Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy. Here at Mungbean Health, we're on a mission to unlock the secrets of fertility and natural well-being one episode at a time.
Speaker: Hi guys, and welcome back to The Bean Talk with Rhiannon and Rhiannon. Welcome back, Jeremy. And Jeremy, we're excited to have you back.
Speaker: What's your little bean, big bean, mate? Little bean, big bean. It's school holidays as well. So if you hear any kids screaming in the background like that, yeah taught that they are playing outside and away from here, but they are just so loud sometimes, yeah especially when they're all together. So sorry, not sorry if you hear kids in the background.
Speaker: Big bean, little bean, just surviving the school days. I feel like it's always surviving. do you know what I've been doing, which you don't know about? little surprise for you no is in my head i've been working out a little bit of a veggie challenge a veggie challenge i holding you know i'm always up for a challenge ah it's ah little bit of a growers market excitement where i'm picking a new veggie each week last week We had cabbage. Nice. Well, we got it we got it last week and we've eaten it.
Speaker: We just ate it last night. did it Yeah, it was delicious. Did the old TikTok challenge. Not a challenge, just TikTok. Not everything's challenge. Everything's a challenge. And um literally you get it and you put it in. Look, I did use foil. Don't come at me. It's probably not the best thing. I think you used parchment paper, but I only had foil, so forgive me. Anyway, got the just white cabbage, put it in the foil, butter.
Speaker: sliced it up yeah oh no i didn't i just had it as one whole well you can do it with a whole but i did it as a quarter okay yeah it was delicious so good and you put it in it does take ages like i think a whole cabbage takes like two hours this took like yeah it was a pretty big quarter i think it took like an hour that's because we stopped it because the pumpkin was cooked jeremy took them all out but didn't check it was cooked because i did pumpkin and beetroot as well um and yeah bit of paprika put a bit of garlic On the cabbage. On the cabbage. It was so good. And salt and pepper. Yeah, it was delicious. And it's just like caramelized and soft and delicious.
Speaker: So where food is if you can't tell. So that's that's what I've been doing. And I've just been eating it. Sneaking some veggies in. We do use parsnip, which I feel is a random one that a lot of people probably wouldn't use. I don't know. Let me know. If you're using parsnip in your life, how do you use it? We put in slow cooker.
Speaker: After 30, get excited about the old parsnip. Yeah. But, um yeah, we've done cabbage. So what will be on the list next week? Who knows? After we go to the growers' market this week.
Speaker: Jeremy just loves getting up early on a Sunday to go down. Yeah, morning person. It's his favourite thing. I actually never drive. Jeremy drives everywhere because he gets car sick and also I'd prefer him to drive. So it, like, works for us, you know. And um you made me drive like two weeks ago. Was that there? Jeremy was like, I'm so tired you're going have to drive. I'm like, what?
Speaker: How do I drive this thing? No, but it was just like weird because normally gets car sick, but. He was a little bit to toy toy. So anyway, good luck this Sunday. Same place, same time, mate. And get on the veggie challenge. Veggie challenge. I'll eat some veggies. So, yeah, that's probably as exciting as it gets. We've been slacco with our exercise. Yeah, but it's been raining and we usually do walk. So that's a bit hard. one wants to walk in the rain. But I really want to get back into it.
Speaker: It's got to get back into the mood. So that's our big bean, little bean, hey? Seriously. Eating veggies and trying to exercise. That's pretty much where we're at. That is where our life is at. And, yeah, that's pretty much it. But have you been your water intake just quickly? Pretty good, yeah. That's good. Every time you make me a drink, if this is you made it for me. Yeah. I drink it.
Speaker: It's good. Today we're talking about something that affects your energy. It affects your hormones, your mood, your cravings, your metabolism and long-term health every single day. Can you guess what it is? I'm going to guess it.
Speaker: ah Glucose. Absolutely right. Now, when most people hear glucose, they immediately think of sugar. Usually they're going to think, oh my God, sugar, that is bad. That equals bad. But in the reality, it is much more nuanced than that. Glucose actually isn't the enemy.
