What Does High Blood Sugar Levels Feel Like

The holiday season is upon us. Are your sugar cravings up? The holidays are a great excuse for indulging yourself in sweats and other pleasurable pastimes.

I always think so anyway. But of course, sugar is just as deadly to your neural networks during the holidays as it is on your birthday (unless your birthday falls on the holidays. Then it is deadlier).

In most cases sugar cravings are not eating disorders but rather a signal of hormonal imbalances. If you regularly answer the body’s call for more sugar, your symptoms will worsen and you will feel increasingly lousy.

Let me be clear about the logic here.

Sugar cravings are triggered by hormonal imbalances. The symptoms of Parkinson’s are triggered by hormonal imbalances. There is very likely a connection between the intensity of your cravings for sugar and the severity of your symptoms.

Sugar cravings suggest that the signaling system in the body has been short circuited. When we are tired or depressed — sounds like the holidays, eh? — our blood sugar and serotonin levels are too low.

Serotonin is the perfect quick fix for  feeling warm and cozy again. The body lets us know it needs an immediate serotonin boast. Sugars and carbohydrates are the perfect quick fix. They release a brief burst of serotonin.

Unfortunately, the burst of euphoria is short lived. Sugar cravings always return. We eat more sweets to get a serotonin hit. Remember, this is a sure bet to fix the problem of being down in the dumps.  

Over time, larger doses of sugar are needed to sustain a tolerable level of serotonin in the body. It is a downward slope headed for the valley of depression, disease and illness.

Why does this happen? The body begins to produce more and more insulin in response to the artificially high level of sugar that is mainlined into the body from the sweet cravings. As levels of insulin rise, the body’s resistance to the effects of insulin increases.

A vicious cycle is born. Increased insulin resistance causes insulin levels to rise higher and higher which in turn trigger stronger and more frequent cravings for sweets.

Another cause of sweet cravings is adrenal fatigue which is created by sustained levels of stress and trauma. Most people with the symptoms of Parkinson’s have adrenal fatigue. For some it is a chronic condition. Adrenal fatigue also signals to the body that it needs a sugar hit. 

I suspect that anyone with the symptoms of Parkinson’s is especially susceptible to the seductiveness of sugar and the attraction of sweets during the holidays.

So you say, so what? What in the world do I do about it? I have the answer, really.

Sugar cravings are a tough addition to break.  It is not a question of exerting will over desire. It is a problem rooted in hormonal imbalances in the body The solution involves bringing the body back into balance. 

Before I say more, I must first eat my pumpkin pie with whipped cream. After all, it is the holidays. Check in tomorrow for the answer since I already know I will be too tired and depressed after eating my pie to write the second part of this article.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D. Parkinsons Recovery

© 2008 Parkinsons Recovery