How You Can Have High Blood Sugar Without Carbs

High blood sugar is bad. Carbohydrates raise blood sugar. Therefore carbohydrates are bad. The theory is simple, and yet incredibly flawed.

The truth is, you can have chronically high blood sugar even while religiously avoiding every starch and sugar in sight. Low-carb forums are littered with posts asking a very relevant question:

Why is my blood sugar so high when I'm not eating any carbs?

The answer is simple, yet often overlooked.


The Hormone that Raises Blood Sugar: No Carbohydrates Required

If the body were an engine, glucose would be its fuel. Most people think glucose only comes from carbohydrates (sugar and starch), but protein can also be turned into glucose when there aren't enough carbs around to do the job. This is called gluconeogenesis, and it's performed by one of the major stress hormones cortisol.

When you have high cortisol levels, the cortisol rapidly breaks down protein into glucose, which can raise blood sugar levels considerably. For some folks, this results in chronically high blood sugar--even if they are on a low-carb diet.

The trouble is, cortisol isn't just breaking down the protein you eat. It's doing something far more destructive. 

The body is quite a smart machine, and it has no problem taking detours to get energy if necessary. If your body isn't getting the energy it needs from your diet, it has a back-up source: its own tissue.

It sounds kind of cannibalistic, eating your own lean body tissue for energy. I mean, I seriously doubt any one of you would relish cutting off a chunk of your leg for dinner. I know I wouldn't. But every time your body uses cortisol to break down lean tissue for energy, this is basically what you are doing.

Aside from eating up your lean tissue (which includes muscles, bones and organs), chronically high cortisol levels can also have some other unpleasant side effects, including:

• Acne
• Panic attacks
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Hair loss
• Insomnia
• Lower back pain
• Allergies
• Impotence
• Low sex drive
• Poor memory
• High blood pressure
• Arthritis
• Gut flora imbalance
• Fibromyalgia
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Suppressed immunity
• Asthma
• Accelerated aging
• Headaches
• Depression
• and more...

Doesn't look too fun, does it? So before you blame carbs for your high blood sugar woes, consider that high cortisol may be the underlying problem. And addressing the root issue can have a pleasant domino effect by preventing or eliminating the issues above as well.

If you're interested in learning more about stress and cortisol, check out my other posts on the topic:

• What You Can do About Stress, Part One
• What You Can do About Stress, Part Two
• Who Needs All that Bone Mass Anyway?
• Cortisol and Weight Gain

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Sugar: Prisoner of War

If you want to wage war against food, there are plenty of ways to do it. We have vegans, who writhe in disgust at the thought of eating animal foods. And we have meatatarians, who eat animal foods almost exclusively (and writhe in disgust at the thought of being vegan).

There's low-carb and low-fat, high-protein and low-glycemic. Raw or cooked. Good fats and bad fats, good carbs and bad carbs, soaked grains and grain-free...

And, of course, there are limitless combinations. "Hi, I'm a low-fat, grain-free raw vegan." Or, "Hey, I'm a low-carb, high-fat meatatarian." There are low-fat meatarians and high-fat vegans. The list goes on and on.

Even with all of these different ways to wage war on food, there is really only one mission: to eat healthfully. Everyone's just trying to get there in competing ways. Vegans spread smear campaigns against meat and dairy. Low-carb gurus preach on the perils of the bread basket. Raw foodies condemn frying pans (even the safe kinds).

With so much hate flying around, something was bound to get caught in the crossfire. And it was something considered so evil, so sinister, so addictive, it's been likened to cocaine and heroin because of the destruction it leaves in its wake (or so we've been told).

You may have heard of it. It's called sugar.

Almost every single one of these food camps can agree on at least one thing: sugar is the bane of modern society. It's a poison. It's a drug. Some folks want to tax it. Some even want to outlaw it.

The problem? It's your body's favorite fuel.


Sugar: We Love to Hate It... and Hate to Love It

A few years ago, I knew sugar was bad. And I knew I was bad for craving it. Wanting something sweet was a weakness, a flaw in my very nature, an addictive behavior that needed to be swiftly eradicated. I could never be healed, I could never really be whole, as long as I gave in to this monster we call sugar.