Speaker: It's very important for us. In fact, without glucose, you wouldn't be able to think, you wouldn't be able to exercise, you wouldn't be able to move, you wouldn't be able to work or even survive.
Speaker: The problem isn't glucose itself though. No, it's not. The problem is when our body struggles to regulate it. Also, the the amount of everything these days, the amount of sugar and everything.
Speaker: So this episode is absolutely perfect for anyone who experiences energy crashes, looking at you 2 and 3 p.m. in the afternoon when you get that crash, not good. Sugar cravings, not good as well. Yeah.
Speaker: fatigue, brain fog, if you're having hormonal imbalances, if you have been told you have insulin resistance, if you've been told you have prediabetes, PCOS or PMOS, or actually diabetes. Because once you understand glucose, so many pieces of the health puzzle start to make sense. So in this episode, we'll break it down for you.
Speaker: What glucose actually is, why your body needs it what happens when your blood sugar levels become too high or too low. Not good. Also, the connection between glucose, insulin and hormones. Who is most at risk of blood sugar dysregulation and simple ways to support healthy glucose balance? Let's dive in. Let's get into it. What is glucose? Tell the people. Glucose is a simple sugar and the body's primary source of energy. Absolutely. Yeah. Re-cell in your body can use glucose to create energy.
Speaker: Very true. Your brain especially loves glucose and relies on it heavily to function properly. And we obviously need our brain to be doing its thing. When we eat foods containing carbohydrates, such as fruits, bread. Rice. Rice. Pasta. Pasta.
Speaker: Potatoes. Yep. Doesn't matter if it's white or orange. potatoes. Brown potatoes? Orange potatoes. Are they orange? Sweet potato. this is Sweet potato. You got me there.
Speaker: ah Or brown. Oats, legumes, lollies and sugary food. that that That'll get you. Especially at that 3 p.m. crash when you need a bit of a perk. A bit of a spike.
Speaker: Our digestive system breaks down these foods into smaller molecules. Eventually, many of those carbohydrates become glucose. That glucose then enters the bloodstream where it can be transported around the body and used for energy.
Speaker: Think of glucose like fuel in a car. Without fuel, the car won't run and go on nowhere. Without glucose, your body can't perform many of its essential functions.
Speaker: Some of that glucose gets used immediately for energy. The rest gets stored for later use. Yes, like a backup. Your body stores glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen, which acts like a backup energy reserve that can be used when needed. Absolutely. So glucose itself isn't bad. It's actually essential. The challenge comes when glucose levels become unstable.
Speaker: You see? How your body controls glucose? To understand blood sugar balance, we need to talk about insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the... Pancreas. The pancreas, that's right. Its job is to act like a key.
Speaker: When glucose enters the blood the bloodstream, insulin helps unlock cells so glucose can move inside and be used for energy. When everything is working properly, you eat food, glucose enters the bloodstream, insulin is released, cells absorb glucose, blood sugar returns to healthy range.
Speaker: Simple. Simples.
Speaker: I don't know if anyone else has seen that little ad. yeah It's a little me cat. It's a bit of a personal joke. We'll let you in on, but it's just that little cute me cat. And it's like, Simples. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. It's also 3 p.m. here. yes ah When this system becomes impaired, problems begin to develop. So when blood sugar goes too high, this is when it is a big problem. So after eating, it's completely normal for blood glucose levels to rise. It's expected, right?
Speaker: However, consistently elevated blood sugar can create stress within the body. And like we need any more stress. When large amounts of glucose remain circulating the bloodstream for extended periods, cells become overwhelmed.
Speaker: Excess glucose that isn't being used efficiently can contribute to inflammation, which we don't want, oxidative stress, which we don't want, and metabolic dysfunction. Over time, high blood sugar may contribute to things like fatigue, increased hunger,
Speaker: Yeah, weight gain. Brain fog. Hormonal imbalance. Increased inflammation. And also cardiovascular disease risk as well. Many people don't realize that constantly elevated blood sugar often feels like low energy rather than high energy.
