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If you help correct hypoglycemia in a patient you will obviously be improving their health, but did you also know you might be improving their marriage as well?

Low Blood Sugar and Mood

In 2014, a team of researchers gathered up 107 married couples to test this. They gave them each a voodoo doll, a bunch of pins, a glucometer, and specific instructions.

The couples were instructed to measure their glucose every night and insert between 0 and 51 pins into the doll, depending on how angry they were with their spouse for 21 days. 

At the end of the 21 days, the couples returned to the lab and were asked to play a game with their spouse.  This “game”, if you could call it that, was to see which person could press a button faster.

The winner was awarded the opportunity to send a blast of noise - as long, annoying, and loud as they wanted - straight into the headphones of their better half.

As expected, the lower the glucose level, the more pins spouses added to...

It’s us again, your friendly neighborhood Functional Medicine practitioners, out to remind you that protocols are killing your business, whether you know it or not.

This time, we are going after reactive hypoglycemia.

What is Reactive Hypoglycemia?

You know, that little section on your intake form where you ask if someone gets “shaky, lightheaded, or irritable” between meals?

Reactive Hypoglycemia is generally to blame. 

While it seems innocent enough, it contributes to bigger problems down the road like hormone imbalances, cognitive issues, mood disorders, oxidative stress, inflammation, and more.

How to Treat Reactive Hypoglycemia

When we ask practitioners what they do for these patients they say, (in almost a zombie-like fashion), “small, frequent meals” and then tack on a couple of their favorite supplements.

Is that you? Keep reading. Oh, and don’t feel bad if it is. That was us too, but now we know better and we want you to as...

Here’s a quick question for you.

If you had to choose between one of the following, which one would you choose?

1. Chronically elevated glucose

OR

2. Large fluctuations of glucose

The first option has an elevated hemoglobin A1C. The second one, a normal A1C.

If you're like most people, you chose door number two - large fluctuations of glucose. But according to research, that might be the wrong option.

Just about every research study on the topic of excess glucose fluctuations, or glycemic variability as it is typically called, suggests excess glucose fluctuations are far more damaging to the body than chronically elevated glucose. 

Even when the total glucose load is lower, glycemic fluctuations still appear to be more damaging than chronically elevated glucose. 

Glycemic variability seems to lead to more oxidative stress, vascular complications, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiovascular issues than does chronically elevated glucose. 

Even...

Our culture loves to vilify things, don’t we?  

We enjoy pointing the finger and finding something to blame. It’s easier, generally makes for a good story, and doesn’t require much thought.

What’s the cause of heart disease? That’s easy – cholesterol.

Why are you so tired all the time? Nailed it – adrenals!

What’s the cause of all things horrible with glucose dysregulation? I could do this with my eyes closed – insulin!

But you know the funny thing? We are horrible judges. We almost always accuse the wrong character and, in light of new information or research, that character is usually vindicated and set free. (We're looking at you, egg yolks.)

Let's look at three reasons why insulin should be added to your "falsely accused" list.

1. Insulin is anti-inflammatory

Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) is considered very pro-inflammatory. There is speculation in the research that one of the reasons...