Hello Everyone! I am not talking about the odd night of fitful sleeping. I am talking about sleep deficiency, where you regularly sleep poorly.
Sleep deficiency is a severe health condition that can affect you physically, mentally, and emotionally, increasing the risk of disease, accidents, and even ADHD in children.
The good news is that I will tell you how you can address your sleep quite dramatically if sleep deficiency is what you experience!
Yes, you can turn your sleeping patterns around through Eat Burn Sleep. (Sleep is an essential component treated on the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle).
Gut health, movement, and sleep work synergistically together. Sleep will be less effective without a healthy gut, the correct type of exercise, and stress reduction techniques.
Gut health aids sleep by promoting the production of serotonin and dopamine, which are feel-good neurotransmitters. Gut dysbiosis causes a lack of serotonin in the gut and induces inflammation, thus affecting sleep-wake cycles!
Inflammation is an essential player in the sleep-gut microbiome relationship. Reducing inflammation is critical.
Even if you have been getting by on little sleep for decades or are used to working shifts.
Or have conditions that may cause wakeful cycles, like depression, anxiety, or gastrointestinal disorders. Since reducing inflammation through Eat Burn Sleep aids in treating anxiety, depression, and gastrointestinal diseases, this, in turn, aids in reducing insomnia.
What Happens When You Don’t Sleep Enough?
Sleep deficiency is not really about how little sleep you are getting. Sleep deficiency is more about the quality of sleep you have and whether you are getting the right type of sleep.
Disruptions in the natural circadian rhythm have a negative impact on your body.
Without good quality sleep, your body is more susceptible to disease and can involve health changes to the brain, heart, breast, prostate, uterus, gonads, liver, pancreas, kidney, etc.
Of course, sleep deficiency can lead to cognitive dysfunction, which affects your memory, learning, resolving, reacting, coping, making decisions, and dealing with emotions.
In a child, it can result in hyperactivity symptoms and difficulty focusing and learning.
There are safety issues when you don’t have good quality sleep and are operating machinery or driving, which may cause injury. Lack of quality sleep can make you feel irritable and less sociable and experience mood swings and behavioral changes, even!
Sleep deficiency can make you move slowly, have less energy for exercise, and induce unhealthy cravings, which encourages weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and joint issues.
You may have sleep deficiency if you suffer from any of these or have excessive daytime lethargy.
Not enough sleep can activate the expression of inflammatory genes. Inflammatory activity, in turn, can influence sleep.
What Is Circadian Rhythm?
Your body clock has a 24-hour circadian rhythm, vital in the sleep/wake cycle, including sleep duration and continuity.
Metabolic hormones such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH), leptin, Ghrelin, melatonin, and cortisol rely on good sleep quality and the circadian rhythm.
When the sun rises, cortisol is released in your body, preparing you to wake up and get going!
The circadian rhythm activates many body and brain mechanisms during daylight hours, designed to keep you alert.
When it gets dark, your body starts to deactivate ‘alert’ signals and produces melatonin, which tells your body it is time to prepare for sleep. It increases as the night passes, but the inclusion of artificial light inhibits the process and stops the natural cycle, making it harder to fall asleep.
Throughout the night, HGH, leptin, and Ghrelin continue to do their work. See below for what else happens to your body during good-quality sleep.
What Important Health Functions Happen During Sleep?
Functions that happen during sleep increase longevity and healthier body composition. Without healthy sleep, essential functions become dysregulated, and our bodies become inflamed.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is released from the pituitary gland. It helps lower body fat levels and repairs the body, including the turning over of bone, collagen, and muscle. It replenishes the lining of your blood vessels. This process occurs during deep sleep, has a role in puberty, and declines with age. (Exercise also induces HGH).
Leptin and Ghrelin are regulated. They increase and decrease throughout the daytime, signaling the need for calories. Grehlin is responsible for hunger, and leptin is responsible for feeling full. If sleep is not good, Grehlin can increase, and leptin can decrease, which means you can never feel satisfied with what you eat.
It affects how your body cells react to insulin, the hormone that controls blood glucose. Cells repel rather than absorb insulin. Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance can occur without good sleep, which is another connection between obesity and diabetes.
Genes in the brain are regulated.
Resistance to oxidative stress occurs with good sleep. Sleep deficiency alters cellular physiology and can potentially generate free radicals.
