Stress and sugar & fatigue – these three factors are so intimately connected. Excess Sugar consumption is also strongly linked to digestive health, which is why it’s a big focus of my attention. If you’re one of my patients you’ve probably heard me highlight your sugar intake when reviewing your diet diary. And it is something I will continue to highlight. Sorry not sorry! 
So what makes sugar so bad for digestive health?
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Excess sugar consumption feeds sulphur producing and gram negative bacteria within our gut (these are the one’s that do the most damage). it can also cause the overgrowth of candida albicans (Man et al., 2017)
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Excess sugar consumption causes inflammation and oxidative stress and increases our cortisol levels (stress hormone). In some people this can lead to weight gain, but it others it can lead to difficulties maintaining weight as chronically elevated stress hormones leads to more calories being burned (Xie et al, 2019).
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Hyperglycaemia (excess blood sugar) impairs the integrity of our intestinal barrier which increases inflammation within the gut (Thaiss et al, 2018). This leads to the leakage of food particles into the blood stream leading to antibody formation and food intolerances
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Sugar depletes us of many of our important nutrients including: B1, B2, B3, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, chromium, vitamin C, zinc. This can make us feel much more fatigued and just generally a bit bleughhh
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Sugar increases our cortisol levels which can make us feel more anxious and stressed. This can lead us to make further less desirable food choices.
Managing consumption is never just about “will power” either. Balancing your microbial balance also has a big part of play in cravings. We also need to make sure your body is responding effectively insulin and we need to do what we can to manage stress and improve sleep. As these things come together then things get easier over time, I promise.
In my next blog I’ll go into further detail about how we can support insulin sensitivity to promote better glucose control. Supporting insulin sensitivity makes it much easier choose healthier options, especially when it comes to sugar. Until then please checkout my recipe for Low FODMAP bliss balls. These one’s are date free, don’t worry! They’re also high in protein and low in sugar 😉
