Why Eating "Healthy" Doesn't Work
I just need to eat healthier to reach my weight goals.
I just need to lose a few pounds before the summer.
I just need to eat less and count my calories to go down a size or two.
Guess what?
None of these strategies are going to work for you if want to see RESULTS.
Why?
Because these goals are so VAGUE. What are you working towards?
You will just keep spinning your wheels and going nowhere FAST.
How frustrating is that?
I am POSITIVE that you know the feeling.
Eating healthy starts with knowing that what you are eating is getting digested, absorbed, and assimilated by your body. We are what we eat and we are ALSO what we absorb!
If your body cannot break down the healthy food you are eating then you will no get any of the benefits from your efforts! Your cells will not be able to use any of the nutrients that are so diligently filling your plate and mouth with.
Eating healthy also involves knowing what your body needs and assessing any deficiencies or excesses that could be going on. You can easily discover these by looking at any different signs and symptoms you are experiencing.
If you want to live a vibrant and abundant life full of vitality then you need to start at the root of the problem. This is why I like to start with digestion otherwise your work will be for nothing.
If you are missing the energy to do the things that you want in life then you are not living up to the fullest and version of yourself.
What would it be like for you to be able to jump out of bed in the morning full of energy to tackle the busy day before you?
What would it be like for you to move through your day with clarity and complete your tasks with a sense of ease?
What would it be like for you to get home at the end of a long work day and be able to cook a healthy dinner for your family AND spend time with them?
Nutrition can help you with these things AND implementing a sustainable healthy lifestyle where you can look and feel great from the inside out every single day.
No deprivation.
You ready to be a boss who can take on the world and then some?
Shoot me a message and we can chat more to find a tailored solution for you
I offer complimentary 30 minute discovery calls to see if we would be a great fit.
Natalie
Paleo Broccoli Hold-The-Cheddar Soup
We are entering that time of year again when we just want to cozy up inside, tucked under fluffy blankets, and eat comfort food. Well I got you covered with this healthy soup recipe with a twist to keep your body feeling good. The twist is that I am replacing the cheddar cheese in this recipe with nutritional yeast to provide a great source of B vitamins for optimals energy metabolism. I also included chicken bone broth powder for some extra protein and a gut healing boost!
Comfort food can be both comforting on an emotional level and also nourishing on a physical level by providing your body with the nutrients it needs to keep feeling good. Your health and well-being do not need to suffer simply because you want to put something tasty in your mouth! An added bonus is that this recipe is super quick to cook and easy on the wallet!
Ingredients:
2 Broccoli Crowns
1 Onion Sliced
3 Garlic Cloves Minced
3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
3 Tablespoons Organika Chicken Bone Broth Powder
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Instructions:
Pour the olive oil into a frying pan and lightly cook the onions for 15 minutes until tender. Add in the garlic and fry for an additional 5 minutes ensuring not to overcook.
Lightly boil the broccoli in a pot until soft for roughly 10 minutes and then drain the water. Put the onions, garlic, broccoli, and almond milk into a bowl and use a hand mixer to blend until smooth.
Stir in nutritional yeast, bone broth powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Adrenal Fatigue Part 3: Why Your Doctor Does Not Hold the Answer
In my previous post, I broke down different sources of stress, how stress affects you, and common symptoms of adrenal fatigue. This time I want to dive deeper into the progression of adrenal fatigue, how the medical community views it, and some simple tests you can do at home to discover if it could be a problem for you.
PROGRESSION
While it might feel like it, often times adrenal fatigue will not hit you like a bag of bricks. Adrenal fatigue does not come from a specific event, but rather builds up slowly over time. In an interesting note is that the symptoms (the sensation and feelings) will precede the signs (visible changes or test results) of the condition. For example, Syndrome X, a common condition brought on by increased cortisol from excessive stress, includes glucose intolerance, increased triglycerides, decreased HDL cholesterol, insulin resistance, hypertension, central obesity, and increased atherosclerosis which can increase the likelihood of developingheart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Medicine will not diagnose a condition until it becomes a full blown syndrome, or a collection of signs and symptoms. At this point, you are late on the game, since now extensive treatment is needed to get you back to a healthy status.
