Your Brain Isn’t Crazy… It May Just Be Hungry
The Hidden Reason Millions of People Feel Anxious Every Day
By Dr. Greg Fors, Board-certified Chiropractic Neurologist
Quick Synopsis
- What if anxiety is sometimes a fuel problem, not just a feelings problem?
- A small brain structure called the amygdala may become more reactive when brain energy is low.
- High insulin and blood sugar swings may help explain why some people feel suddenly panicky.
- Inflammation may further irritate an already stressed brain.
- One simple lab marker may change the whole conversation: fasting insulin.
Imagine this.
You’re walking through the woods.
A huge black bear steps onto the trail about 20 feet in front of you.
Your heart pounds.
Your breathing speeds up.
Your muscles tighten.
Every alarm inside your brain goes off.
Good.
Your brain just saved your life.
Now imagine something different.
You’re sitting in your living room.
Nothing is wrong.
Nobody is chasing you.
The bills are paid.
The kids are fine.
The dog is asleep.
Yet your heart is racing.
Your stomach is in knots.
You can’t relax.
You feel like something terrible is about to happen.
Here’s my question.
Why would your brain pull the fire alarm when there isn’t a fire?
For years we’ve blamed anxiety almost entirely on “brain chemicals.”
But what if that’s only part of the story?
Growing research suggests that metabolism, inflammation, and brain insulin signaling may also play important roles in anxiety for many people.¹⁻⁵
Meet the Little Brain Structure That Runs Your Life
Deep inside your brain is something about the size of an almond.
It’s called the amygdala.
I call it your built-in smoke detector.
Its job is simple.
Every second of every day it asks one question.
“Am I safe?”
If the answer is “No,” it doesn’t wait around.
It hits the panic button.
Your heart races.
Adrenaline pours into your bloodstream.
Your muscles tighten.
You become alert.
That’s exactly what your brain was designed to do.
The problem?
Today many people’s smoke detectors have become overly sensitive.⁶
A traffic jam.
An email from the boss.
A noisy restaurant.
A family argument.
Suddenly your body reacts as though you’re being chased by that bear.
Why?
The Hungry Amygdala
Your amygdala is one of the busiest parts of your brain.
It never takes a day off.
That takes an enormous amount of energy.
Most people think the brain simply runs on sugar.
Not exactly.
Sugar has to get inside the brain cell before it becomes fuel.
Think of each brain cell like a little house.
Outside sits a truck loaded with firewood.
Inside is a fireplace.
If the front door won’t open…
The wood stays outside.
The fireplace goes cold.
Something similar may happen when the brain becomes insulin resistant.¹⁻⁴
Over time, brain cells may become less responsive to insulin signaling. Even though glucose is available in the bloodstream, some brain cells may not use that fuel as efficiently.
Think about that.
Your brain can be surrounded by fuel and still behave as though it’s running low on energy.
And a hungry amygdala is not a happy amygdala.
Then Things Get Even Worse
As insulin resistance develops, your pancreas simply makes more insulin.
Lots more.
Blood sugar may still look perfectly normal.
But insulin keeps climbing.
That’s why I routinely measure fasting insulin, not just glucose.
It often tells me the story years, even decades, before blood sugar finally becomes abnormal.⁷
I tell my patients this all the time.
Blood sugar is the smoke.
Insulin is the fire.
Inflammation Fans the Flames
High insulin doesn’t just influence blood sugar.
It also contributes to inflammatory signaling throughout the body.
Meanwhile, excess belly fat releases inflammatory chemicals around the clock.
Those inflammatory signals may eventually affect the brain and activate its immune cells, called **microglia.**⁴⁻⁵
Microglia are supposed to protect your brain.
But if they remain activated for months or years, they may contribute to chronic neuroinflammation.
Now you have a brain that’s struggling to make energy…
And an emotional center that’s irritated by inflammation.
That’s a bad combination.
When Sugar Pulls the Fire Alarm
Have you ever eaten pancakes…
A bagel…
A giant bowl of cereal…
Or a couple of donuts…
Then two or three hours later you suddenly felt shaky, irritable, anxious, or like you needed to eat right now?
There is a reason.
Sugar rises quickly.
Insulin rises quickly.