Speaker: The body is flooded with fuel, but it struggles to use any of it effectively. So let's talk about when the blood sugar goes too low. This may happen after long periods without eating, excessive exercise, without proper feeling, or after large blood sugar spikes that trigger a strong insulin response. Yes. So symptoms of a low blood sugar may include things like shakiness, anxiety. Sweating a lot. Yes. Irritability.
Speaker: Headaches. Brain fog. Intense sugar cravings. Yes. i always feel like um this is very much that hangry feeling. Like this is when people describe it that they're feeling very hangry.
Speaker: Yeah, irritated. I think we've all been there at one point in our life. You can see why the bike riders that do triathlons are like got their little fuel sachets, their little sugar sachets. Your brain senses that glucose availability is dropping and quickly signals that it needs fuel. This is why blood sugar stability is so important.
Speaker: So we're not aiming for blood sugar to stay high or to stay low. We're aiming for balance. Let's talk more about understanding a bit more about insulin resistance and where that comes in. One of the most common metabolic conditions we see today is insulin resistance.
Speaker: Remember how insulin acts like a key? So over time, if insulin levels remain elevated for long periods, cells can become less responsive to that signal. It's like repeatedly knocking on a door until eventually nobody answers.
Speaker: The old knock and run. Yeah. The pancreas responds by producing even more insulin to try it to get the glucose into the cells. Yeah, so come on. As a result, blood sugar regulation worsens, insulin levels rise, fat storage increases, which is all what you don't want, and energy becomes less stable. People with insulin resistance may experience fatigue after meals, increased hunger, sugar cravings, weight gain around the abdomen,
Speaker: Difficulty losing weight, hormonal imbalances. Yes, and this is why very much PCOS or PMOS is linked there. Insulin resistance often develops gradually and can exist for years before blood sugar levels become abnormal.
Speaker: In clinic, we like to check insulin, fasting glucose, and HbA1c with clients to keep ahead of this as best as we can. We do this so frequently in clinic. It's part of our routine testing because we know how bad blood sugar is and how much it can impact someone's overall health.
Speaker: A recent study in 2026 claimed that more than two in five adults have pre-diabetes and around 80% don't even know that they have it.
Speaker: And I guess this is as well a huge factor in society because so many people are walking around overweight and it becomes the norm. It can be in children, it can be in adults, it can be in elderly adults.
Speaker: all of them, sometimes entire families are overweight. And although there's many different reasons why it can be happening, um I guess the most important thing that we can all look at and we can all acknowledge is that it's not essentially healthy and that unfortunately it would be creating extra issues around um like inflammation in the system and having especially that midsection fat where you're like carrying around like the spare tire situation, um,
Speaker: that is the most unhealthy fat as well. And it is so easy to gain that weight, especially when you are lacking on exercise, you're eating maybe not as healthy as you could have or could be or what you used to And maybe there's hormonal conditions in there as well. It all plays a massive part of the picture and thyroid. Like we see that so much in clinic where women will just be like gaining kilo after kilo without changing anything specifically. yeah,
Speaker: It's like it's not their fault that it's happening and it's very hard for them to get on top of. so that's why we need to fix the thyroid before they can get the weight loss relief. So how does glucose essentially affect hormones? One reason we are so passionate about blood sugar health is because glucose affects far more than just metabolism. It influences hormones throughout the entire body. When blood sugar is stable, It's cortisol tends to be so our stress hormone tends to be more balanced. energy levels are steadier, ovulation is so much better supported, inflammation is lower, and mood is more stable. When blood sugar is constantly fluctuating, what would we see? Cortisol rise, yeah cravings increase, sleep quality can worsen, hormonal symptoms often become more severe. So true. Many hormonal issues actually have a significant blood sugar component, which brings us to some
Speaker: of the populations most affected by glucose regulation. So let's talk about who is most at risk.
