metabolism Archives

Metabolic Health – 5 Measures

Have you been hearing more lately about metabolic health? Or maybe you have heard about metabolic syndrome? You may be wondering what on earth metabolic health actually is and if it is something you even need to concern yourself with.

What is Metabolic Health?

First, let’s be clear that metabolism and metabolic health are two separate things. Metabolism is your body’s process of breaking down foods you eat and converting them to energy. While this is related to metabolic health, it is not actually one of the markers.

Metabolic health is clinically assessed with 5 different measurements:

Waist circumference
Fasting glucose
Systolic blood pressure
Triglycerides
HDL cholesterol

These 5 key measurements indicate the level of your metabolic health. Ideally, you want all five within the healthy range. If you have 3 or more outside of that range, you have what is known as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome increases your risk of developing chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Having metabolic syndrome can significantly reduce your quality and length of life.

While weight can give you an idea of your health risks, your metabolic health is important because it tells us more about what’s actually going on in your body. It shows how your body is processing fats and sugar in your diet, and how it’s responding to insulin.

What if I only have 1 or 2 metabolic measures out of range?

Even if you don’t clinically have metabolic syndrome, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are metabolically healthy. That’s because metabolic health is a spectrum – not something you either have or don’t. There is a wide range of things that happen between being in good health and developing diabetes or obesity. Plus, often the symptoms of metabolic sickness go unnoticed or don’t show up until your condition is severe. So even if you feel fine or don’t notice any warning signs, having just one of the 5 measures outside the healthy range can have short-term and long-term effects on your health.

What are the symptoms of poor metabolic health?

Many of the markers of poor metabolic health, like high blood pressure or raised glucose, can only be picked up on tests. They won’t usually have any noticeable signs or symptoms. You may only notice them if they start to cause problems like diabetes or heart and circulation problems.

Symptoms of diabetes include:

needing to urinate more often
being very thirsty
losing weight without trying
fatigue – feeling tired or lethargic
blurred vision
slow-healing cuts and bruises
frequent or recurring illness

Symptoms of heart and circulation problems include:

pain in your chest (angina)
pain in your legs when you’re walking
fatigue
shortness of breath
numbness and tingling in extremeties
swollen ankles
dizziness

How can I improve my metabolic health?

The good news is that you can improve your metabolic health with changes to your diet and lifestyle. But is all starts with understanding your unique biochemistry and what works for you. That is why the Metabolic Balance program is such a success for my clients. We start with a comprehensive assessment of your current diet, health and lifestyle, plus we test over 30 blood values to give us a full picture of your current biochemistry and needs.

We then use that data to create your personalized nutrition plan. This ensures that your body is getting exactly the nutrients it most needs for optimal health. Of course, there is more to health than your diet. That is why the full support and personal coaching included in the program covers the 4 pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress.

Improving Health with 4 Pillars

Nutrition: This has the most significant impact on your metabolic health. Eating a diet that’s full of fibre-rich vegetables and fruit, lean protein, and healthy fats is integral to a healthy lifestyle. Doing the opposite -eating processed foods and refined sugars – can have serious detrimental effects on your metabolic health.

Eating a nutritious, balanced diet composed of colourful vegetables, fibre, lean proteins, and healthy fats — while avoiding processed foods and refined carbs — is the most important to way to stabilize your glucose levels. This is key to preventing insulin-resistance. Remember, your fasting glucose level is one of the five measurements of metabolic health. When fasting glucose is out of range, you increase your risk of metabolic health problems and even metabolic syndrome.

Exercise: Getting enough exercise — especially resistance or strength training — is key for heart health (which is inseparable from metabolic health) and increasing muscle mass. This helps regulate hunger levels, glucose regulation, and body composition. It can also improve insulin sensitivity.

Sleep: Practicing good sleep hygiene (getting enough sleep and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule) is critical to metabolic health. Poor sleep can make you less insulin sensitive, increase your stress, and cause you to make poor choices.

