Why Stress Management Is Important For Diabetes Management

If you have diabetes, you’re probably thinking of ways to manage your diet, exercise more often, and you’re probably working with your doctor to manage your medications. Maybe you’re even trying some herbs and supplements to lower your blood sugar. 

But are you putting in serious effort to manage your stress levels?

Stress can cause spikes in blood sugar. When you’re stressed, your body is flooded with stress chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline. 

Cortisol reduces the ability of your muscles to soak sugar out of the blood stream. It also leads to the production of glucose in organs like the liver and decreases the ability of your pancreas to produce insulin. All of this keeps your blood sugar levels high.

In the short term, this stress-induced spike in blood sugar is beneficial to humans. It provides readily accessible energy for the body to help us survive dangerous situations. This was a survival mechanism that evolved within us and other animals. 

However, chronically high blood sugar leads to insulin resistance. Insulin tells your cells to make use of the sugar in your bloodstream. Insulin resistance is when your cells resist that command from insulin. It’s like insulin is knocking on the door telling your organs, muscles, and other tissues to let the sugar in but nobody’s answering the door. Insulin resistance is the underlying problem in type 2 diabetes.  

There is evidence that stress management can improve blood sugar and reduce HbA1c levels. Most studies use some sort of mindfulness training to help participants manage stress. It’s unfortunate that there are not more diverse studies in this area because people respond so differently to various stress management approaches. Not everyone likes meditation and there are many other ways to calm down your nervous system.

While high stress is certainly not the only important factor to consider for type 2 diabetes, it can make managing the condition more difficult. Whether you’re thinking about preventing diabetes or managing it, stress management should be an important part of your diabetes plan. 

Myo-Inositol: What You Should Know

What is myo-inositol?

Inositol is a compound produced naturally in the human body and found in foods such as grains, organ meat, almonds, beans and certain fruits but it may be difficult to get all of the inositol our body needs from a modern diet alone. It’s typically sold in two different supplement forms: myo-inositol and chiro-inositol. Certain factors increase our body’s need for inositol. These include having a high amount of refined sugar in the diet, high blood sugar and increasing age. 

Myo-inositol plays a role in many functions in our body including how hormones (like insulin) and neurotransmitters communicate with our cells. It seems to be important in organs like the brain and ovaries because of these roles. 

What conditions is it used for?

Inositol is a popular supplement used for a wide array of conditions such as PCOS, diabetes and insulin resistance, thyroid disorders, elevated cholesterol, anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. 

What doses are used?

The dose used depends on the condition being treated with lower doses being used for PCOS and thyroid issues (anywhere from 1-9 grams) and higher doses being used for mental health conditions. Studies on inositol often span from 3 months to a year so it may take time before improvements in symptoms are noticed. 

What about D-chiro-inositol? 

D-chiro-inositol is another form of myo-inositol found naturally in the body. It’s made from myo-inositol and is found in many body parts including muscle and the liver. Many studies on conditions like PCOS show that myo-inositol supplementation alone can improve symptoms. However, there may be cases when supplementing with both forms is beneficial. Your naturopathic doctor can help you decide the best course of action. 

Does it have side effects?

Bloating and gastrointestinal discomfort are possible side effects but this typically happens at higher doses. Taking it with food may help prevent this. It may interact with certain medications which your naturopathic doctor can help you figure out. 

If you have questions about the supplements you’re taking, book a free 15 minute phone consultation so we can talk about how I can help.

Moringa: What’s the Evidence?

This is the first article in a new series I’m starting called “What’s the Evidence?”. Every couple of weeks, I’ll discuss natural remedies that are trendy right now, and whether or not the claims about them have good evidence to back them up.

There’s been a lot of hype about moringa on the internet. Moringa is native to India but now grows in places like Africa, South America and the Caribbean. It's been called the “Miracle Tree” because it’s believed to treat a very wide range of health problems. It has been used for thousands of years by the ancient Indians, Greeks, Egyptians and Romans.

Nutrients and Special Properties

Many sources have reported that moringa is high in nutrients. It has a respectable amount of protein, vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and iron. It contains good fats like oleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids. It also seems to have high antioxidant levels. It shows signs of anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial activity but it’s not clear how strong this activity is. It’s been used in cosmetics from past to present because of its nutrient content. However, what I’m more interested in is this: are these properties actually enough to improve health and reduce disease?

Liver Disease and Ulcers

Animal research has found that moringa protected against liver damage caused by medications. It also reduced liver fibrosis. Another animal study found that it protected from stomach ulcers induced by aspirin and other agents. Evidence on humans is sparse.

Asthma

One of the few human studies of moringa was in regards to asthma. In this study, moringa improved asthma symptoms and lung function test results. However, the researchers did not compare moringa to a control group. This means that it's not clear if the positive results were due to moringa or the placebo effect.

Cancer

The moringa studies on tumours and cancer are animal studies or cell studies rather than human studies. Some of these studies have been positive, but it’s not clear how moringa affects cancer in humans.

Diabetes

Here we have a few more human studies to look at. A trial in 1993 found that having moringa leaf with a meal led to less of a sugar spike in diabetics. This was in comparison to having bitter gourd or curry leaves with a meal.

In 2010, a small study of 46 unmedicated diabetics found that moringa leaf lowered fasting sugar levels.

In 2011, a study found that moringa lowered HbA1C levels in type two diabetics. However, it was only a 0.4% reduction and the quality of the study was poor.