But slowly--very slowly--a different explanation began to dawn on me: maybe my body was craving sugar because it needed it.

Blasphemy! I couldn't speak of this idea to anyone. It was nutritional heresy.

I did more research, I experimented with purposefully adding sugar to my diet. I educated myself on some basic biological functions. At first it was difficult to acknowledge, much less actually believe. But all the while I was coming to the realization that my ideas about sugar were--if I dare admit it--wrong.

Sugar Myths: "Sugar Makes You Fat!"

Whole Health Source blogger Stephan Guyenet put together a fascinating post about whether or not science really points to sugar inherently being fattening. It turns out, sugar itself isn't a determining factor in weight gain and obesity. Obesity is a multi-faceted issue, to say the least, and blaming it all on sugar is not looking at the bigger picture.


Sugar Myths: "Sugar Causes Diabetes!"

The connection between sugar and diabetes seems obvious on the surface level: type II diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar, and sugar can raise blood sugar levels. But high blood sugar issues are more likely to be a result of high stress hormones, which impair the body's natural ability to regulate insulin and blood sugar. High blood sugar is more of a symptom than a cause.


Sugar Myths: "Sugar Causes Adrenal Stress!"

In fact, just the opposite happens. Chronic low blood sugar promotes high stress hormones (like adrenaline and cortisol). What combats this effect? That's right. Sugar! Pair it with a little protein and you've got yourself an anti-stress snack. That's why some fruit and cheese or hot cocoa may be the perfect antidote to your insomnia at bedtime.

Stress hormones are also required when you force your body to burn fat or protein as fuel. Giving your body a more efficient fuel source (like sugar), keeps those hormones in check.

Sugar in Context

Obviously, this post barely even scratches the surface when it comes to sugar. Each of the issues I've touched on could easily be expanded into multiple posts. Plus there are other issues to consider, like:

• What types of sugar are best (fruit vs. juice vs. honey vs. table sugar)? 
• Does diet and lifestyle affect how we handle sugar? 
• Are other ingredients in sweets (like sodas, cakes, candies, etc) to blame rather than just the sugar? 

These questions are definitely worth asking.

I know by now I've inspired oodles of hate mail just from daring to question sugar's bad reputation. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is stir up more controversy--I've been on the fence about posting this for a couple years now.

In the end, I hope to inspire curiosity and a healthy level of questioning rather than hate and confusion. I want to break down the walls of dogmatic thinking, not build another layer of them.


Want to Learn More About Sugar?

I don't pretend to be an expert in nutritional biology. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend checking out some of these blog posts by those far more versed in this field than myself:

Sugar: Pure, White and Awesome by Danny Roddy

Fructose to the Rescue and The Benefits of Fructose by Cliff McCrary

Blood Sugar by Rob Turner

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Exploring the Root Causes of Acne

There comes a point when you've tried every single over-the-counter product you could find in your battle against the dreaded blight of acne... and yet still the battle rages on. You may have even crossed over to more natural methods of skincare like the honey face mask, homemade toner and coconut oil. And while these certainly help (I know from experience!), they fail to do one important thing: address the root causes of acne.

For a few, cleansing methods alone are enough to eradicate acne. But for the rest of us, there is something going on under the surface that is causing acne to rear its ugly head.

They say beauty isn't just skin deep. Well, neither is your acne.

Getting down to the root of the issue isn't easy. For one thing, we're all different. What causes my acne may have nothing to do with yours. It's all about how our bodies function as individuals. Still, while there are many factors that may be contributing to your acne, they all boil down to four simple categories:

1. Gut Health


2. Stress


3. Toxins


4. Hormonal Imbalance

Keep in mind that these can be tied together (and usually are). Stress can cause hormonal imbalances, poor gut health can cause toxins to build up, toxic overload can cause stress, etc. It's all just one big cycle of cause and effect. Because of this, you may have to address all four of these root issues to truly achieve clear skin (and excellent health). But many of you may experience dramatic results simply by identifying the one factor that's at the bottom of everything and addressing it accordingly.

