Cold Hands and Feet? It Could Be Your Metabolism!

Do you have cold hands and feet? Are you armed with a stockade of assorted thermal socks and slippers just to keep your toes from freezing? Do your fingers feel like icicles even when other people in the same room are complaining about how warm it is?

It could be your metabolism!

One of the chief signs of a slow metabolism (aka low thyroid function) is cold hands and feet. You might also notice low basal temperature, dry skin, brittle nails and hair, insomnia, low sex drive, tooth sensitivity and a slew of other symptoms associated with a low metabolic rate.

There seems to be a lot of controversy about what affects the metabolic rate (or to put it simply, how your body uses energy). However, when you're walking around all day with cold hands and feet, you know something isn't right. And all you want is a solution that works.

I know because I used to be one of those girls who keeps an extra blanket at the foot of my bed just for my feet. And after sitting at the computer for twenty minutes I felt like I had the hands of a frozen corpse.

Cold hands and feet used to be a consistent and bothersome problem for me, even in the middle of a hot Alabama summer. As I've learned about improving my metabolic health, my cold hands and feet slowly turned into an occasional nuisance rather than an everyday problem.

But no one enjoys icy extremities, and I had to wonder why the problem still sprang up on occasion. And moreover, was it possible to make it go away?

Got Cold Hands and Feet? Read Eat for Heat

Yeah. That totally reads like it came from a Dr. Seuss book. But, anyway, while I spent the afternoon reading Eat for Heat by Matt Stone, I couldn't help noticing my toes were undeniably chilled. It was puzzling, because it was unusually warm for January,  and yet those cold hands and feet were still bugging me!

Luckily, I was reading the right book. Within hours of following the advice in Eat for Heat, my cold hands and feet were toasty warm. I'm not kidding. The difference was pretty much immediate and definitely noticeable.

Eating to Stop Cold Hands and Feet

The funny thing about metabolic health is its ability to change--from year to year, day to day, and even throughout the day. Hormones and other biochemicals certainly vary during the course of our day. What does this mean? Our metabolic needs also change throughout the day.

With this in mind, Eat for Heat offers some practical (though somewhat bizarre from a mainstream view) advice for solving the problem of cold hands and feet--with the side benefit of eliminating other negative symptoms caused by a low metabolic rate. Here's a few tips I learned from Eat for Heat:

1. Biofeedback is critical.

This is number one for a reason. Because metabolic needs do fluctuate throughout the days, weeks, and months, what works for one meal, or one day, or even one month, won't necessary work for every meal, every day for the rest of your life. So pay attention! Notice how your body responds to what you eat, and even when you eat what you eat (if that makes sense). By the way, cold hands and feet are definitely biofeedback.


2. Don't Drink Too Much

Not alcohol, silly (that's another discussion). I mean water. Yes, you can drink too much water. And you can also drink it at the wrong times. This is where biofeedback becomes really important, because mainstream advice is to chug, chug, chug that plain old water until you reach some magical quota every day. Don't get me wrong: dehydration is no good. But gulping water without regards to how your body responds is also not so good. Eat for Heat offers a few handy suggestions for determining how much fluid you really need, as well as when you need that fluid. (Hint: chugging half a gallon of plain water in the morning... probably not helping your metabolism.)


3. Do Eat Some Salt

Here we go against mainstream advice again. Ever wonder why they put saline (salt) solution in hospital IVs? Because salt is essential to our survival! But somehow, even though pumping salt through our veins is supposed to be life-saving, eating salt is supposed to be unhealthy? That just makes no sense. There was a recent study that even attributed low-salt diets to strokes and heart attacks. And it's not the only study that warns against eating too little salt. They're popping up all over the place. Probably because restricting salt lowers the metabolism and then all those nasty diseases of aging start showing up.


4. Eating the Right Foods for Warmth

If you've got cold hands and feet, did you know it might have to do with what you just ate? I didn't. But after reading Eat for Heat, I decided to test this out for myself. Like I said, while I was reading the book, my feet were ice cold. What did I have to lose? So I ate a supposedly "warming" meal, not sure if I should be expecting results right away (if at all). But, wham! It was like my body kicked circulation into high gear. I noticed a difference within 30 minutes, and two hours later my feet were actually warm. Since running the heat, wearing extra socks, and loads of other temporary fixes couldn't even get my feet feeling warm that quickly, I was quite impressed.


