The Hidden Link Between Heart Health & Blood Sugar: What Every Woman 40+ Needs to Know

February is Heart Health Month, a time when we’re reminded to take care of the organ that keeps us going every day. But did you know that your heart health is closely tied to your blood sugar levels? In fact, insulin resistance—an issue that affects nearly 88% of adults to some degree—can have a major impact on your cardiovascular system.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing “all the right things” but still struggle with energy crashes, stubborn weight, or high cholesterol, the missing piece may be balancing your blood sugar. The good news? Small, sustainable changes can make a big difference in protecting your heart and overall well-being. Let’s dive in!

What Is Insulin Resistance and Why Does It Matter?

Insulin is a hormone that helps move sugar (glucose) from your bloodstream into your cells for energy. But over time, chronically high blood sugar—often caused by a diet high in refined carbs and sugars—makes your cells less responsive to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. As a result, the body pumps out more insulin to compensate, leading to higher insulin and blood sugar levels, increased inflammation, and a greater risk for heart disease.

Dr. Ben Bikman, a leading metabolic scientist, explains:

“One of the most common causes of heart disease is insulin resistance. When insulin levels are chronically elevated, the body stores more fat, inflammation increases, and blood vessels become damaged—raising the risk of heart disease.”

Scientific research backs this up:

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that insulin resistance is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, independent of other risk factors (Muniyappa et al., 2007).

Another study in the European Heart Journal confirmed that individuals with insulin resistance had a significantly higher risk of developing heart failure and coronary artery disease (Ormazabal et al., 2018).

Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

Many women don’t realize they have insulin resistance because it can develop gradually. Some common signs include:

• Stubborn weight gain (especially around the midsection)

• Fatigue, especially after meals

• Intense sugar or carb cravings

• Skin tags or darkened skin patches (often on the neck or underarms)

• High triglycerides and low HDL (good cholesterol)

• Elevated blood pressure

• Brain fog or trouble concentrating

  If these sound familiar, you’re not alone. The good news is that you can take control of your blood sugar and support your heart with simple, nourishing choices.

The Connection Between Blood Sugar, Insulin Resistance & Heart Health

When blood sugar isn’t balanced, it leads to dysregulated blood sugar, which can cause:

• Energy crashes and irritability

• Headaches or dizziness between meals

• Increased belly fat

• Poor sleep and waking up feeling unrefreshed

Over time, these swings in blood sugar contribute to insulin resistance, which increases inflammation, arterial damage, and higher levels of harmful triglycerides—major risk factors for heart disease. But the key takeaway here is you have the power to change this with your daily food choices!

How to Reduce Insulin Resistance & Protect Your Heart

The best way to lower insulin resistance is to balance your blood sugar throughout the day. That doesn’t mean extreme dieting or cutting out all carbs—it’s about adding the right foods in a sustainable way. Here’s where to start:

1. Prioritize Protein at Every Meal

Protein helps stabilize blood sugar and keeps you full longer. Include foods like:

• Pasture-raised eggs

• Wild-caught salmon and other fatty fish

• Grass-fed beef

• Organic chicken

• Lentils and beans

2. Choose Heart-Healthy Fats

Healthy fats support insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. Focus on:

• Avocados

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Coconut oil

• Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, chia, flax)

3. Swap Refined Carbs for Fiber-Rich Foods

Refined carbs spike blood sugar quickly, leading to insulin resistance over time. Instead, choose:

• Leafy greens (spinach, kale, arugula)

• Berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

• Sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes

• Quinoa instead of white rice

4. Move Your Body Daily

You don’t need to spend hours in the gym—simply walking 10 minutes after meals can significantly improve insulin sensitivity and help lower blood sugar. Strength training is also fantastic for metabolism and muscle health.

Small Steps, Big Changes

Caring for your heart doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Instead of thinking about what to remove from your diet, focus on what to add. Start with one simple change—whether that’s adding more protein to your breakfast, swapping refined carbs for fiber-rich foods, or getting in a short walk after dinner.

Your heart and body will thank you. 