Let's delve a little deeper into these four categories:

1. Gut Health

I put this one first for a reason--mainly because the condition of your gut affects your entire body far more than most of us realize. Balancing gut flora and rebuilding the strength of your gut lining is imperative to good health. An unhealthy gut system can contribute to toxic overload, hormonal imbalances and stress--gut health is truly the foundation of your overall health and well being.

Acne may actually be one of the first problems to surface when something in your gut isn't functioning properly. Better to catch this one early on than to wait until even more devastating symptoms arise. Simple ways to improve your gut health include eating probiotic foods like raw milk yogurt, taking herbal bitters to improve digestion, and having at least one cup of bone broth every day. Others find they experience more healing when they cut out more difficult to digest foods such as dairy and grains.

If you find yourself facing food intolerances, consider doing the GAPS diet or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) in order to restore gut health and reverse food sensitivities. These are strict diets, but they are also only temporary and can be extremely effective at repairing a damaged gut.

2. Stress

Stress is a common root cause of acne because it raises adrenaline and cortisol levels. When these stress hormones are chronically elevated, certain health issues begin to crop up. Acne is just one of them (others include back pain, irritability, headaches, insomnia and more--read more about high cortisol here).

For me, a telltale sign of stress-induced acne is--for lack of a better term--bacne. I only experience breakouts on my back and shoulders when stress is the issue. Fortunately I rarely experience this anymore, most likely because I've put a lot of effort into learning to manage my stressors and deal with them in a more positive way. I've also taken up a few positive habits like yoga practice and getting plenty of quality sleep.

Read more about how to reduce stress or learn more about the effect of stress on the body.

3. Toxins

Let's face it: in many ways our world is more toxic than ever. Some suggest that when our systems are overloaded with toxins (think chemical dyes, pesticides, synthetic hormones, fluoride, chlorine, etc.), the body has trouble processing and eliminating all of them. This overload ends up manifesting itself as clogged pores and acne. If you are sensitive to certain chemicals, this may be doubly true. Melissa from The Cellulite Investigation has written extensively about her experience with fluoroderma and acne. For her, exposure to fluoride guarantees cystic acne breakouts. Read more about her thoughts on fluoroderma and acne here.

Whether you are sensitive to specific chemicals or just suffer from general toxic overload, practicing some simple detoxification methods may prove to be very helpful. Try things like dry brushing your skin, drinking a glass of warm lemon water first thing in the morning, oil pulling, taking Epsom salt baths, or rebounding.

4. Hormonal Imbalance

Hormonal imbalance is another common underlying cause of acne, but unfortunately conventional medicine offers only one solution: birth control pills. Not my cup of tea!

But hormonal imbalances is last on my list simply because restoring gut health, managing stress and detoxing can all help balance your hormones. But for some, hormones are truly the root cause of their acne, and in that case it's an appropriate place to focus your efforts. I always recommend natural remedies for balancing hormones first and foremost. For instance, many people experience positive results with raw maca powder or vitex (chaste berry extract), both of which are well known for their ability to naturally balance hormones.

Elevated levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) may also contribute to your acne, especially if you experience mostly cystic acne along your jawline and chin. Herbs that balance DHT levels include saw palmetto extract and spearmint tea.

Managing blood sugar and insulin levels is also a key in balancing your hormones. Balanced, real food meals are the best way to get your blood sugar under control. Include some protein and fat with your carbs (specific amounts will vary based on your individual metabolism), and eat smaller meals to avoid drastic upswings in your blood sugar and insulin levels. Some people find specific foods trigger a blood sugar roller coaster. Refined white flour and white sugar seem to be the most common culprits.

If you suspect hormonal imbalance to be the root cause of your acne, then getting a hormone profile test may be needed to determine where you should focus your efforts and if bioidentical hormone replacement is necessary in your particular case.