A trial in 2016 found that moringa leaf increased insulin production. However, the subjects in the study were already healthy non-diabetics. We don't know if we would see an insulin boost in diabetics.

In 2021, a study showed that moringa reduce HBA1C in prediabetic patients. Patients who were taking a placebo instead of moringa had an increase in HBA1C. However, the improvement in HBA1C in the moringa group was very small.

Cholesterol and Triglycerides

In a 2010 study, 35 people with high cholesterol and high triglycerides were given either moringa leaf or a placebo. Moringa leaf did not lower triglycerides or bad cholesterol. There was a small drop in total cholesterol (1.6%) and a small increase in good cholesterol (6.3%). Interestingly, another study found more impressive drops in total cholesterol, bad cholesterol and triglycerides.

The Verdict

Moringa’s impact on health and disease is unclear. Most moringa studies are on animals or isolated cells rather than humans. The few human studies are often low in quality. If I didn’t mention a condition above it’s likely because the evidence was too weak to bring it up. Hopefully more promising evidence comes out in the future. If you feel like giving moringa a try based on all the history behind it, that’s totally up to you! As for myself, I’m going to wait on more evidence before recommending moringa.

Always choose your natural remedies wisely and get expert help when you need it. 

I help patients improve their mental health and hormone health. For a free list of foods linked to lower anxiety levels, click the link below.

Stress Part 2: Hormones

This is the second article of my series on stress. To read the previous article click here.

Last week I discussed how stress can affect the skin. Today I’ll be talking about some different ways stress can make hormones go haywire. Most women remember a time when their period went wonky during a stressful episode in life. This is just one example of how stress can impact hormones. Read on to find out how stress can play a role in hormonal conditions.

 

Irregular/ Absent Periods

Amenorhea is the term used for when you miss your period for multiple cycles. When this is caused by stress it’s known as hypothalamic amenorrhea. This fancy term is used because when you're stressed the part of the brain called the hypothalamus triggers a release of different stress hormones like cortisol. This can cause the brain to release less of the hormones important for your cycle (like LH and FSH). This ends up disturbing the ovulation process and the whole cycle. A similar process can lead to irregular periods.

 

Infertility

One of the most common pieces of advice given to women trying to get pregnant is to be less stressed. Like with hypothalamic amenorrhea, stress can lead to less consistent ovulation. This can make getting pregnant more complicated. Preliminary studies have found that stress can lead to something called reproductive aging. This involves decreased ability for the ovaries to produce a healthy egg.

 

Diabetes

There is some research suggesting that stress hormones like cortisol can make your body respond less to the hormone insulin. This makes it harder for your body to control blood sugar. Blood sugar may remain high for longer after meals when you’re stressed.

 

Thyroid Dysfunction

Improving stress levels has been shown to improve thyroid hormone levels. Cortisol can reduce thyroid hormone levels.

 

Men’s Health

Don’t think that stress only impacts women’s health! Hormones in men are also affected by stress. The effects are less understood though. There is research suggesting that stress may lower testosterone levels in men.

As you can see stress management is an important part of a plan to treat any of these conditions. If you need help with your hormones or your stress levels book an appointment or free 15 minute consult.

How Everyday Products Can Impact Your Hormones

Many household products contain ingredients that have been shown to alter hormonal systems. These ingredients are called “endocrine disruptors”. Now, I have no intention to make you feel paranoid with this article. I would just like to provide some information for you to mull over. Maybe it’ll help you make some changes with the products you stock your home with. Or maybe you’ll decide that nothing stated here makes you worried enough to change things up. The point is that you’re informed for your own health journey!

 

Overview: Some Important Lists

If you’re wondering what I mean by “household products” here are some examples:

- plastics (containers, packaging, wrappings etc.)

- antiperspirants, fragrances, cosmetics

- moisturizers and hair dyes

- air fresheners, detergents and cleaning products

And it’s more than just BPA, parabens and aluminum I'm talking about. There are other ingredients that have been shown to impact hormone systems. Ingredients like:

- preservatives and plasticizers

- anti-aging ingredients

- ingredients to give the product a certain texture

- fragrances added to products

The hormones that have been affected in studies are estrogen, progesterone, androgens (like testosterone) and thyroid hormones. The catch is that a lot of this research is in animals so it must be taken with a grain of salt. Scientists are still debating over the role these products play in human health. There are hypotheses about these products playing a role in:

- Breast and other types of cancer, benign breast cysts, fibroadenomas

- Diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome

- Infertility

Studies may find that a specific chemical does not cause a disease. However, we're not exposed to just one chemical. We're exposed to many. There is little information about the cumulative effect of all these chemicals.

 

What to Do

It can create a lot of anxiety to worry about everything in your environment. I believe it’s best to balance being cautious with being practical.

Pick and choose the products you want to replace with more natural alternatives. Many people opt for a good quality plant oil to moisturize with rather than a synthetic cream. There are many DIY recipes online for household cleaners. Swapping plastic containers for glass is another popular option. Also, there’s the option of using natural deodorants or avoiding fragrances.

I tend to use simple kitchen ingredients for a lot of things. If you’re going to buy pre-made natural products at the store be sure to read the ingredients. Don’t pay a high price for something that seems all-natural but is not. Don’t assume that just because a store looks “naturey” it means the products are all-natural.

Even herbs and nutrients can play a role in hormonal health. If you need some guidance on hormonal health book an appointment or free 15-minute consultation.

Sources

PMID: 20393002; PMID: 20932229; PMID: 22991565