Stress Eating Solutions

woman with a stack of baked goods with the words what can you do to avoid the quarantine15 and stress eating
Stress Eating?

What to Do About the Quarantine15

Let’s start with something positive: When you’re staying at home all the time, you have more time to devote to cooking healthy food for yourself. At least, that’s the hope that many of us started out with 10+ weeks ago. However, there’s a reason why terms like “quarantine 15” and “isolation constipation” are trending on social media.

It turns out that eating healthily and avoiding overindulgence during a pandemic isn’t always easy, even if we have the best intentions. Read on to learn why and what you should do about it.

Emotions And Food Choices

The biggest challenge is that we’re all only human. It’s perfectly normal to be feeling a wide range of emotions right now. These may range from hope to boredom, uncertainty to terror, and even contentment. Sometimes all this is going on within the same hour! All of these are perfectly normal reactions to a very different situation from what most of us are used to.

Many people turn to food when they’re stressed. Whereas others can’t seem to stomach a bite when upset. I have always wished I was one of the latter, but sadly, have always fallen into the former category. Food helps me feel better.

The Role Of Cortisol In Stress Eating

On the surface, it may seem that your motivation to dive into a plate of freshly baked cookies is that they are one of life’s few remaining pleasures. And that is partially true. But there are also innate physiological reasons why we reach for sweets and carbs when we’re stressed. When your body senses that it’s under attack, it releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. And cortisol has been tied to an increase in appetite. Some studies have found that the blood sugar cycle (aka sugar high and crash) created when we turn to carbs and sugar is actually addictive. It is also a difficult roller coaster to get off of. When your blood sugar crashes, it stimulates cravings for carbs and sugar that can be next to impossible to overcome.

Sweet Seduction

On top of that, many people are turning to baking, both to avoid going to the grocery store and to stay busy. This is inducing some unusual shortages at the grocery store (besides toilet paper), including flour and yeast. Scarcity then increases the urge to obtain these things.

And if you’ve recently drooled over a photo of a friend’s perfect loaf of freshly baked bread you know that the visual appeal of social media may also play a role.

Limited Produce

In addition, having to limit our trips to the store leads to an abundance of non-perishable foods like flour and pasta in the cupboard, in contrast with a shortage of fresh produce in the fridge.

7 Tips To Avoid The “Quarantine Fifteen”

What’s a socially distancing person supposed to eat in order to stay healthy or even lose weight? The most important thing right now is that you take it easy on yourself. Being overly self-critical escalates the cycle of stress and overeating. Always keep in mind that we’re living through unprecedented developments. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to deal with our current situation.

1 – Practice Mindfulness

There is some fascinating research that has shown that developing a mindfulness practice through yoga or meditation leads to wiser food choices. One particular study found that a meditation practice reduced the desire for animal foods and increased the desire for a plant-based diet in the study participants.

With their positive effects on overall health and emotional well-being, there has never been a better time to take up yoga or meditation. I know I’ve been spending a great deal of time with my yoga mat lately. It definitely helps me feel more relaxed, less stressed, stronger and healthier.

Yoga and meditation can certainly improve your mental health, but one other unanticipated result could be healthier food choices.

2 – Be Aware Of Why You Are Eating

It’s also useful to examine the causes behind any snacking. Do you walk through the kitchen every time you’re bored or lonely? Eat chips during your Netflix binge nights? Watching TV while eating is a perfect way to over-consume unhealthy food.

If your reason for eating is anything other than hunger, then try having a glass or two of water instead.

3 – Be Careful What You Buy

Of course, you can’t eat food that isn’t in your home. Being more mindful of what you put in your cart in the store or order online is also important. If you’re finding it difficult to stay stocked up on fresh produce, investigate produce delivery services in your area or stock up on frozen fruit and veggies instead. They are equally, if not more, nutrient-dense and they are quick and convenient.

4 – Develop Soul-Nurturing Activities

Immersing yourself in activities that give you a sense of satisfaction helps to replace feelings of boredom and want that lead to overeating. Consider some rewarding pastimes such as fixing things in your home that have been on your to-do list, de-cluttering your cupboards or closets, handicrafts like sewing, knitting, or crocheting, teaching your dog a new trick, learning a musical instrument or even building a raised planter to grow a unique mix of salad greens in the smallest of sunny spots. We’ve started our tomato plants, cantaloupe, cucumber, lettuce, and basil indoors under a grow light a few weeks ago. They’re ready to be transplanted into our brand-new raised planter that my partner built.

Checking things off of your to-do list gives your brain a hit of the reward neurotransmitter dopamine. Feed the need for dopamine with self-pride and accomplishment instead of cookies.

5 – Alternative Produce Sources

Local organic farms are a good place to source regular produce box deliveries. If those are not available look into new fruit and vegetable services that many local restaurants are running as a way to stay afloat. If you are creative about getting fresh food from different sources, you can improve your odds of having a healthy choice when you are reaching for a snack.

6 – Plan For Nutrition

Becoming more conscious of your choices when you’re shopping will also help you make better food choices. Look for easy ways to slip in some more nutrient-dense foods, such as:

  • Buy some leafy greens to add to smoothies
  • Get some alternatives to pasta such as zoodles (noodles made from zucchini)
  • Roast some root vegetables and keep them on hand (these tasty veggies have the advantage of a long shelf life)
  • Try fermentation instead of baking (kimchi and kombucha are much better for your digestion than bread!)
  • Swap regular flour for almond flour. This cuts the carbs and increases the protein and healthy fat in your baking.

If you’d like to continue baking, that’s great! Just keep in mind that you can find many gluten-free or health-oriented recipes online. You might discover some new favourites. Consider joining our Gluten-free Recipe Swap on June 8 at 7 p.m. You can register here.

Keeping specific healthy meals and snacks in mind as you shop can help you ignore the less nutritious choices.

7 – Focus On The Health Attributes of Your Food

Knowing the physiological needs that your food is meeting is another angle that will help you make healthier choices:

Foods That Nourish Your Digestive Tract

Avoid “isolation constipation” by ensuring that you’re getting enough fibre in your diet. This is a great time to try new recipes with beans, for example. Beans happen to also be cheap and easy to store. Bean flour makes a healthier flour substitute too because of its high fibre content. Here are some good recipes to start with!

Foods That Support A Healthy Immune System

Nutrients such as vitamin A, C, and zinc support a healthy immune system. Good sources of beta carotene to build vitamin A include orange and yellow fruits and veggies as well as dark green leafy vegetables. Vitamin C-rich foods include citrus fruit, kiwi, berries, peppers and melons. Foods that are rich in zinc include most seeds and nuts, beef, egg yolks and shellfish.

And of course, while we’re talking about immune supportive vitamins, remember to catch a few rays of sunshine every day to top up your vitamin D. You need skin exposure at the sun’s peak times to get your daily dose, that’s why most of us supplement with this essential vitamin.

Aside from your diet, how are you holding up? Stress eating may be a sign that you need some help with your mental health. It’s important to check in with others to maintain your psychological well-being.

