Hormones 3
It’s Time to Pack the Fear of Fat Away
Why do we all fear fat?
A little while ago, I saw a newscast that was sharing how exciting it was that ‘scientists’ have figure out how to make avocados low fat, have increased shelf life, and ripen faster.
My question, why would we need low fat avocados? I also have other questions. What are we doing to the avocados in a lab somewhere to make this all possible? Are there long-term effects of this genetic modification? However, I will hold those thoughts for another blog.
Healthy fat, the type we get from coconut oil, ghee, butter, nuts, milk, cheese, seeds and the aforementioned avocados is not only healthy for you, but it is essential for our bodies to thrive.
Fat is the Backbone of our Hormones!
Take hormones for example. They help us sleep soundly, regulate our stress, respond to danger, stimulate our libido, increase muscle mass and much more….
The ingredients required to make every one of these hormones is healthy fat and protein.
Often when I review diet diaries with patients, they have a wide selection of ‘on-the-go’, ‘quick’ and ‘comfort’ foods that comprise their diet. It’s easy to get carbs on the go. Favourites include: breads, fruits, cereal, crackers and granola bars. It’s even easier to become Carb-aholics or carb-aterians – these foods provide comfort and quick energy.
The big problem is that a diet so focused on one food category results in our bodies being starved for fat.
But Fat is Bad, Right? WRONG!
At least once a day, someone shares with me the assumption that fat in their diet is making them fat. Sure if your diet is full of lard and saturated fat it may contribute to weight gain, but healthy fat does the exact opposite.
Let’s breakdown how food is used in our body…
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates breakdown to molecules of sugar/glucose for use in the body. Our bodies use them for short term energy requirements and stores them as fat. Carbs are good for short-term energy, but if you don’t use them they get stored in our body as fat tissue.
Protein
Protein breaks down into amino acids and provides our body medium to long-term energy. In addition to breaking down slower, proteins are responsible for the repair and replacement of everything from our hair to our neurotransmitters as well as hormones, muscles, skin, etc. The ingredients from protein breakdown are essential for DNA, the backbone of the body.
As people age, protein is more difficult to breakdown in the body because helpers like stomach acid are less abundant as we age. We see older adults shy away from eating a lot of protein. However, in this same age group we commonly see muscle wasting on their bodies. Their body to continue functioning still needs sources of protein to repair, replace, and run. Muscle tissue broken down provides these components. This phenomenon is not isn’t limited to older adults – it can happen to anyone that is protein deficient.
Fat
That leaves us with fat – most people think of fat as the layer of tissue that stands between you and your desired size of jeans, but would you be surprised to know that the largest single deposit of fat in our body’s is your BRAIN. Healthy fats comprise the materials that surround every cell in our body, our hormones, our neurotransmitters as well as the sheath that lines our nerve fibers.
We see fat in action in pregnant ‘soon to be’ moms. Everyone knows a mom (maybe it was themselves) who had terrible baby brain. The forgetfulness that makes them think they are losing their mind. In fact, they sort of are losing their mind. The fat their baby needs to create its cells, brain and body is coming from mom. So, when mom is experiencing ‘baby brain’ it is because baby is borrowing the fat from its mom’s brain to develop its own brain and body.
So What Does It All Mean?
Fat is important for our body’s development, maintenance and function. But we also know that diets focused on incorporating more fat in the diet have been shown to help people lose weight. Other fat benefits include reducing seizures in epileptics, improving endurance in athletes, improving memory and balancing hormones.
So, do we need a low fat avocado? Definitely not. Instead, we need to gain new perspective on fat – why we need it, what it can do for us and how our body feels when we eat it.
My recommendation is to incorporate some fat into every meal and snack. You may notice less fluctuation in energy and hunger, less brain fog and that you feel more in control.
Ideas for healthy fat options include:
Avocados. The full fat variety – can be incorporated into smoothies, topping your eggs, eaten as delicious guacamole. Use them to make avocado chocolate pudding…the options are limitless,
Nuts. They can be eaten alone or as a trail mix – walnuts, almonds, pistachios, etc.
Nut Butter. Nut butter is a great way to integrate both protein and fat into a snack such as accompanying and apple or carrot sticks. There are a wide variety of types including sunflower butter – which isn’t made from nuts but instead seeds for allergy-friendly snacks.
Olives and Olive Oil. This rich treat can be drizzled raw on top of veggies, salad or even just taken on a spoon to increase the healthy fat in your day.
Fish. All types of fish have healthy fat, some more then others – fish such as anchovies and salmon are rich in healthy fat. But really, any creature from the sea has excellent fat to help fuel your body.