Stress: The stress hormone, cortisol, actually makes you temporarily insulin resistant. This is alright if you are experiencing short-term stress, but chronic stress leads to increased insulin resistance and inflammation. This is very bad news for your metabolic health.

Addressing your Metabolic Health Concerns

There is a lot of information available on the internet for all sorts of health concerns and issues. Unfortunately, there is plenty of misinformation mixed it that can be hard to identify. Plus, you will find plenty of conflicting information. This is because you are looking at generalized recommendations – many of them from people who found something that worked for them. Well, that doesn’t mean it is the right solution for everyone. In fact, what is beneficial to one person could be a health disaster for another person. No two people are alike and each body will react differently to recommendations.

Remember that your biochemistry is unique to you. Cut through the hype, skip the frustration of sorting through truckloads of confusing information and just get to focusing on you. That is what I do as your holistic nutritionist. I encourage you to start with a complimentary Clarity Call to discuss your concerns and ask your questions. I will help clarify your options and provide you with recommendations that are best suited to your specific needs. Your health is your most precious resource – invest in it wisely.

6 Signs of Hormonal Imbalance + 3 Holistic Strategies to Help

Hormone Health

Hormones are powerful chemical messengers that reach every cell, tissue, and organ through our body. When signs of hormonal imbalance start to appear we need to pay attention. Having even slightly too much or too little of certain hormones can have drastic impacts on our body and mind. These fluctuations can be caused by many things. Simply having an unhealthy diet or poor sleep can be enough to cause a hormonal imbalance.

Stress—especially long-term stress—is one of the biggest disrupters of a healthy hormone balance. Unfortunately, studies show that women tend to be more stressed than men. Although there are inherent differences in the stress responses of each gender, there’s more to it than that. Due to social pressures and expectations, women often juggle multiple roles like building a successful career while caregiving and raising a family. On top of that, you need to find time and space to maintain your health and personal life. This long-term stress experienced by many women has a major impact on hormones. This makes learning how to support healthy, balanced hormones a priority in women’s health.

Signs of Hormonal Imbalance

When our hormones are out of balance, it can affect practically every aspect of our health and life. Here are some examples of the symptoms you may experience as signs of hormonal imbalance:

Mental Health

Key hormones are directly linked to emotional wellness. Women are more prone to anxiety and depression when certain hormones become elevated.

Social behavior is deeply regulated by hormones. Abnormal levels of key hormones can impact your mood, and even cause changes in your personality. This can put a strain on relationships and make social engagement difficult.

Weight Management and Metabolism

Various hormones work together to regulate appetite, metabolism, and even body fat distribution. Fluctuations in hormones can cause weight gain, weight loss, cravings, and other metabolic changes that can make it difficult to maintain a stable, healthy weight.

Energy

One of the most common initial signs of an imbalance in hormones is fatigue. An overactive or underactive thyroid can cause fatigue. Heightened levels of progesterone can make you feel sleepy. And low estrogen can drain your energy levels.

Reproductive Health

Hormone imbalances are the leading cause of infertility. When your hormones are out of balance it can disrupt ovulation, menstrual cycles, and other biological processes necessary for a pregnancy to establish.

Sleep Quality

Estrogen and progesterone, play a key role in the regulation of sleep-wake cycles. During menopause or pregnancy, for example, these hormones can dip and fluctuate which contributes to sleep issues and even insomnia. Hot flashes and night sweats, which are common symptoms of hormonal changes, may also make sleep difficult.

Key Hormones for Women’s Health

You’re probably familiar with estrogen. It plays the most significant role in women’s health. But several other hormones are part of the equation too. Together these hormones regulate metabolism, mood, energy levels, and much more.

Here’s a brief overview of how these hormones work.

Estrogen

A sex hormone associated with female reproductive health and the development of female sexual characteristics. Estrogen mediates the physical changes that a girl goes through during puberty. Aside from its role in reproductive health, estrogen is also involved in supporting cardiovascular, bone, and mental/emotional health.

Estrogen is produced mostly by the ovaries. The adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys, also make small amounts of estrogen along with fat cells. Levels of estrogen in the body fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, and drop after menopause.