5. Timing is Everything

Some people have problems with cold hands and feet in the mornings. For others, it might be mid-afternoon or right before bed. The timing of symptoms (which might be cold hands and feet, but can also include irritability, fatigue, lack of focus, frequent urination, etc.) is important, because this is when you need to bring your metabolism into balance. Eat for Heat provides some examples of what a basic eating/drinking structure might look like for various metabolic states. Matt Stone also seriously encourages you to individualize the ideas so they work for your body and metabolism.

Want to learn more? Find out more about Eat for Heat here.

UPDATE: Some of you wanted to know more specifics about what I did to solve my cold hands and feet, so I wrote a follow-up post that gets into the details. Check it out here: How to Eat to Increase Your Metabolism


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4 Amino Acids That Improve Energy and Mood

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Everywhere we look there are advertisements for anti-depressants, stimulants and other substances that are supposed to help us feel better and more energized, but time and again these drugs prove to be ineffective and even harmful in the long run. Amino acid supplements, on the other hand, are an excellent alternative therapy for treating lack of energy and low moods.

Julia Ross talks extensively about amino acid therapy in her books The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure (read my review of The Mood Cure here). Supplementing with the right amino acids can boost deficient brain chemicals and make transitioning to a healthy lifestyle more achievable. It's not uncommon to have trouble kicking habits like using tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and eating processed sugar foods. Many times cravings for these substances can be linked to neurotransmitter deficiency. Fixing your diet and lifestyle are the best ways to correct such a deficiency, but let's face it: sometimes it feels impossible to make changes when our brain chemicals are off balance!

Amino acid therapy is generally very temporary if you are making other important changes in conjunction with the therapy. A few weeks or months is usually all it takes before doses can be tapered and eventually eliminated. I personally used amino acid therapy on and off for a period of about 12-18 months. Once I found which amino acids were most effective for me and got the dosage right, I discovered that changes were immediately noticeable. Today I no longer take regular doses of specific amino acids, though I do keep them around "just in case," though I rarely feel the need to use them.

Here are four amino acids that particularly work to improve energy and mood:

(All the dosages below are based on Julia's recommendations in her books, which I highly suggest reading before embarking on an amino acid therapy program. Remember it is always best to start with a small dose and increase as needed.)


Glutamine: L-glutamine supplements are among the most popular amino acid supplements for many reasons. They are useful for treating fatigue and depression. Glutamic acid, which is derived from glutamine, is essential for ideal brain function. During times of stress, your body uses up mass amounts of glutamine that can easily be replaced with a supplement of L-glutamine to keep you functioning at your best. Glutamine is also highly effective at fighting sugar and starch cravings. In addition, glutamine is also used to aid muscle recovery when taken before or after exercise. Suggested dosage is between 500-1,500 mg up to three times daily.

Phenylalanine: This is an essential amino acid which cannot be manufactured by the body. Phenylalanine is used to produce tyrosine (see below), and directly affects mood and energy. Phenylalanine supplements are used to treat fatigue, depression, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), problems with food cravings and overeating, and chronic pain. In supplemental form, you can use D-phenylalanine, L-phenylalanine, or DL-phenylalanine (DLPA). The first is especially useful in relieving pain, the second is also effective but slightly more stimulating, and the third is a combination of the first two forms. Start with 500 mg, one to three times daily, and gradually increase up to 1,000 mg three times daily as needed. Do not exceed 5,000 mg daily.

DLPA has been very helpful to me in the past. I've used it to help end coffee cravings (so has Ann Marie from Cheeseslave, you can read her post about quitting coffee here). It's also helped me recover from periods of emotional imbalance and depression. In my experience, DLPA has been surprisingly effective. I've only had to use it for short periods and the benefits seem to be long-lasting.

Tryptophan: This essential amino acid is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is important for providing a feeling of calm and well-being. A deficiency of serotonin can result in depression, anxiety, insomnia, excessive anger and mood swings. Tryptophan supplements are quite effective, and act quickly to help produce optimal levels of serotonin. Take 500-1,000 mg up to three times per day. A bedtime dosage can be helpful for restful sleep.

