As I’ve been finishing up the coursework for my masters degree, I’ve been fortunate to be studying how antioxidants work in the body.  We’ve all heard about antioxidants and their super powers through advertising, radio, and even Dr. Oz.  But how can blood sugar problems and anxiety (insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, diabetes) be helped by antioxidants?

Uncontrolled blood sugar – which is usually present in people who have anxiety, panic attacks, depression, ADD / ADHD – leads to tremendous damage to the body at the cellular level.  This damage makes insulin resistance worse and we see in health challenges such as weight gain, hypoglycemia / diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), hormone imbalance, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Damage happens because the insulin receptors get oxidized, kinda like when iron becomes rusty.  Have you ever tried to use rusty tools? They don’t work so well do they?  Neither do oxidized insulin receptors. Over time the damage gets so bad we start seeing impaired glucose tolerance: aka. insulin resistance.

Beside eating a balanced blood sugar diet, getting insulin supporting minerals/vitamins, and nourishing the adrenals / liver – antioxidants are important for long term repair. They will actually reverse the damage and help the body use insulin as it is supposed to.  Taking 4 ounces a day of a super potent food based antioxidant (Ningxia Red) was how I repaired my insulin receptors.  Over a course of time my insulin levels have balanced out – I’m not swinging high and low anymore.  With that comes NO ANXIETY OR PANIC ATTACKS – yeah!

My personal belief as a nutritional coach and as a person who has dealt with severe insulin resistance is that major damage cannot be fixed by eating handfuls of blueberries, fresh veggies, and oranges. An intense and purposeful antioxidant regimen must be followed to ensure more damage isn’t being done through food choices or lifestyle. Plus, it’s important to ensure enough antioxidants are being consumed to do the repair or the attempt will be futile. Your body can be healed and you’ll feel amazing when you get there!