How to Take Control of Your Moods, Cravings, Fatigue, and Weight
By: Kaia Sink
Eating healthy is one of my greatest passions. But I also have a sweet tooth and sometimes just can’t resist my cravings. When I read Jessie Inchauspé’s book “Glucose Revolution”, many things became clearer—especially around moods, cravings, and weight gain. The book explains, in simple and practical terms, how blood sugar levels affect our daily well-being, illnesses, mood swings, cravings, weight, and even sleep quality. Inchauspé shares science-backed tips for keeping your glucose levels stable with small, doable changes—no strict diets or deprivation required.
Glucose – Friend or Hidden Foe?
Glucose is our body’s main source of energy. Every bite of carbohydrates is broken down into glucose during digestion, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream. This fuels our brain, muscles, and cells. Sounds great, right? And it is—so long as it comes steadily and in moderation.
The problem arises when glucose floods the system too quickly. This causes a glucose spike—a rapid rise in blood sugar, usually followed by an equally fast crash. During the crash, we often feel:
- hungry (even if we ate just an hour ago)
- irritable, emotional, anxious
- foggy-headed, drowsy
- an urge to snack or reach for sweets
And thus begins the vicious cycle: quick bite → glucose spike → crash → craving → another bite → another spike.
Even a “healthy” food, eaten at the wrong time or in the wrong order, can trigger this cycle. A fruit smoothie on an empty stomach or a bite of cake can send your system into chaos.
When the body receives more glucose than it needs, insulin—the hormone that regulates blood sugar—steps in to store the excess as fat. First, it fills up liver and muscle glycogen stores. Once those are full, it starts storing fat in the belly, thighs, around internal organs, and even in the liver.
What Glucose Spikes Really Do to Your Body
As Jessie explains, constant glucose fluctuations are like a slow-drip poison—not immediately deadly, but quietly damaging your health. These swings affect everything—mood, weight, hormones, skin, and sleep. Especially in women, who are more hormonally sensitive, they can lead to a wide range of symptoms and health problems:
- Insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes
Constant high glucose levels desensitize cells to insulin. Despite high insulin, sugar stays in the blood, leading to chronic inflammation and diabetes. - Weight gain and difficulty losing weight
Elevated insulin from glucose spikes shuts down fat burning. Fat builds up around the organs and belly, linked to metabolic and heart diseases. Even with a low-calorie diet, unstable glucose can block weight loss. - Hormonal imbalance and PCOS
High insulin disrupts the balance of estrogen and progesterone. This can worsen PMS, reduce fertility, and lead to PCOS or thyroid issues. - Cardiovascular disease
High glucose and insulin increase inflammation, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol—all stressing the heart. - Fatty liver
Excess glucose and fructose are converted into fat in the liver, leading to fatty liver disease. - Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative diseases
Alzheimer’s is sometimes called “Type 3 diabetes” because brain cells lose glucose sensitivity and cognitive decline follows. - Cancer risk
High insulin can act as a growth factor, promoting tumor growth. - Acne and skin problems
Glucose spikes increase insulin, which stimulates oil glands and inflammation in the skin. - Accelerated aging (glycation)
High blood sugar causes glycation, where sugars attach to collagen and elastin, making them stiff. This leads to wrinkles, reduced skin elasticity, inflammation, and dullness. - Sleep disturbances
A nighttime glucose crash activates stress hormones, waking you up (even if you don’t remember). You wake up tired, even after 7–8 hours of sleep. - Chronic fatigue and brain fog
Fluctuating blood sugar impairs brain function, resulting in fatigue and trouble focusing. - Mood swings and anxiety
Each sugar high and crash becomes an emotional rollercoaster. The drop triggers adrenaline and cortisol, causing anxiety, unease, and even panic-like feelings. - Cravings and addiction-like behavior
Sugar crashes activate the same brain pathways as addiction. You crave sweets even when you’re not hungry—emotional eating begins.
5 Practical Tips to Avoid Glucose Spikes
1. Eat Food in the Right Order
Start meals with fiber—green salad, steamed veggies, or even a few cucumber slices. Fiber forms a barrier in your gut, slowing glucose absorption.
Next, eat protein and fats—fish, meat, legumes, eggs, seeds, nuts. Carbs like potatoes, rice, pasta, or dessert should come last.
This doesn’t change taste or require restriction—it just helps the body manage glucose better.
2. Add Vinegar to Meals
A game changer: apple cider vinegar. Drinking a glass of water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar 10–15 minutes before a meal can slow glucose absorption. You can also add vinegar to salad dressings or cooked veggies.
3. Move After Eating—Even for 10 Minutes
A 10-minute walk, playing with the kids, or folding laundry after a meal helps muscles absorb glucose. This reduces blood sugar significantly.
