The Best Way To Control Your Holiday Stress
Educational Content Disclaimer: This article provides educational information only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The content discusses general health topics and should not replace consultation with your licensed healthcare provider. Always consult with your doctor before making changes to your diet, supplements, or medications. Dr. JJ Gregor is a Doctor of Chiropractic licensed in Texas and practices within the scope of chiropractic care.
The holidays bring unavoidable stress. Family gatherings. Shopping. Travel. Financial pressure.
You can't eliminate those stressors. But you can stop amplifying them.
The biggest amplifier? Blood sugar chaos.
Here's what most people miss: your adrenal glands can't tell the difference between a blood sugar crash and an emotional crisis. Both trigger the same cortisol release. Both deplete your stress reserves.
During the holidays, you're already maxed out managing unavoidable stressors. Why add fuel to the fire with avoidable ones?
The Insulin-Cortisol Rollercoaster
You eat sugar. Blood sugar spikes. Pancreas releases insulin. Insulin drives blood sugar down—often too far. Blood sugar crashes. Adrenal glands release cortisol to bring it back up.
This cycle repeats all day for most people.
Each swing is a stress event. Each crash demands a cortisol response. Multiple crashes per day exhaust your adrenal capacity.
You're not just stressed from the holidays. You're stressed from managing constant blood sugar dysfunction while trying to handle holiday pressures.
Fix the blood sugar, and suddenly you have more capacity to handle everything else.
Why Standard Testing Misses This
Fasting glucose and HbA1c don't catch this pattern. They measure averages, not swings. You can have normal fasting glucose while experiencing massive post-meal spikes and crashes throughout the day.
The questionnaire catches what labs miss: afternoon crashes, sugar cravings, shakiness between meals, irritability when hungry. These are stress signals, not character flaws.
What Blood Sugar Dysfunction Looks Like
Here's what dis-insulinism (blood sugar dysregulation) creates:
- Fatigue and energy crashes (especially mid-afternoon)
- Sugar and carb cravings
- Shakiness or lightheadedness between meals
- Irritability when hungry ("hangry")
- Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
- Anxiety and mood swings
Sound familiar? That's not just the holidays. That's blood sugar dysfunction amplifying holiday stress.
Long-term, this pattern progresses toward Type II diabetes. Short-term, it wrecks your stress tolerance and makes every holiday interaction harder than it needs to be.
Four Strategies That Actually Work
1. Skip the Sugar
The single most impactful change: eliminate refined sugar and simple carbohydrates during the holiday season.
I know. Easier said than done.
But here's the deal: every cookie, every piece of pie, every sugary drink creates another insulin spike and cortisol crash. You're choosing between temporary taste pleasure and functional stress capacity.
2. Eat a Big Breakfast
Start the day with protein and fat. Eggs. Meat. Avocado. Nuts.
This stabilizes blood sugar for hours and reduces total daily cortisol demand. You're not fighting uphill from a carb-heavy breakfast spike and crash.
3. Eat More Often
Don't skip meals. Don't wait until you're starving. Eat smaller amounts more frequently.
Long gaps between meals guarantee blood sugar crashes. Crashes guarantee cortisol surges. Cortisol surges deplete adrenal reserves.
4. Focus on What to Eat, Not What to Avoid
Protein and fat at every meal. Vegetables. Quality water. That's the formula.
When your plate is full of nutrient-dense food, there's less room for the stuff that wrecks your blood sugar. Make it easy on yourself—fill up on the good stuff first.
The Bottom Line
You can't eliminate holiday stress. But you can stop creating additional stress through blood sugar chaos.
Most of the stress in your life right now is unavoidable. The shopping, the family dynamics, the travel, the work pressure. All real, all stressful, all beyond your control.
But the blood sugar rollercoaster? That's entirely within your control.
Skip the sugar, eat protein and fat, eat more frequently. These simple changes remove one major stressor from your system, giving your adrenal glands the capacity to handle everything else the holidays throw at you.
Perfection is impossible during the holidays. Do the best you can. Your adrenal glands will thank you.
Ready to optimize your health and performance? Dr. JJ Gregor uses Applied Kinesiology and functional health approaches to help patients achieve their wellness goals at his Frisco, Texas practice. Schedule a consultation to discover how nutrition, stress management, and lifestyle optimization can support your overall health.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Categories
All CategoriesRecent Posts
Recent Posts
