Blood Sugar Imbalances – Metabolic Syndrome – Hypoglycemia

Adrenal fatigue and stress both have a significant impact on healthy blood sugar balance.* The adrenal glands play an important role in blood sugar metabolism and energy production. Cortisol, an adrenal hormone, works with insulin to maintain healthy levels of circulating glucose (blood sugar) and regulate the flow of glucose (the chief source of cellular energy) into the cells for energy production. For these reasons, stress, or some level adrenal fatigue, often precedes hypoglycemia, metabolic syndrome and type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.*

Stress normally causes the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol, which helps raise blood sugar levels so the cells can more glucose to generate energy for your response to the stressor. The elevated blood sugar, in turn, requires higher levels of insulin to get the glucose from the blood into the cells. When this cycle is repeated frequently, the cells may become insulin resistant to protect themselves from too much glucose, especially when no energy-consuming physical action is taken in response to the stress.* The greater the insulin resistance, the more insulin it takes to get glucose into the cells. In this way, chronic or repeated stress can contribute to persistent insulin resistance, and the resulting high levels of glucose (hyperglycemia) and insulin circulating in the blood that are likely precursors to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.*

People experiencing adrenal fatigue normally have lower levels of cortisol, which can often make it more difficult to sustain healthy levels of blood sugar.* When blood sugar levels are low (hypoglycemia), people often crave sweets.* But eating sugary foods and carbohydrates can raise blood sugar so quickly that the pancreas responds with a flood of insulin.* Chronic over-consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, especially in the absence of increased physical activity, may therefore result in greater insulin resistance in the cells.* In this way, adrenal fatigue with concomitant hypoglycemia may create conditions and induce behaviors that can lead to a greater tendency to develop adult onset diabetes.*

Conversely, hypoglycemia, diabetes and metabolic syndrome are stressors that place greater demands on the adrenal glands, which can contribute to fatigued adrenals (see section on Hypoglycemia). For this reason, some level of adrenal fatigue often accompanies hypoglycemia, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.