4. Eat Sweets Smartly
Jessie doesn’t ban sweets—she teaches how to eat them without being ruled by them. Have sweets after a full meal, not on an empty stomach. Combine them with fat or protein—like chocolate with nuts or a cookie with plain Greek yogurt.
5. Start Your Day With Protein and Fat, Not Sugar
Breakfast sets the tone for your blood sugar. A sugary breakfast—like a croissant, juice, and sweet latte—spikes glucose by 9am and crashes it by 10am. The result? Cravings, hunger, irritability.
Instead, begin with:
- Eggs and avocado
- Plain Greek yogurt with nuts and seeds
- Hummus with veggies, or cottage cheese
- Whole-grain bread with chicken or salmon
Bonus if you start with veggies! This breakfast stability lasts all day.
Avoid sugary breakfasts—your first sugar hit of the day shapes your cravings for the rest of it.
This Applies to Our Children Too!
Kids’ breakfasts are often the sweetest meal of their day—cereal, toast with Nutella, sweet porridge, juice, or flavored yogurt. This causes a sharp spike in blood sugar, followed by a crash—leading to fatigue, mood swings, or hunger by mid-morning. And worse, the next craving is again for something sweet.
A helpful trick at home: while preparing lunch or dinner, set out a plate of raw veggies. Hungry kids will happily munch on cabbage, carrots, peppers, cauliflower, or cucumber—starting their meal with fiber without even realizing it.
Should We Really Eat 5 Times a Day?
The old “eat 5 times a day” advice came from the belief that small frequent meals stabilize blood sugar. But new glucose research shows the opposite: constant eating prevents insulin from dropping, keeping the body in “fed mode.”
Frequent eating:
- promotes cravings
- blocks fat-burning
- contributes to fatigue since the body never fully rests or shifts fuel modes
Inchauspé writes that the body only starts burning fat once glucose and insulin levels drop and stabilize. Every glucose spike triggers insulin—which locks fat burning. So even with a low-calorie diet and exercise, we can’t tap into stored fat if glucose is unstable and insulin is high.
Her advice:
- Eat 3 solid, balanced meals
- Avoid constant snacking
- Let your body rest between meals and switch from glucose to fat as fuel
If a meal is well-balanced (meaning it includes fiber, fats, and proteins—not just carbohydrates), then a 4–6-hour break between meals is no problem. In fact, it supports your metabolism and helps stabilize blood sugar levels. And if you occasionally let your body go longer without food (like a 12-hour overnight fast), it gets the chance to:
- reduce inflammation
- restore insulin sensitivity
- start burning fat for energy
This is also very beneficial for our teeth, giving them a break from acid attacks caused by food and allowing time to rebuild their strength.
What Happens to Carbohydrates in the Body?
Carbohydrates are divided into starches and sugars. Starches are made of longer chains of glucose molecules. The body must break these down into glucose first, which is why they absorb more slowly and raise blood sugar more steadily—at least when they’re not overly processed. Main sources include starchy vegetables (like potatoes, rice, corn, legumes) and grain products (bread, pasta, porridge, whole grains). In processed form (like white bread), they can be absorbed as quickly as sugar.
Sugars are made of one or two sugar molecules and are absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream, causing a fast blood sugar spike (a glucose peak). These include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Common sources are table sugar, honey, juices, candy, pastries, soft drinks, and milk.
Interestingly, fructose doesn’t directly cause glucose peaks, but unlike glucose, which can be used by all the body’s cells, fructose is processed only by the liver. If you consume small amounts (like from whole fruit), the liver handles it just fine. But if large quantities come in all at once (like from smoothies, juices, or syrup), the liver gets overwhelmed. When it doesn’t need extra energy, excess fructose gets converted into fat—stored in the liver and around the belly.
Fructose also doesn’t trigger insulin or leptin (the satiety hormone), which means your brain never gets the message that you’re full. That’s why fructose can easily lead to overeating and hunger even after a large portion. It may also accelerate insulin resistance and weight gain—even when calorie intake isn’t high.
Fructose in whole fruit comes along with fiber, vitamins, and water—so it’s absorbed slowly and doesn’t overload the liver. The problem lies in concentrated forms of fructose, such as fruit juices, syrups (like agave or corn syrup), and smoothies. If you want to consume fructose, it’s best to eat the fruit, not drink it. And don’t forget—sugar is sugar, no matter what name it comes under.
If you’ve already read “Glucose Revolution” or tried any of these simple yet brilliant tricks—like eating vegetables before pasta, drinking vinegar water before meals, or skipping sweet breakfasts—how has it affected you? Are your energy levels more stable? Are your moods and cravings more under control? Leave a comment or share your story—because your experience might just spark the biggest change in someone else.
And don’t forget to follow Jessie Inchauspé on Instagram at @glucosegoddess, where she shares real glucose graphs showing how different foods affect your blood sugar!