Try to remember the bigger picture when figuring out the root causes of your acne. Addressing the above issues may not solve your acne woes overnight. It takes time to heal. Impatience will only conjure up feelings of stress--which we know does nothing to improve your complexion! So think long term and make healing your acne just as much about healing your body as a whole. That's when the real benefits happen.

This post is part of Fight Back Friday and Real Food Wednesday.

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The Number One Ingredient to Avoid

There is a detrimental ingredient lurking in our food. Often we don't even realize it's there. It could be in the ice cream you ate last night or the pizza you ordered yesterday. It could be in the homemade fermented sourdough bread you have every morning for breakfast. And--believe it or not--this ingredient could even be hiding in your grass-fed burger, your pastured eggs or the fresh berries and raw cream you have for dessert.

Yes, this ingredient can be present in every single food you eat... or none at all. It's all up to you.

The number one ingredient you need to avoid?

Guilt.

I know. Not what you wanted to hear.

Sorry. I know you wanted me to say MSG. Or fructose. Or omega-6 fatty acids or gluten or hydrolyzed soy protein... or some other commonly demonized ingredient. But no. Although there are certainly foods out there that can damage our bodies and brains, the most toxic food can't hold a candle to the destruction that can be incurred when every bite of food is swallowed with a hefty side of guilt, anxiety, fear or obsessive thinking.


Stressing About Food: It's No Way to Live

Don't get me wrong: there's nothing wrong with trying to eat healthy and live healthy. But it's not hard to cross the line from living healthfully to agonizing over every bite you take.

• Does figuring out what to eat for lunch trigger anxiety? 
• Do you try to make a healthy choice and then feel ashamed of it later because part of your meal didn't line up with some health guru's recommendations? 
• Are you constantly wondering which guru is right? 

What if all this anxiety and agony is causing more health problems than whatever food you may (or may not) be eating?

Don't believe me?

Don't underestimate how stress impacts your health!

And yes: anxiety, worry, fear, obsession, guilt and shame all fall under the category of stress. Stress triggers a cascade of endocrine response in the body. Essentially, too much stress floods your body with hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. An overload of these hormones can cause a myriad of health problems. Robert Sapolsky talks about this extensively in his book Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. Here's a short list of health problems that can be caused by stress:

• Acne
• Panic attacks
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Hair loss
• High blood sugar
• High insulin
• Insomnia
• Lower back pain
• Allergies
• Impotence
• Poor memory
• High blood pressure
• Arthritis
• Gut flora imbalance
• Fibromyalgia
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Suppressed immunity
• Asthma
• Accelerated aging
• Headaches
• Depression
• Loss of lean tissue mass

And that's the short list. Basically, stress is not your friend, especially the chronic kind. And believe me, worrying about what you'll eat and then feeling guilty afterward definitely translates into stress.

After all, aren't all the problems listed above the kind you're trying to overcome by eating healthy food? So don't thwart your efforts by replacing junk foods with obsessive thought patterns and negative emotions like shame and guilt.

So what do you do? Sure, work towards eating food that gives you a sense of health and vitality. But don't let your eating choices rule your life.

Enjoy your food and enjoy your life without the bondage of anxiety and guilt!


Read More!

Check out these posts about stress and health:

• 7 Keys to Reducing Stress
• Why Stress is Killing You and How to Stop It
• Cortisol and Your Weight
  

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.


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Day 3 on RRARF: Rest and Relaxation

There's a reason the first two letters in the acronym RRARF stand for "Rehabilitative Rest." There's not a person I've met in the last few years that isn't overworked, over-scheduled, stressed and just plain exhausted to some extent or another.

While bed rest isn't necessary on RRARF (though some of us could use it!), this is a time to take a break from taxing yourself mentally and physically. Mental and physical stress screws around with your cortisol levels, increases inflammation and generally just throws off the whole balance of your body. (I've talked about this in length before in part one and part two of a short series devoted to stress.)