Progesterone

This is another hormone involved in reproductive processes. After ovulation, progesterone prepares the lining of the uterus (endometrium) for the possibility of pregnancy. If a woman does become pregnant, progesterone continues to produce other changes that ultimately help nourish a growing fetus.

Testosterone

You probably think of testosterone as a male hormone. But women make a small amount of testosterone in the ovaries and their adrenal glands. Testosterone supports bone health, muscle health, and a woman’s libido (sex drive).

Most of the testosterone produced by the ovaries is converted into estradiol, a key women’s sex hormone.

Thyroid Hormone

The thyroid gland is butterfly-shaped and located at the front of the neck. It’s responsible for releasing thyroid hormone which controls metabolism, growth, and many other bodily functions.

This is not an exhaustive list of hormones in a woman’s body, but hopefully, by being familiar with these key actors, you’ll better understand the overlapping functions of your hormones.

Now let’s get to the meat of our discussion on hormone health. Exploring what you can do immediately and in the long-term to directly support healthy and balanced hormone levels.

Holistic Strategies for Balanced Hormones

As we’ve already learned, hormonal imbalance can be caused by natural life stages, lifestyle factors like stress or poor health, or in some cases, a medical condition. But luckily there are just as many ways to support a healthy hormone balance. Let’s discuss the spectrum of strategies.

Healthy Diet

Eating well is key for supporting a healthy hormone balance. Not just for your own nutrition but for the health of your gut microbiome, which is a key player in your endocrine system. The microbiota produces certain hormones itself and directly mediates various hormones involved in metabolism.

A poor diet can throw off your gut microbiome—and hormones—rather quickly. Processed meats and sugary foods are notorious for this. On the other hand, when you provide your body the nutrients it needs, and probiotics, the gut microbiome stays strong and diverse.

Eating enough protein and healthy fats are a key part of a healthy diet, but they’re essential for hormone balance. In the body, hormones are made from the amino acids in the protein you consume, and some lipid-based hormones are made from fats and cholesterols in your food.

Cruciferous vegetables provide the fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that your body needs to support the liver in detoxifying hormones like estrogen. Neutralizing oxidative stress and detoxifying hormones is another important aspect of hormone health and balance.

The fiber in vegetables and the protein in your food both directly support a balanced and diverse gut microbiome.

Stress Management

A major cause of hormone imbalance is stress. Which means that developing skills to manage stress effectively can be extremely useful in supporting balanced hormones.

Stress is the result of certain hormones circulating through the body. Stress hormones are released by the adrenal glands whenever the body perceives danger. But if you’re dealing with a stressful job, or juggling multiple roles like caregiving, relationships, and a career, your body may perceive danger often. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone immediately raises blood sugar levels so that you can fight or run in a dangerous situation. But having elevated cortisol levels for extended periods of time can cause health concerns.

Luckily, there are ways to influence your body’s stress response at any given moment. Practicing meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or tai-chi are all ways to reduce the levels of stress hormones in circulation.

Stress management techniques can shift the body’s response to difficult situations, stimulate the endocrine system, and regulate hormones both in the short and long-term.

Exercise

Engaging in moderate physical activity has numerous benefits for your hormones. Exercise stimulates your endocrine system, which helps regulate your hormones. The endorphins released during exercise are hormones themselves and can help boost your mood and relieve stress.

Exercise helps the body draw in glucose from the blood without insulin, which improves insulin sensitivity.

A key part of your endocrine system is the hormone receptors on your cells that mediate all the signals circulating throughout your body. Physical activity increases your cells’ receptor sensitivity. When those receptors are more sensitive, they send and receive signals more efficiently and absorb nutrients better.

Exercise supports healthy liver function. Your liver is responsible for metabolizing hormones. The liver can transform hormones into different or more active forms. It can inactivate hormones and dispose of them. It can synthesize hormones. All these functions are key for a healthy hormone balance. When you exercise, your liver more effectively metabolizes estrogen which can help balance circulating estrogen levels. For women, exercise can even make the menstrual cycle more regular.

