Do you get tired after you eat?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath It is not uncommon for people to get tired after meals, yet most people do not understand how deep of a challenge this could be health wise. Very commonly, there are a blood sugar regulation issues for those that get tired after eating and this is important to address because this can easily lead to elevated glucose (blood sugar), high insulin and eventually a diabetic condition. I am sure you would rather address this during the low energy phase rather than waiting until you have been diagnosed as a diabetic. This is a fitting article right now because November is a national Diabetes Awareness month, so let’s create an awareness of what’s leading to diabetic conditions. When you here about blood sugar, insulin and diabetes, you are typically being told to stop eating sugar and process carbs such as bread and pasta and you are told to exercise. So of course most feel that diabetes is a food and exercise issue and this is simply missing the boat for so many. Heck, you may even have a blood sugar issue yourself, yet you eat well and exercise and this still is not under control. Frustrating, right! This is because blood sugar and insulin issues and diabetes has much deeper levels to address than this. Don’t get me wrong, you still need to watch what you eat and move your body, but here’s what else you want to look at.

1. Adrenal Function (Stress Hormones) – First off, understand that your stress hormones and your blood sugar regulating hormones have a very intimate relationship. When one are of these hormones are off, the other follows suit. You likely have high amounts of stress, whether this is mental/emotional stress or physical stress of infection, inflammation, toxicity and/or injury. And this stress will impact your pancreas and the production of insulin as well as glucagon. These are both steroid hormones that help regulate blood sugar, whether it needs to go up or down. This is just one of the many reasons to balance your stress hormones and care for your adrenal function. I also want to add that your adrenal glands produce cortisol which is your primary stress hormone, which is also a positive trigger for releasing your stored glucose (sugar) in your body to help maintain proper blood sugar levels. So if your cortisol levels are low due to adrenal problems, this could leave you with low blood sugar, which leaves your brain a bit slow and dopey. If you are wondering how your stress hormones are affecting your blood sugar, take this complimentary assessment here.
2. Inflammation – Inflammation is another key point that will leave you with blood sugar issues. When inflammation is chronic, your body creates feedback loops as end results of this response. One of these feed back loops is that inflammation leads to and increase in fat cells. This increase in fat cells then leads to insulin resistance and then to insulin surges. Unfortunately this also leads to further inflammation and round and round you go in the hamster wheel of life. Ultimately leading to be tired after eating, blood sugar and insulin issues and eventually diabetes. This is why it is so important to define inflammatory conditions as well as addressing the underlying triggers that is causing your inflammation.
3. Brain and Pancreas Function – While you are aware of your brain, many do not understand the deeper function of the pancreas. While your pancreas will produce enzymes necessary for digestion, the impact tied into your pancreas and this article is tied into the production of both insulin to lower blood sugar and glucagon to raise blood sugar. It is possible for you to have a neurological (brain) issue that is affecting your pancreas, thus leaving you tired after meals, challenges with blood sugar and insulin and eventually diabetes.
4. Autoimmunity – This can be a big missing piece of your blood sugar issues. Typically when there is an autoimmune challenge tied into your pancreas this is referred to as Type I Diabetes. Yet there are many people that are dealing with an autoimmune reaction that is also affecting the pancreas and the regulation of blood sugar. This is most often triggered by gut/brain/immune challenges that also lead to food sensitivity. This is the tricky one because it almost always goes undiagnosed. There are test available for this at Depke Wellness.