How to Master High Blood Sugar Levels during Menopause

How to Master High Blood Sugar Levels during Menopause.

I often ask myself, how did I get to menopause knowing so little about my body?

I guess it’s not surprising as our parents weren’t taught any more than we were and the focus of ‘health’ in Western society is on manipulating food to create a desired look of the body, not long-term health.

By our late thirties perimenopause has hit, most women don’t even realise but you might start experiencing symptoms such as aches and pains, increased injury, body composition changes and mood fluctuations.

Never before has nutrition been more important but to try and remain in control of their changing body women resort to outdated strategies such as cutting down on food, opting for low-calorie food and increasing physical activity even though they are permanently exhausted.

In this post, I am going to explain how fluctuating hormone levels during the menopausal transition impact blood sugar levels, the negative effects this has on your body and what you can do about it.

Understanding Menopause and Blood Sugar Levels

Menopause marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years and is characterised by a decline in estrogen and progesterone production. 

These hormonal changes play a significant role in regulating insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism within the body.

Can menopause cause high blood sugar levels?

As estrogen and progesterone levels diminish, the body’s ability to maintain stable blood sugar levels can be compromised. 

Estrogen, in particular, enhances insulin sensitivity, allowing cells to efficiently utilise glucose from the bloodstream. With its decline, insulin sensitivity may decrease, leading to higher blood sugar levels.

The fluctuation in blood sugar levels during menopause can manifest in various symptoms that impact a woman’s overall well-being. These may include:

• Mood Swings: Rapid changes in blood sugar levels can contribute to mood swings, irritability, and emotional instability.
• Weight Gain: Insulin resistance and fluctuations in blood sugar can promote weight gain, especially around the abdomen, increasing the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
• Energy Fluctuations: Blood sugar imbalances can result in energy crashes and fatigue, affecting overall vitality and quality of life.
• Night Sweats and Hot Flushes: While the exact cause of hot flashes is not fully understood, fluctuations in blood sugar levels may contribute to their frequency and intensity.

Common menopausal symptoms related to high blood sugar levels

High blood sugar levels can have an additional impact on hormone fluctuations and imbalances in the body.

This can look like;

• Weight gain, especially an increase in visceral fat.  This is that fat that grows around your organs creating a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
• Hot Flashes. Although the exact cause of hot flashes is not known along with sudden drops in estrogen high blood sugar levels are thought to have an impact.
• Poor Sleep. A drop in glucose levels could be the reason you wake in the night.  You might then experience heart palpitations and anxiety making it difficult to return to sleep.
• Increased Risk of Vaginal and Urinary Infections. High blood sugar levels provide the fuel for bacteria which increases the risk of UTIs (urinary tract infections) and vaginal infections.

You are likely to see a pattern forming now, menopause symptoms and high blood sugar levels look remarkably similar.

Everything is connected.

To tackle any of the menopause symptoms you are experiencing, focusing on understanding and maintaining balanced blood glucose levels is managing the root cause.

How to Manage High Blood Sugar Levels

A healthy lifestyle is made in part with a balanced diet.

A balanced diet is meals and snacks that are well-balanced with enough protein, healthy fat and fibre.

You might have noticed that I didn’t say carbohydrates.  Fibre is your carbohydrate.  

During menopause, fibre is an extremely important part of your diet.  It supports the fast excretion of excess hormones so they are not reabsorbed into your system and provides food for your healthy gut bacteria.

Great sources of fibre are fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans and legumes. All other carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, cakes, biscuits and pastries are simple sugars and will increase your blood sugar levels more quickly.

Ensuring you eat well-balanced meals will slow the release of insulin and promote a steady release of energy rather than a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows.

There is always much debate about fruit and sugar.  Fruit contains natural sugars but is also a source of fibre.  The fibre in the fruit will slow the absorption of the sugar into the bloodstream, it also provides healthy sweet treats.  My advice when it comes to carbohydrates is ‘Never eat naked carbs!’  In other words always pair your carbohydrates (fibre) with a healthy fat or protein source such as nuts, seeds, olives, cheese, eggs, or natural Greek yoghurt.

Reduce alcohol consumption but if you do enjoy a glass or two apply the no naked carb rule, and pair it with some nuts or cheese.

Stay hydrated.  Less water in the body means your blood sugar levels are more concentrated.  Try to avoid drinking with meals though as this will dilute your digestive enzymes, 30 minutes on either side is a good rule of thumb.

Prioritise quality sleep.  This might seem a little chicken before the egg but sleep deprivation increases insulin resistance.  There are many strategies you can put in place so that you can start getting a better night’s sleep which will have a positive effect on reducing your blood sugar levels.

Lastly, review your physical activity.  As we age our muscle mass naturally decreases.  Our muscle cells provide a home for insulin to drop glucose into.  The more cells available, the less glucose will be roaming our blood vessels.

The Menopause Nutrition Challenge: Supporting Women’s Health

Are you ready for a challenge?

I am on a mission to educate women on how to nourish their bodies for an empowered menopause experience and optimal health postmenopause.

I run a regular 5-day challenge where I share 5 nutrients essential to menopause and how you can include these in your lifestyle with ease.

Included is a 5-day meal plan complete with recipes to follow along or come and learn and implement some of the recipes in your own time and your knowledge increases.

This challenge will show you how to nourish your body and reduce your menopause symptoms in a way that fits your unique lifestyle.  You will experience increased energy levels and control those blood sugar spikes.

The next challenge is running from 20th May, the lessons are on-demand and supported by a live daily online clinic with me. Sign Up Here.

Come and join the 5-day Menopause Nutrition Challenge and take control of your menopause health journey.

If you would like to chat with me about your unique menopause transition, book a Wild Well-Being call and come away inspired and motivated to begin your journey to optimal health.