Which of these tips will you try first? I’d love to hear—leave a comment below or reply to let me know!

References:

Muniyappa, R., Iantorno, M., & Quon, M. J. (2007). An integrated view of insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 49(12), 1231-1243.

Ormazabal, V., Nair, S., Elfeky, O., Aguayo, C., Salomon, C., & Zuniga, F. A. (2018). Association between insulin resistance and the development of cardiovascular disease. European Heart Journal, 39(2), 123-132.

Want to reduce your Hot Flashes?

Hot flashes are a difficult symptom of menopause. We feel the flush coming on as we start to suddenly feel hot which then makes us turn red and start sweating profusely. Hot flashes can be caused as our bodies transition from making estrogen in the ovaries to the adrenal glands as we go through menopause. However, there is a correlation between insulin resistance and hot flashes. and you can reduce the number of hot flashes you have by reducing the your blood glucose spikes.

Studies show that there is a correlation between insulin resistance and hot flashes. In case you aren’t familiar with insulin resistance, this happens over time as you continue to spike your blood glucose. Insulin is the hormone that opens up the cells so you can use glucose for fuel, but when we constantly spike our blood glucose, it spikes our insulin to take care of the glucose. Over time our cells stop responding as well to insulin or as sometimes is the case, our pancreas can no longer keep up with the demands of the amounts of insulin we need. This creates insulin resistance which can lead to many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, alzheimer's and more.

If you would like to reduce your hot flashes by reducing your insulin resistance here are six simple tips to follow:

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1.Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up.

2. Eat a high protein, savory breakfast.

3. Do not drink coffee on an empty stomach

4. Focus on high protein meals with fewer carbohydrates

5. Reduce caffeine and sugar.

6. Walk for 10-20 minutes after your largest meal

Caffeine, sugar, and carbohydrate heavy meals work against us by spiking our blood glucose which then spikes our insulin levels. We can reduce insulin spikes, thus the insulin resistance by reducing these types of food from our diet. When we reduce our insulin spikes we can reduce hot flashes and have many other improvements such as less mood swings, more energy and even weight loss.

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Thurston RC, El Khoudary SR, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Crandall CJ, Sternfeld B, Joffe H, Gold EB, Selzer F, Matthews KA. Vasomotor symptoms and insulin resistance in the study of women's health across the nation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Oct;97(10):3487-94. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-1410. Epub 2012 Jul 31. PMID: 22851488; PMCID: PMC3462945.

Iliodromiti S, Sattar N, Delles C, Nelson SM, Gill JMR, Lumsden M. Menopausal hot flashing and endothelial function in two vascular beds: findings from a cross-sectional study of postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2019 Sep;26(9):1002-1009. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001386. PMID: 31453962.

Tip #5 - Zone 2 Cardio

Tip #5 Walking after your meal!

The benefits of zone 2 cardio, like walking, are amazing! Today, we are going to get into the benefits of walking in zone 2 and what it looks like. Just to be clear, it is still important that you incorporate weight bearing exercises for longevity to help keep muscle and bone mass as you continue with zone 2 activity. But for today, I’ll be covering what zone 2 cardio looks like and the incredible benefits it brings.

Walking is easy for most people to do and can add years to your life, help keep blood sugar in control, can help you improve your waistline and reduce inflammation. In fact, walking can improve mitochondrial function, increase your metabolic flexability (burn fat for fuel), reduce blood pressure, improve insulin resistance, improve A1C, help with diabetes, lowers your risk of injury and more. Studies show that just walking for 20-30 minutes after eating your largest meal (typically dinner) has shown to help people lose weight.

Zone 2 exercise can be different for everyone, depending on their fitness level. If you are a marathon runner, zone 2 may be running flat surfaces at a slow pace or if you are a biker it may be riding your bike at a much more leisurely pace with no hills. For most people, though, zone 2 cardio can be found in just WALKING! Yes, walking, not running, not doing a High Intensity Interval workout or spin class! Zone 2 cardio is described as low-intensity heart rate zone on a lower scale of breathing intensity. This means you are walking or maybe riding a bike but still able to carry on a conversation without losing your breath, but still having a somewhat elevated heart rate.