Speaker: PMOS. Which is formerly known as PCOS. Gosh, is that right? Yeah, I fully had a little moment there. Yeah, it used to be PCOS and now it's PMOS. So women with PMOS commonly experience insulin resistance or blood sugar imbalances, which this is the whole reason and part of the reason that they finally...
Speaker: They finally changed the name to have metabolic in there because it's all about our metabolic system. Again, what naturopaths have been dealing with for years and supporting. Now, finally, the medical system has gone, okay, yep, let's change the name. In fact, insulin-resistant is considered one of the major drivers behind many PMOS symptoms. el Elevated insulin can stimulate the ovaries to produce more androgens, contributing to acne,
Speaker: irregular cycles, excessive hair growth, difficulty losing weight, as well as troubles conceiving. And I stand by the fact that PCOS or PMOS is the number one cause of infertility and something that we can actually change. You can reverse it. It takes a bit of hard work, but you can do it with herbs. Obviously, in the medical system, they use medication, but we have herbs that do the same thing without the side effects. And you can totally revolutionize that entire so good yeah process. I know, like it's totally reversible.
Speaker: So supporting blood sugar balance is often a foundational part of managing symptoms for this condition. High stress individuals. They're very at risk because stress and blood sugar have a two-way relationship. When you're stressed, cortisol rises.
Speaker: Yep, our stress hormone. And one of cortisol's jobs is to increase blood glucose availability to prepare the body for action. The flight or flight. Flight or flight. The flight or flight.
Speaker: Yeah, when you're like, I need the energy because I've got a tiger room in front of me, I've got to get out of here. The problem is that chronic stress means chronically elevated cortisol. which so many people are walking around with both, which can contribute to blood sugar instability, increased cravings, fat storage around the abdomen, insulin resistance, and many people focus entirely on food while ignoring the stress management side of things. Both definitely matter here.
Speaker: Play a huge role together, Absolutely. We're looking up the whole picture. That's what naturopathy is all about. Persistent elevated cortisol has been associated with that increased abdominal fat, very much blood sugar around that midsection. Think of it like literally having a spare tire hanging off you. Like it's like that.
Speaker: Higher blood glucose levels, reduced insulin sensitivity, increased appetite, which doesn't help with the weight gain, obviously, because you're usually sugar cravings as well, and greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Yeah.
Speaker: These effects are well established in endocrinology research Although individual cortisol levels naturally do fluctuate throughout the day, stress management is vital when it comes to reducing metabolic markers like glucose, which we did recently talk about this in another podcast about stress management. yeah So that reminds me, got give you a daily hug. Remember how we talked about it?
Speaker: You've got to go do the hug. Yeah. And you've got to get your stress levels down. So here's your reminder. Go listen to the episode and hug your loved ones. I want you to all go give your loved one a hug right now or when they get home.
Speaker: Depends when you're listening to this. Let's talk about people with diabetes. Diabetes develops when the body can no longer effectively regulate blood sugar. So in type 1 diabetes, the body produces little or no insulin.
Speaker: In type 2, insulin resistance develops and glucose regulation becomes impaired. Again, dare I say reversible. Type 2, not type 1, type 2, there's so much you can do about it. Both require careful management of blood glucose levels.
Speaker: Not a life sentence type 2. Oh, yes, the perimenopause and menopause link. Tell us about it. Hormonal shifts during this stage can increase insulin resistance.
Speaker: Many women noticed increased abdominal weight gain, reduced energy, greater difficulty maintaining blood sugar stability. Yeah, absolutely. This is why strength training, adequate protein and blood sugar supportive nutrition becomes increasingly important throughout this stage of life. Plus herbs, can't forget your herbs. And we've got some amazing nutrients that can support as well.
Speaker: So supporting healthy glucose levels. The good news is that there are many simple strategies that can improve blood sugar balance. Prioritize protein. Yeah.
Speaker: For breakfast, lunch and tea, have protein in the morning. It's a great one. Oh, totally. You should have protein with every meal, but definitely in the morning. And so many people skip because they'll just have a bit of toast. Yeah. Have some eggs, spread it with some nut butter even.
