Because nutrition and health are such a complex issue, knowing where to dive in to learn more about it can be a challenge. There are so many resources out there, but so much conflicting information. So, I’ve compiled a list of 5 of my favourite nutrition and health books for you.

1. Eating Alive: Prevention Thru Good Digestion by Jonn Matsen

Eating Alive is one of my absolute favourite books, and not just because I’m a nerdy nutritionist. It takes you on a journey through the systems of your body. It explains why an issue in one area of your body can affect your overall health. The best part is that it does so with cute drawings and comics, instead of big words. It also provides a ton of recipes that help digestive issues. If you only pick up one book out of these five, make it this one!

2. The End of Food by Thomas F. Pawlick

This book is for those who are into the political issues around food. It talks about why the food we eat today contains much fewer nutrients than the food our grandparents ate, and why and how those nutrients are being replaced by contaminants. Pawlick also offers solutions to let us take back control over our food sources without destroying the environment.

3. Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin

Rankin is an MD who found that our current medical model is missing a crucial aspect. When in the right state of mind, our bodies have the mechanisms to heal themselves. In this book, she breaks down what peer reviewed studies have found about the effect of our thoughts and feelings on our health. This is a great light read.

4. Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski

For those interested in the digestive system, Digestive Wellness provides a lot of useful information on different digestive concerns. It comes with short questionnaires that can help you determine why you may be seeing certain issues. Lipski also provides great advice for nutrition and supplements to help these issues.

5. The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health — And What You Can Do About It by Shawn Talbott

If you’ve been reading my weekly posts, you know why I think addressing adrenal fatigue right away is so so so important. In this book, Talbott explains why high levels of cortisol, your stress hormone, can lead to all kinds of other health problems.

Do you have any favourite nutrition books? Tell us about it in the comments!

 

Disclaimer: The provided links may be affiliate links. Opinions are all my own. Any money received through these links will go back into this website to support the hours of work that go into weekly posts. Thank you for your support.

If you’ve read my previous posts on adrenal fatigue, you’re probably starting to understand how much of an impact stress can have on your health. Menstrual cycles and PMS are no exception.

There is a widespread notion that PMS is something that just happens to those of us who are unlucky. In reality, stress hormones have a way of wreaking havoc on sexual hormones. PMS and other issues like PCOS, endometriosis, and infertility can be connected to adrenal fatigue.

In this context, PMS refers to the the wide range of unpleasant symptoms that happen in connection with menstrual cycles. They include symptoms like cramps, mood swings, breast tenderness, acne, bloating, headaches, and many more.

How a normal menstrual cycle works

You probably don’t want a detailed anatomy lesson so I’m going to water this down. The average menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. It begins on the first day of your period.

For the first 14 days of the cycle, estrogen levels rise. This helps the endometrium (one of the layers of the uterus walls) fill with blood to prepare for possible fertilization. Estrogen levels are at their highest on day 14, when ovulation begins.

After day 14, estrogen levels begin to drop and progesterone levels increase. As those levels go up, the body sends nutrients to the uterus in case an embryo implants. About a week before a period begins, progesterone starts to decline again. It reaches its lowest point on day 28, and a new period begins.

What is estrogen dominance?

Hormones in the body work together to keep each other in balance. Ideally, estrogen and progesterone should work against each other to keep each other in balance. People who deal with PMS tend to have what is called “estrogen dominance”.

There are two ways that estrogen dominance can happen in the body. The first type of estrogen dominance is the result of high estrogen levels in the body. This can happen for a large number of reasons. Sometimes, the body struggles to take estrogen out of circulation, so as more estrogen gets dropped into the blood, its levels accumulate.

The second type of estrogen dominance is the result of not enough progesterone to balance out estrogen levels. This is like a teeter totter. It doesn’t take an extremely heavy person to keep one side low to the ground, just a person who is significantly heavier than the other. It doesn’t take very high levels of estrogen to create an estrogen dominance if progesterone levels are low.

The connection between adrenal fatigue and PMS

In my first post about adrenal fatigue, I mentioned that sexual function is the first function to decline when the body needs resources. When the body lacks what it needs, it shuts down the systems not needed for immediate survival.