When you are in zone 2 cardio (somewhere around 65%-75% of your maximum heart rate if you are using a heart rate monitor) your body burns fat for fuel. The goal is to workout at a lower intensity for a longer period of time. Typically, walking 45 minutes can give you great weight loss benefits. You can break this up into two 20+ minute sessions, or do it all at once. When you have healthy mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell), your body is easily able to burn fat for fuel in zone 2. However, if you are metabolically inflexible, you will find yourself burning glucose over fat. As you continue to consistenly walk in zone 2 you can improve your mitochondrial health where your body can start burning fat as fuel.

Walking is a great way to get into zone 2 cardio, without sustaining injuries that can give you incredible benefits, even if you can only walk for 20 minutes a day.

Let me know if you are going to start incorporating walking into your week and how many days a week you are going to do it!

Son WH, Park HT, Jeon BH, Ha MS. Moderate intensity walking exercises reduce the body mass index and vascular inflammatory factors in postmenopausal women with obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 17;13(1):20172. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-47403-2. PMID: 37978254; PMCID: PMC10656478.

Hijikata Y, Yamada S. Walking just after a meal seems to be more effective for weight loss than waiting for one hour to walk after a meal. Int J Gen Med. 2011;4:447-50. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S18837. Epub 2011 Jun 9. PMID: 21731896; PMCID: PMC3119587.

“What Is Zone 2 Training and How Often Should You Do It? - Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC.” http://Drruscio.com , 18 Mar. 2023, What is Zone 2 Training and How Often Should You Do It? - Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC . Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.

“Zone 2 Heart Rate Training for Longevity and Performance.” Howard J. Luks, MD, 14 Dec. 2020, Zone 2 Heart Rate Training For Longevity and Performance .

Tip #4 - Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Wear blue light blocking glasses before the sun comes up and after the sun goes down.

Most people are on electronic devices hours long after the sun goes down and are often looking at their phones before getting out of bed in the morning (including myself).

Studies show that these electronic devices, whether it is a computer, tv, phone, and LED lights interfere with our sleep. Shechter A, Kim EW, St-Onge MP, Westwood AJ. Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. J Psychiatr Res. 2018 Jan;96:196-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.015. Epub 2017 Oct 21. PMID: 29101797; PMCID: PMC5703049. NCBI - WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic

When we are exposed to these lights, it is telling our bodies that it is high noon, the sun is out and it is time to be energized and busy! Studies have shown that blue light stimulates brain activity. These devices suppress melatonin production. Melatonin is the hormone that we produce when the sun goes down that tells our bodies it is time to slow down and get ready for rest/bedtime.

Wearing blue light blocking glasses after sunset will block the effects of screen time and LED lights and allow your body to continue to make melatonin to help you prepare for sleep. Be sure to wear them if you wake up in the middle of the night if you have to look at your phone or turn on a light to use the bathroom.

You don’t have to purchase an expensive pair of blue blocking glasses. I purchased an inexpensive pair on amazon and have found them to work great.

These are a great solution to staying up and looking at screens after the sun has gone down so your body can continue to make melatonin for better sleep.

Tip #3 - Don't Drink Coffee On an Empty Stomach

Tip #3 - Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach.

I love the smell of coffee, the ritual of making it in the morning and the warmth it brings. There are wonderful things about coffee and many reasons to avoid it. Today, I am focusing on why it is important to avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach.

Here are a few reasons why you should not be drinking coffee on an empty stomach:

Coffee stimulates the adrenal glands and puts your body in a fight or flight mode.

When our adrenal glands are stimulated, it produces glucose to provide fuel for the fight/flight mode.

When your body has too much glucose and cannot use it, it gets stored as fat, typically around your waist.

If your hormones are out of balance, it is impossible to balance them if you are continuously spiking your blood sugar (glucose). Your body will prioritize fight/flight mode over other hormones.

The key to being able to enjoy your coffee is to have your coffee after you have had your first meal of the day! And try to limit your consumption so you don’t overstimulate your adrenals.

