Sugar, Stress, and Hormones: The Real Story

Sugar has a serious PR problem.

One minute, we’re told our brain needs glucose to survive.

The next, sugar is labelled public enemy number one—

inflammatory, addictive, hormone-wrecking, brain-fog-inducing.

So… what are we supposed to do?

Eat it?

Avoid it?

Fear it?

Let’s clear the confusion.

Sugar is not good or bad.

Sugar is fuel.

And fuel only becomes a problem when it’s badly delivered, badly timed, or constantly overused—something women are particularly sensitive to because of our hormonal physiology.

Why Are We So Confused About Sugar?

Because we’re blending biology with modern food reality, and then blaming ourselves for the mismatch.

As Jessie Inchauspé shows so clearly, the issue isn’t glucose itself, but how sharply and how often blood sugar spikes and crashes in modern eating patterns.

And as Robert Lustig has explained for years, sugar—especially when stripped of fibre and consumed all day long—overloads metabolic systems that were never designed for constant stimulation.

For women, this matters even more because blood sugar and hormones are in constant conversation.

In simple terms:

Your body loves sugar.

Your body hates chaos.

Sugar 101

Sugar is a carbohydrate.

When you eat carbohydrates—fruit, rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, or sweets—your digestive system breaks them down into glucose.

Glucose then enters your bloodstream.

Think of it as fuel delivered to your street and placed right in front of your house.

The fuel is there—but it hasn’t been used yet.

Insulin: The Key, the Door, and the Fireplace

Your cells are like houses.

They are not wide open. They are protected by doors—the cell membranes.

Even though glucose is the fuel your body needs, most cells cannot let it inside on their own.

This is where insulin comes in.

Insulin acts as the key that opens the door, allowing the fuel to move from the street into the house. Once inside the cell, glucose is guided to the fireplace—the mitochondria.

The mitochondria burn that fuel to produce ATP, the energy that allows you to:

• think clearly

• move your body

• digest food

• regulate hormones

• and quite literally stay alive

This is sugar doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

A Small but Crucial Exception: The Brain and the Liver

Not all houses work the same way.

Some cells—especially brain cells and liver cells—keep their doors partially open. They can take up glucose without relying heavily on insulin.

This is intentional.

Your brain must have constant access to fuel to keep you alert, emotionally regulated, and alive. Your liver acts as the glucose manager—storing fuel when there’s plenty and releasing it when energy is needed.

Insulin is not the key everywhere.

But it is essential for most tissues, especially muscles and fat cells—tissues that play a major role in women’s metabolic and hormonal health.

Why This Matters for Women

When glucose cannot enter cells efficiently—because insulin is overwhelmed, ignored, or resisted—it stays outside, circulating in the bloodstream.

And glucose that lingers in the blood is no longer helpful fuel.

It becomes a source of:

• oxidative stress

• vascular irritation

• inflammatory signaling

This inflammatory state can directly influence:

• PMS and PMDD

• PCOS symptoms

• cycle irregularity

• fatigue and brain fog

• mood swings and anxiety

• perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms

So the issue is not sugar itself.

The issue is fuel that never makes it into the house—or never reaches the fireplace.

When Sugar Misses the Door

This is where symptoms start showing up in everyday life.

When glucose stays in the bloodstream instead of entering cells, it:

• irritates blood vessels

• increases oxidative stress

• activates inflammatory pathways

In plain language:

Glucose that isn’t used becomes inflammatory.

Sugar isn’t toxic.

Sugar in the wrong place is.

The Two Most Common Sugar Problems

At this point, two patterns tend to appear—especially in women:

1. Blood Sugar Spikes

When glucose rises fast, insulin rushes in, blood sugar drops just as quickly, and the result feels like:

• sudden fatigue

• irritability (“Why am I angry at everyone?”)

• shakiness

• brain fog

• cravings for more sugar

This isn’t lack of willpower.

It’s a biological rebound effect.

2. Insulin Resistance

If insulin knocks on the door too often, the cell stops responding properly.

The key still works—but the lock is rusty.

This is insulin resistance.

Over time, it is associated with:

• chronic fatigue

• abdominal weight gain

• hormonal imbalance

• inflammation

• and eventually type 2 diabetes

This isn’t about one dessert.

It’s about chronic metabolic overload—something many women experience quietly for years.

Why This Is a Women’s Health Issue

Insulin resistance doesn’t just affect blood sugar.

It influences cycles, fertility, mood, energy, and emotional resilience.

Because estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and insulin constantly interact, blood sugar instability can amplify symptoms—especially:

• in the second half of the cycle

• during pregnancy

• in perimenopause and menopause

Many women are told they are “doing everything right” and still feel exhausted, irritable, or out of balance.

This is often why.