How Hormones, Blood Sugar, and Gut Health Affect Anxiety

Anxiety isn’t just in your head. In fact, reports from 2021 show that 1 in 10 Canadians experience high levels of anxiety or depression, with women being more commonly diagnosed. (1) And some of us won’t even recognize some signs of anxiety until it feels like we’re drowning under the weight of it – think chronic fatigue and irritability, obsessing over certain aspects of life that you forget to enjoy others (like diet), and digestive changes.

And if it seems like we’re all a little more anxious than we were 15 years ago, you’re right. Constant notifications, hustle culture and lack of sleep, playing the comparison game with everyone on the internet, blood sugar swings and nutrient deficiencies all play a role.

While I can’t help you turn off your notifications, I can give you some guidance about how your hormones, gut health and diet might impact your levels of anxiety.

So let's dive in:

You’ve likely heard of “fight or flight”. Simply put, when we’re stressed, our bodies will typically respond in one of two ways: we prepare to fight or we run. This happens because your body releases adrenaline to provide more energy and increase your heart rate, followed by cortisol to help you stay on high Anxiety isn’t just in your head. In fact, reports from 2021 show that 1 in 10 Canadians experience high levels of anxiety or depression, with women being more commonly diagnosed. (1) And some of us won’t even recognize some signs of anxiety until it feels like we’re drowning under the weight of it – think chronic fatigue and irritability, obsessing over certain aspects of life that you forget to enjoy others (like diet), and digestive changes.

And if it seems like we’re all a little more anxious than we were 15 years ago, you’re right. Constant notifications, hustle culture and lack of sleep, playing the comparison game with everyone on the internet, blood sugar swings and nutrient deficiencies all play a role.

While I can’t help you turn off your notifications, I can give you some guidance about how your hormones, gut health and diet might impact your levels of anxiety. 

So let's dive in:

You’ve likely heard of “fight or flight”. Simply put, when we’re stressed, our bodies will typically respond in one of two ways: we prepare to fight or we run. This happens because your body releases adrenaline to provide more energy and increase your heart rate, followed by cortisol to help you stay on high alert and raise blood sugar to maintain energy.

Historically, this is great! If you were being chased by a bear while hunting for your group, you would need all the energy and focus you can get. But how often are you out being chased by a bear these days? I hope never.

Yet, our body doesn’t understand the difference between the stress of a life or death situation and writing a scary email to your boss. This means many of us live in a state of fight or flight and are constantly pumping cortisol and adrenaline just to meet the expectations of modern life.

P.S. don’t fret if you feel like you don’t fit into either of those boxes: freeze and fawn are also common stress responses that aren’t as often talked about, but our stress hormones act in a similar way.

Now that we understand how our body responds to stress, let’s look at how estrogen, blood sugar, and gut health can influence anxiety. 

How your Sex Hormones Influence Anxiety: 

Women tend to experience anxiety at higher rates, and hormones are a big part of the story. Estrogen doesn’t just influence your cycle — it also helps support serotonin, one of the key neurochemicals that keeps your mood steady. So when estrogen dips, serotonin often dips with it, and that shift can make everyday stress feel a lot heavier.

These drops happen naturally throughout the menstrual cycle (think: that classic end-of-luteal-phase crash), but they really show up during bigger hormonal transitions, like postpartum and menopause.

After childbirth, estrogen drops sharply and many women notice a spike in anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or low mood. We see a similar thing happen in perimenopause and menopause, when estrogen becomes increasingly unpredictable.

How Blood Sugar Impacts Anxiety:

Have you ever tried extended fasting and noticed that you feel a little more on edge? Or had to skip lunch because your calendar was jam-packed, only to get home and lose your cool on your spouse? The classic “hangry” combo (hungry + angry) is very real.

That edgy, irritable feeling usually comes from dropping blood sugar. When your blood sugar dips too low, your body bumps up cortisol to pull stored glucose from your liver and get your energy back up. This was an excellent survival tool when our ancestors were living off scraps and needed a surge of energy to chase down dinner. But in modern life? That same response can leave us feeling anxious, overstimulated, and one skipped meal away from a meltdown.

How Gut Health Impacts Anxiety:

Your gut is home to a huge portion of your body’s serotonin (about 95%, in fact) and that serotonin helps regulate everything from bowel movements to inflammation. (2) So when the gut isn’t functioning well, it can influence your mood in a very real way. Certain gut bacteria are also involved in producing or supporting neurotransmitters tied to calmness and emotional balance, which means an imbalanced microbiome can make you feel more on edge.

On the flip side, inflammation in the gut has been linked to changes in mental health, including anxiety. And chronic stress or anxiety can disrupt digestion, alter gut motility, and even shift the balance of bacteria in your microbiome.

Remember, anxiety and gut health have a two-way relationship. Your gut can influence your anxiety, but anxiety can just as easily throw your digestion off. So part of the work is figuring out which came first for you: is your gut driving the anxiety, or is the anxiety stirring up your gut?

So what can you do?

First, start paying attention to when your anxiety shows up. Does it flare around certain points in your cycle? After skipping meals? Or does it seem to appear out of nowhere with no obvious pattern? Tracking it can help you spot the hormonal or dietary links you might otherwise miss.

Then bring this with you to your visit at Integrative Naturopathic Medical Centre. Your Naturopathic Doctor will be able to help you dive deeper into your gut and/or hormone health to ensure you can take a holistic approach to your mental health.