Adrenal fatigue is involved in most chronic diseases since pathogens can severely burden the body which will require additional help from the body for recovery. The use of corticosteroids is common when the adrenal glands are not producing enough cortisol. Conditions with a major adrenal component include: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Alcoholism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Chronic Respiratory Infections including asthma and a persistent cold. Lowered immunity from poor adrenal function predisposes the body to infection and will result in a longer than normal recovery period when stamina is reduced.
THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
My main concern is that adrenal fatigue is not taught in medical schools. Even though this condition has been discussed and treated for over one hundred years, doctors are not trained to look for it. The effect of both the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry, relying on narrow tests and drugs or surgery to find treatment, using specific diagnostic codes, and expectations of quick recovery and the threat of malpractice influences doctors to be unwilling to treat a patient without a code since they will not be reimbursed from insurance. Doctors will only test for Addison’s disease, or severe hypoadrenia, and anything that comes up to be subclinical will not show up in these tests. Saliva hormone tests are very precise, just like blood tests, but they are even more sensitive and can pick up more subtle changes. The medical community often dismisses knowledge provided by alternative medicine and, once again, doctors are not trained to look for adrenal fatigue since there is not much benefit to them doing so if nothing comes up on a blood test.
Therefore, when you go to your doctor to present your symptoms there are a couple of things that can happen. Firstly, the doctor will very likely not believe that adrenal fatigue even exists and dismiss the notion, or secondly, the doctor will want to run a blood test for Addison’s disease. However, only 4 in 100,000 people get diagnosed with Addison’s so the doctor will then most likely conclude that there is nothing wrong with you and you will continued to be frustrated knowing that something is not right. Not to worry, Natalie to the rescue! I can help you find out if you are suffering from adrenal fatigue and the next steps you can take on the journey to recovery.
DIAGNOSIS AT HOME
So we know that adrenal fatigue is preceded and provoked by multiple events. You can develop a timeline or sequence of events to help reflect on how your health has changed over time, either for better or worse. This can help you find problems that were previously unrecognized and also point out major sources of stress in your life. This is something I often ask my clients to do in the first appointment with me to help me out together a complete picture of your health history. However, below I am providing you with a couple of home tests you can do, if saliva hormone testing is not an option.
The first test looks at iris contraction in your eye. This can help show moderate to severe adrenal fatigue. You will need a watch or timer, a chair to sit on, a flash light, and a mirror to see your reflection. You will need to shine the light at the side if your eye in a dark room. The pupil will contract and then dilate within 2 minutes, which will last for 30-45 seconds, before contracting again. The longer it takes for the eye to contract, the more severe the adrenal fatigue. You should test this monthly to monitor progress.
The second test looks for low blood pressure and if the blood pressure drops when standing up from a lying down position, also called postural hypotension. You will need to lie down quietly for 10 minutes and take your blood pressure while lying down. Then you will stand up and take your blood pressure quickly. Normal blood pressure will rise by 10-20 mmHg. If it drops 10mmHg or more, it is very likely that adrenal fatigue is present, or you could be dehydrated and you will need to try again on a different day and make sure to drink lots of water. The bigger the drop in mmHg, the more severe the adrenal fatigue. Also, take note that this test can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded.
A few extra things to watch out for are listed following. If the blood pressure is normal and you still suspect adrenal fatigue, this could point to atherosclerosis. Low blood pressure is not more desirable than high blood pressure. If you are vegetarian, the typical blood pressure is often lower at 95/65 and 140/90 lying down is considered to be abnormal.
The third test looks for Sergent’s White Line which is shown in 40% of people with adrenal fatigue. You will need to take the dull end of a pen and lightly stroke the skin on your abdomen for a 6 inch long line. If normal, the line turns white but then reddens within a few seconds. If abnormal, the line will remain white for 2 minutes and widen. If you suspect moderate to severe adrenal fatigue, do the three tests together to a get a fuller picture.