Cortisol and progesterone compete with each other. They are received by cells in the body in a similar way. Cortisol is in charge of making you run for your life, or stay and fight when faced with a bear (or any danger). Since progesterone, a pregnancy and menstruation hormone, isn’t needed at that exact moment, it takes a back seat when cortisol levels are high.

But here’s the kicker. Your cortisol levels are high when your stress levels are high. It doesn’t matter if your stress is a result of a real life threat, or if you have too much on your plate at work. For as long as cortisol is high, progesterone takes a hit.

This means that for as long as you’re stressed, estrogen levels get to stay high. As I mentioned earlier, PMS symptoms are often related to good ol’ estro dominance.

Do you struggle with menstrual issues? Click the button below to join the FREE Nutrition for PMS, PCOS, and endometriosis group on Facebook.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that adrenal fatigue can have a serious impact on blood sugar issues. Click here to read the post where I explain what adrenal fatigue is. The short explanation: your adrenals become so tired from long term stress that they no longer produce hormones properly.

How normal blood sugar works

Before we can discuss how adrenal fatigue impacts your blood sugar (or blood glucose), you need to understand how blood sugar regulation works. Blood sugar levels naturally fluctuate. When you digest your food, carbohydrates are broken down into sugars and absorbed into the bloodstream.

When your blood glucose levels rise too much, insulin tells your cells to take in some of the sugar from your blood to store in your fat cells. This makes your blood glucose levels drop back down. When that level drops beyond a certain point (normally a few hours later), you feel hungry.

When stress hormones get mixed in

Cortisol, a stress hormone, also naturally fluctuates throughout the day. When you’re stressed, your body produces more of it. Cortisol increases blood sugar levels by promoting the release of sugar stores from the liver and the muscles. It can also break down muscle to use as sugar (an undesirable process).

Adrenaline is another hormone involved in the stress response. It ensures that your body has enough sugar and oxygen to deal with certain situations. Adrenaline levels increase naturally during exercise.

Cortisol and adrenaline levels aren’t meant to be chronically high. Their purpose in very stressful events is to help you deal with the situation at hand (fight or flight). All that sugar they drop into your blood is meant to give you a big surge of energy. Once resolved, these hormones should return to normal levels.

Because the everyday stress most people experience doesn’t lead to a fight-or-flight response, blood sugar levels can remain very high. High blood sugar levels are dangerous, so the body aims to bring that level back to normal.

Blood sugar levels gone wrong

As I mentioned above, when there is too much sugar in your blood, insulin comes to the rescue to lower that level. But what happens when chronically high stress hormones lead to long term high blood glucose?

Insulin, which is produced in the pancreas, will continue to be released into the bloodstream as needed. However, when the cells in the body are constantly exposed to high levels of insulin, they stop responding properly to it. Think of when you hear a ringing noise. Eventually, it doesn’t sound as loud anymore. That’s how the cells respond to insulin with time.

When you were a child and your parents didn’t respond to you right away, did you scream louder? That’s what insulin does to remove high amounts of sugar out of the blood. But eventually, the pancreas becomes exhausted from constantly producing high levels of insulin. When it can’t keep up with the demand anymore, insulin levels drop, and blood sugar levels are constantly dangerously high. This is what you may know as diabetes.

Adrenal fatigue and weight gain

Diabetes can be an extreme result of adrenal fatigue, but it won’t happen to everyone who struggles with adrenal fatigue. This doesn’t mean that for everyone who doesn’t develop diabetes, blood sugar levels will be normal.

When your body can still produce a proper insulin response, it takes that sugar out of the blood and turns it into the fat in your body. Since cortisol can break down muscle to release sugar into the blood, those with adrenal fatigue may find that they lose muscle quickly and put weight on easily, even when “eating right”.

Another issue commonly experienced by those with adrenal fatigue is sugar cravings. When your stress hormones raise your blood sugar levels too much, insulin quickly tries to bring that level down. If that level drops too much, your body needs more sugar right away to avoid fainting. It asks for that sugar in the form of a sugar craving.

