How To Stop The Afternoon Crash And Build Metabolic Flexibility

We all know the feeling. You eat a quick lunch and by three in the afternoon you are exhausted, irritable and reaching for a sweet treat just to survive the rest of the day. You feel like your emotions are on a complete rollercoaster. At Maximized Chiropractic we want you to know this is not a personality flaw. It is a biological response. Your body is stuck on a blood sugar rollercoaster and it is ruining your emotional stability.

Why do I crash after eating sugar?

When you eat a meal heavy in simple carbs or sugar your blood sugar shoots up. Your body panics and dumps insulin to pull that sugar out of your blood as fast as possible. It tends to over compensate and causes your blood sugar to drop too fast. This rapid drop causes your blood sugar to plummet leaving you feeling miserable. 

When your blood sugar crashes your body goes into full survival mode. It pumps out cortisol which is your main stress hormone to force your liver to release emergency energy. That massive cortisol spike is exactly what makes you feel anxious, shaky and angry. Your brain is literally sounding an alarm.

What is metabolic flexibility?

The secret to getting off this chaotic ride is something called metabolic flexibility. This means your body can easily switch back and forth between burning sugar for quick energy and burning fat for long lasting fuel.

When you are metabolically flexible your body doesn’t panic when your blood sugar naturally dips between meals. It  just calmly switches over to burning stored fat. This is the ultimate tool for emotional stability. When your brain has a steady stream of energy all day long your mood stays completely flat and calm. You no longer snap at your kids or coworkers just because you missed a snack.

How do I stop a blood sugar spike?

You can actually change how your body processes a meal just by changing the order of the foods you eat. We love teaching our patients about fiber starters.

If you start your meal with a handful of greens or some fibrous crunchy veggies it creates a mesh network in your digestive tract. This physically slows down the absorption of whatever you eat next. When you combine that fiber starter with healthy biological fats like avocado or grass fed butter you slow the digestion process down even more. Eating your fiber and fats first completely prevents that massive sugar spike and the stressful cortisol crash that always follows.

Can a chiropractor help with blood sugar?

You might be wondering how your spine connects to your metabolism. Your nervous system controls absolutely everything in your body including how you process stress and digest food.

When you have misalignments in your spine your nervous system gets locked in a sympathetic fight or flight state. When your brain thinks you are running from a bear it constantly craves quick energy in the form of sugar. It keeps your cortisol high and absolutely ruins your metabolic flexibility.

We use gentle neurologically focused adjustments to remove that physical interference. The adjustment hits the brake pedal and shifts your body back into a calm rest and digest state. Once your nervous system feels safe it stops craving quick sugar and allows your metabolism to heal.

How do I fix my metabolism naturally?

If you are tired of the afternoon crashes and want to build real emotional stability we are here to help. Suzie offers one on one nutritional counseling right in our Bismarck office. She will show you exactly how to use fiber starters and healthy fats to stabilize your mood and keep your energy high all day long.

Ask our front desk team to schedule “a reset” visit for you. You will get a chiropractic adjustment to calm your nervous system and a deep dive counseling session with Suzie to fix your fuel. Let us help you get off the rollercoaster and get your life back.