These are just a few simple things you can do to help gain some more control over your own health f you feel that you are not getting the answers you need from the medical community. I do advise you consult a doctor for any health concerns, but just know that holistic nutrition can offer a great complement to any health issues you experience.
In part 4, we will be discussing some other test that can be done to more precisely uncover adrenal fatigue. The main focus will be saliva hormone testing, but I will also shed some light on some useful standard urine testing.
If you want to get started on your road to wellness now, send me a message and we can start working together on getting you back up and running with my private consultation packages. I’m offering complimentary 15 minute introductions!
Reference: Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson
Spaghetti Squash Pasta Primavera
Fall is the season for bringing out the boots, bundling up in sweaters, drinking hot apple cider, and eating more comfort food. This recipe definitely falls into that category, and uses spaghetti squash over pasta noodles, which makes it a great gluten-free and veggie-rich option that can be whipped up in a snap.
I like eating squash since it becomes abundant in the grocery stores this time of year and grows local. Squash is also rich in vitamin A and vitamin C, both of which help support the immune system and prevent you from catching that nasty cold. It is also a great source of fibre which helps keep your bowel habits regular.
This recipe is very easy and works nicely to bring to work for lunch.
Ingredients:
· Spaghetti Squash x 1
· Spinach x 1 pack
· Shrimp x 1 pack
· Roma Tomatoes x 2
· Garlic cloves x 4
· Dried basil
· Olive oil
· Salt
· Pepper
Instructions:
Cut the squash in half, and scoop out the seeds. Place both pieces on a baking sheet face down and bake at 420 degrees for 20 minutes. Flip over onto reverse side and back for 20 more minutes.
While the squash is baking you can prepare the other ingredients.
If the shrimp are not thawed, you can rinse them under warm running water to help them defrost.
Dice the tomatoes and mince the garlic.
Place some water in a frying pan and bring to a simmer. Throw in a few handfuls of spinach for a few moments just to wilt. Be sure not to cook it for too long.
Once the squash is ready, pull it out of the over and grab a fork. Scrape the insides of the squash an watch noodles begin to form. Keep doing this until you hit the skin.
While still warm, transfer the noodles to a large bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. Season with dried basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Adrenal Fatigue Part 2: Why You Keep Hitting That Snooze Button
This is the beginning of my blog series on adrenal fatigue, be sure to keep following to catch the next posts once they are published.
In my previous post we looked into the topic of adrenal fatigue, why it affects your energy and immunity levels, and other conditions that it can be linked with it. This time I want to dive a little bit deeper into a topic that everyone is much too familiar with, you got it, stress.
So now we know that the adrenal glands handle the stress response within our body, but did you know that they respond to every kind of stress in the same way? No matter the source of the stress, whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, environmental, or infectious, your adrenal glands cannot distinguish the difference. So in other words, a death, car accident, serious illness, over exercising, fighting, work pressure, poor relationships, toxins, and poor diet can add up and take a major toll on your body and adrenal glands. These things can occur either together at one time, over a longer period of time, or in some kind of combination, however the commonality is that your adrenal glands do not get a chance to recover in between life events and the stress ends up being greater than the ability of your body to recover properly.
The funny thing is that you can sometimes be unaware of being stressed and stresses are both additive and cumulative, where the intensity and the frequency of the stress can dictate the extent of your stress levels in total. So stressors not only add up over time, but they can also build on each other to the extent that you could be getting to your breaking point without even knowing it. For example, I was recently on vacation for a whole blissful week in Mexico teaching yoga, enjoying the sunshine, and just unwinding. It was not until I came back into town that I noticed how much better I was feeling and how stressed I had been in the weeks before my vacation. I felt like a completely different person coming back and now I am trying to be more conscientious of my stress levels and not allowing them to build up. In addition, some others kinds of stressors are underlying and not obvious to us at first glance, including the most commonly overlooked source being chronic or severe infections like recurring bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, sinusitis, and other respiratory infections, which often precede adrenal fatigue.