Tyrosine: This amino acid is a precursor of adrenaline, dopamine and norepinephrine, which are important for maintaining a sense of well-being and energy, and also promote a healthy metabolism and nervous system. Tyrosine also works with iodine to promote thyroid health. Supplemental L-tyrosine is excellent for treating fatigue, low moods, depression, low sex drive and anxiety. Tyrosine and phenylalanine can be used in conjunction. Some people benefit more from one or the other; it’s important to work with both of them to find the right balance for your individual needs (I personally do much better on DLPA than tyrosine, though it took some experimenting to figure that out!). Dosage begins at 500 mg, one to three times daily. Increase dosage as needed, up to 2,000 mg three times daily.

Tips For Taking These Amino Acids

- Look for free-form amino acids in capsule or powder form to enhance absorption. Tablets are inferior because additives and binders make them more difficult to break down and utilize. Powder form is the most easily absorbed and will often have no additives at all.

- Take all amino acids between meals, at least twenty minutes before or ninety minutes after. This prevents these therapeutic aminos from competing for absorption with amino acids obtained from food.

- Stimulating aminos like tyrosine and phenylalanine compete with relaxing aminos like tryptophanTryptophan, on the other hand, can be used successfully for relaxation in the late afternoon, evening or bedtime.

Remember: Amino acid therapy should be used while working on improving dietary and lifestyle habits that could be draining your brain chemicals. Getting plenty of protein is an important part of stabilizing your energy and moods. Learn more about getting enough protein here.


This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.

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Healing Naturally: Functional Medicine Versus Modern Pharmaceuticals

Today I'm featuring a guest post by Liz Schau at Dear Thyroid, a great resource for all things related to living with thyroid issues. (Read more information about Dear Thyroid at the end of this post.) This post resonates well with me, as someone who once faced a fork in the road about whether to choose modern pharmaceuticals or natural foods as my medicine. The choice I made had an enormous impact on my life and the very core of who I am, and so I relate very much with what Liz has to say:

It’s interesting, and I’ve only realized it over the past two years -- as much as the public and mainstream media talk about lifestyle and dietary choices and their positive impact on health (after all, we see these kinds of articles in major magazines and on website headlines on a daily basis), much of the time, it’s as if no one actually believes it. I only say this because those two years ago, I started using diet, nutrition, and real food to ease my autoimmune thyroid disease and its related symptoms. And when it actually worked, few people took notice. Because, it seems, unless you have medical success with a pill, a lot of people will think you’re lying (or trying to sell them something).

And how can you blame us? The United States is the only country that allows direct-to-consumer advertising. What that means is, pharmaceuticals are our paradigm. We’re used to seeing them; we’re used to taking them. Pharmaceuticals are our gut reaction to the sore throat, our first line of defense against the flu, the only option for the rash or itch or headache. We certainly don’t think diseases can be reversed, though if we had any chance, it’d have to be with help of a medication. However, it doesn’t start or stop at the consumer: Big Pharma companies offer doctors incentives for prescribing their drugs (which, of course, they do), so physicians are responsible for helping to further this medication-only paradigm. However, the bright side is, there are many people -- chronically-ill or otherwise -- working hard to change this; they believe there are other paths to good health.

Within six months of being on a whole food, anti-candida diet (which excludes sugary, vinegary, starchy foods, and alcohol) to control my systemic infection (a side-effect of a weakened immune system), my antibodies came in-range and my thyroid numbers stabilized. In continuing this diet, over the next year and a half, my thyroid blood work numbers gradually became more and more stable so that my medication dose could be decreased. Eventually, I was taken off all medication and I found myself in un-medicated remission. I still am. My doctor told me this was "realistically possible, but statistically improbable."

What I later learned is that all of the reading, research, and observations I made about the state of my body (namely in the form of eating real food, food allergies, candida overgrowth, and chemical sensitivities) is actually a branch of health care, called Functional Medicine. This kind of health care focuses on the individual and tailors treatment to their specific needs. It is not a medication-only approach, and in fact, such doctors often don’t utilize pharmaceuticals. Instead, they address root problems of illness like inflammation, hormones, gut and digestive health, detoxification, energy, and the mind-body connection. Real, nourishing food is a big part of this. Functional Medicine also views the body as an interconnected system, not isolated problems here and there. Dr. Mark Hyman is one of the most outspoken of such doctors, and blogs from his website and The Huffington Post.