When you feed your body with that sweet food it asked you for, your blood sugar levels spike up again. Insulin, of course, comes to the rescue and pushes that sugar back into your cells to be stored as fat.

How to manage blood sugar levels with adrenal fatigue

Getting blood sugar levels back to a healthy point can take a long time. Eating properly can help, but it’s important to consult your healthcare practitioners regardless if you have blood sugar issues.

Begin by reducing sugar intake to reduce your body’s struggle. Reduce caffeine intake, as well. Caffeine increases production of adrenaline, which increases your blood sugar level and can further tire out your adrenals.

Try macronutrient balancing your meals. Protein and fats take longer to digest than carbohydrates. Eating a meal that contains all three will slow digestion down enough to prevent very quick blood sugar spikes. Not sure how to get started? Shoot me a line!

In last week’s post, I mentioned that adrenal fatigue can have a negative impact on digestion. Click here to read the post where I explain what adrenal fatigue is. Simply put, it’s when your adrenals become so tired from long term stress that they no longer produce hormones properly.

Why adrenal fatigue impacts digestion

To understand what happens to your digestion when you have adrenal fatigue, you first need to understand stress. Stress is a “fight or flight” response. Imagine being faced with a large bear. Your adrenaline starts pumping. In a split second, you decide to either punch that bear in the face or run for your life.

When your life is in danger, your body systems which aren’t needed at that exact moment shut down. When you’re faced with a bear, the last thing your stomach is thinking is “gee, better make sure that burger is fully broken down”.

Unfortunately, your body can’t distinguish between “Oh !@#$, a bear!” and being called into the boss’s office at 5 o’clock. It recognizes stress hormones in both cases and saves its energy for the “imminent danger”.

What happens to your digestion with adrenal fatigue

When you’re stressed, your body stops producing digestive enzymes properly (click here to learn how to stimulate enzyme production). Large particles (that should have been broken down in your stomach) find their way to your intestines unbroken down.

When undigested food makes its way to your intestines, it needs to be broken down somehow. The bad microbes in your gut jump at the occasion of being fed and break down that food (read more about it here). Here’s the issue with that: by feeding the bad microbes, they thrive and reproduce more easily. Their waste matter is toxic to us and irritates the lining of the gut.

When the gut is irritated, food sensitivities and autoimmune diseases can develop. The natural pores in the gut lining become larger as a result of inflammation. Undigested food then gets into the bloodstream. Since the immune system doesn’t recognize these large particles, it launches an attack. Remember – these particles are much smaller when digested properly. This sequence of events is one of the reasons why food sensitivity is becoming more common.

Feeling ready to tackle your digestion? Shoot me a line and let’s get started!

Adrenal fatigue is a health issue I commonly see in my practice. And yet, so few people seem to know what it is.

What is adrenal fatigue?

Before we talk about adrenal fatigue, let’s talk about the adrenal glands. You have two adrenal glands sitting above your kidneys. They are responsible for producing all kinds of hormones, including stress hormones and some sex hormones.

Adrenal fatigue happens in stages. In the beginning stage, when your body feels stressed, your adrenal glands release stress hormones. You will probably feel very alert at this point. This stage can usually be reversed by allowing your body to relax.

As adrenal fatigue progresses, it becomes harder for all our body functions to stay up. The adrenal glands run out of energy, so to speak. When resources are limited, the body takes away from the reproductive system, since it’s the only system not essential to immediate survival. Issues like painful periods, PCOS, or infertility can develop. It’s common for energy levels to drop, at this point.

In the final stages, the adrenal glands have become burnt out. Levels of all hormones produced by the adrenals tend to be low. At this point, you may feel absolutely exhausted. Your sex drive may be next to non-existent.

Why address adrenal fatigue right away

With adrenal fatigue comes a variety of other health issues. Stress is beneficial for a “fight or flight” response, but it isn’t meant to be long term. Stress hormones are damaging to the body and tend to shut down other important processes.