There are many other ways to support balanced hormones. Good quality sleep and other healthy lifestyle factors like socializing and spending time in nature can have significant benefits. In some cases medical intervention may also be necessary, especially when hormones are dysregulated because of a disease or condition.

Supporting Hormone Balance and Women’s Health

By focusing on nutrition, stress management, regular exercise, and quality sleep, you can create a foundation for better hormonal health. By embracing all these strategies, and supporting your endocrine system, you’ll achieve a healthier, more balanced state of well-being.

Looking for personalized support? Book your complimentary Clarity Call to discuss your unique needs with me and get professional recommendations to get you on the right track.

Click to book your complimentary Clarity Call with Heather

Reference

Excerpted from https://askthescientists.com/hormone-imbalance/?id=4258756&source=copiedlink

What is an Adaptogen?

Hormone Health

Adaptogens are amazing! And you can easily include them in your daily diet. But, what exactly is an adaptogen?

This is the dictionary definition:

“Any of various natural substances used in herbal medicine to normalize and regulate systems of the body”

Usually the term adaptogen is used only for foods and supplements that support the adrenals. Essentially, an adaptogen helps balance adrenal function whether the adrenals are overactive or underactive – pretty amazing, right?

We don’t often think of our adrenals, but they have amazing power. When it comes to hormones, adrenals rule the roost! Here are just a few things your adrenals can do:

increase your appetite or shut it down
signal to the liver to drive up your blood sugar
stimulate your metabolism and thyroid function or slow it down
convert testosterone to estrogen
blunt progesterone production to allow for the production of more cortisol

Can you already think of a number of health issues related to less than optimal adrenal function? There are many!

Lower immunity
Obesity – in general and around the middle
Sleep disturbances
Gastro-intestinal issues – there’s a big gut interconnection
Depression and anxiety, mood issues
Allergies, asthma
Blood sugar instability, metabolic syndrome, diabetes
High and low blood pressure, high cholesterol
Liver issues and nervous system issues
Cognitive – brain issues
Poor stamina, fatigue
Inflammation and free-radical production
Menopausal symptoms
Female and male reproductive issues
Headaches and migraines
Addictions to caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol

That’s a whole lot of powerful change you can make by including adaptogens into your diet. Here are three you might wish to try:

Reishi Mushroom

Reishi, an adaptogen mushroom, is a prebiotic, meaning that it can feed good bacteria in the gut. It helps support the liver which works with the adrenals. It’s good for supporting weight loss, stabilizing blood sugar, and preventing metabolic syndrome. It may also prevent ulcers.One study of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome found that reishi significantly raised cortisol levels in the blood in comparison to the placebo. Reishi is available as a powder, dried mushroom, or supplement.

Schizandra

Schizandra is an amazing adaptogen berry that helps stabilize blood sugar and support the liver, thyroid (specifically T3 – the active form of thyroid hormone), kidneys, and the nervous system. It’s helpful for depression, insomnia, and anxiety and supports low energy due to adrenal fatigue. Hot flashes, which are an adrenal problem, can be helped by schizandra. It also decreases bad bacteria related to obesity and increases bifidus bacteria in the gut. It is available as a dried berry, powder, or supplement. The dried berries can be made into a tea, but it’s not as powerful as using the powder or supplements.

Maca Root

Maca is an adaptogen root vegetable from Peru and is often used by athletes for energy and performance. It’s also known for its ability to improve sexual function and fertility, which makes sense since stress can play a role in sexual and fertility issues. Maca may be helpful for menopausal women suffering from hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and mood swings. It may help with male prostate issues and protect the skin against ultraviolet radiation. Maca is available as a powder or supplement.

Typically, I prefer the powder forms of these adaptogens as it makes them very versatile for adding into my diet. For example, you can add the powder to smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, and several recipes.

So, now that you know what an adaptogen is, how do you plan to use it to improve your health? Which one will you start with?

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