#28: Gut Health Series, Part 3: How Your Gut Controls Your Immunity, Mental Health & Blood Sugar

Welcome back to The Balanced Blood Sugar Podcast!

If you’ve ever…

✔ Caught every cold going around
✔ Felt moody, anxious, or just “off” for no reason
✔ Struggled with brain fog, cravings, or afternoon energy crashes

…your gut might be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Your gut is directly connected to your immune system, mental health, and blood sugar. In this episode, we cover:

✔️ Why 70% of your immune system lives in your gut (and how it affects blood sugar)
✔️ The gut-brain connection and how gut bacteria influence anxiety, mood, and focus
✔️ How gut health impacts cravings and energy crashes
✔️ Simple daily habits to support your gut, immune system, and stable blood sugar

Next Episode: We’re tackling SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)—what it is, how to know if you have it, and how to get rid of it without wrecking your gut.

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Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medication. The content shared here reflects my personal experiences and research but should not replace individualized medical care.

Transcript

Welcome back to The Balanced Blood Sugar Podcast!

If you’ve ever:
✔ Caught every cold going around…
✔ Felt moody, anxious, or just “off” for no reason…
✔ Struggled with brain fog, cravings, or afternoon energy crashes…

Then your gut might be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Your gut is connected to everything—your immune system, your mental health, AND your blood sugar.

Today, we’re diving into:
✔️ How 70% of your immune system is in your gut (and what that means for blood sugar stability).
✔️ The gut-brain axis: how gut bacteria influence anxiety, mood, and focus.
✔️ Why gut health plays a HUGE role in preventing blood sugar crashes & cravings.
✔️ Daily habits that support gut health, immunity, and balanced blood sugar.

1. Your Gut = Your Immune Headquarters (And Blood Sugar Regulator)

Your gut is responsible for 70% of your immune system, and it’s not just about fighting off colds—your immune health and blood sugar stability are deeply connected.

✔ Inflammation from an unhealthy gut = insulin resistance. If your gut barrier is damaged, your immune system goes into overdrive, causing chronic inflammation—which can lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes.
✔ Gut bacteria help regulate glucose metabolism. Some gut bacteria actually help your body process carbs more efficiently—others promote insulin resistance and fat storage.
✔ A strong gut = more stable energy levels. When your gut is healthy, your blood sugar doesn’t rollercoaster all day. No more crashes, cravings, or feeling “hangry.”

Signs Your Gut is Hurting Your Blood Sugar Stability:

❌ Energy crashes after meals
❌ Feeling shaky, irritable, or dizzy between meals
❌ Strong cravings for sugar or carbs
❌ Trouble losing weight, even when eating well

How to Strengthen Your Gut for Balanced Blood Sugar & Immunity:

✔ Eat probiotic & prebiotic foods – A diverse gut microbiome improves insulin sensitivity and supports a strong immune system.
✔ Reduce processed foods & artificial sweeteners – They disrupt gut bacteria and promote inflammation & insulin resistance.
✔ Support stomach acid production – Low stomach acid impairs nutrient absorption and weakens your immune defenses. Try lemon water or apple cider vinegar before meals.

2. The Gut-Brain Axis: How Your Gut Controls Mood, Cravings & Energy

Your gut and brain are constantly talking through something called the gut-brain axis. If your gut is out of balance, your mental health can take a hit—and in some cases, it can be severe.

✔ Your gut produces over 90% of serotonin (your “happy” hormone). If your gut is inflamed, serotonin levels drop, leading to anxiety, mood swings, and low motivation.
✔ Your gut bacteria make neurotransmitters. They produce dopamine (motivation & pleasure), GABA (calm & relaxation), and acetylcholine (focus & memory).
✔ Blood sugar swings disrupt gut bacteria and mood. If your blood sugar is crashing, it triggers stress hormones that further damage gut bacteria and increase anxiety & cravings.

Gluten & Mental Health: Why It Can Trigger Schizophrenia, Anxiety & Fatigue

For some people, gluten isn’t just a digestive issue—it’s a neurological trigger. Studies out of Europe have found that gluten sensitivity can cause schizophrenia-like symptoms, severe fatigue, anxiety, and depression in people who are genetically predisposed.

✔ Gluten can trigger neuroinflammation – This means it can create brain fog, fatigue, and mood swings, even if you don’t have celiac disease.
✔ It disrupts gut bacteria – Gluten has been shown to cause intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”), which allows inflammatory particles into the bloodstream. This can lead to brain inflammation and mental health issues over time.
✔ Long-term gluten exposure can worsen mental health in sensitive people – If your family has a history of anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia, gluten could actually be a silent trigger making things worse.