Sometimes insulin drives blood sugar down rapidly.
Your brain interprets that rapid drop as a possible emergency.
It responds by releasing adrenaline and cortisol.
Your heart races.
Your breathing speeds up.
Your palms sweat.
It feels exactly like anxiety.
Sometimes what you’re calling an anxiety attack is actually your metabolism pulling the fire alarm.⁸
Maybe We’ve Been Treating the Smoke Instead of the Fire
Please don’t misunderstand me.
Anxiety is real.
Trauma is real.
Depression is real.
Medications can absolutely help the right patient.
But I also believe we’re overlooking one of the biggest contributors to anxiety in modern society.
A brain struggling with energy.
An inflamed emotional center.
Chronically high insulin.
Constant blood sugar swings.
None of those show up on a prescription pad.
But they do show up in millions of anxious people.⁵⁻⁸
The Good News
The brain is remarkably adaptable.
Improving insulin sensitivity appears to support healthier brain metabolism and may reduce inflammatory stress on the brain.¹⁻⁵
That starts with lowering chronically elevated insulin.
I encourage my patients to remove:
- Added sugars
- Sugar-sweetened beverages
- Ultra-processed foods
- Bread
- Pasta
- Pastries
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Breakfast cereals
- Other refined carbohydrate products
Instead, nourish your brain with:
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Healthy proteins
- Healthy fats
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole, minimally processed foods
Regular exercise.
Quality sleep.
Stress management.
Maintaining a healthy waistline.
These habits don’t just support your heart.
They support your brain.
One Blood Test Can Change the Conversation
One of the most valuable laboratory tests I recommend is fasting insulin.
Many patients are told everything is normal because their fasting glucose is normal.
But fasting insulin often begins rising 10 to 20 years before blood sugar becomes abnormal.⁷
Finding insulin resistance early gives us the opportunity to protect not only the pancreas and the heart…
But the brain as well.
It allows us to put out the fire before the smoke fills the room.
The Bottom Line
Anxiety is not a character flaw.
It is not a lack of willpower.
And it certainly isn’t “all in your head.”
Many things can contribute to anxiety, including trauma, genetics, life experiences, sleep disorders, hormonal changes, medications, and medical illness.
But growing evidence suggests that metabolic health also deserves a seat at the table.
When we lower chronically elevated insulin…
Reduce inflammation…
Remove ultra-processed foods…
And nourish the brain with real food…
We’re doing far more than improving blood sugar.
We’re helping the brain regain the fuel it needs to feel calm, resilient, and safe.
Maybe one of the most important questions we should ask every anxious patient isn’t simply,
“What medication do you need?”
Maybe it’s this:
“Is your brain getting the fuel it needs to feel safe?”
What I Want You to Remember
- Your brain needs a constant supply of energy to function well.
- Your amygdala is your brain’s built-in smoke detector.
- Insulin resistance may interfere with how efficiently parts of the brain use energy.¹⁻⁴
- High insulin and excess belly fat promote inflammation, which may also affect the brain.⁴⁻⁶
- Blood sugar is the smoke. Insulin is the fire.
- A fasting insulin test may identify problems years before blood sugar becomes abnormal.⁷
- Remove ultra-processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrate products.
- Choose real, whole foods that nourish both your body and your brain.
- Anxiety deserves a complete evaluation; and for many people, improving metabolic health may become an important part of the solution.
Selected References
- Kullmann S, et al. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2016. Brain insulin resistance at the crossroads of metabolic and cognitive disorders.
- Kleinridders A, et al. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2014. Insulin action in the brain regulates metabolism and behavior.
- Arnold SE, et al. Nature Reviews Neurology. 2018. Brain insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
- De Felice FG, Ferreira ST. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2014. Inflammation, impaired insulin signaling, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the brain.
- JAMA Network Open. 2024. Metabolic biomarkers and long-term risk of depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders.
- Shackman AJ, et al. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2024. Fear, anxiety, and the functional architecture of the extended amygdala.
- Tschritter O, Heni M. Diabetologia. 2024. The insulin-resistant brain: impact on metabolism and body fat distribution.
- Chen B, et al. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2024. Interactions between energy homeostasis and brain function.
Educational only. This is not personal medical advice.