
How to Improve Blood Sugar Control During Your Period
How to Improve Blood Sugar Control During Your Period
As if blood sugar management isnt hard enough already, adding in the constantly changing hormone levels of a womans menstrual cycle seems like a cruel joke. Here's how to get blood sugar control when your hormones are out of control.
The menstrual cycle's hormone levels impact the body's sensitivity to insulinit's not that you've suddenly developed an inability to count carbs.
Contrary to the basic explanation we all received in the 8th grade, your hormones are changing every single day of the month, and you can bet those hormones impact your sensitivity to insulin, too.
Trying to determine when the hormones of your menstrual cycle impact your blood sugars and how to adjust your insulin dosesin an effort to keep your blood sugars in your goal rangefeels nearly impossible to predict. And for each woman, that entire process and reaction can be slightly different, so there isnt a one size fits all plan.
To give guidance about how to make diabetes management less stressful during that time of the month (or, more accurately, the whole month),OnTrack Diabetes reached out to Jennifer Smith, RD, CDE from IntegratedDiabetes.com (And Jenny should know since shes lived with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years!)
The Fab Four: Hormones and Your Blood Sugar Levels
Every month, explains Smith, the body cycles through hormones that are meant to essentially prepare the body for pregnancy.
There are three phases that your body cycles through the follicular, the ovulatory and the luteal phase.
The four hormones that regulate your
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