Signs Gluten Might Be Affecting Your Brain & Blood Sugar:

❌ Feeling exhausted after eating gluten (not just tired—wiped out)
❌ Increased anxiety or depression that seems random
❌ Brain fog or trouble focusing after meals
❌ Blood sugar crashes, shakiness, or cravings after eating wheat products

How to Support Your Gut & Mental Health If You’re Sensitive to Gluten

✔ Try removing gluten for 30 days – If you notice less fatigue, anxiety, or brain fog, your body is telling you something!
✔ Eat gut-healing foods – Bone broth, fermented foods, and prebiotics help repair gut damage caused by gluten.
✔ Balance blood sugar – Unstable blood sugar makes brain inflammation worse. Eating fiber, protein, and healthy fats can help.

3. How Gut Health Controls Sugar Cravings

If you struggle with cravings, it’s NOT just about willpower—your gut bacteria might be controlling them.

✔ Certain gut bacteria make you crave sugar & processed foods. The more sugar you eat, the more these bacteria grow—causing even stronger cravings.
✔ Blood sugar crashes = gut bacteria imbalances = even more cravings. It’s a vicious cycle—unstable blood sugar fuels bad gut bacteria, which then make you crave more sugar.
✔ A healthy gut helps regulate hunger & fullness hormones. Balanced gut bacteria support leptin (your fullness hormone) and ghrelin (your hunger hormone), making it easier to eat intuitively.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings by Fixing Your Gut:

✔ Swap artificial sweeteners for allulose or monk fruit. These don’t spike blood sugar and are gut-friendly. Allulose has even been proven to help trigger the release of the hormone GLP-1 which helps stabilize blood sugar. 
✔ Eat fermented foods & resistant starches and fiber. Foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and leafy greens feed the good gut bacteria that help reduce sugar cravings. Even sourdough bread can be a pretty good alternative to other breads or dirty keto breads that have inflammatory seed oils or other gut bashing ingredients. The fermentation process helps lower the sugar content which means less blood sugar spikes, and it also pre-metabolizes the gluten which helps for sensitive individuals.
✔ Drink enough water. Dehydration can trigger false hunger and sugar cravings. So if you think your hungry, try some water first. You may just be thirsty.

4. The Gut-Sleep Connection (And Why It Matters for Blood Sugar)

Struggling with poor sleep? Your gut might be the culprit.

✔ Your gut makes melatonin (the sleep hormone). If gut bacteria are out of balance, melatonin levels drop, making it harder to sleep.
✔ Inflammation also disrupts deep sleep. A damaged gut can cause nighttime blood sugar spikes, leading to waking up at 3 AM.
✔ Poor sleep also lead to insulin resistance. Just one bad night of sleep can make you more insulin-resistant the next day, leading to higher blood sugar and more cravings.

How to Improve Sleep & Blood Sugar by Supporting Your Gut:

✔ Eat magnesium-rich foods (dark chocolate, spinach, almonds). Magnesium relaxes muscles and supports gut health. Magnesium lotion is also a great way to help improve sleep.
✔ Limit caffeine after 2 PM. It disrupts gut bacteria and reduces melatonin production.
✔ Have a small protein snack before bed if you wake up hungry. A spoonful of nut butter or cottage cheese can prevent nighttime blood sugar crashes.

5. Simple Daily Habits for a Healthier Gut & Stable Blood Sugar

The key is small, consistent changes. This week, try:

✔ Adding a probiotic food (yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut) to a few meals.
✔ Getting morning sunlight to support healthy serotonin and melatonin levels and gut bacteria.
✔ Swapping artificial sweeteners for allulose or monk fruit.
✔ Eating fiber & protein at every meal to prevent blood sugar crashes.

Closing Thoughts

Your gut isn’t just about digestion—it’s controlling your immunity, mood, sleep, and blood sugar.

If you’ve been struggling with energy crashes, cravings, mood swings, or getting sick often, your gut might be the missing link.

Next week, we’ll be tackling SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)—what it is, why it’s so common, how to know if you have it, and how to get rid of it without wrecking your gut in the process.

If this episode helped you, please subscribe and leave a review! It helps the podcast reach more people who need this info.

Until next time, feed your gut the good stuff—it’ll thank you!