If you would like to talk about additional ways to stay healthy while in quarantine, give the office a call at 416.481.0222 or book a virtual visit online at https://forcesofnature.janeapp.com. You can do a virtual appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors, our chiropractor, dietitian, or psychotherapist.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc (Hons), Naturopathic Doctor

Resources

Curbing weight gain from emotional eating: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137864/

Why we overeat when we’re stressed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214609/

Yoga and mindful eating: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932774/

Diet vs Exercise for Weight Loss

picture showing food and running shoes with the text what is more important nutrition/diet or exercise for weight loss
What Is More Important, Diet or Exercise?

Which is More Important Diet or Exercise?

Eat less, exercise more. You’ve probably heard that this is the secret to weight loss. So, it makes sense that if you want to lose weight quickly, or if you’ve hit a weight-loss plateau, you need to really ramp up the exercise, right?

Unfortunately, despite the fact that it makes sense, many people experience frustration with this approach. Why aren’t they successful? Research suggests that weight loss is more complex than a simple “calories in vs calories burned” formula. In fact, our hormones play a bigger role in regulating our metabolism than many people realize. As a result, maintaining a diet that reduces insulin levels and encourages hormonal balance is more effective than hours of exercise.

Why Exercise Can’t Make Up for a Bad Diet

Consider a woman training for a 10-K race. She runs from half an hour to an hour every day. With all of that exercise, she figures she should be losing weight and should be able to treat herself every now and then. However, she’s plagued by some remaining pounds that she just can’t shake.

What’s happening? Let’s take a look at the math. As a 140-pound woman, she burns about 300 calories in a 30-minute run. That’s fantastic! In addition to the calorie burn, she experiences better cardiovascular health, improved mood, a sense of accomplishment and countless other benefits from her runs.

However, those 300 calories are a lot easier to consume than they are to burn. Simply put, she can easily take in an extra 300 calories by eating a small bagel or sipping on a sweet coffee drink.

In fact, studies have shown that exercising often leads to an increase in food consumption. Some of this effect is due to the impact that our hormones have on our appetite. Some of it simply is because we tell ourselves, consciously or subconsciously, that we deserve a treat after a workout.

The Science Of Diet vs Exercise

Interestingly, one study found that about 30 minutes per day of exercise is more effective for losing body fat than longer periods of working out. One reason for this is that our everyday movement (the things we do on a normal day that are not “formal” exercise) may decrease if we’re tired from a long workout. As well, the hormones that stimulate our appetite increase when our bodies are over-stressed. But, research has also shown that our appetite-increasing hormone (ghrelin) goes down when we exercise. So the trick is to exercise, but not to the point where it is perceived as additional stress by your body.

What does this mean for your weight-loss efforts? All told, scientists conclude that diet is more effective than exercise for weight loss. However, the best approach is still to combine the two. That’s because it is important not to dismiss exercise’s role. Working out improves your metabolism, particularly if you add strength training to your routine. Strength training builds muscle mass. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active. That means that it burns more calories, even while you are sleeping. And, of course, exercise offers countless other benefits. These range from better skin and immune function to improved digestion to deeper sleep. It’s an important part of a healthy, balanced life.

A 2009 review of randomized controlled trials comparing diet-plus-exercise vs. diet-only for weight loss among obese or overweight adults found that diet-plus-exercise interventions provided significantly greater weight loss than diet-only interventions.

Another study from 2014 determined that weight loss programs that are based on physical activity alone are less effective than programs that included combined behavioral weight management strategies in both the short and long term.

The Most Effective Formula of Diet vs Exercise For Weight Loss

So, what is the ideal weight loss formula? The best approach is one that reflects your unique health profile. Your age, gender, overall health, and lifestyle all impact your metabolism. That’s why it’s important to work with your naturopathic doctor to develop a strategy that works for you. We want to make sure that there isn’t something else going on that’s sabotaging your ability to reach your weight loss goals.

Why Can’t You Lose Weight?

The kind of impediments to weight loss that our Naturopathic Doctors will help you seek out include:

  1. Hypothyroidism. This is a common cause of symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, and mental lethargy. Our naturopaths offer more extensive testing for your thyroid than anyone else.
  2. Hormone imbalances. Certain hormones increase your metabolism (like testosterone and progesterone) while others contribute to weight gain (like estrogen). Our naturopaths also offer more extensive hormone testing than anyone else and have many tools to fix hormone imbalances.
  3. High stress and high cortisol. Stress jacks up your cortisol production to help you handle the stress. However, we all know that cortisol causes your body to deposit fat right around your mid-section. That pesky belly fat won’t budge unless you can moderate the effect that stress has on your body. Our naturopaths check cortisol levels and assess your adrenal glands. We use adaptogenic herbs to moderate cortisol production and help you handle stress more easily.

Weight Loss Plateau – Tips for Moving the Needle

A few simple changes help you make the most of the “diet” part of the equation so that you experience the weight-loss benefits of both diet and exercise

Intermittent Fasting: What is the Best Way to do it?

Intermittent fasting means integrating scheduled periods of abstaining from food into your life. There are many different approaches you could try. To name a few popular examples, some people eat regular meals five days a week and fast for the other two. Many people follow an “8-16” schedule, in which they have an 8-hour eating window each day. For example, they only eat between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day, then they fast for 16 hours from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. During the fasting window, they consume only water.

Studies show that the effectiveness of these periods of fasting goes beyond the missed calories. In addition, intermittent fasting has a positive effect on your hormones. For example, periods of not eating keep your insulin levels in check. When your food is digested in your gut, the carbs in it are converted to sugar and then used for energy. But, excess sugar that you don’t burn is stored as fat, with the help of insulin. If your insulin levels drop, your fat cells release this stored sugar. In addition, fasting increases your levels of human growth hormone (HGH) which leads to healthier testosterone levels, muscle growth, and fat loss.

What time of day should you do Intermittent Fasting?

Some say that it doesn’t matter. I think it does matter. Research suggests that it is beneficial to consume your calories earlier in the day. This gives you time to burn off those calories. Studies also show that you produce less insulin when you take in your calories earlier in the day, rather than later. I recommend that my patients aim to set a fasting window from 5 or 6 p.m. to 9 to 10 a.m. and eat from 9 to 5 or 10 to 6.

Keep a food diary

One strategy that is effective for weight loss is to carefully monitor what you’re eating in a food diary. Making this a habit helps to prevent the tendency many of us have to overcompensate for an exercise session or grab a quick snack without realizing the extra caloric intake.

If you prefer to use technology for this, apps like FitBit and Samsung Health will monitor your caloric intake and activity level to make sure that you aren’t underestimating how much you eat and overestimating how active you are.

Focus on natural, nutrient-dense whole foods.

When you want to get the most nutritional value from the foods you eat, “clean” eating is the best approach. Often when people hit plateaus in their weight-loss efforts, hormone imbalances are to blame. That means that no amount of extra exercise will help break the plateau. Nutrient-dense foods are full of vitamins and minerals that restore hormonal balance. So try cutting out processed foods, refined sugar, and alcohol in favor of whole foods like vegetables and fruit.