Matt Stone has taken a particularly strong stance about the power cortisol levels exert over the body's many functions, including energy, digestion, allergies, immunity, fat storage, body temperature and much more. Balancing cortisol may very well be the most important key in metabolic rehabilitation. Here are some of Matt's recommendations for rest and recovery from his free e-book on RRARF:

"Take it easy on yourself. Nourish yourself well and start cutting back your exercise to low-exertion activities like walking and stretching. Go to bed earlier if you can. Take naps if you are tired. Don’t fight yourself. Just listen and obey – more so than you ever have before. Your body knows what it needs. It is not a lazy pile of junk that sabotages itself. No more jogging or heavy duty weightlifting. Save that for when you have recovered. Just chill. Every day is spa day."

Every day is spa day! How can you not love this guy? He's giving me permission to pamper myself and take it easy. Tell me, Matt, does this mean I can hire a maid during RRARF? Because that would be cool... but I'm not sure my budget would agree.

"But exercise is healthy. Not exercising is just plain lazy!"

Obviously exercise is healthy in general. There's no argument there. But the amount and type of exercise that is healthy for an individual has to be based on their specific metabolic state, not some blanket recommendation.

If you fear taking a break from athletic endeavors for 30 days will have a seriously negative impact on your health, then it's probably time to take a step back and evaluate your dependency on exercise. I personally feel like forced exercise is probably one of the major contributors to metabolic imbalance. So just as we want to learn to listen to the body's cues for hunger and satiation, we also want to obey the body's individual needs for rest and activity.

I stopped over exercising a long time ago. Gone are the days when I pedal away on the elliptical machine purely based on how many calories the annoying little monitor tells me I'm burning. But I'm still trying to disconnect my association between exercise and fat loss (and association that is over-exaggerated to a great extent). When considering exercise, you should always be viewing it in light of its impact on metabolic health, not the number of calories it burns.

So this month during RRARF I'm only doing activities that bring me great enjoyment (and probably a lot of stress relief as well): light yoga and walking outdoors. I can't help but look forward to that!

The Importance of Sleep on RRARF

Sleep is a time when the body puts its energy into repairing and rebuilding every system of the body. When we're sleep-deprived, our bodies simply don't have the opportunity to heal. Sleep is directly associated with healthy cortisol levels and even weight (read more about that here). It aids in adrenal repair, prevents junk food cravings, and mood stability. Sleep is essential for health. Period.

Good sleep habits are something I've been working on for two years. I've come a long way from restless nights spent staring into the blackness wondering how I was going to scrape up the energy to function the next day. These days I get 7-8 hours of sleep almost every night. And on the rare night I only get a few short hours, it doesn't completely wipe me out.

So during RRARF I'm just going to take it to the next level and give sleep a special priority. Cat naps will be encouraged. Sleeping in... well, it will be attempted but I have to admit I'm not particularly good at sleeping in. But going to bed early a few nights a week is definitely on the menu.

In general, I'm also just going to try and take it easy, not worry too much about getting it all done, and find excuses to play and be generally goofy. Because it's hard to be stressed out when you're not taking life too seriously.

Other RRARF Posts:

Day 1 on RRARF: What is RRARF?
Day 2 on RRARF: Why I'm Doing It
Day 3 on RRARF: Rest and Relaxation  
Day 7 on RRARF: Benefits Already!
Day 8 on RRARF: Eat the Food!
Day 9 on RRARF: Adieu, Le Sucre!  
Day 21 on RRARF: Deprivation is Dieting 
Day 23 on RRARF: Life Without the Scale
RRARF vs. The Milk Diet
If you're interested in hearing more about the research behind Matt's work, you can check out his free RRARF e-book. He's also put together a really neat video presentation you can find here. If you think RRARF sounds crazy, you'll think twice after hearing what he has to say.


This post is part of Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade.

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Six Simple Tips for Improving Digestion Naturally

Food is the foundation of good health. And digestion is the foundational tool for using food to achieve good health. Without proper digestion, our bodies may never receive the nutrients we work so hard to include in our diets. Poor digestive function can cause nutrient deficiencies and numerous health problems like fatigue, emotional instability, skin disorders and more.