Eggs! Eggs are good for you, especially the golden yolks – filled with phosphatidyl choline. Phos Choline one of the most essential brain fog eliminating components! Have your eggs and boost your brain.
BulletProof Coffee. This fat rich starter to your day can get your body humming in the morning. Click here for the official bulletproof coffee recipe.
Other thoughts – add coconut oil to your smoothie, dip your lunch time veggies in hummus, pop some trail mix into your backpack, sneak a little cheese, butter or dairy into your day…
The Author, Christina Carew, is a naturopathic doctor who practices functional and strategic medicine in Toronto and King City/ Vaughan. As a medical investigator, she is in the business of changing people’s lives.
Dr. Christina focuses on finding the biomedical reasons for symptoms that are often unique to each patient and helps her patients remove the obstacles that stand in the way of living a healthy vibrant life.
Want to know if her approach is right for you – sign up for a free 20-minute consult at https://healingme.ca/book-appointment-naturopathic-doctor/
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.
Feeling Fatigued: 5 Reasons Why Feeling Flat Out Exhausted Isn’t Normal
Have you ever told your medical professional – I am so tired, I’m suffering from exhaustion? Was the reply ‘that’s normal for someone that is (insert new mother, working professional, commuter, etc)”.
If you find yourself dragging yourself out of bed? Using coffee or caffeine drinks to keep you going? Or wanting to take a nap under your desk mid-afternoon? This is not normal.
Exhaustion isn’t Normal
Fatigue is one of the medical conditions that is non-specific to any particular condition. Because it isn’t a clear cue, it is often pushed aside. This takes work to find out why you are tired. And your reason, may be different then why the person at the desk beside you is holding their eyelids open with toothpicks.
Some of the usual culprits that are blamed include:
- Working too much
- Too much stress
- Poor eating habits (content or frequency)
- Iron Deficiency or Anemia
- Low vitamin D
- Lacking enough vitamin B12
All of these will definitely impact your body fatigue levels. But there are also a list of other reasons that are often never considered. This blog gives you a snapshot of five other common possibilities.
Reason #1: Hydration
This isn’t just about drinking water, although that is super important, but are you actually missing the electrolytes in your body that keep things going. Mineral electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium support endurance and energy levels throughout the day.
Before you go reaching for a sports drink – keep in mind that these drinks are filled with sugar, which can actually cause you to crash further. Click here for a homemade electrolyte drink you can make ahead and take with you to the office.
Want to know more about water hydration and fatigue click here.
Reason #2: Low ATP
You may remember ATP from high school science class. The most important thing to remember – it is the fuel that is responsible for energy in the body. It’s like running a car with an empty gas tank. It certainly isn’t going to perform to expectations, and may actually crawl to a slow stop along your journey.
Your body makes ATP through some complicated cycles in the body. Most of which involve adding and removing nutrients. If you are lacking in these nutrients the cycle will just stop.
Feel like you’ve hit a wall? This may be that your ATP production is slowed right down, and your body is yelling at you to stop.
Reason #3: Toxicity
When you look out the window of your condo or car you may see a thin layer of dirt covering it. It seems like everything is clear. But the second the window is washed its like a whole new world is displayed bright and full of life.
Toxicity in the body is sort of like that dirty window. When it creeps into your life slowly you sometimes don’t notice it is there, but as soon as it is gone it’s like a whole new body.
We get exposed to all kinds of toxicity. Some people are genetically predisposed to absorb more, and some people just don’t detoxify well. Toxicity can be in the form of car pollution such as from sitting in the endless traffic. It comes from airplane travel overhead, living close to a highway or busy street. Perhaps you are living in or near a construction site, drink water from old pipes, live or work in an older building. Living near a golf course or park that is sprayed with pesticides can contribute to toxin exposure.
We can’t avoid toxin exposure in the 21st century, but we can make sure to clean our windows regularly, ensuring that it doesn’t build up.
Reason #4: Adrenals
Maybe you’ve heard about adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion. Your adrenal glands are small (the size of walnuts) and sit on top of your kidneys. They are responsible for your ability to fight or flee a situation. They also regulate our ability to deal with stress. The more stress, the more these little walnuts are squeezing out hormones to help our body deal with the threats. Threats can be physical or mental.
Just like anything you use over and over again, without refilling these precious gems, they run out of steam. When you adrenals are low, your energy is low. You probably will also notice a few other things happening in your body.
Some of the common symptoms of adrenal exhaustion include: weight gain around the middle, adult onset acne, hair falling out more quickly then usual, inability to feel energized in the morning.