Whole foods also supply prebiotic fiber. Research on this type of fiber indicates that it helps to reduce a hormone in your blood called ghrelin. Ghrelin is responsible for increasing your appetite. Prebiotic fiber also reduces an inflammatory marker called CRP or C-Reactive Protein. Reducing CRP means reducing inflammation. Reducing inflammation helps you lose weight by improving energy and exercise tolerance but also by improving insulin sensitivity. Foods that are high in prebiotic fiber include asparagus, burdock, chicory, dandelion root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, and onions.

Understanding how your unique body is working involves testing, not just guessing. This holds true for weight loss. Maybe it’s a hormonal imbalance, thyroid dysfunction or food sensitivities that are impacting your body’s ability to metabolize food properly and stay slim.

As always, a personalized approach will be the most effective. If you have hit a weight-loss plateau, or if you’re wondering how to achieve the right balance between diet and exercise, give our clinic a call at 416-481-0222 or book online here.

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Pamela Frank, updated Jan. 9, 2020


Diet vs Exercise for Weight Loss Resources

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118302535

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25323965

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4227972/

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/93/2/427/4597724

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3771367/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21832897?dopt=Abstract

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268700/

https://physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00141.2012

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19175510

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25257365

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31504857

Eating Healthy But Can’t Lose Weight? It May Be Insulin Resistance

woman with belly fat that can't lose weight because of insulin resistance
Wondering Why You Can’t Lose Weight?

Stubborn Weight Loss

You eat “right” and exercise, but somehow those stubborn extra pounds just keep coming and they won’t leave. Even worse, they have settled in at your midsection. What is happening to your figure?

It is possible to eat healthy and still struggle with your weight

It is easy to blame weight gain on the hormonal shifts that come with age. But, these changes are not necessarily due to andropause or menopause alone. Instead, insulin resistance could be the root of the problem.

What is Insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that is produced by specialized cells in your pancreas known as beta cells.

What Does Insulin Do?

Let’s look at what insulin does in your body. It helps your body to use sugar from your food by transferring it into your cells for them to use for energy. A healthy insulin level rises after a meal, and goes down once your blood sugar returns to normal. This rise in insulin is proportionate to the amount of carbs and sugar in the meal. This natural fluctuation of insulin is what keeps your blood sugar in a healthy balance.

What is Insulin Resistance?

When your body’s cells can’t respond to insulin properly, they become “insulin resistant”. This means that your blood sugar levels rise higher than they should, even when your pancreas is making a lot of insulin.

How Does Insulin Affect Your Weight?

Excessively high blood sugar and insulin have many harmful effects. They cause damage throughout your body. So your body has a back-up plan to protect itself from high blood sugars; it stores the extra energy by converting it to fat, often around your midsection.

This perpetual fat production is why high blood sugar and insulin levels make it hard to lose weight.

More Than Just a Spare Tire – Insulin’s Many Negative Roles

It’s important to note that insulin plays a role in many body functions. So, insulin resistance can affect other facets of your health in addition to giving you a spare tire. In fact, up to 50 percent of people who are insulin resistant go on to develop life-changing, chronic conditions like diabetes. And, insulin resistance has been linked to the development of several types of cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

At the hormone level, insulin is an intricate part of many systems in your body. For both men and women, insulin influences the production and performance of your reproductive hormones. For example, high insulin levels can magnify menopausal symptoms. For women who are struggling to manage hot flashes, mood changes, weight or other menopause symptoms, being insulin resistant can make it even harder to regain control of their hormones. For men, insulin lowers testosterone and increases estrogen. Consequently, there can be depression, loss of muscle mass, low libido and many other detrimental effects.

What are the Symptoms of Insulin Resistance?

Despite its widespread effects, insulin resistance can be difficult to diagnose. In fact, many people don’t experience any symptoms until they are diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms below, your best first step should be to talk to your naturopathic doctor or other healthcare provider:

  • Velvety dark patches of skin in your groin, neck, or armpits (a condition called acanthosis nigricans)
  • Abnormal fatigue
  • Cravings for sweet or salty food
  • Increased hunger
  • Excessive thirst
  • Excessive urination
  • High waist-to-hip ratio (if you’re female, measure your waist and hips, then divide the number you measured for your waist by your hip measurement. If the result is higher than 0.8, your ratio is on the higher end. For men, a result greater than 1.0 is concerning.)

How Can You Test for Insulin Resistance?

There are several blood tests that look at your blood sugar level:

  • glycated or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)
  • fasting blood sugar
  • random blood sugar
  • 2-hour post-consumption glucose and
  • oral glucose tolerance test

Of these, the best way to measure insulin resistance is by doing an oral glucose tolerance test WITH insulin measurements.

This test involves going to a lab after you have been fasting for 12 hours. There, they will collect a fasting blood test for glucose and insulin. Then, they will give you a sugary drink, with a known amount of glucose in it, often 75-100 grams. After that, blood tests for glucose and insulin are collected at 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 120 minutes and 180 minutes after drinking this drink. After the drink, it is expected that your blood sugar will rise and then return to normal within 2 hours. An abnormal test would show that either your blood sugar did not return to normal within 2 hours, or that you had to make an excessive amount of insulin in order to get it to return to normal. Most times when this test is done, only the glucose measurements are done. However, this only provides half of the information you need to determine insulin resistance. Our naturopathic doctors can order proper insulin resistance testing for you.

7 Risk Factors For Insulin Resistance

Our bodies need carbohydrates in small to moderate amounts depending on our level of physical activity. However, consuming more carbohydrates than your body needs, contributes to insulin resistance.

Risk factors for insulin resistance include:

  • Being overweight, particularly if you are “apple-shaped” rather than “pear-shaped”
  • High carb and/or sugar diet
  • Genetics. Some people who develop insulin resistance don’t have other risk factors. If you have a family history of high cholesterol, heart disease, or diabetes, you may have inherited genes that mean you need to be even more careful about preventing insulin resistance.
  • Inactivity or sedentary lifestyle
  • Insufficient sleep
  • Medications, including antidepressants and corticosteroids
  • Certain medical conditions, including:

Can you Improve Insulin Resistance Naturally?

The good news is that lifestyle changes can dramatically improve the balance of insulin in your body. They also also have a positive impact on other hormones – particularly the hormones that affect your quality of life at middle age and beyond.

Examine your diet

If you are struggling with balancing insulin and blood sugar, you should aim to eliminate unnecessary carbohydrates from your diet as much as possible. That means no sugar, flour or flour-based products, or sugar sweetened beverages. Try to eliminate or at least limit alcohol as well.

An added bonus of cutting back on sweets and starchy foods is weight loss. Having too much body fat, especially around your middle, contributes to insulin resistance. Of course, this creates a vicious cycle, since as we discussed insulin resistance makes it harder to lose weight. It is important to make healthy, long-term diet changes. One study found that losing just five to seven per cent of your body weight improves insulin resistance.

However, don’t restrict calories too aggressively. You don’t want to stress your body. Stress raises your levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. High cortisol levels wreak havoc on your insulin and blood sugar balance. So, focus on getting your energy from whole foods without starving yourself. Our ND’s and Registered Dietitian are great resources for diet and nutrition advice. They can come up with a weight loss meal plan just for you.

Quit smoking

Let’s add “insulin resistance” to the long list of reasons not to smoke. This is another step that sounds easier than it often turns out to be. If you smoke, you don’t have have to give it up alone. We’re here to help! We have ways and means to make quitting easier. Talk to one of our ND’s or our Psychotherapist for help.

