Check this quote of the week out…
Clinically, one of the most common causes of poor sleep we see is a blood sugar imbalance.
Dr Datis Kharrazian
On one end of the spectrum, we have people battling chronically high blood sugar, which causes inflammation, insulin resistance, and declining brain health, all of which degrade sleep. A fasting blood sugar over 100 mg/dL or an HbA1c over 5.6 percent indicates your blood sugar is too high. One of the most common symptoms of insulin resistance is feeling sleepy after meals.
People with high blood sugar and insulin resistance tend to have trouble falling asleep more often and don’t feel well-rested when they wake up.
On the other end of the spectrum are people with chronically low blood sugar, or reactive hypoglycemia. These are most frequently women who undereat and don’t eat frequently enough. When they do eat, it’s something very sweet or starchy, like a fruit smoothie, a sweet yogurt, or toast. They also fall very short of their protein needs. One of the most common symptoms of low blood sugar is feeling energized after meals because food raises blood sugar that has dropped.
These people tend to fall asleep ok, but they bolt awake at 3 or 4 a.m., often worrying about something, and have difficulty falling back asleep. This can be due to their blood sugar dropping too low during the night. As a result, stress hormones kick into action to resupply energy to the brain. Unfortunately, it also causes alertness and anxiety when you should be sleeping. These people may also feel nauseous in the morning or like they can’t possibly eat breakfast. Again, this is due to stress hormones skewing the brain’s appetite centers.
Many people have a mix of high and low blood sugar symptoms, and most Americans have a blood sugar imbalance. This will impact sleep and hence immunity.
Sufficient protein in your diet can often make a real difference to blood sugar control. Dr K continues:
One thing I frequently see in patients struggling with autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, and other immune-based disorders is they don’t eat enough protein. This is especially true of people on a limited diet because of their autoimmune condition. They may be great about avoiding gluten and eating a whole-food diet devoid of processed foods. But when we analyze their intake, we find they significantly undereat protein.
Dr Kharrazian
Protein plays an essential role in various aspects of immune resilience, including the immune response to viruses, regulating inflammation, and the synthesis of various immune cells.
I recommend my patients consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. (One ounce of meat has roughly 7 grams of protein.) Usually, ideal body weight is used if the patient is overweight. Protein from meat is the most bioavailable to the body and a more complete protein than plant protein. Be sure and divide up your protein intake throughout the day as the body cannot absorb an entire day’s worth of protein in one meal.
Nuff said. That’s essentially why my Belly Fat insulin resistance plan focuses on protein as well as low GL and allergenic eating to help reset your insulin control. Check it out here:
For more on sleep issues, check out my Insomnia factsheet, too.