When you have your breakfast before drinking your first cup of coffee, your high protein meal acts as a buffer in the stomach so that you don’t get the glucose/adrenal spike. That meal lessens the spike so that you don’t get the intense high and lows of glucose/adrenal/insulin which can lead to metabolic disease over time.

Drinking your morning coffee after you have had breakfast will reduce blood sugar spikes and help your body have a more consistent energy level through the day.

Tip #2 - Get Morning Sunlight

Today, we discuss the second step as we go over the 5 Simple Steps for improving your health, getting morning sunlight!

This is a step that I used to just push off as I’m too busy and it doesn’t really matter. But the more I’ve learned about sunlight setting my circadium rhythmn, I’ve been implementing it daily.

Melatonin, our sleep hormone made by the pineal gland, is produced when it is dark outside and stops production when we are exposed to morning light. It sets our sleep/wake cycle.

Studies show that when we are exposed to morning light or bright artificial light our nocturnal melatonin production occurs sooner and we fall asleep easier at night. NCBI - WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic

When we are exposed to bright morning light it helps prevent insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Here are some ways to get morning sunlight:

Stand outside, even if it is just for 30 seconds and even if it is cloudy! You can still get the benefit of sunlight rays through clouds. Just keep in mind, the longer your exposure, the better.

If you are in your car, you can roll down the windows to receive light exposure. Even if the sun is not hitting you directly, you will get exposure from the sun as it reflects off other surfaces. The benefits of UV rays, however, cannot travel through glass.

Take breaks durning the day to get sunlight exposure. 10-15 minutes is optional. People are allowed smoke breaks at work, so you should be able to get outside to get a sunlight break!

Watch the sunset. It helps to tell your body that it’s time to start producing melatonin for great sleep!

Sunlight isn’t the only way to boost your circadium rhythmn; when we are exposed to TV, phones, and LED lights, it also sends a bright daylight signal to our brains, which signals us to be awake. So wearing blue light blocking glasses before sunrise and after sunset is important. This is especially important if you are looking at your phones late at night.

I hope that this email encourages you to start to get morning sunlight and not feel overwhelmed with adding a new lifestyle to your day. It can be a beautiful way to start the day, with gratitude and prayer while you take at least one minute to view the morning light.

If you need help implementing lifestyle changes and need accountability, I can help you!

Tip #1 - Eat Breakfast within 30 Minutes of Waking

In this series of blog posts, I will be going over the 5 Simple Steps that you can implement for better health. I have been personally implementing these into my lifestyle as well!

This is a bit of a long post, but I wanted to give you good information so you can make informed decisions along with breakfast ideas!

The first step I am implementing is to eat a high protein breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. The time you take in food during the day (or night-so avoid eating late at night) creates a circadium signal to the body to wake up.

It is important to focus on a SAVORY breakfast vs. a SWEET breakfast. Avoid refined carbs and sugar in the morning to give your body a consistent energy that will not spike your blood sugar levels. I recommend to all my clients to eat real food, not protein bars or smoothies.

When we start our days with fruit juice, cereal, oatmeal, coffee cakes or coffees loaded with sugary syrups, it pumps a bunch of sugar right into our bloodstream in a short amount of time. This is a huge dump of sugar straight into the blood stream after a night of fasting. This causes our insulin levels to spike as our pancreas tries to pump out insulin to handle all the sugar. It often overshoots the mark, causing a drop in blood sugar, which makes us feel tired, sleepy, and hungry again. Then the body fights to get blood sugar levels back up AGAIN, which triggers cortisol and adrenaline to help out.

Starting your day with a sugary breakfast starts the vicious cycle of blood sugar highs and lows, which trigger us to continue to eat and drink high carbohydrate foods, drinks high in caffeine and sugar to give us the energy boost we think we need.

When we eat a breakfast that has a good balance of protein and healthy fat with a wee bit of carbs, it is a fuel that will give us consistent energy without the blood sugar spikes and lows.