Supplements

Certain supplements can help as well. Making sure that you’re taking the right ones, which are a good fit for you, is best discussed with your naturopathic doctor.

Reduce your stress

This is always easier said than done, but it’s important to keep your cortisol levels balanced. We will work together to find a stress-reduction plan that works for you. Talk to one of our ND’s or our Psychotherapist or book a massage to get your stress level down.

Get enough sleep

Studies show that even one night of bad sleep or less than 4 hours of sleep negatively affects your insulin levels the next day. Aim for 8 hours per night, every night.

Get more exercise

Many studies have linked physical activity with improved insulin levels. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed though, even moderate levels of daily activity can help. The key is avoid long periods of being extremely sedentary.

In fact, especially for middle-aged women, workouts that are too intense raises your cortisol levels. This, in turn, raises insulin your levels, which will be counterproductive. So, getting creative with your exercise becomes more important as you get older. In addition to increasing moderate exercise, aim to increase your other daily movements. For example, park a bit further away, do the dishes by hand at the end of the evening, or even just stretch for a few minutes at home. Even little bits of activity can add up.

Best Exercise for People Over 50

Three of the best exercises for people over the age of 50 are:

  • Long walks outside. Being outside lowers cortisol. Walking is a gentle exercise that almost anyone can safely do. Walking for one to two hours per day helps to burn an additional 200-300 calories per hour.
  • Restorative yoga. This helps to restore your body, maintains your flexibility, balance and strength.
  • Weight training. Weight lifting helps to maintain your muscle mass and bone density, helps you burn more calories even while you sleep and maintains a healthy level of growth hormone in your body.

As you can see from the information above, our bodies and our health are very intricate. When something goes amiss in one area, the effects are felt in many other areas. This dynamic is particularly true when it comes to middle-age, insulin and hormones. Even if you don’t have any obvious symptoms of insulin resistance, addressing your insulin levels is one of the best overall wellness and disease prevention measures you can take.

If you are wondering about your insulin levels, how your blood sugar is behaving, your hormones, insulin resistance and what it may be doing to your weight loss efforts, call us at 416-481-0222 or book an appointment online any time here.

By Dr Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Sources:

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/prediabetes-insulin-resistance#resistance

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2551669/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20371664

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2895000/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501863/

Intermittent Fasting

woman holding apple for intermittent fasting

Intermittent Fasting: Fad Diet or Science-Based?

While not eating may not sound like a treatment, fasting is one of the oldest therapies in medicine. It has been well-researched for its ability to help heal and prevent disease. When done under the proper guidance of a naturopathic doctor, intermittent fasting can lead to effective weight loss and many long-term health benefits.

Fasting Versus Starving

So, you might be wondering, what’s the difference between intermittent fasting and starvation diets? Well, for starters, starving yourself is dangerous. Our bodies still need fuel to function. Being overly calorie-restricted can cause your metabolism to slow down to conserve fuel. This defeats your weight-loss efforts.

Starvation deprives our body of essential nutrients, so it begins eating itself by burning muscle for fuel. Fasting differs from starvation because it can be practiced for 12, 16, 24, 36 or even 48 hours without the body kicking into starvation mode. Fasting flips the metabolic switch safely and effectively by forcing your body into using one fuel source (ketones) instead of another (glucose).

When we are frequently eating, our bodies are fuelled by glucose, which is a simple sugar. However, through intermittent fasting, that energy source becomes unavailable for long periods of time. As a result, the body begins to break down stored fat into fatty acids that are easily absorbed into the bloodstream.  Fatty acids can be broken down into molecules called ketones. (This may ring a bell if you are familiar with the ketogenic diet.) Ketones can be used to produce energy. After 8 – 12 hours of fasting, our metabolism shifts to replace glucose with ketones as our new source of fuel.

In a world of fad diets and weight loss gimmicks, studies show that intermittent fasting may be better for you than other dieting strategies. This is because ketones put less stress on our cells compared to the by-products of other dieting methods.

Studies also show that intermittent fasting can produce benefits no matter how it’s accomplished!

In one study, participants were allowed to fast for any number of hours a day, and then eat whatever they desired during the remaining hours. In another study, dieters alternated fasting and feasting days. On their non-fasting days, dieters either restricted their diet or ate to their hearts’ content. In both cases, results showed significant weight loss, no matter the approach!

Furthermore, participants in both studies did not lose any significant amount of lean tissue (which includes bone, muscle and organ tissue). This is in contrast to starvation diets which can sometimes cause the loss of both fat and lean muscle tissue, impacting health negatively in the long run. Loss of muscle mass means a slower metabolism. Muscle burns calories even while you are sleeping.

When Should I Fast?

It’s easiest to spend most of your fasting hours asleep, so you’re not thinking about food.

How Should I Fast?

As shown above, studies have shown that the exact structure of a fast isn’t critical. However, here are a few proposed fasting plans:

  1. If you are a beginner faster, you may want to start out with an easier fasting plan, sometimes referred to as a 12:12. What that means is that you may eat within a 12-hour window each day, and then not eat throughout the remaining 12 hours. This is relatively easily done if you eat your last meal around 6 p.m. and then you don’t eat again until breakfast the next morning. It just entails curbing any evening snacking. This plan would produce more modest weight-loss than option #2 below.
  2. If the above option seems too easy, or you are already doing it and want to take it to the next level or you are wanting a greater weight-loss benefit, then you can do a 16:8 fast. That means that you only eat during an 8-hour window each day, the remaining 16 hours of the day are fasting hours. Again, you can set your feeding and fasting hours to whatever you like, but it may be that you’re not that big of a breakfast eater and mornings are hectic, so you may just skip eating until noon. Then noon to 8 p.m. is your feeding window.

What Should I Eat for Intermittent Fasting?

As mentioned, the research seems to suggest that it doesn’t really matter what you eat during your non-fasting hours. However, to prevent falling into bad habits and further enhance weight-loss efforts, we would always recommend eating a healthy, clean, whole foods diet.

Won’t I be Ravenous, Hangry, Tired, Weak, Shaky or Have a Headache?

Surprisingly, people who follow an intermittent fasting regimen, find that they are not starving between meals. In fact, they often report that they feel quite full and satisfied and do not crave food. If you find that you feel weak, shaky, irritable, tired or headachey if you don’t eat, your adrenal glands may need some supporting to allow you to fast without feeling this way. Our ND’s can provide advice about how to keep your adrenal glands healthy.

Did you know that intermittent fasting helps you to live longer too?

It’s true! New research from Harvard shows that intermittent fasting manipulates the mitochondrial networks inside our cells, which may increase lifespan!

Sure, that sounds great! But how does it work?

Simply put, inside our cells we have energy-producing organelles called mitochondria that dynamically change shape in relation to our body’s energy demand. Over time, their ability to produce energy gradually declines, eventually leading to age-related diseases. While fasting is often recommended as a way to promote healthy aging, the connection between metabolism and mitochondria has always been unclear… until now!