Improving digestive function could very well be one of the most important steps you take in improving your health, and fortunately it can also be one of the easiest if you follow the right protocol. Here are some of the most simple ways you can make big improvements in your digestive health:

1. Drink Your Water... But Not During Meals

The digestive system needs to be well hydrated like the rest of the body, but downing glasses of water near mealtime will impair digestive strength and may cause upsets. Water is best sipped lightly during a meal. Otherwise you should get your water in at least 15-30 minutes before a meal and preferably at least an hour after.

2. Eat Clean

This one should be obvious but is included for good measure. The body wasn’t meant to digest chemical food additives, artificial sweeteners or extruded grains. Eat whole, natural foods as much as possible so your body can concentrate on assimilating the good stuff instead of eliminating the bad stuff.

3. Go Raw

It may not be necessary for every food that passes your lips to be uncooked, but including some raw foods in your diet is a great way to get natural enzymes and nutrients that might otherwise be denatured by heat. Getting at least some raw, live foods in with every meal will give your digestion a break and your body a more complete set of nutrients.

4. Get Fermented

You could think of fermented foods (like sauerkraut) as raw food on steroids. Fermentation allows probiotics, enzymes and nutrients to flourish and multiply. Fruits and vegetables that have been fermented are so potent only a few tablespoons each day will provide the body with a hefty digestive punch that can make a world of difference in gastrointestinal health. (Kefir is also a great fermented food. You can learn how to make your own kefir here.)

5. Try a Little Bitterness

Bitter herbs were commonly used in traditional cultures as a digestive aid and even to treat general ailments. Herbs like dandelion, gentian and yarrow are just a few examples of bitter herbs that are usually combined in a tincture to use directly before or after meals to stimulate bile production. Read more about bitters here.

6. Say No to Stress

Stress cuts off circulation to the digestive tract and can impair the body’s ability to utilize the food you eat. Learn to reduce or manage the stress in your life if your digestion is poor. Before meals, take a deep breath and eat slowly, eat consciously. Try not to rush meals, shovel food down your throat or grab hurried bites between errands. Mealtime should be relaxing and enjoyable. Your digestion will thank you. (Find some great posts of stress here, here and here.)

This post is a part of Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.

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Stop Stress from Killing You, Part Two: Seven Keys to Reducing Stress

This is part two in a short series about how stress affects our health. You can read part one here.

Once you’ve identified the tops sources of stress in your life, it’s time to take action and starting moving things a positive direction. Most people are amazed at the improvement they see in their health after making just a few small but very significant changes. Here are seven simple keys for reducing the stress in your life:

#1: Reduce Emotional and Psychological Stress

The impact of emotional stress cannot be underestimated, but this type of stress is often overlooked because it 's not easy to make changes in this area. A difficult living situation, an unhappy marriage or a stressful job could be a source of major stress that is wearing down your health. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to move, get a divorce or quit your job, but it’s important to look for ways to improve your situation in whatever way you can. If you’re dealing with other stressors like depression, anxiety, or the loss of a loved one, you may want to seek counseling or join a support group that can offer you help.

Although it appears small on the surface, negative thought patterns have a way of chipping away at our quality of life by compounding our stress. Establishing healthy patterns of enjoying the moment, reframing, and learning to forgive can have a very positive effect on your health.

#2: Prioritize Quality Sleep and Regular Downtime

The impact sleep can have on your life is well documented. Getting at least seven hours every night will balance your cortisol levels, improve your energy and brighten your mood. And just as important as sleep is downtime. It may take some rearranging if your schedule is packed with activities, but it’s vital for your health to take time each day to relax and unwind. Taking a day off now and then to free yourself from that mile-long to-do list is very restorative as well. And by all means, if you can take a vacation and get away from it all, do it!

#3: Improve Food Quality and Eating Habits

It can’t be emphasized enough: food is the foundation of your health. A balanced diet of real, whole foods is a must. Avoid processed foods, skipping meals or under-eating. Your body needs quality food for nourishment.