BREAKFAST IDEAS:

Fage Yogurt Plain 5% or Greek Yogurt (get full fat) - 1/2 teaspoon raw honey, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries thawed. (this is more of a “sweet” breakfast but with WAY LESS sugar than eating a Yoplait yogurt that has 27+ grams of sugar in it vs. 3 grams of sugar with 1/2 tsp honey and 4 grams of carbs with blueberries) Plus, blueberries have tons of antioxidants!

Eggs - 1-2 eggs cooked in real butter, nitrate-free breakfast sausage.

Eat leftover dinner for breakfast! Steak and eggs, taco meat etc.

I’ve even had a nitrate-free, grass fed/finished beef stick (from Costco) and a cheese stick for breakfast!

Skipping breakfast is not an option, either, because your body will still spike blood sugar and cortisol as it struggles to keep your energy up.

If you struggle with not feeling hungry in the mornings (which is a lot of my clients), that is a sign of not enough hydrochloric acid (HCL) in the stomach. HCL is SUPER important for your digestive health!!! You can stimulate HCL and support a healthy appetite by drinking 1/2 a lemon in water or 1 tablespoon of ACV in a little water before each meal.

5 Simple Steps to Improve Your Health

If you are looking for simple steps to implement that will support your health, look no further! We know that being proactive about our health can add years to our lives. Even though we are aware that we may need to make some changes, we don’t always follow through for various reasons. Want some simple steps to keep your health in check this winter? Keep reading.

My goal is to be able to have energy through the day without having to depend on coffee for a pick me up around 3pm and to be able to sleep well at night.

Our sleep is so important - it allows for detox processes and for our bodies to get proper rest. Studies show that our bodies can switch into a pre-diabetic state after after a week of poor sleep!

Here are the five simple steps I’m implementing this winter and through the next few blog posts, I’ll be diving deeper into each step to share with you the WHY behind it:

1. I eat a high protein breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up.

2. I get morning sunlight in my eyes.

3. I drink coffee AFTER eating breakfast and never on an empty stomach.

4. I wear blue light blocking glasses after the sun goes down and before the sun comes up.

5. I am walking much more this winter. My goal is to walk 5-6 days a week.

Do you already do any of these things? I’d love to know!

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into each of these simple steps and how they support a healthy body!

Eating less and moving more doesn't necessarily fix your problems.

If you are having weight loss resistance, you need to change the way you are looking at weight loss.

Fat burning supplements, restricting calories, exercising more, and intermittent fasting probably hasn’t been working for you, nor will it likely fix your problems.

The roots of these problems likely start with blood sugar and cortisol homrone dysregulation.

Are you ready to change the way you look at weight loss resistance, autoimmune issues, hormone imbalances and insomnia?

My 12 Week Program takes you into a deep dive where we look at your health issues through the lense of balancing blood sugar, healing digestive issues, mineral balance, proper hydration, eating the correct fatty acids and a whole foods, nutrient dense diet as well as sleep hygiene and stress levels.

If you have questions about my program, you can send me an email message and we can schedule a 15 minute call.

Do you have a slow metabolism?

I have clients that come to me with a slow metabolism and gain weight by just looking at food.

Did you know that you do not have to be stuck with these problems! They can be corrected! You do have to give yourself time to heal your body, this won’t happen in 4-6 weeks, but will over time. Each person’s health journey is unique.

I am not going to sell you “weight loss” supplements. Most of those supplements don’t work that well, anyways.

What I do ask you is this:

Do you drink coffee in the morning instead of eating breakfast?

Have you been on a restrictive diet?

What are your stress levels?

Do you get outside during the day?

Do you drink tap water?

I look at the root causes of your weight loss resistance and we worth together to implement lifestyle habits that you can incorporate into your day. I use a Nutritional Assessment Questionaire that has over 300 questions, and helps me create a unique protocol for you, while we focus on areas that show up as a priority.

Each person is unique and their health journey will be unique.

Are you ready for the tools to get started on your journey to reach your health goals?!

My 12 Week Program is perfect to help you get started on your health journey - you can send me an email and we can set up a 15 minute phone call to talk about what issues you have and what you’d like to work on.