As digestion slows down while stressed, food sensitivities may develop. Stress hormones also cause blood sugar fluctuations. This causes cravings that can lead to weight gain, and even to diabetes. Additionally, as mentioned above, when the adrenals suffer, so does the reproductive system, increasing PMS.

Also, and very importantly, burdened adrenals can slow down the immune system. Do you get sick often? It’s not simply a matter of being exposed to other people’s colds. Your immune system should be strong enough to fight most of the infections that come your way. Your immune system is also responsible for destroying mutated cells. An inability to do so can lead to cancer.

When you think about the liver, what comes to mind? Probably alcohol metabolism, maybe detoxification. Did you know that it actually has hundreds of functions? That is why taking care of this multi-purpose organ on a daily basis is so important.

You may be tempted to think that all it takes is to reducing drinking and intake of junk food. And yet, the environment inside of the body is just as important.

Here are 5 important reasons to take care of your liver.

Hormonal balance

Your liver makes cholesterol on a daily basis. Cholesterol is a component of many hormones. Because hormones work with each other to stay in the right balance, if one hormone is off, the others can become unbalanced too. For that reason, cholesterol production is essential.

This important organ also helps remove excess hormones. Think of hormones as a messenger in the body. They have a specific message to send from one part of the body to another. Eventually, that message becomes dated. If the hormones continue to make their rounds in the body longer than they should, they communicate outdated information to the cells in the body. This “confuses” the body, which stops working as well as needed.

Reproductive health

When hormones are imbalanced, it becomes difficult for the body to continue its cycles as it should. Conceiving becomes difficult when the body struggles to get through the menstrual cycle as it should, or when sperm production declines.

Also, when the body is imbalanced, be it from hormones, excess toxins, or any other factor, the reproductive system is the first to shut down. Because it is the only system not essential for immediate survival, the body saves its resources for other systems.

Reproductive health isn’t only about making babies. When the liver is burdened, the combo of excess toxins and hormonal imbalance can lead to unpleasant and/or painful menstrual cycles.

Nutrient storage

The liver stockpiles a few nutrients to release as needed, including vitamin A, B12, D, and iron. It also stores glucose, the smallest sugar unit in the body.

When the body needs sugar, such as during exercise or when you haven’t eaten in a while, the liver releases glucose into the blood. When there is too much sugar in the blood, the liver takes in some of the excess (the rest is stored as fat in the body).

If burdened, it can struggle to respond the body’s signals for the release of stored nutrients.

Bile production happens in the liver

When healthy, the liver is so efficient that it uses the muck in the body to make bile (used in digestion to break down fats). It still produces bile when unhealthy, but struggles to do it properly. This can result in toxic bile, which can irritate the gut during digestion. This can also lead to clogged bile ducts, resulting in gallstones.

Clear skin

There are a few organs involved in the detoxification process, including the kidneys, the liver, the gut, and skin. When the liver is burdened, the other organs pick up the slack for releasing toxins. Sweating lots of toxins out can lead to acne, eczema, or rashes.

Ready to address liver health? Shoot me a line and let’s get working!

When we eat, our bodies produce enzymes to break down what we eat. However, as we age, our enzyme production begins to decline.

Enzymes are needed to avoid and reduce inflammation in the body. When foods are not broken down fully, large particles of food find their way into corners of our bodies where they shouldn’t be. This is one of the reasons we develop food sensitivities. The immune system sees these large particles that it doesn’t recognize, and attacks them.

Some choose to supplement enzymes with their meals to help break down their food. While this is still argued, some healthcare specialists believe that simply supplementing enzymes may teach your body that there is no need to produce enzymes. Your body sees that the enzymes will come from elsewhere, so natural enzyme production declines with time.

Prepare your food

Taking time to prepare your meals actually helps your body produce enzymes, believe it or not. Have you ever noticed that when it smells like delicious food, you become hungry? That’s because you send signals to your body that food is coming.

This is exactly what preparing your meals just before eating them does. Since we’re all so busy and don’t have time to prepare meals 3 times a day, enzyme production tends to be less than optimal.