The immune system fights infections during sleep. So, lack of sleep means a lack of natural killer cells fighting off pathogens and malignant tumor cells.
You can see why there is a strong link between circadian disruption, lack of sleep, and the development of diseases.
What Happens When You Stay Up Late Regularly?
When you stay up late regularly and reduce your sleep, you can put your body into sleep deficiency.
You may ‘treat’ yourself to a late night after busy days, work late on your laptop, or keep checking your phone apps in bed.
If sleep is a basic human need, like breathing, eating, and drinking, staying up late regularly means taking away critical health matters vital to life.
Reducing sleep on purpose to stay up late watching TV, looking at screens, and being exposed to artificial light, impacting the circadian rhythm, is not a ‘treat’ for your body.
Essential functions for health occur during good quality undisrupted sleep, as mentioned above.
This is why shift workers often have an increased risk of developing chronic heart disease or why they are most likely to suffer depression, cognitive impairment, and obesity.
How Do You Sleep Well?
You can reprogram your sleep, health, mind, and body with Eat Burn Sleep because gut health influences sleep quality. Gut bacteria affect circadian rhythmicity.
Improving gut health reduces inflammation, which treats disease and protects from disease.
This healthy lifestyle protocol ensures you have the best health possible without compromise, restrictions, or disrupting natural body cycles.
Stimulating the vagus nerve, improving core strength and bacteria diversity in your stomach, and reducing tension and inflammation in the body form part of it.
As you reduce inflammation on this protocol, you learn more about how your body works and what is and isn’t good for you mentally and physically.
Because we are all unique, you personalize your anti-inflammatory protocol by incorporating nourishing tailored health advice (from the Personalized Advice section).
Science-backed research and personalized qualified nutritionist advice are simple to follow.
Next-level health will have you sleeping beautifully in no time.
You won’t believe the difference it makes!
Your family, friends, and colleagues will notice, too!
Join the Eat Burn Sleep email newsletter and be the first to hear about new tips, and recipes!
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Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
February 12, 2023
How to Recover From Virus Infections
Resetting Health After Illness and Antibiotics
If you have had a virus that resulted in you having oral or intravenous antibiotics, I have no doubt that you will be feeling unhealthy and lethargic. You may have depression, memory lapses, joint pain, and brain fog. Or maybe small signs like dark circles under your eyes, a skin rash, or a white coating on your tongue.
You may be wondering why you are not recovering well from a virus or why you keep getting sick over and over.
You see, there’s a reason for you feeling ill after antibiotics, even if it was months ago that you had them.
I myself just recently have had to have two lots of antibiotics in the last couple of months, and it all stems from emotional shock, which made me sick last year when a loved one was in an accident. If you watch my Lives on Instagram, you will know the story of how emotional shock led to my catching bacterial meningitis, what subsequently happened, and why I didn’t share it at the time.
Chronic inflammation is a dysregulation of the immune system.
Constantly getting sick means that your immunity needs boosting. I advise Eat Burn Sleep’s 6-Week Reset in the Membership section and following the specialized advice within the first three weeks for Long Covid Recovery and the Candida Protocol. It will ensure that getting sick all the time does not happen to you anymore. You will feel incredible afterward, too. See below.
For me, recently, when I am usually robust, my immunity was compromised because I went through a terribly stressful time just last year. (I have two autoimmune diseases that I keep in remission through this anti-inflammatory lifestyle).
A very close family relative had a terrible accident. The shock that lasted some time caused excess cortisol to run through my system, which reduced my immunity and caused hair loss.
Then, further down the line, because of my reduced immunity, I had bacterial meningitis, which is the type of meningitis that can kill you.
On the first visit to the hospital, they didn’t pick up on it. When I went back, I was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and sepsis, and they quickly put me on an antibiotic intravenous drip, thankfully.
Afterward, I had to have ten days of antibiotics. This is why I got sick after being treated for the infections.
What Do Antibiotics Do To Your Body?
Well, in many incidences, they clear the virus quite rapidly, and I needed them desperately when I had bacterial meningitis. I am so grateful because I think I may have died.
Antibiotics have saved millions of lives by removing pathogenic viruses.
Ultimately though, oral or intravenous antibiotics damage our gut health by reducing the bacteria that are good for our health, like Bifidobacterium, and increasing the bacteria that aren’t, like antibacterial resistance genes, for instance.