I’d say, adopting a new health paradigm -- one that isn’t based on a medication-only approach -- can help make more people well. For many people, it resolves their symptoms, illnesses or conditions. While these may seem like big statements and big claims, I experienced this healing, and I am no exceptional case. If we can believe in the body’s ability to heal a cut, or bruise, broken bone, or for hair to grow, or for new cells to be formed, then we can believe in the principles of Functional Medicine. The body is in a constant state of regeneration. Giving the body optimum input and eliminating man-made synthetics and chemicals (industrial and processed food, pesticides, genetically-modified foods, animal growth hormone, plastics, cleaning products, laundry detergents, soaps, toothpastes, fluoride and chlorine in tap water) we take the toxic load off of the body. We can redirect its efforts to replenish deficits. This is getting at the root cause of an illness, rather than employing a medication-only approach, which actually never heals an illness and rarely eliminates side effects. A pill may sustain us, but we usually don’t feel well and we are not completely free and in charge of our health. And it is really liberating to be free and in charge of one's health -- no matter what degree of wellness is actually achieved.

Dear Thyroid is a unique brand of literary support for patients with thyroid diseases and thyroid cancers. Patients write and submit love and hate letters to their thyroids, among other literary things. We endeavor to give patients voice and face to their disease, in their words and on their terms. Additionally, Dear Thyroid has five columns written by and for patients: How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass (Nutrition column), Going For The Throat (Health Care column), Flying With Broken Wings (Symptoms we don’t discuss) and Life Redefined (Thyroid Cancer in Young Adults).

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

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10 Foods that Affect Thyroid Health for Better or Worse

Food heals. And when it comes to foods for your thyroid, it’s all the more true. Diet often plays a key role in whether your thyroid is functioning properly, so it makes sense to start there when you’re aiming to restore the health of your thyroid. Food can be your friend or your enemy when you’re dealing with thyroid trouble, depending on which foods you’re focusing on.

Foods That Nourish the Thyroid

Coconut oil. For many people, the simple act of eating more coconut oil is enough to raise their body temperature and supply them with natural energy, which indicates the powerful role coconut oil plays in thyroid health. Buy high quality coconut oil online here.

Cod liver oil. The bioavailable vitamin A in cod liver oil (mainly the quality kind found here) is especially supportive of healthy thyroid function, because the thyroid depends on plenty of natural vitamin A.

Butter. With its plentiful supply of vitamin A and iodine, butter remains a thyroid food that nourishes the whole body.

Eggs. Similar to butter, eggs are a rich source of vitamin A and iodine. Plus, they are en excellent source of protein. Getting plenty of natural amino acids through protein is good for your thyroid.

Seafood. The richest source of natural iodine, seafood played an important role in traditional Asian cultures. These people ate soy (highly fermented, of course) on a daily basis, but also ate plenty of iodine-rich seafood to counteract soy’s anti-nutrients. Sea vegetables like kelp and dulce are especially nutritious, and so is genuine fish broth.

Foods That Damage the Thyroid

Wheat and other grains like rye, barley, millet and oats. There has been some evidence of the link between gluten-sensitivity and poor thyroid function. If your thyroid isn’t in great shape, you’ll probably be better off restricting your intake of gluten. Millet contains goitrogens, and should be avoided if you’re concerned about your thyroid.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, turnips, brussels sprouts and kale. These veggies are known for their thyroid-suppressing properties because they contain goitrogens. Thorough cooking deactivates these to some extent. You don’t have to eliminate these vegetables from your diet, but it would be wise to reduce your intake if you’re concerned about thyroid health.

Soy in its many forms. Soy is a powerful food. Even a small serving of soy each day is enough to suppress thyroid function. So give your thyroid a break and ditch the soy. 

Soy. Yes, I am including this one twice because it’s one of the worst foods for your thyroid. Don’t underestimate how damaging this food is to your metabolism.

Coffee. Caffeine overstimulates the thyroid and interferes with the absorption of nutrients that could benefit thyroid health. It's best to limit your consumption of caffeine-laden beverages like coffee. ***(UPDATE Dec. 2012: My original ideas about coffee and thyroid may be incorrect. As it turns out, coffee may be beneficial to thyroid health in addition to providing other important benefits. Read my latest post on coffee here.)

Remember that regardless of what you are or aren’t eating, not eating enough is a surefire way to interfere with natural thyroid function. Dieting and under-eating are top contributors to thyroid imbalances, so make sure you are eating plenty of real food for your activity level and lifestyle.

Need high quality resources for nourishing foods? Check out my Resources page!

Some of the information above came from two of my favorite books: Eat Fat, Lose Fat and The Mood Cure. To read my reviews of these books, check here and here.

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

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