Chew properly

Chewing mechanically breaks down what we eat. When we don’t completely chew our food, our bodies needs to produce more enzymes to break food down properly. Additionally, there are enzymes in saliva that are meant to break down starchy carbohydrates. By chewing less, these enzymes don’t get to do their job.

Take smaller bites of food to tempt yourself less to swallow before you’re done chewing. Your food should be liquefied before your swallow.

Eat (some) raw foods

Remember the raw food trend? While I don’t necessarily think it’s the right diet for most people, it has an important merit. Raw foods are rich in enzymes. These enzymes are different from the ones your body produces. They are specific to the foods in which they are found. This means that they will help you break down those particular foods and get as many nutrients as possible from those foods.

But don’t worry. I’m not suggesting that you should opt for a raw diet. Instead, I recommend making an effort to include raw foods in your meals.

Eat nutrient dense foods

Our bodies require nutrients to produce enzymes. Boxed and canned foods no longer have their natural enzymes. These foods require an extra amount of enzymes to be broken down. Nutrient dense foods, on the other hand, provide the body with the materials needed for enzyme production.

Boost enzyme production in the stomach

Some of the enzymes that digest proteins are produced by the stomach cells. Stomach acid (or hydrochloric acid) “tickles” the cells in the stomach wall, which encourages these cells to produce the enzymes. However, with age and because of stress, stomach acid production declines with age (contrary to popular belief!).

Most people with acid reflux actually produce too little stomach acid. The burn experienced is the result of food which takes too long to digest and ferments in the stomach. To increase enzyme production, a teaspoon of raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a few ounces of water 15 minutes before a meal can help.

Eat bitters

I know that there’s a possibility that you cringed at this suggestion. But hear me out! Bitter foods, like dark leafy green vegetables (which are nutrient dense, by the way!), actually help stimulate the natural production of enzymes by pretty much every organ involved in digestion. This is especially important for those who have troubled livers or lack a gallbladder.

The gallbladder usually holds bile produced by the liver until there is a need for it in the digestive system (such as when you consume fats). Without a gallbladder, bile spills into the intestines constantly, like a dripping faucet. This means that there may not be enough bile to go around when it’s actually needed. Bitters helps stimulate the production of bile with meals.

When first discovering the world of food sensitivities, it can be a shock to relearn how to eat. The price tag of items that cater to food sensitivities can particularly make people lose some hair. Thankfully, there are all kinds of things you can do to make the transition more affordable. Trust me, when I discovered my food sensitivities while I was in school, I became the queen of frugal living. Here are a few ways to do food sensitivities on a budget.

Avoid pre-made foods

Products that cater to a specific dietary need can cost an arm and a leg for a few reasons. The first reason is that they can get away with it. People who are just discovering new dietary restrictions can be tempted to choose expensive products when not knowing what else to turn to. Also, because the products won’t appeal to as wide of an audience, companies need to elevate the price to see a profit. Additionally there are costs associated with being certified gluten free or organic or any other certification that these companies may have.

Slowcooker freezer bags

Buying ingredients on sale makes it easier to deal with food sensitivities on a budget. Some stores require you to buy a higher quantity of the one item to take advantage of sales. To prevent these ingredients from going bad, you can chop, bag, and freeze all the ingredients for a meal. Next time you don’t have time to cook, all you need to do is empty the contents of the bag in a slowcooker. Read more about it here.

Keep a few pantry staples on hand

By keeping your pantry stocked with a few essentials, you can make your life so much easier. I’ve managed to whip up meals out of simply what I had in my pantry in times of need. Buying ingredients in bulk and keeping them on hand prevents you from having to run allover town, using gas and precious time, to find the items when you need them.

Going gluten free when you don’t have Celiac Disease is bad for you – fact or myth?

Myth! I’ve heard a few different claims that attempt to explain why going gluten free outside of Celiac Disease is bad. Today, I’m dissecting these claims so that you can understand why you don’t need to worry if you’ve switched over to a gluten free diet without being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. If you’re curious to know about going gluten free outside of Celiac Disease, read this.

