“Hangry” and Hashimoto’s? You’re aging your brain

Do you have Hashimoto’s and crash when you go too long without eating, losing energy and becoming “hangry?” Hanger—hunger plus anger—is that explosive combination of low blood sugar and irrepressible irritability that turns a normally nice person into a multi-headed hydra.

People joke about being hangry, but when it happens regularly, it means your body and brain are in a perpetual state of alarm. This constant stress raises inflammation and accelerates degeneration of the brain.

In other words, being chronically hangry ages you too fast. When you’re working to manage Hashimoto’s, you don’t want to provoke stress and inflammation by being hangry.

How being hangry ages your body too fast

The low blood sugar that triggers “hanger” sends your body into an emergency “fight-or-flight” mode, causing you to snap at loved ones or fly into a rage because you can’t untangle your earphone cords. This constant stress ages the body and brain.

Low blood sugar also raises an immune messenger called IL-6, which triggers inflammation that destroys tissue.

If you have a chronic or autoimmune condition such as Hashimoto’s, the inflammation from low blood sugar can trigger flare ups that destroy tissue, worsen symptoms, and advance your autoimmune thyroid condition.

Autoimmunity means an over zealous and imbalanced immune system is attacking and destroying tissue in the body. Many people have autoimmunity but have not been diagnosed. Low blood sugar can worsen Hashimoto’s and speed destruction of thyroid tissue.

In a nutshell, the stress and inflammation from chronically low blood sugar ages your body too quickly and can worsen your Hashimoto’s condition.

How being hangry ages your brain too fast

The low blood sugar from being hangry deprives the brain of fuel and impairs brain function. This speeds degeneration because energy-deprived brain cells die. This is problematic as unmanaged Hashimoto’s also speeds degeneration.

Brain-related symptoms of low blood sugar include:

Irritable and easily upset
Lightheaded
Fatigued
Feeling shaky, jittery, or tremulous
Agitated and nervous
Eating gives you energy
Poor memory, forgetfulness
Blurred vision
Lack of appetite or nausea
Energy crash around 3 or 4 p.m.
Wake up anxious around 3 or 4 a.m.

Being hangry can worsen brain autoimmunity

Chronically low blood sugar also ages the brain by triggering autoimmune flares in the brain.

A number of people have autoimmunity to brain and nerve tissue but don’t know it—it’s more common than realized.

If you already have Hashimoto’s, your risk of having brain autoimmunity is higher.

When blood sugar drops too low, it can trigger the autoimmune process in the brain just as it does in the body, speeding the brain degeneration process.

A few common symptoms of brain autoimmunity include fatigue, “crashing” after too much stimulation or exertion, brain fog, memory loss, anxiety or depression disorders, autism or ADHD symptoms, and poor balance.

If you have Hashimoto’s and suffer from any brain-related symptoms, preventing low blood sugar is crucial.