Are there certain people that are more prone to experiencing adrenal fatigue? Yes, but the truth is that anybody who does not get enough rest and relaxation, drives constantly by pushing to be more or get more, exhibits perfectionist tendencies, is under constant pressure with little outlets for emotional release, and feels helpless and overwhelmed by difficulty can experience adrenal fatigue. Of course, specific jobs can be also be more stressful than others, for example, shift work is draining to the body since it messes up circadian rhythms. Also, there is the common “sandwich stress” which involves meeting the demands and expectations from above and below the food chain without holding the power or authority to make the necessary changes, without being able to do the job effectively, and while being blamed for issues but never getting the credit for a job well done. These are things that just add an extra burden of stress into our hectic lives.
The ability of someone to resist stress changes throughout the course of life and depends on different life stages. Major lifestyle choices, which are often within our control, that affect stress include: lack of sleep, poor food choices, consuming stimulants like caffeine, consuming toxins like drugs and alcohol, feelings of powerlessness, constant driving like seen in people with a Type A personality, perfectionism, and lack of enjoyable and relaxing activities. There are also life events that tend to be more stressful than others like moving, marriage, a new child, divorce, drug abuse, job loss, financial problems, surgery, family issues, and those that I am even more so interested in, since I am trained to work with them, like malnutrition, dehydration, overexposure to chemicals and toxins, and allergies. Poor diet in particular affects the ability of the adrenal glands to respond since they cannot obtain the required nutrients to function properly and produce the necessary hormones. In an interesting statistic, 62% of Americans don’t even eat one vegetable per day and I would guess this is probably the same for Canadians. If you recall correctly, these stresses can add up and before you know it you are at some level of adrenal fatigue. Even still, in our society the adrenal glands can be drained from birth, since children are born to mothers experiencing adrenal fatigue and experience stress from within the womb.
Now that we can see the role of stress in adrenal fatigue we can begin to look at some of the main symptoms of adrenal fatigue and you can begin to see whether you notice any of these in your life. Most of us will struggle with a few of these at the very minimum I would think, and again the spectrum of adrenal fatigue is very wide and changes between people. These common symptoms include:
· Difficulty getting up in the morning (hello, snooze button!)
· Continuing fatigue not relieved by sleep
· Cravings for salt or salty food
· Lethargy and lack of energy
· Increased effort to do daily tasks
· Decreased sex drive
· Decreased ability to handle stress
· Compulsive eating, smoking, or drug abuse
· Increased time to recover from illness or injury
· Light headed when standing up quickly
· Mild depression
· Less enjoyment and happiness out of life
· More bloating, cramping, and cravings before period
· Symptoms increase if not eating enough or for longer period of time
· Need for constant snack or coffee
· Thoughts less focused and more fuzzy
· Losing track of thoughts and difficult to make decisions
· Memory is less precise
· Lowered tolerance and higher irritability
· Don’t wake up until 10:00am, feel a dip between 3:00 and 4:00pm, feel better following dinner at 6:00pm
· Lowered productivity
I don’t know if you see a pattern here, but it seems to me like the majority of people complain from a high number of these symptoms on a daily basis. We have accepted these to be a normal piece of life, but this is simply not true, we should not feel constantly sick and tired.
In Part 3, we will be discussing more on the progression of adrenal fatigue, why modern medicine does not recognize it, how we can recognize it in ourselves, and some simple tests that can uncover if adrenal fatigue is an issue for you.
If you want to get started on your road to wellness now, send me a message and we can start working together on getting you back up and running with my private consultation packages. I’m offering complimentary 15 minute introductions!
Reference: Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson
Adrenal Fatigue Part 1: Why You Constantly Feel Sick and Tired
This is the beginning of my blog series on adrenal fatigue, be sure to keep following to catch the next posts once they are published.
