Every month, your period serves as a report card for your overall health. One of the biggest influences on how that report looks? Your metabolic health—more specifically, blood sugar regulation.
If you struggle with painful cramping or heavy periods, improving your blood sugar could be the extra credit your body needs for a better monthly report card.
Blood sugar regulation is how well your body manages glucose levels throughout the day. When glucose swings too high or too low, it sends disruptive signals throughout your entire system.
When your glucose spikes higher than optimal (like after that breakfast pastry, bagel, rice bowl, or noodle dish), insulin levels rise to bring it back down. But insulin has a sneaky way of disrupting your sex hormones and can play the villain when it comes to healthy cycles.
Chronically elevated insulin messes with your period in a few ways:
Insulin drives fat storage, and fat tissue produces estrogen. Lean tissue doesn't have this same effect. The result? Elevated estrogen levels lead to thickening of the uterine lining. Up to a point this supports fertility, but in excess, a thicker lining means more clotting, cramping, and heavier bleeding during your period.
Insulin also increases androgens (like testosterone), which then get converted into—you guessed it—more estrogen. This compounds the estrogen excess from #1.
High insulin lowers SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin), the protein that carries and binds sex hormones including estrogen. When SHBG is low, more estrogen circulates unbound and active in your system. Again, contributing to heavier, more painful periods.
See the pattern? All roads lead to estrogen excess when insulin is consistently elevated.
But what about low blood sugar?
When glucose crashes, usually after a spike, your body uses stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to pull you out of the dip. And here's the thing: both cortisol and insulin are "priority" hormones, meaning your body will always stabilize them first, even if it means your sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) get thrown off balance in the process.
Long cycles, heavy periods, painful cramps, and clotty bleeding are all clues that your metabolic health is affecting your hormonal health.
Here’s 3 ways you can support blood sugar, and in turn, your hormones:
Savory, protein rich breakfast. Think: eggs and veggies, or unsweetened greek yogurt with berries and chia. Skip the honey or maple syrup!
Less than a fist sized amount of starchy carbs with each meal. Everybody’s carb needs differ, but very likely if blood sugar is an issue, we’re consuming more carbs than our body can effectively use at one time. This goes for rice, oats, pasta, bread, sweet or white potatoes, etc.
Eat balanced meals every ~4 hours and skip the mid-morning caramel latte or mid-afternoon granola bar or rice cakes. A 3 or 4pm snack is more than OK (I definitely encourage it, if it’s more than 6 hours between lunch and dinner) - just make sure to prioritize protein and fiber for that snack
Turkey slices and carrot sticks
An ounce of parmesan cheese, bell peppers and hummus
Handful of nuts and a kiwi
Based on your unique physiology, these changes might be game changers for you. It might take 2 to 3 cycles to see the full impact of the changes you’ve put into place, so be patient with yourself.
If you’re looking for more personalized support, or you’re already doing all the things and want more help - my 1:1 practice is taking on new clients right now. Find a time on my calendar here to chat!