and reducing the risk of certain diseases(1) — all of which are vastly important for combating inflammation. Additionally, exercise is critical for the movement of lymphatic fluid that is responsible for filtering out bacteria, viruses, and toxins, which, if left stagnant, causes high levels of inflammation. 

3. Slow down and breathe. 

While we cannot go three minutes without oxygen, too seldom do we sit and focus on breathing deeply. Our respiratory system is responsible for filtering out fumes, allergens, mold, and airborne toxins, all of which are highly inflammatory to our system. Focus on breathing in deeply to oxygenate your cells and breathe out completely to remove carbon dioxide and other accumulated toxins in the lungs. In addition to the oxygenation of our system, this deep breathing slows down our nervous system and allows the body to enter a parasympathetic state so we can “rest and digest.”

4. Chew your food. 

While this may seem like an odd suggestion, it’s a small but powerful habit to combat inflammation. When we eat too quickly, we swallow air and large chunks of food, which can cause digestive dysfunction and therefore systemic inflammation.

Aim to chew your food 20-30x per bite or until the food is a liquid-like consistency. This tiny habit will vastly improve digestion and combat inflammation. 

5. Sleep

Sleep is a time where we restore and repair! Ensuring you get 7-9 hours of deep restorative sleep per night is especially key during times of excess stress and overindulgence of sugar and alcohol (i.e. the holidays!).

6. Avoid too many sweets. 

A high sugar diet can have harmful effects on your health and can result in chronic inflammation, where the body’s immune system activates, resulting in damage to healthy cells(2).

To reduce inflammation, aim for an overall healthy diet filled with nutrient-dense whole foods. During the holidays, do the best you can to avoid overindulging in sweet treats filled with refined sugars. If possible, enjoy a dessert made with naturally sweet ingredients like maple syrup or honey!

7. Cook with high-quality oils. 

Hydrogenated oils like vegetable, canola, and soy, are highly inflammatory and should be avoided at all costs. These industrial seed oils come from genetically modified plants that are toxic to our systems, full of additives, and have been linked with a variety of health problems. 

For high heat cooking choose unrefined coconut oil, animal fats or ghee from pasture-raised (not factory-farmed) sources and for medium heat cooking choose extra virgin olive oil or butter. These fats and oils are critical for our health as they boost the immune system and reduce systemic inflammation!

Ensure your days will be merry and bright by following these seven ways to combat inflammation this holiday season!

1. “Does Sugar Cause Inflammation? What the Research Says.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326386. 

2. “Exercise … It Does a Body Good: 20 Minutes Can Act as Anti-Inflammatory.” UC Health – UC San Diego, health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2017-01-12-exercise-can-act-as-anti-inflammatory.aspx.