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Hi! I'm Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny, ND

Hangriness is REAL. Here is the fix.

Published about 19 hours ago • 2 min read

In This Issue

  • If You're Going To Use AI For Your Health Questions, Use This
  • Hangriness Is REAL. Here Is The Fix
  • Quote of the Issue

If You're Going To Use AI For Your Health Questions, Use This

You are going to ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude about your health. I know this, so let me redirect it. These tools are built to sound confident, not to be correct. They produce great-sounding answers and invent citations, which is exactly the wrong quality for a medical question.

​Use Consensus instead. It searches only peer-reviewed literature and links every claim back to the source paper, so you see the actual evidence rather than a plausible summary. There is a free tier, and no credentials are required.

Then bring what you find to your appointment. Print it, mark your questions, and let us work through it together. A cited study you do not fully understand is a far better starting point than a chatbot answer you cannot trace. Research is not a replacement for clinical judgment. It is the start of a better conversation.

Hangriness Is REAL. Here Is The Fix

You were fine an hour ago. Now you cannot think straight, your hands are shaking and you're about to bite someone's head off.

In most people, this is not a sign of disease but a sign of "hangriness".

When blood sugar drops below about 3.9 mmol/L, adrenaline kicks in to bring it back up. The surge in adrenaline results in shakiness, irritability, poor concentration, and hunger. Meals high in refined carbohydrate make the glucose drop even sharper: a fast glucose rise, a brisk insulin response, then a dip that leaves you hungrier and more irritable a few hours later.

A low blood sugar usually is not the cause of the shakiness, but rather the adrenaline working to bring your sugar level back up.

The fix is steadier glucose, built through what and how you eat.

Eat to steady blood sugar

  • Choose slow carbohydrates: whole grains, oats, quinoa, brown rice. Cut back on white bread, white rice, and sugary cereals.
  • Add protein to every meal and snack: eggs, fish, beans, lentils, Greek yogurt, nuts.
  • Make half your plate vegetables and fruit for fiber.
  • Skip sugary drinks. Choose water, unsweetened tea, or coffee.
  • Eat at regular intervals, and pair carbohydrate with protein, fat, or fiber (an apple with peanut butter, not the apple alone).

Support it with daily habits

  • Move most days: 150 minutes weekly, plus a short walk after meals.
  • Strength train 2 to 3 times weekly. Muscle uses glucose more efficiently.
  • Break up long sitting each hour.
  • Protect 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Poor sleep worsens blood sugar control and irritability.
  • Manage stress with walking, breathing, or hobbies.

The best plan is the one you keep. Consistency outperforms any single diet. Next time you snap, check when you last ate.

Quote of the Issue

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

— Albert Einstein

Until next time, scroll intentionally.

Dr. Dominika

Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny

Naturopathic Doctor

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Hi! I'm Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny, ND

First inspired by the work of Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Dominika has focused much of her career on helping her patients connect the dots between early adversity and trauma and their impact on lifelong health and well-being. She knows that the reversal of chronic illness involves the nervous system, and so she has dedicated her practice to helping patients master their own nervous system to positively influence their mind and body, behaviours and ultimately health outcomes. Her explanation of disease doesn't pathologize or blame, but is nuanced, humanized and filled with hope. She trained with various psychologists and experts in the field of psychological trauma. She incorporates the principles of neuroscience, attachment theory, mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory and compassionate inquiry in her approach with patients. Combining these with her naturopathic training, she likes to say that she works at the intersection of science and human experience.

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