Speaker: Have a protein shake alongside. Protein slows digestion and helps reduce rapid blood sugar spikes after meals. So aim to include a quality protein source with every meal.
Speaker: And don't forget. Include fiber. Include fiber. Fiber is so important. So fiber actually slows glucose absorption and supports healthy blood sugar regulation.
Speaker: How do we get more fiber in? Vegetables. Yeah. Veggie challenge. Yeah. done that, been there, done that, we'll do it again. Fruit, legumes, whole grains, seeds,
Speaker: You want to build yourself up a bit of a balanced meal. So rather than eating just carbohydrates on their own, combine it with protein, healthy fats, fiber, and you can still enjoy the carbohydrates. Rather than it just being like pasta with a creamy sauce, try and have some pasta with some protein, like a meaty sauce, and then alongside it have some like you could have even sweet potato and some olive oil or...
Speaker: or scrap the pasta and have like beans. I feel like more people need to eat beans. Yeah. Us included. I actually saw this lady on TikTok.
Speaker: God, I'm on TikTok too much for work. If you haven't checked out our page, actually, go and check it out because I put so much energy into bloody TikTok. um Mung bean underscore health or fertility fairy godmother.
Speaker: And she was talking about how eating more beans has been so good for her and more people need to eat beans. I'm like, yes, we sometimes will have lentils, but I feel like we don't really have beans. I'll report back next week on beans. Yeah. So um having a balanced meal creates more of a gradual glucose response.
Speaker: Move after meals. Get your butt moving. To a walk, a short walk after eating can significantly improve glucose utilisation. Your muscles actually act like a sponge helping pull glucose from the bloodstream. Manage stress. Easier said than done, we know.
Speaker: But go and check out our other podcast on this because we did put some good tips in there. Remember that blood sugar isn't only influenced by food. Chronic stress can actually significantly impact glucose regulation.
Speaker: So supporting your nervous system is a blood sugar strategy to... Prioritise sleep. Yes. Poor sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity in as little as one night.
Speaker: Constant high quality sleep is one of the most powerful tools for metabolic health. Final takeaway. Glucose is not the villain it is made out to be. It's one of the body's most important energy sources.
Speaker: The goal is not to avoid glucose. The goal is to regulate it. When blood sugar is balanced, we tend to see better energy, very true improved mood, reduced cravings, yep more stable hormones, better metabolic health.
Speaker: And lower inflammation. And inflammation's got to be down. I know. Actually get them down. And everyone's got a lot of inflammation in their body with the high stress. The high sugar diet. the food that we're taking. Processed foods. Even just being around, yeah, stressful environments part paired with all the... Everything. Yeah, everything, like computers and phones and not doing enough movement and, yeah.
Speaker: So if you're constantly feeling tired, hungry, craving sugar, struggling with weight loss, or dealing with hormonal imbalances, your blood sugar may be one of the first places that is worth investigating, which we can help you with in naturopathy. Because when glucose is working for you instead of against you, everything from your energy to your hormones tends to function a whole lot better. How good. What a good episode. know. So i hope you guys have learned something along the way. And thank you for listening.
Speaker: Appreciate it. see you in the next episode. To our two listeners. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Remember, you can always message us and book online. We can help you book in. but You can just DM us if you have any questions because we know naturopathy is new to a lot of people. um Instagram yeah at mungbean underscore health, M-U-N-G-B-A-N. Same as the TikTok.
Speaker: Or? www.mungbeanhealth.com. And if you didn't know, we have our own supplements as well, which is because they are proudly Australian owned.
Speaker: And made. Yeah, and yeah formulated and and taken. All in Australia. They are international now, though. You can get them in other places. But we can't wait to help.
Speaker: Check us out. Reach out if you need anything. i did have one beautiful listener reach out the other day Actually, I've had two in the last week. So if you're listening and you have any questions, we love to hear from you. And if you've any topics you want us to talk about, we'll send them over. Yeah, tell us.
Speaker: Bye. Thanks again. Bye.
Speaker: And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us. Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.