The Harvard study shows that low-energy conditions, such as periods of intermittent fasting, can help maintain the flexibility and youthfulness of mitochondrial networks. These youthful networks then communicate with other parts of the body (organelles called peroxisomes) that modulate fat metabolism, which as a result, helps to increase lifespan.

Fasting does not only help you live a longer life.

Fasting improves your overall health too! Further studies suggest that fasting can help:

  • Boost your immune system
  • Enhance your physical performance
  • Expedite weight loss
  • Protect your cognitive function
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Slow the progression of cancerous tumors
  • Protect against cardiovascular disease

Steps for Effective Fasting

As mentioned, there are numerous different ways to fast that are equally effective. Below are a few fasting tips to help you on your way.

  1. Set a fasting schedule and stick to it. If you’re a beginner, meal skipping is an excellent way to introduce yourself to fasting. If you choose to do a 12 or 16 hour fast, arrange your fasting window during sleeping hours to help the time pass by more easily. Fasting for 24 hours once a week or alternating day fasting are other options to try. Be sure to consult your naturopathic doctor to determine what might work best for you.
  2. Stay hydrated. You might be limiting your intake of food, but you certainly shouldn’t limit your consumption of calorie-free beverages. Be sure to drink plenty of water or switch it up with unsweetened herbal teas.
  3. Relax your body and your mind. During 24-48 hour fasting days, don’t participate in strenuous activities or spend your time obsessing over the food you can’t eat. Go easy on yourself by finding things to keep your body and mind occupied in a productive, gentle way. Take a walk or do light exercise that won’t exhaust you, like yoga. Spend a few hours curled up with a great book. Your next meal will come before you know it!
  4. Make your calories count. Between fasting windows, enjoy nutrient-dense foods that provide protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Learn how to increase flavors without sacrificing calories by adding garlic, herbs, spices, and different types of vinegar to your dishes.

If you think you are thinking about fasting but have never tried it before, I invite you to please reach out to us so we can discuss which options might be best for you. Please feel free to book an appointment with us by calling 416-481-0222 or emailing Maria@ForcesofNature.ca and we can help you get back on track with better weight management and a healthier, longer, and happier life!

The Team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic

ChiropractorNaturopathic DoctorsAcupuncturistPsychotherapistRegistered DietitianRegistered Massage TherapistOsteopath

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References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321690.php

Intermittent fasting may be center of increasing lifespan


https://www.osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/self-care-resources/cancer-and-nutrition/frequently-asked-questions/cancer-and-fasting-calorie-restriction/
https://news.yale.edu/2015/02/16/anti-inflammatory-mechanism-dieting-and-fasting-revealed

Should you get your thyroid tested?

woman checking her thyroid

How Healthy is Your Thyroid and Why Does it Matter?

Did you know that a tiny, butterfly-shaped gland nestled in your neck is responsible for producing some of the most important hormones in your body? This small but mighty gland is called the thyroid.  While it’s relatively small in size, it plays a huge role in our endocrine (hormone) system.

This gland produces hormones that interact with many other hormones (like insulin, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone).  Looking at how intimately all hormones communicate with each other, it’s no wonder so many symptoms are connected to a poorly performing thyroid!

How does this gland work?

Most of what the thyroid produces is an inactive hormone called thyroxine, or T4. Most of the active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (or T3), comes from the conversion of T4 to T3 in different areas of your body, including your liver, gut, brain and muscles.

This “active” T3 is then able to regulate many functions in your body including energy production and regulation of your metabolism. Think of the thyroid as the “gas pedal” for your body.  Constantly regulating the speed that everything else runs.  When all of the systems in your body are working well, the right amounts of T4 and T3 are produced. But if something is negatively affecting the thyroid or other organ systems in the body, this hormone balance gets disrupted and we start to experience various symptoms.

Some of the factors that impact a healthy functioning thyroid are nutritional imbalances, toxins, allergens, infections, and stress. All of these can all be problematic, leading to dysfunction of the gland, and potentially to wider spread systemic disease.

What happens when the thyroid can’t function normally?

When the thyroid is compromised, the body is unable to produce or convert the right amounts of thyroid hormone. Consequently, we experience disorders such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid cancer. In fact, these diseases are highly prevalent in North America.  An estimated 20 million Americans and 1 in every 10 Canadians have some form of thyroid disease.  Over 12% of all Americans will develop such a condition during their lifetime. Because thyroid conditions are tied to so many varying symptoms, up to 60% of people with disease are unaware of their condition.   Women are 5-8x more likely to be affected than men. It is estimated that one in eight women will suffer from such a disorder during her lifetime.

Thyroid disease is tied to many less obvious disorders including acne, autoimmune diseases, eczema, fibromyalgia, gum disease, constipation or irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and infertility. Because the thyroid is like your gas pedal for all of your cells, it can be linked to almost every bodily function.  Symptoms of an underlying thyroid problem are wide and varied which can make diagnosis difficult.  As a result, many people are misdiagnosed and treated for other conditions before looking at their thyroid.

Hypothyroidism

Symptoms of an underactive thyroid

  • Lethargy or fatigue
  • Foggy thinking
  • Depression
  • Weight gain even if you’ve been exercising and eating well consistently
  • Persistently rough/scaly skin
  • Dry/tangled hair
  • Hair loss (particularly in women)
  • Sensitivity to cold
  • An inability to warm up in a sauna or to sweat during exercise
  • Consistently low basal (resting, first morning) body temperature

Hyperthyroidism

Symptoms of an overactive thyroid

  • Feeling restless, nervous, or emotional
  • Poor sleep quality or insomnia
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle weakness
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Frequent bowel movements
  • The disappearance of or irregular menstruation
  • Weight loss
  • Rapid, forceful, or irregular heartbeat
  • Eye problems (associated with Graves’ disease)
  • Swelling in your neck or having a goitre

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition where your immune system is creating antibodies that are attacking your thyroid.  Over time, this autoimmune attack can damage the gland and cause it to cease working properly.  Autoimmune disorders are complicated, but they can be improved through natural medicine.  Factors like food sensitivities, latent infections, and adrenal fatigue all need to be considered to reverse Hashimoto’s.

Euthyroid Sick Syndrome

This is a condition where blood tests for the thyroid may show normal levels of TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone.  Yet, levels of T3 are low.  When T3 drops, your pituitary ought to respond by producing more TSH to stimulate more production of T4 and then conversion to T3.  Euthyroid refers to the fact that thyroid itself appears to be in working order as TSH is normal.  Treatment of Euthyroid Sick Syndrome often entails looking at the person as a whole and supporting the entire endocrine system as well as resolving stressors.

Thyroid Tests

Simple blood tests can identify a potential problem.  We prefer to do comprehensive thyroid blood work that includes TSH, free T3, free T4, anti-TPO (or anti-thyroperoxidase) and anti-thyroglobulin.  It’s a common misconception that if TSH is normal, then all of the remaining tests will also be normal.  This is not true.  I have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of thyroid test results and found that patients can have a normal level of TSH, and even normal levels of free T3 and free T4, but thyroid antibody levels are not normal.  If you suspect a problem, I would highly recommend having complete testing done.

Whether you have an obvious problem or not, it’s important to understand how the thyroid works so that you can keep your body functioning optimally.

Tips to Improve Your Thyroid Function

When it comes to managing the optimal function of your glands, the building blocks are almost always found in nutrition first and foremost.

6 Tips to maintain a healthy thyroid through diet

  1. Go gluten and dairy free: Most people go gluten and dairy free only when there is an obvious sensitivity like a gut problem to either type of food. Sensitivity to gluten and dairy can be much more subtle when it comes to the thyroid. These foods trigger inflammation, disordered immune system function and are associated with autoimmune thyroid issues.
  2. Focus on your iodine level: Iodine is present in almost every organ and tissue and has a direct effect on the thyroid. Iodine is just one of the most important nutrients for this gland.  Chemical agents in commercial food ingredients have the side effect of decreasing your iodine level. Daily exposure to chemicals found in water such as bromine, fluorine, and chlorine all negatively impact iodine levels by competing with iodine for absorption. You do not need to take iodine supplements, however, and too much iodine can also damage your thyroid.  Using a little bit of good iodized sea salt each day will meet your iodine needs.
  3. Look for “no bromine” or “bromine-free” labels on organic whole-grain bread and flours if you eat grains
  4. Increase your dietary intake of wild-caught seafood and ocean fish
  5. Seek out foods containing zinc and selenium: Zinc and selenium are two micronutrients that play critical roles in thyroid health. Because they can be toxic in very high doses, it’s best to achieve healthy levels through diet. Zinc-rich foods include oysters, beef, pork, egg yolks, shellfish and chicken while selenium-rich foods include Brazil nuts, fish, and liver.
  6. Manage stress: Stress and overall health are inextricably linked. Make sure you’re taking time to meditate, relieve stress, and get your mindset on track so that you can enjoy the benefits of overall health.

You can gain control over your health by learning how to manage and maintain your thyroid through nutrition, lifestyle, and naturopathic medicine support. If you’re dealing with, or suspect you have this or other health issues, please take time to book an appointment to visit us at our clinic. We want to help you take control of your health! Comprehensive testing and hormone assessments are available.

Call or email us at 416-481-0222 or Info@ForcesofNature.ca

To your best health!

Authored by Dr Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND for the team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic

References:
https://articles.mercola.com/thyroid.aspx
https://www.thyroid.org/media-main/about-hypothyroidism/
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Aug 25:jc20152222. Epub 2015 Aug 25. PMID: 26305620

Want a Fast Metabolism?

words tips to kickstart your metabolism for a fast metabolism

Want a Fast Metabolism? 10 Easy Tips to Kick Start Your Metabolism

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc (Hons), Naturopathic Doctor

Now that we’re through December and heavy, holiday foods have left us feeling bloated and sluggish, it’s time to figure out how to get back into the swing of things. If you’ve set New Year’s Intentions that include healthier eating and activity, then enabling a fast metabolism can help make the difference to living your intentions well.

Fast Metabolism Tips

These are some of our favourite ways to get your metabolism back into gear:

Stay Satiated

Even if you’re trying to lose a few extra pounds that appeared over the holidays, staying fairly full is key to your success in managing your metabolism and your weight. Eat slowly, until you’re about 90% full, and then stop. This will allow you to determine if you really do need more sustenance or if you’re just eating out of habit. Even if you’re aiming to reduce your caloric intake, starving will only make your metabolism slower.  Your body will try to store the limited energy it’s being provided – and that’s the opposite of our goal.

Commit to Breakfast

It’s not surprising that those who don’t eat breakfast actually tend to gain more weight over time. That’s because those who skip this meal tend to make up for it (and more) by overeating at lunch, snack times, and dinner. After a good night’s rest, your body is primed to accept the fuel it needs to move through the day. In fact, it needs more fuel because it has spent hours with your metabolism in resting mode! Try a breakfast that’s high in protein, and has some complex carbohydrates and a bit of fat to jumpstart your metabolism and keep you satisfied until lunchtime.

Up The H20

Whether via glasses of water, herbal teas or broth-based soups, giving your body quality fluids is essential to having a well-hydrated metabolism. Water helps keep nutrients flowing into your cells, carries toxins out of your body, and is key to a happy digestive system. It also keeps you feeling full, and can help you burn more calories by supporting a fast metabolism! Moreover, the extra nutrients found in broth-based soups are ‘soup-er’ ways of digesting much-needed vitamins and minerals with minimal taxing of your digestive system. And, after a season of indulgence, that’s something from which we can all benefit!

Add Tea or Coffee

The antioxidants and small amounts of caffeine found in black, green, and white tea, as well as coffee, support a fast metabolism and keeping it chugging along healthily. One cup per day can provide beneficial amounts without going overboard. And, even better, adding herbal teas such as fennel, mint, or ginger tea after a meal can assist your digestion processes, helping meals to settle better and digest more easily – without added caffeine.

Spice Is Extra Nice

Studies show that adding spicy hot peppers or hot pepper sauces can help to increase your metabolism! Studies are showing that the thermogenic properties of peppers and capsaicin, a compound in chiles, can temporarily increase your body temperature, helping it to burn more calories in short bursts of time. So, try adding some extra spice to those soups or other foods, and see what benefit you might derive!

Include Intervals

Any form of exercise can be bolstered by the addition of the short bursts of cardiovascular activity also known as ‘Interval Training’. Adding in 2-5 minute bursts of jumping jacks, skipping, vigorous dancing or burpees seem like they’re ‘in the moment’ kick starts but they’re all great ways of building long-lasting metabolism increases.  Personally, I have made a commitment to crank up my favourite song every hour and just dance!  It’s a great stress reliever and ups your heart rate and metabolism.

Dial Down Stress

It’s been long understood that high levels of stress hormones like cortisol can result in a slowed metabolism and eventual weight gain. The opposite is also true: by turning down the stress in our lives we can help our brains, hormones, and bodies relax, a natural reboot for our metabolism.

Stimulate Your Stomach

If you consistently experience symptoms like heaviness after a meal, acid reflux, or bloating, food allergies, undigested food in stool, flatulence, or even nausea after taking supplements you might be suffering from low stomach acid which, in turn, can result in lowered metabolism. Stomach acid, or HCL (hydrochloric acid) is a core requirement to digest effectively.  Good digestion is one of the essential building blocks of a fast metabolism. Try stimulating your stomach acid with beneficial celery juice and see how much better you feel.

Excel With Enzymes

Sometimes there are particular foods that make us feel sluggish, heavy, bloated, or uncomfortable. In that case, it might be time to consider digestive enzymes to help break down food to make it more digestible and the nutrients within it more absorbable. Try adding enzyme rich foods like fermented foods, papaya (which contains papain), pineapple (which contains bromelain), mango (which contains amylase), and honey (multiple enzymes). Interested in supplements instead? Look for the ones that help with your food difficulties: protease for proteins, amylase for help with carbohydrates, lipase for help digesting fats, cellulase for breaking down fibre, and maltase to help convert complex sugars from grains into glucose.

Sleep Soundly

The quality of your sleep doesn’t just affect your moods and alertness, it also has a profound effect on your metabolic state because deep REM sleep, is the body’s time for rest and repair – and that includes how the body manages stress hormones, blood sugar levels, and growth hormones – all of which play critical roles in a fast metabolism. We’re still learning much more about how important consistent sleep and rest are for our health, but what we do know for sure is that a sleep deprived body is slower and more lethargic which means weight management is harder. So if you choose just one of these tips to follow, make it to get more sleep, more often, first!

Looking for personalized assistance in maintaining a fast metabolism? Our naturopathic doctors can help you navigate this and provide you with a fully customized plan for your metabolism. To book your appointment call us at 416-481-0222 or email us at Info@ForcesofNature.ca.  Also you can book your own appointment online anytime at https://forcesofnature.janeapp.com/.

To your good health,

The Team at Forces of Nature Wellness Clinic

Research:

Sahin K, Orhan C, Tuzcu M, Sahin N, Ozdemir O, Juturu V. Ingested capsaicinoids can prevent low-fat-high-carbohydrate diet and high-fat diet-induced obesity by regulating the NADPH oxidase and Nrf2 pathways. J Inflamm Res. 2017 Nov 13;10:161-168. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S149087. eCollection 2017.

Healthy Weight Loss

woman celebrating easy weight loss

Weight Loss: 5 Healthy Ways to Lose Weight

Swimsuit season will soon be upon us!  This is the time of year where it is relatively easy to shed your winter weight. If trying on your spring and summer wardrobe has been a depressing experience, here are some weight loss tips and tricks.  They can help you to lose weight and get into summer shape more quickly and easily:

  1. Reality check – use a program like MyFitnessPal or the Fitbit app to track your caloric intake and exercise for a day or two.  You don’t need to get obsessive about it, but people tend to underestimate how many calories they consume and overestimate how much exercise they get.
  2. Reduce your stress.  Stress is bad for weight in so many ways: Increased cortisol, emotional eating, lower T3 (active thyroid hormone), higher reverse T3 (inactive thyroid hormone).
  3. Get enough sleep.  Lack of sleep lowers your willpower.  It promotes sugar cravings to supply energy.  Even one night of fewer than 4 hours of sleep makes you more insulin resistant the next day.  Higher insulin means more fat gain.
  4. Don’t snack.  The old 3 meals two snacks advice was bad advice.  Research has shown that people who snack between meals consume more calories in a day than those who don’t.
  5. Exercise. If you want everything you need to do to lose weight, my amazing colleague, Dr Jade Teta, has created an exercise program for weight loss.  It comes with bonus materials that include a healthy menu and recipes.  His workout will challenge what you thought you knew about exercise.  It won’t take you long (only 15-20 minutes 3 times per week).  There is no gym membership required, you can do it in your own living room, with or without weights or bands.  It’s science-based and it is cheap. The purpose of the program is to reset your metabolism to it’s prime.  I’m in my second round of the 12-week program.  I can attest to the fact that it is hard.  But I feel fitter than I have in years and I have lost weight and I’m exercising less (despite my best efforts, my weight has only been doing a slow steady climb since I hit 45). Best of all, the program creator is a naturopathic doctor as well as a personal trainer and a heck of a nice guy. Check it out here. 

Authored by Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Boost Metabolism

woman exercising to boost metabolism

Rev Up Your Engines! 3 Effective Ways to Boost Metabolism

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Your metabolism dictates how quickly and efficiently you burn calories to use for fuel and maintaining your body temperature.  The higher your metabolism, the more calories you can consume in a day without gaining weight.  Many of the patients that I see, complain of a sluggish metabolism – they don’t feel like they overeat, they consume healthy food, exercise regularly and yet they gain weight easily.  Let’s take a look at three ways you can boost metabolism to help with weight loss.

Nourish Your Thyroid

Your thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in your neck that regulates your metabolism.  Think of it like the gas pedal for your body.  A sluggish thyroid means a slow metabolism  In order to do it’s job, your thyroid needs iodine, zinc, selenium, copper and tyrosine to build thyroid hormones.

Our main food source of iodine is iodized salt.  As a public health measure, iodine was added to table salt as a means of gently supplementing everyone with a little extra iodine, to stave off underactive thyroids.  However, excessive salt intake is considered unhealthy, so people have either stopped using salt in food preparation or shifted to using sea salt instead.  Those of you strictly avoiding salt or using sea salt may not be getting the benefit of the iodine added to regular table salt. I recommend switching to iodized sea salt, which is readily available at most health food stores.

Selenium is a trace mineral that is vital to healthy thyroid function.  Brazil nuts are a rich food source and consuming as little as 3 Brazil nuts per day supplies plenty of selenium for your thyroid.

Zinc is found naturally in beef, pumpkin seeds, egg yolks and shellfish.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so protein rich foods like beans, eggs, nuts, seeds, beef, fish and chicken will supply the amino acid, tyrosine, that is also crucial to healthy thyroid function.

Restore Your Adrenals

The adrenal glands are your stress glands; they help your body cope in times of stress. They assist the thyroid hormone to function properly by enabling transfer of the hormone into the tissues where it works to increase metabolism. The adrenal glands need substantial amounts of vitamins B5, B6, C, potassium, magnesium and zinc especially while under
stress.

To nurture healthy adrenals:

  1. Eat lots of leafy green veggies like kale, spinach, Swiss chard and spring mix salad greens.  These are chock full of B vitamins, C, zinc, potassium, magnesium and zinc, everything that the adrenals need, all in one food.
  2. Get adequate rest and sleep.  Stop working by 8 p.m. and relax.  Aim to be in bed by 10 p.m..  The adrenals operate on a daily schedule that is regulated by daylight.  They peak in the morning and taper off to their lowest between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m..  Try to work with their schedule, not against it.
  3. Reduce your stress.  Easier said than done, but whatever you can do in this regard will help your adrenals and help to maintain a healthy cortisol level.  Excessive cortisol contributes to weight gain around your waist.  Stress reduction through psychotherapy, exercise, yoga, tai chi and massage therapy can all help if stress is the problem.

Exercise

Exercise can boost metabolism for up to 48 hours afterward, so get off the couch and walk briskly, dance, go on the treadmill, do something active for 30 minutes 5-7 times per week.  Exercise, but not to the point that you feel exhausted after, you should feel energized after exercise.  It’s also the best stress reliever there is.  Weight training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) are particularly good for building muscle mass.  Muscles burn more calories than non-muscle tissue, so muscle can boost metabolism even while you are sleeping.

Sugar Substitute

sugar bowl with caption what is the best sugar substitute

Sugar Substitute: What Makes the Grade?

We are all born with a sweet tooth.  Sweetness tells our body that the food is calorie-dense.  In times of starvation or food scarcity, consuming such foods would be a self-preservation mechanism.  For most of us, food is not that scarce.  Most processed foods are unnaturally sweet.  Taking in sweet foods adds empty calories, causes weight gain, provokes excessive insulin, promotes diabetes, hormone imbalance and inflammation. The best sweetener is no sweetener, but if you must have something sweet, here are the pros and cons of the various sugar substitute options.

Cane sugar, cane sugar juice, dehydrated cane syrup etc.

Grade = D – often found in “natural”, “healthy” treats
Pros: All of the above retain a few trace minerals that may help your body metabolize the sugar better, but at the end of the day, they’re just sugar
Cons: Still very high glycemic index, causes excessive insulin release, promotes insulin resistance and diabetes

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Grade = F – often found in pop and processed foods
Pros: None
Cons: Promotes obesity, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease and diabetes

Agave Nectar

Grade = F – often found in “natural”, “healthy” treats
Pros: None really, just benefits from good marketing
Cons: Contains more fructose than high fructose corn syrup, therefore can promote obesity, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease and diabetes

Stevia

Grade = B – natural extract from the plant Stevia rebaudiana
Pros: natural sugar substitute, intensely sweet, doesn’t elevate blood sugar, and does increase insulin sensitivity
Cons: Does cause insulin release which can disrupt hormone balance however that may be offset by the improved insulin sensitivity, slightly bitter aftertaste

Aspartame

Grade = F – artificial sweetener
Pros: None
Cons: Can cause various neurological problems in susceptible people, despite no increase in blood sugar it increases insulin levels which can aggravate hypoglycemia, lead to excessive appetite and sugar cravings, hormone imbalancesinfertility, fibroidsendometriosis, PCOS

Molasses

Grade = C – is the dark liquid byproduct of the process of refining sugar cane into table sugar. It is made from the third boiling of the sugar syrup.
Pros: somewhat natural, an excellent source of manganese, copper and iron and a good source of calcium, magnesium and potassium
Cons: not good for blood sugar, insulin levels, hormone balance

Maple Syrup

Grade = C – is the amber liquid that remains after evaporating most of the water off the sap of the maple tree.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, so the natural sugar present in sap has to be concentrated 40 times to make syrup
Pros: Excellent source of manganese, good source of zinc
Cons: not good for blood sugar, insulin levels, hormone balance

Splenda/ Sucralose

Grade = F – artificially made by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms
Pros: Low-calorie sweetener
Cons: Side effects may include bloating, rash, decreased coordination, dulled senses, headaches, insomnia, irritability, stomach cramps, despite no increase in blood sugar it increases insulin levels which can aggravate hypoglycemia, lead to excessive appetite, hormone imbalances, infertilityfibroidsendometriosis, PCOS

Xylitol/Erythritol

Grade = B+ – naturally occurring sugar substitute, wood alcohols
Pros: has anti-bacterial (against Strep) and anti-fungal properties, lower calorie, safe, has been shown to improve bone density in rats, tastes good, measures like sugar
Cons: can have somewhat of a laxative effect and if consumed in large quantities may cause bloating and abdominal pain, TOXIC for dogs

Honey

Grade = B+ – naturally occurring sugar substitute, no need to concentrate it
Pros: has antibiotic properties, contains vitamins and minerals, not as high glycemic index as sugar
Cons: does still increase blood sugar and requires the production of insulin

Coconut Sugar

Grade = C – made from concentrating the sap from the flower buds of the coconut palm
Pros: Lower glycemic index than table sugar (according to the manufacturer)
Cons: Other than the above, not much different or better than consuming table sugar

Using No Sugar or Sugar Substitutes and just enjoying the natural sweetness of whole foods – A+++

Authored by Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), Naturopathic Doctor

Lose Weight at Menopause

woman who wants to lose weight

Struggling to Lose Weight at Menopause?  Here’s Why.

What happens at menopause?

Aside from periods stopping, estrogen levels drop, ovulation stops and progesterone levels drop.

How do the hormone changes at menopause impact your weight?

There are a few ways that these hormonal changes can make it tougher to lose weight:

Lower estrogen levels mean that your body doesn’t respond to insulin as well as it used to before menopause. That means that if you eat carbs or sugar, your insulin levels will be higher post menopause than they were pre-menopause. Higher insulin means more fat production and also more inflammation. More inflammation means even more insulin resistance.

Progesterone helps to counter the effects of cortisol (your stress hormone). If you have less progesterone, and in menopause there is very little, then cortisol has a greater effect than it had pre-menopause. We know that higher cortisol increases belly fat.

So, how can we fix this?

I am not an advocate for hormone replacement therapy, bioidentical or otherwise. Menopause is a natural transition away from childbearing years and into golden years. The best approach in my opinion is to:

Adjust your carbohydrate intake accordingly

If you no longer tolerate the same level of carbs due to lower estrogen, it’s best to decrease your carb intake. Plug your daily food intake into an app like MyFitnessPal to get a sense of your total carb intake and where those carbs are coming from and adjust your diet to reduce your carb intake. What is the recommended carb intake? That’s somewhat individual, but you could go as low as 40-60 grams per day if you find that weight isn’t budging. Protein and fat will better serve your new post-menopause metabolism.

Reduce stress and stress inducing exercise

Anything that raises your cortisol level, will have a worse impact than it did prior to menopause.

Cortisol lowering tips:

Exercise

Exercise improves heart function, reduces the fight or flight response to stress, improves ability of tissues to use oxygen and other nutrients, improves self-esteem, and increases endurance and energy levels. The type of exercise is important though. Endurance exercise can become an additional stressor and requires more cortisol production. Short bursts of very high intensity exercise (HIIT training), with alternating days of low level relaxation type exercise like restorative yoga or tai chi is a great combination to maintain muscle mass for calorie burning, but also keep cortisol low.

Relaxation techniques

Gentle stretching, breathing exercises, yoga and visualization induce the relaxation response.

Humour

Laughter helps lower cortisol, even cracking a smile can help.

Social support

Spend time with friends and family

Pets

One study showed that cortisol levels are lowest when you are with your pet and highest when you are with your spouse (I suppose it depends on the spouse)

Alone/quiet/down time

The hectic pace and never ending electronic stimulation is an additional stress to your body. Take time to be alone, out in nature, relax by 8 p.m..

Sleep

Don’t forgo sleep. Ensure that you get at least 7-7.5 hours of good quality sleep per night.

Support your Adrenal Glands

They need adequate intake of vitamins C, B5, B6, zinc and magnesium to help you deal with stress as easily as possible. Use of antidepressants, estrogen replacement therapy and birth control pills can all increase the need for vitamin B6 in the body.

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

For help to lose weight at menopause, book a consultation with one of our naturopathic doctors.

Why is a Food Journal Important

woman writing in a food journal

Why Keep a Diet Diary?

One of the more “painful” things everyone does when they first come and see me is fill in a one week diet diary or food journal detailing everything they put in their mouth for that one week. They often return with comments like “I was on vacation this week” or “I had 3 parties to go to so this isn’t how I usually eat” or the classic “I forgot”.

It turns out that researchers have proved diet diaries to be an effective means to help people lose weight. The study looked at more than 1,500 people over six months and found that those who kept a food diary and updated it regularly lost about twice as much weight as those who did not.

The average weight loss for study participants was about 13 pounds. But those keeping food diaries six or seven days a week lost about 18 pounds, compared to just 9 pounds for those not regularly keeping a food diary.

As human beings, we have a tendency to underestimate how much we eat and over-estimate our physical activity.

There is a method to my madness!

By Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND.  Our naturopaths can help with healthy weight loss with food journals, but also healthy diet recommendations, lifestyle suggestions, exercise tips, and supplements that may help you stay on track.  Call us at 416-481-0222 or book online now.