Want to know if your adrenals may be the culprit, click here.
Reason #5: Sleep
You’ve probably read all about the need for dark spaces, no electronics and appropriate levels of sleep. But it doesn’t always fit everyone’s lifestyle. Need to know more about sleep check out our insomnia blog here.
Sleep is not as linear as we hoped. For some of us creative time is at night. Others have children or work nights. Whatever your challenge may be, there are always ways to help you get better quality sleep.
Research actually tells us that it isn’t about the number of hours you get, but about the quality of sleep you get in those hours. That is why some people seem to soar on little sleep, and others feel like they are moving mountains when their sleep gets cut short.
One of the contributors to better quality sleep are neurotransmitters – these are the hormones in our brain that help us to calm our brain and fall into deep sleep.
Ready to Reclaim Your Health!
Need to figure out if you are burned out? Check out our burnout scale and find out…
The Author, Christina Carew, is a naturopathic doctor who practices strategic medicine in Toronto.
As a medical investigator she focuses on finding the biomedical reasons for symptoms that are often unique to each patient.
She helps her patients remove the obstacles that stand in the way of living a healthy vibrant life. Christina focuses on empowering patients to make informed decisions on their health journey.
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.
Can’t get by without coffee in the morning, read this…
Do you feel like you live in a haze until about 10am? Are you relying on your adrenals to shoot out adrenaline to get you moving in the morning?
Does your local barista have your gallon of extra strong coffee awaiting you as you roll by on the way into the office? If you are nodding up and down, this article is for you!
What if I told you there was no such thing as a ‘night owl’ or an ‘early riser’. These labels are often reflective of when someone’s adrenaline decides to give them an added boost. In fact, our bodies are designed to be diurnal, waking us up as the sun rises in the sky. Our brain should release melatonin as the sun goes down, coxing us into a deep and repair-rich slumber.
Are You Hormonal?
Who is the culprit that makes it hard to go to sleep? The one who makes it feel like being pulled out of cement to wake up, and ensures our local coffee shop continues to survive – HORMONES.
Hormones aren’t simply the thing you felt raging as a teenager. While those ones do count, they only represent a few of the numerous hormones in our body that regulate important processes including: sleep, metabolism, temperature, mood, libido, stress response and so much more.
So how does coffee help? Well coffee doesn’t really help, in fact it actually does us some harm. Coffee pushes our bodies into a state of adrenaline. The result is we are now experiencing our day as though we were running from a fire, or being chased by a tiger.
It pushes our body into this maximum state to help us get to safety. However, we don’t really ever slow down, do we? Instead of resting, we just push more on the gas and hope for the best.
Are You Running From a Bear?
Running in this hyper state shuts off some of the other functions in the body – the ones that don’t help us run from the bear. Functions like metabolism. Ever notice on the days you are super stressed, that it feels like your lunch is just sitting there? Or maybe you’ve forgotten to eat all together?
Somewhere mid-afternoon, we run out of adrenaline and suddenly our body crashes. This state of tired can be overwhelming. It may feel like you want to crawl under your desk, or hide in the coat closet, just for a few minutes of rest.
The science behind this is pretty simple. Our bodies handle stress and day-to-day activity through a hormone called cortisol. As long as we have an adequate cortisol rise in the morning, it can that slowly release through out the day. This keeps us having enough gas to keep our body producing all the relevant hormones to get us through our day. This allows us to feel like we can manage stressful situations, as well as make good choices and decisions all day long.
When our cortisol is low (this can be for a number of reasons) our body taps into adrenaline. Adrenaline pulls us up high enough to push through our day. But adrenaline doesn’t really have any other gear then high, so we get stuck in high. Most of us experience a highly productive period of time followed by a disastrous crash when the adrenaline shuts off.
If you see yourself in any of the descriptions above, know that your hormones are probably not operating at optimal. It means that you could be having problems losing weight, staying focused, getting pregnant, staying healthy and so much more.
How Are Your Adrenals?
Wonder if you may be taping your adrenals dry? We’ll send the “Am I headed for burnout checklist” right to your inbox.
So, give me a call when you are ready to jump off the adrenaline train and get back to health.
The Author, Christina Carew, is a naturopathic doctor who practices functional and strategic medicine.
As a medical investigator, she is in the business of changing people’s lives. Dr. Christina focuses on finding the biomedical reasons for symptoms that are often unique to each patient and helps her patients remove the obstacles that stand in the way of living a healthy vibrant life.
Want to know if her approach is right for you – sign up for a free 15-minute consult at https://healingme.ca/book-appointment-naturopathic-doctor/
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.