Welcome back to week four of our series of my best nutrition tips.

You’ll want to be sure you’re caught up on the past three weeks:

Understanding blood sugar and why it’s my number one nutrition tip.

Understanding carbohydrates

Understanding the importance of protein

This week, I promised you my tips that have nothing to do with food but are key to balancing blood sugar, which is my number one nutrition tip.  

Sleep and stress are key lifestyle elements to balancing your blood sugar.

Sleep and blood sugar go hand in hand.  

Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  

Less than that creates stress on the body. 

When we lack sleep, our brain believes we’re in survival mode.

Lack of sleep will cause you to overeat as you search for simple carbohydrates like a muffin, cookie, or sweetened beverage to boost your energy.  

Your hormones that regulate feelings of hunger and satiety will be totally out of whack.

If you eat sugary foods or simple carbohydrates before bed, you’ll eventually end up with low blood sugar, which will trigger cortisol to pick you up out of the slump. 

You’ll find yourself wide awake at 2 AM.

Lack of sleep affects the health of the gut microbiome, which houses your immune system.  

Poor microbiome health creates a stress, which impacts your blood sugar balance.

I’m sure you’re starting to see how nothing in the body acts in isolation.  It’s all connected.

Most people experience some degree of stress in modern life, whether sitting in traffic, feeling the pressure of caregiving, or experiencing work stress.

Stress tells the body there’s an emergency, releasing the stress hormone cortisol.  

It will also raise blood sugar, giving your body the fuel to run from the tiger, so to speak.  

Constantly elevated cortisol and blood sugar make it hard to lose weight.

Stress can contribute to food cravings and overeating simple carbohydrates like muffins or cookies.

Stress also impacts the gut microbiome, sending distress signals that result in inflammation and dysbiosis. 

Poor gut health impacts blood sugar regulation.

When we think about nutrition, it impacts the whole body, from sleep to stress, blood sugar, and digestion.  

All of these systems work together to either give you great health or poor health.

If you struggle with stress, try taking 3 minutes in total silence and taking three cleansing breaths.  

If you struggle to get enough sleep, try getting into bed 15 minutes earlier.  

See if you can get sunlight outside within the first 90 minutes of waking.

Small steps can make big changes.

Thank you so much for joining me on this four-part journey.  

I hope this has helped you better understand how to nourish your body and manage your blood sugar.