You have probably heard the term adrenal fatigue being kicked around the internet, among other places, but what does it really mean? The medical community certainly does not take it seriously, so why should you? I’m here today to give you the down low on why you should consider getting yourself checked out for adrenal fatigue. Personally, I think it is one of the silent killers of this generation, yet there are so many simple steps you can take now to get yourself on the road to recovery, including more energy and happiness in your day to day life.
Adrenal fatigue is one of the most common health syndromes in our society today. It interferes with our ability to function and with our ability to enjoy life, yet it remains largely unrecognized by conventional medicine because medical doctors are not trained to look for it nor do they possess the tools to test for it and treat it properly. In the next sections, I am going to go through the definition of adrenal fatigue, what the adrenals glands are and what they do, how stress plays into the picture, and linked conditions.
Adrenal fatigue is also called hypoadrenia, which points to the deficiency in the functioning of the adrenal glands. So first off, let me explain exactly what the adrenal glands are and how they are involved in constantly feeling sick and tired. The adrenal glands help the body cope with stress and help facilitate the fight or flight response. They secrete tiny but precise and balanced amounts of steroid hormones and are very sensitive to changes within the physical, emotional, and psychological environment. The adrenal glands are walnut size, weigh less than a grape, are in the shape of a pyramid, and sit on top of the kidneys where they secrete hormones like cortisol. These hormones are anti-inflammatory and function like antioxidants that also affect the utilization of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, the conversion of fat and protein into energy, the distribution of stored fat, normalize blood sugar regulation, and ensure proper gastrointestinal and cardiovascular function. During midlife, for example menopause, the adrenal glands become the major source of sex hormones, so for this reason, people in this stage of life are more prone to experience symptoms of adrenal fatigue. The adrenal glands also affect our ability to respond to chronic illness and for those athletic people, the hormones they secrete influence muscular strength and stamina much like steroids.
Now that we know some more about the adrenal glands, we can talk about the star of the show. Stress can come in the form of injury, disease, work stress, relationship stress, money problems, and pretty much anything else that stresses you out either knowingly or unknowingly. Stress depletes the adrenal glands which thereby lowers the output of adrenal hormones. The severity of adrenal fatigue can range extensively and the extreme low end of the spectrum would be called Addison’s disease, which is a life threatening condition if left untreated and can involve structural and physiological damage to the adrenal gland, but it’s very rare. However, the majority of adrenal fatigue falls under the category of Non-Addison’s, with 70% of cases of adrenal fatigue stemming from autoimmune disease, a continuous burden on the body, and the remaining 30% of cases arising from severe stress.
If your adrenal glands are not functioning properly, you will constantly feel sick and tired since your body is constantly trying to play catch up. People suffering from adrenal fatigue might seem lazy and unmotivated, but in reality they must work much harder than others to accomplish most everyday tasks. To throw out a scary statistic, 80% of North American adults suffer from some level of adrenal fatigue in their life, yet it still continues to be the most under diagnosed illness. Modern medicine does not recognize it to be a distinct syndrome, which is a collection of signs and symptoms, yet in some cases, the adrenal glands can be so diminished that someone might not be able to get out of bed for more than a few hours a day. The more their function is reduced, the more every organ and system within the body becomes affected. This again includes changes in the carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, sex drive, and even body shape with more weight being distributed in the waist and sides of the face.
To add insult to injury, adrenal fatigue often does not stand alone, but is linked to a large number of other conditions including: hypoglycemia, increased tendency for allergies, arthritic pain, lowered immunity, increased PMS, difficult menopause, increased fears, anxiety, and depression, periods of confusion, difficulty concentrating, lowered acute memory recall, lowered tolerance, irritability and frustration, and insomnia. When it gets worse it can also result in: frequent respiratory infections, allergies, rhinitis, asthma, frequent colds, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, adult onset diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and alcoholism.
In Part 2, we will be discussing more regarding stress, why it holds such a key role in adrenal fatigue, and common symptoms of adrenal fatigue.
If you want to get started on your road to wellness now, send me a message and we can start working together on getting you back up and running with my private consultation packages. I’m offering complimentary 15 minute introductions!
Reference: Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson