I CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT AND I AM TIRED ALL THE TIME - HELP!!!

I had such an over whelming response to my blog post on Adrenal Glands, I decided to do a "part 2" to the post. So here goes…..

So many of my clients complain that they have picked up weight and are unable to lose it or they say "I stay so tired all the time."  These are two statements that lead me to check the adrenals and the thyroid.  Namely the adrenals.  Hormones secreted by the adrenals powerfully effect metabolism, which has an impact on your body weight.  These hormones regulate the way your body responds to daily stress and how you generate energy.  The three main hormones released by the adrenals are cortisol, aldosterone and adrenaline.  If the adrenals secrete either too much or too little it will interfere with your ability to process nutrients, circulation of fluids, protection from infections and your reaction to stress.  When you are under stress the hormone cortisol will cause the liver to release glycogen (glucose) and give you a boost of energy (fight or flight).  Daily stress will cause your body to release more cortisol than you need and the excess is converted into fat, usually stored in the belly area.  If cortisol is circulating constantly in the body, (daily stressful situations) you will crave high calorie foods such as fats and sugars.  These contribute to weight gain.  Fatigue from this constant bombardment will make it hard to establish a fitness program or just eat healthy. 

If you have adrenal fatigue you must change the way you eat.  First of all, never allow yourself to get too hungry. In an effort to keep your energy levels up and your body functioning normally, your adrenals will release more cortisol (remember excess cortisol converts to fat). So getting too hungry will cause you to gain weight.  You should eat three meals and two to three well-timed snacks during the day.  This will help to balance your blood sugar and help the adrenal burden.   When you eat will make a difference because cortisol has a natural cycle.  It usually reaches its peak around 8:00 a.m. and gradually decreases throughout the day.  Remember the old saying "Eat like a king in the morning and like a pauper at night".  Eat breakfast around 8:00, lunch around 11:00 -12:00, a snack around 2:00-3:00 and dinner around 5:00 - 6:00 in the evening and make it the lightest meal of the day.  Now, consider what you eat - when you are under stress you tend to reach for a "burst of energy" - sugar and caffeine.  After the "burst" from these foods you bomb out even lower than you started and you feel worse.  Caffeine and gluten  (wheat) are very hard on the adrenals.  If you have adrenal fatigue you should consider a gluten-free diet and limit caffeine.  If you crave caffeine, your body may be calling for rest (I know that sounds crazy). Take a break and try a ten or fifteen minute walk.  This is a great stress reliever.  If you must have that morning cup of coffee, make sure you eat a nutritious meal and put the cream in your coffee to dull the effects of caffeine. 

Eat fresh whole food, preferably organic.  Include protein in all your meals and snacks, these help to stabilize blood sugar and help you with caffeine and sugar craving. 

Women with adrenal problems will often crave salt.  If you feel lightheaded when standing up quickly or getting out of a bath or hot tub, this can be a sign of low blood pressure, which is often a symptom of adrenal fatigue.  You may find that salt in your diet can be helpful.  The adrenals also work with the sodium/water balance and fluid retention.  You may need salt.  I know this sounds strange coming from me but adrenal fatigue can change all the rules. Actually salt cravings are a result of low aldosterone.  This hormone regulates blood pressure.  When cortisol levels go up, your aldosterone goes down, which lowers blood pressure.  This can disturb electrolyte balance and cell hydration.  Salt restores these imbalances.    I like Himalayan crystal salt.  It is not as harsh on your blood pressure.

Time your meals and watch what you eat.  Stay away from sugar and caffeine.  Restrict you gluten (wheat) containing foods.  Eat protein at every meal and snack.  Start an exercise routine - even if it is just walking 10 minutes a day.  Just move!!!!! This will help with the weight gain and fatigue. 

Although changing your eating habits will help, you need to take further steps to correct the problem.  I don't agree with just covering up the symptoms - you need to get to the root of the problem. A hair analysis will show which stage of adrenal fatigue you are in.  There are three stages and each stage requires different treatment.  The doctors offer no help because they do not test the adrenals.  They only test the thyroid and that test is not accurate.  They test the circulating T3 (thyroid hormone), but this may not be available for use to the thyroid.  Just testing the circulating hormone does not accurately test the thyroid.  The adrenals and thyroid are under the control of the pituitary gland (master gland) which is under the control of the hypothalamus. Either of these may need treatment also. Once again, this is where a hair analysis comes it.  It can pinpoint exactly where the problem is.  Call me today for an appointment and start on a wellness journey. 

Stay Strong!

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Neuropsychological Problems - Part 1

Do you know someone who is suffering from anxiety, bi-polar, ADHD, depression, dementia, or even more serious behaviors such as schizophrenia?  These behaviors could be caused by imbalances in minerals or heavy metal exposure.  Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium are common in our environment and exposure is quite common.  These metals can cause emotional changes and neurological impairment. 

LEAD.  In adults lead toxicity can cause fatigue, anorexia, irritability, abdominal pain and muscle weakness.  Long-term exposure works with your memory.  Children with chronic exposure have learning disabilities, hyperactivity, distractibility and motor coordination.  Even just a small amount of lead can change an I.Q. score.   If you know of a child who suffers from ADHD or ADD, it is very important to get them tested for lead.  I have found that this is a very common culprit and you can see remarkable recovery in these children.

 

MERCURY.  Ever hear of the "mad hatter".  Workers in the hat industry were exposed to mercury and developed tremors, thus the name "mad hatter."  Actually, George Washington was accidentally killed by a well-intentioned doctor.  Treating with mercury was very common in George's day as was bloodletting.  George had developed a sore throat and after a couple of rounds of blood letting combined with mercury, he died.

 

Other signs of mercury toxicity include, weakness, irritability, headaches, rashes, slurred speech and pain in the extremities.  In infants mercury toxicity can include cerebral palsy syndromes and mental retardation.    Mercury can also mimic the symptoms of MS.  If you receive that diagnosis from your doctor, I would recommend a hair analysis to make sure it isn't caused from mercury toxicity.  If it is mercury you can take the steps to remove it from your system, thus removing the symptoms of MS. 

CADMIUM.  This metal is a neurotoxin and will damage the nervous system.  It also concentrates in the kidneys and heart, causing damage to the organs.  Behavioral abnormalities are very common with toxicity from this metal. Some sources of cadmium include cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and our water system.

ALUMINUM.  Aluminum is the one metal associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.  Don't wait until your doctor tells you that you have dementia to reduce your exposure to this metal.  Start now!  This is probably the most common metal we are exposed to.  It is in deodorants, our cooking utensils, our canned vegetables, soda cans and even the wrap we use to cover our food.  Be very careful with how you cook if you still use any aluminum pots and pans.  You should really consider changing to cast iron or glass. They are much healthier for you. 

These are not the only metals we need to be concerned with, there are others in the environment and our bodies fight with these on a daily basis.  Once you are exposed to these metals they never leave your system unless you take steps to remove them.  You could have even picked them up from your mother while in the womb.  Your body has a protective device whereas whenever it detects a metal it pulls it out of the blood stream and deposits it into the tissues.  If you doctor does a blood test you might not show a metal toxicity.  Since your hair is a tissue, a hair analysis is the ideal medium to test for these metals.  Hair analysis has been used for heavy metal testing for years and has proven very reliable.  With this test you can tell if your exposure is acute or is chronic.       

Watch for part 2 of this article and we will explore the nutritional minerals and their effects on behaviors. 

Stay Strong!

Adrenal Glands

In my practice, I do hair analysis.  This is a great tool, which takes a comprehensive picture of your body.  I have done these since 2000.  The majority of the people I have tested have shown adrenal fatigue.  Always the first question is what do my adrenal glands do.  Let's take a look at our adrenals. 

The adrenal glands are small glands, which are located on the top of your kidneys.  Each one is about 3 inches wide and about ½ inch tall. These glands consist of three different regions.  Each of these regions produce different hormones.  All of these hormones are considered steroids.  When these hormones are not produced sufficiently, you have what is known as adrenal fatigue.  Some of the symptoms include:  excessive fatigue and exhaustion, craving for salty and sweet foods, sleep that doesn't refresh (you get sleep, but wake up tired), insomnia, unable to cope with stress, difficulty concentrating or brain fog, poor digestion, sensitivity to cold, allergies, low or high blood pressure, you may feel more energetic in the evening, low immune function, and slow recovery from illness or stress, muscle loss, belly fat, water retention, reduced sex drive, and being unable to remember things, and constipation.

The hormones that the adrenals produce help to balance your blood sugar, which controls your energy.  Each time your blood sugar drops, the adrenals will release hormones and cause the blood sugar to rise which increases energy.  They also release hormones when you are under stress. All of this puts a toll on the adrenals and they stop or slow down the production of sufficient hormones. 

Doctors won't test adrenals because they can only diagnose extreme dysfunction where the adrenals completely shut down, which is potentially fatal.  This is where a hair analysis comes in.  It will show exactly how the adrenals are working. 

If your adrenal glands are exhausted all the rules of weight loss are reversed.  Calorie restriction and exercise will make you fatter. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenals when you are under stress.  This hormone is not your friend.  It acts as a fat storing, muscle destroying, skin wrinkling and age-accelerating enemy.  Not only that but it causes you to retain fluid, making you feel even fatter. 

Your body needs water and the amount that you retain is determined by the balance of sodium and potassium. Water follows sodium and if there is too much sodium in the body you will retain fluid.  An imbalance between sodium and potassium determines whether there is the right amount of sodium.  If there is not enough potassium relative to sodium then you will retain water.  Cortisol will inhibit sodium loss, thereby causing fluid retention.  Cortisol will cause excretion of potassium, thereby increasing the sodium.  Cortisol is also an anti-diuretic.  You have always heard that the more you drink, the more you flush out your body, but not true with your cortisol levels.  The more you drink the more you retain.

Cortisol will also cause the loss of magnesium, which will cause cardiac arrhythmias.

The areas of your body that have the greatest amount of cortisol receptors are your midsection, face, and upper back - let me guess - this is where most of your fat is accumulating.

As your adrenal glands progress to burnout, you feel dead.  If you move around much you feel totally exhausted.  Your heart races and you are out of breath with just simple walking.  You may not be getting fatter at this point but you are losing muscle.   

What can I do, you might ask?  First of all, you can add several vitamins to your daily routine, but most important you need a test, such as a hair analysis to see what stage your body is in.  There are three stages of adrenal fatigue and each stage is treated differently.  Call me for your appointment today and we will take it from there. 

Stay Strong!

Build Your Bones

As we age we all have growing concern over bone strength and reducing our chances of osteoporosis. It is normal for us to lose some bone mass as we age but we can slow its progression.  You see all the ad campaigns to drink milk.  Actually milk is a poor source for calcium, but herbs and green leafy vegetables are excellent sources.  Some common herbs that can inhibit the breakdown of bone include sage, rosemary and thyme.  In addition to herbs, you need to exercise regularly and eat a diet rich in vegetables, including onions.

Here is a recipe for a bone building tea. 

 Boil 1 quart water

 Oatstraw
 Nettle leaf
 Dandelion leaf
 Raspberry leaf
 Red clover flowering tops
 Horsetail shoots

Blend your herbs in equal parts and add approximately 4 tablespoons of the herb blend to the water.   Cover and steep for at least 30 minutes and then strain.  You should drink 3 to 4 cups of this a day.  

Stay Strong!
 

ENERGY DRINKS

          What is really in these drinks? What am I doing to my body whenever I pop the top?  Lets look at the ingredients - most are sugar, B vitamins, and caffeine, some have some exotic sounding ingredients, some have some herbal ingredients and some have amino acids.  But do they really give you energy?

          Taurine is a popular ingredient.  It is an amino acid.  It is essential for cardiovascular function, development of skeletal muscle, it also works in the central nervous system and the retina of the eye.  It has not been proven to be energy giving.  It works as a neurotransmitter in the brain and may work more as a sedative than a stimulant.  Instead of giving you wings - they may be clipped!

          Guarana has the same characteristics as caffeine. In testing with rats, guarana did show increased memory retention and better physical endurance.  People with high blood pressure or heart problems should avoid this.  The same is true with caffeine.  Both are stimulants.  You can overdose on both and you can get addicted to both.

          Ginseng is another common ingredient in energy drinks.  Briefly, ginseng is an adaptogen herb.  This means that basically, whenever you ingest ginseng it knows if you are male or female and can adapt to whatever you need.  Ginseng builds strength, gives energy and calms the body.  Usually in energy drinks the dosage is so small that it does not have any measurable medicinal effects. 

          B vitamins in mega doses are added to energy drinks such as 5-hour energy.  Although these vitamins are water soluble, which means simply what you don't use, you lose.  If you do not drink large amounts of water to dilute this mega dose, it can make you sick and you can overdose.  No one bothers to tell you that.  So a lot of people end up with a sick stomach after one of these or worse.

          Next we have sugar and caffeine.  Enough has been said about both, so I am not going to add anything here. 

          My verdict is avoid these high calorie drinks.  You are probably already consuming too much sugar.  If you need a caffeine boost, try unsweetened tea or unsweetened coffee. If you must have a sweetener, please do not use any artificial sweeteners, they are poison.  Use Stevia, which is an herb that is naturally sweet and will not cause you any problems.   These are much better choices.  They will give you an energy boost and not cause problems for your waistline. 

Stay Strong!