Controlling blood sugar

The hormone progesterone plays a vital role in controlling blood sugar levels. One of the many functions of progesterone is blood sugar regulation in all vertebrates. If the level becomes either too high or too low, loss of consciousness occurs, followed by death. Blood sugar imbalances are an increasingly common problem and in some measure can be laid at the door of hormone imbalances induced by environmental poisons, especially the 'xenoestrogens'.

Controlling blood sugar is helped by eating slow release carbohydrates. If refined foods or sugar are eaten the body responds by creating a surge of insulin to prevent hyperglycemia. It does this by converting the excess sugar into fat which then gets deposited in the fatty tissues.

If too much insulin is released because too much sugar is eaten or too long an interval is left between meals, blood sugar can drop below the critical baseline. The result is an outpouring of adrenaline which causes sugar stored in other cells in the body to pour into the blood bringing the level up again. As the sugar drains out it is replaced by water, causing bloating and weight gain. Too much adrenaline can bring on an attack of panic, migraine, epilepsy and other symptoms (see also aggression).

Progesterone cannot be transported into the nucleus of the cells if there is no sugar in them, which means that any of the symptoms of progesterone deficiency become worse. It is also known that estrogen causes an imbalance in the blood sugar. Progesterone is involved in the regulation of the lower sugar baseline, so if it is too low, as in the days before menstruation, during post natal depression or the years before menopause, the lower baseline is raised and controlling blood sugar levels becomes all the more difficult.

What this means is that if the blood sugar starts dropping it will hit the baseline quicker than normal and of course the body responds with its usual outpouring of adrenalin and its attendant symptoms.

It is estimated that about 80% of women have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), the lucky 20% and most men are not affected. A significant fact is that after a large meal progesterone levels drop.

To help in controlling blood sugar levels it is essential to eat small meals of slow release high fibre carbohydrate every 3 hours and to maintain adequate levels of progesterone. It may be beneficial to add additional protein to meals, unless digestive disturbances are felt.

To find out more about progesterone therapy in general and how it benefits health issues other than helping in controlling blood sugar, please click here.