#4: Avoid Allergens

If you have allergies, these can trigger a stress response in the body. Do your best to avoid allergens, which includes identifying food allergies so you can make better food choices. On the up side, if you deal properly with other stressors in your life, this may decrease the severity of your allergic reactions (which are, in part, a stress response of their own).

#5: Smart and Sensible Exercise

Being active is part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s important not to overdo it if you’re otherwise stressed. Emphasize activities like strength training, yoga, walking and swimming. Avoid overtraining or doing too much cardio, which can exhaust the adrenals.

#6: Reduce Physical Stressors

If you get sick, injured or have to deal with chronic pain, try to get the rest and care you need so you can reduce the stress these cause on your body. Allow your body time to heal, or in the case of chronic pain, look for ways to treat the pain or the underlying cause that allow you to live a normal, happy life.

#7: Avoid Toxin Exposure

Most of us can’t completely eliminate toxins from our lives, but we can take measures to greatly reduce the amount of toxins our bodies must deal with every day. Filter your water, use natural beauty and cleaning products, eat organic foods, avoid chemical food additives and take the time to enjoy fresh air as much as you can.

This post is a part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

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Why Stress is Killing You and What You Can Do About It, Part One

What is stress? Physiologically, stress could be considered any event that triggers a marked response by the adrenal glands. In basic terms, this response is the release of cortisol. It’s the body’s natural reaction to any stressor. For occasional stressors, cortisol can provide a burst of benefits like increased energy, heightened reflexes and a higher threshold for pain. However, when stress is chronic, as it often is in modern society, cortisol levels can remain unnaturally high and lead to damaging effects, which include:

- Poor thyroid function

- Hypoglycemia

- Loss of lean body tissue like muscle and bone

- Higher blood pressure

- Susceptibility to illness, infection and disease

- Weight gain, particularly in the abdominal region

Eventually, if the stress is intense or chronic, the adrenal glands struggle to keep up with the many stressors your body encounters. Adrenal fatigue or burnout can result. Lack of energy, poor moods and a decreased ability to handle life’s daily stresses are common signs of weak adrenal glands. The health problems caused by adrenal weakness are far reaching and can be serious, because without strong adrenal health, the body isn’t capable of dealing with everyday problems like illness, toxins or normal emotional stress.

Understanding what constitutes stress is one of the most important keys in dealing with it. Otherwise we could very well be letting untold sources of stress slip through our fingers without notice. Here are some examples of common stressors:

Emotional and psychological stress. This includes an unhappy work situation, marital friction, negative thought patterns, or death of a loved one.

Lack of sleep, relaxation and downtime. This is all too common in our society, where many people sacrifice sleep and downtime in order to get more done.

Allergies. Allergens in food or in your environment can cause stress, and stress can in turn trigger allergic reactions. This results in a vicious cycle which is sure to wear on your adrenals.

Poor eating habits and diet. A healthy, balanced diet is the foundation of overall health and especially adrenal health. Skipping meals, dieting, or cutting out macronutrients can all be signifigant stressors.

Excessive exercise. Staying active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but the mantra of “exercise more” is repeated so often, people tend to think more is better. This is not necessarily true. Over-exercising is just as bad as not exercising at all, if not worse.

Physical stressors. Whether it’s a common cold or a sports injury, illness and physical trauma are stressors. Recurring infections, chronic pain or repeat injuries are especially stressful.

Toxin exposure. This includes substances like refined sugar, chemical food additives (such as MSG), caffeine, nicotine, airborne pollution, chemicals found in household cleaners, toxins in our water supply, and the host of other chemicals and toxins we encounter every day.

The above list is meant to be used as a resource for identifying the top sources of stress in your life. It may not be possible to avoid every single one of these stressors--in fact, you are sure to encounter many of them throughout your life. But whenever possible, make positive changes in order to reduce the number or intensity of stressors you experience. It can have a substantial impact on your physical and emotional health.

Tomorrow I'll post the second part of this series, about what you can do to lessen your stress load.

If you want to learn more about stress and health, you can read my reviews of these books:
 
The Schwarzbein Principle Series by Diana Schwarzbein
Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson
The Mood Cure by Julia Ross

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