Myth #1: Going gluten free will give you a gluten deficiency

Thankfully, there is no such thing as a deficiency to a specific protein. When we eat protein, the body breaks it down into amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Our bodies use these amino acids to form new proteins. There are 22 amino acids. All animal proteins contain each of the 22 amino acids. Some plant-sourced foods do as well, but simple combinations can also provide the 22 amino acids (e.g. whole grains and legumes). All whole foods contain some protein. Removing gluten will not lead to a protein deficiency.

Myth #2: Because gluten free products are not enriched, deficiencies will be developed

Before I can bust that myth, we need to talk about the term “enriched”. Enriched foods are foods that have been so processed that they have lost their natural nutrients. To compensate, only some nutrients are added back, but not in their natural form. Our bodies best know how to recognize nutrients in their natural form, so enrichment is inferior to natural nutrients.

With that said, there is a healthy way to go gluten free and an unhealthy way to go gluten free. This is no different from a diet which contains gluten. Eating a diet of processed foods will result in deficiencies and health complications from the added sugar and unhealthy fats, regardless of whether it contains gluten.

Myth #3: Gluten free foods are refined

Correction: some gluten free foods are refined. But also, some gluten-containing foods are refined. It’s all  about the foods you choose to eat, regardless of your stance on gluten. A well balanced gluten free diet doesn’t have to involve eating refined foods with a “gluten free” label on the package. It can be composed entirely of some or all of these: fruits, vegetables, gluten free whole grains, meat, eggs, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Myth #4: Whole grains, which are necessary for fibre, contain gluten

There are actually two myths to bust in this particular claim. The first one is that whole grains contain gluten. The truth is that only some grains contain gluten (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, triticale, and any variation of these). There are also gluten free grains (rice, millet, teff, and sorghum, among others). The gluten free grains also contain fibre.

The second myth is that grains are necessary for fibre. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, and nuts all contain fibre as well. Some individuals do really well on a grain free diet.

The microbiome is the combination of all the organisms living in our body, or gut flora. Some of these organisms are good, and some not. Hundreds of different strains exist. The combination of strains in the gut is determined at birth. If the baby is born through the birth canal, baby will receive mom’s bacteria. Babies born through C-sections do not have the same benefit. They can be more prone to infections and food sensitivities, unless probiotics are supplemented.

The healthy organisms in our gut produce vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting, and some of our B vitamins. They also take part in digestion, repair the intestinal wall, and keep the harmful organism levels manageable. The levels of good organisms can be negatively affected by sugar, chlorine in water, low stomach acid, pesticides, antibiotics, allergenic foods, and artificial sweeteners.

The harmful organisms thrive when not enough stomach acid is produced. Their waste matter is toxic to us. As a result, when the balance of healthy to harmful organisms is thrown off, inflammation can be seen in the body. They even have the ability to make healthy organisms convert into harmful ones (picture a Jedi going to the dark side).

Intestines are naturally porous to absorb nutrients and digested food into the blood stream. When the bacteria ratio favours the bad bacteria (also known as dysbiosis), these pores become too big, especially without the needed number of good organisms to fix the intestinal walls. This allows larger food particles to find their way into the bloodstream. Since these particles are not fully digested, the immune cells in the blood do not recognize these particles. The cells see these food particles as intruders, and attack the particles. This is known as food sensitivities.

The state of the microbiome also affects emotional wellbeing. Neurotransmitters are produced in the gut. If the gut is damaged, the necessary neurotransmitters are not produced properly. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and other psychological troubles. Additionally, nutrient absorption is impacted by gut injury. Nutrients are crucial because they are the building blocks of the neurotransmitter.

Weight loss highly depends on a healthy microbiome. Healthy organisms are partially responsible for blood sugar management. Fluctuating blood sugar levels are responsible for cravings. Additionally, unmanaged food sensitivities make it difficult to lose weight. They cause the body to retain up to 15 pounds of water weight, and disrupt proper hormonal function. The healthy bacteria are also responsible for managing hormone levels. Since many different hormones play a role in weight management, it is crucial to keep healthy levels of desirable gut organisms.