Post Time: 2025-07-18
When it comes to maintaining overall health, two critical aspects of bodily function are often overlooked: blood sugar regulation and water balance. These systems work in tandem to ensure that your body functions optimally, but when one or both fall out of balance, a host of problems can arise.
The Science Behind Blood Sugar Regulation
Blood sugar regulation is a complex process managed by the pancreas through insulin production. Insulin helps to facilitate glucose uptake from the bloodstream into cells for energy use or storage. When your body's cells are unable to respond effectively to insulin (a condition known as insulin resistance), blood sugar levels can rise, leading to hyperglycemia.
Importance of Blood Sugar Balance in Body Processes
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is crucial for various bodily functions, including providing fuel for the brain and muscles. Fluctuations in this range can impact mood, cognitive function, and even physical performance. For instance, high or low blood sugar levels have been linked to depression-like symptoms.
Regulating Blood Sugar Through Diet
The foods you eat significantly influence your blood sugar balance. Consuming a diet rich in fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes can help slow down the digestion of carbohydrates and stabilize insulin release. Foods high on the glycemic index (GI), which cause rapid spikes in blood glucose levels after consumption, should be limited or avoided.
How Water Levels Affect Blood Sugar
Another essential aspect to consider is hydration. Research has shown that drinking water before meals can help reduce food intake by boosting satiety hormones and improve digestion efficiency. Dehydration might lead to decreased insulin sensitivity, affecting how well your body processes sugar after eating.
Impact of Stress on Blood Sugar Balance
Chronic stress also plays a significant role in regulating blood sugar levels. When you're under constant pressure, cortisol (a hormone released by the adrenal glands) increases significantly. High levels of cortisol can cause glucose to be released into the bloodstream, pushing up your fasting and post-meal blood sugar readings.
Exercise as an Effective Tool for Blood Sugar Management
Regular physical activity improves insulin sensitivity, enabling cells more effectively absorb sugar from food without requiring high doses of insulin. Moreover, different types of exercise—such as aerobic activities (walking or cycling), strength training exercises like squats or lunges and even some yoga poses can improve how efficiently your body regulates blood glucose levels.
Key Supplements for Maintaining Blood Sugar Balance
Certain nutritional supplements support the maintenance of healthy blood sugar ranges by ensuring optimal insulin function, enhancing fiber intake from natural sources to delay digestion of carbohydrates, protecting the pancreas that produces insulin or supporting it in functioning properly. Examples include vitamin D and chromium which improve how cells respond to insulin
In this episode, I explain how medications such as Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse and other stimulants work to increase focus and treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I explain the brain circuits involved in focus and the key roles dopamine and norepinephrine play in their regulation. Then I explain how stimulants such as Adderall and Vyvanse can increase focus and reduce hyperactivity in kids or adults with ADHD, and how and why Ritalin and other medications (e.g., Modafinil, Guanfacine) may work better for some. I explain the long-term effects of ADHD medications on height, cardiovascular health, hormones, predisposition to addiction and psychosis, and whether these treatments can be used and then stopped. I also discuss the immense individual variation in dosage sensitivity for these medications and the negative side-effects that occur how to reduce sugar in blood from recreational use. This episode ought to benefit anyone with ADHD, their parents, those on ADHD medications or anyone curious about how these medications work. #HubermanLab Thank you to our sponsors AG1: Maui Nui Venison: ROKA: HVMN: InsideTracker: Momentous: The Brain Body Contract Social & Website Instagram: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Website: Newsletter: Articles Cardiovascular Effects of ADHD Therapies: JACC Review Topic of the Week: Brain alterations in children/adolescents with ADHD revisited: A neuroimaging meta-analysis of 96 structural and functional studies: Impulsivity, Compulsivity, and Top-Down Cognitive Control: Dopaminergic System Dysfunction in Recreational Dexamphetamine Users: Modafinil enhances alerting-related brain activity in attention networks: Association of Intrinsic Brain Architecture With Changes in Attentional and Mood Symptoms During Development: Cognitive enhancement effects of stimulants: a randomized controlled trial testing methylphenidate, modafinil, and caffeine: Psychostimulants and Cognition: A Continuum of Behavioral and Cognitive Activation: Neural Correlates of Symptom Improvement Following Stimulant Treatment in Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Long-term effects of stimulant exposure on cerebral blood flow response to methylphenidate and behavior in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Molecular Characterisation of the Mechanism of Action of Stimulant Drugs Lisdexamfetamine and Methylphenidate on ADHD Neurobiology: A Review: Pharmacologic treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis: Books Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology (4th Edition): Other Resources Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction: Leverage Dopamine to Overcome Procrastination & Optimize Effort: ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus: Timestamps 00:00:00 Stimulants & Attention-Deficient/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) 00:03:21 Sponsors: Maui Nui, ROKA, HVMN 00:06:35 The Brain-Body Contract 00:07:22 Attention, Prefrontal Cortex & ADHD 00:16:27 Stimulants “Sympathomimetics” 00:21:29 Adderall, Dopamine & Norepinephrine 00:25:58 Sympathomimetics, Dopamine & Norepinephrine 00:31:05 Sponsor: AG1 00:32:20 Vyvanse is Timed-Release D-Amp 00:36:36 Ritalin, Concerta 00:40:10 Dopamine & “Noise Reduction”; Norepinephrine & “Signal Amplification” 00:45:28 ADHD: Focus, Hyperactivity & Impulsivity; Drug Selection & Dose 00:50:57 How do Stimulants ‘Calm’ ADHD? 00:54:48 Neuroplasticity & Neuromodulators 00:58:06 Kids, ADHD Diagnosis & Treatment; Predispose Addiction? 01:04:02 Sponsor: InsideTracker 01:05:12 ADHD Medications: Individuality, Doses, Tapering & Long-Term Use 01:13:28 Medication & Long-Term Effects: Height, Cardiovascular Risk, Alcohol 01:19:32 Cortisol & Hormones 01:27:45 Psychosis atkins and low blood sugar & Addiction; Methamphetamine 01:38:20 Recreational Use, Addiction & Psychosis; Habituation 01:42:30 boots pharmacy blood sugar test Drug Holidays; Ritalin & Long-Term Effects 01:45:35 Modafinil, Armodafinil; Side-Effects 01:53:03 Guanfacine, Alcohol 01:58:03 ADHD Medications 02:00:26 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer: