Hypoglycemia and its Impact on the Thyroid Gland

Just like too much glucose can damage the thyroid gland, too little glucose can cause a plethora of problems with your thyroid gland and your HPA axis. The body recognizes low glucose levels as a threat to your survival. Hypoglycemia over time cause your adrenal glands to secrete cortisol. Cortisol tells your liver to increase glucose production to help get your glucose levels back to normal.

Unfortunately, cortisol is used by the nervous system to activate the flight or fight response. This natural response increases heart rate and respiration and increases blood flow to help you escape a dangerous situation. Cortisol increases the amount of glucose in the bloodstream, which signals for digestion, cellular growth, and cellular reproduction to decrease. However there are ways to lower your cortisol naturally.

Repeated episodes of cortisol release caused by hypoglycemia suppress the function of the pituitary gland, which can damage the thyroid over time. Furthermore, it can lead to metabolic syndrome.

Maintain Your Glucose Levels

Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia both can lead to insulin resistance if your glucose levels are not kept within a healthy range.

• The first step to maintaining healthy glucose levels is to eat a diabetic friendly diet. This diet will limit the number of simple carbohydrates consumed throughout the day. Instead, you should opt for fibrous vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, and peppers, lean protein sources like fish and poultry, and whole grains like oatmeal and wheat.
• Exercise is vital to your health and vitality. It improves metabolism and gut motility while decreasing inflammation in the body. Furthermore, exercise makes the body more sensitive to insulin, thus reducing the risk of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
• Stress management techniques like yoga, meditation, and journaling help to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, in the body. As your stress levels reduce, your body’s ability to convert glucose into energy increases, and insulin resistance decreases.