70% of our immune system cells (GALT – gut-associated lymphoid tissue) reside in our guts, so you can realize that your immune health is compromised with an unhealthy gut microbiome. Also, a healthy gut maintains the mucus layer, which will keep pathogens from leaking into the bloodstream.
So, on top of this, with the emotional shock that lowered my immunity, all in all, this flu that I contracted recently wiped me out. Unfortunately, it developed into a lung bacterial infection, and I had to be given antibiotics again.
Of course, gut dysbiosis causes inflammation and triggers.
If you have ever experienced diarrhea or bad stomach ache when taking antibiotics, it is Clostridium difficile that is causing it, for instance, which is increased in the gut in the presence of antibiotics. The bacteria often live harmlessly, under the control of the beneficial gut bacteria, but dysbiosis allows its growth.
So, this is a disaster for anyone with an inflammatory bowel disease, and I know that many of you have experienced similar.
Yes, you can recover from antibiotic damage, and depending on how you go about it will all matter to recovery time and outcome.
You can change your gut microbiota within 24 hours, but there can be a longer-lasting negative effect on the body following antibiotics.
Typically, if you work on being healthy, it can take your microbiome months to return to a good balance of good bacteria after antibiotics, and even then, you can still feel not quite right. Antibiotics can really do a number on your gut and leave you feeling sick for months.
Resetting your microbiome is how we start the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle, as I mentioned above, and it works after antibiotics, chronic inflammation conditions, autoimmune diseases, and any time you need to reset your health and go forward for the long-term.
We begin with the 6-Week Reset!
This is designed to balance the microbiome to a healthy diversity. So, with Eat Burn Sleep, in as little as 42 days, you could not only be feeling better and healthier but simply fantastic.
Once you have reset your health by balancing your microbiome and cleansing your liver (because all sorts of wonderful things happen to your body when you do the Eat Burn Sleep reset), you can begin the 80/20 balance.
You can enjoy treats but still feel incredible, and as each day passes, you feel even more wonderful than the day before.
Optimize your health, but also live and enjoy life without restrictions. Nobody wants to follow strict regimes all the time (which is why many diets are unsustainable).
The problem for me is that the ratio changed a lot by the end of the year because of the party season, so that is why I got the flu, too, not long ago. I was having way too many treats!
Reducing Bacterial Overgrowth
The problem is that when we have been on antibiotics, we have much higher chances of developing candida overgrowth, and our bodies become inflamed.
Resetting my system was what I needed to do because I felt so ill. So I stuck to Eat Burn Sleep’s green list only and didn’t have wine or my usual treats. The first days were challenging, but I was in such a way that I did not feel good at all physically, and I didn’t want a treat. You know that feeling when you are just too ill to think about treats?
I then implemented the Candida Recovery protocol in the Personalized Advice section, which is under Menu in the Learn section of the app.
I advise going on the 6-Week Reset and, in the first few weeks, implementing the Candida protocol in the Personalized Advice section.
Soon, you will be feeling mentally and physically better than you did before.
The way to see if you have candida is that you have a white coating on your tongue. Recurring nail infections, sinusitis, tiredness, joint pain, and thrush are other signs. There are so many symptoms of candida overgrowth, which, of course, is treated successfully on Eat Burn Sleep.
The Best Way to Recover From a Virus
Oh my goodness, let me tell you how I feel after following the best antibiotic recovery, as described above. I feel incredible. My mental well-being is indescribable, and I feel like I am enjoying life even more because of it.
I have lost 3 or 4 kg of weight, which is probably mainly water, but what is game-changing for me, which is why I am reluctant to have too many treats at the moment, is that my mental well-being has gone through the roof.
It isn’t just my mood that has improved, but my efficiency and productivity with work are insane. My brain is functioning so well. It is so amazing.
I feel stronger physically and mentally, but my mood is better, and I feel like I am enjoying life more and feeling less overwhelmed. It has done me so much good.
Did you know that anxiety, depression, low mood, and brain fog are linked to chronic inflammation, which leads to neuroinflammation (inflamed brain cells)? I don’t experience any of these now, but treating my mind and body to the Eat Burn Sleep 6-Week Reset and Candida Recovery protocol has reduced the inflammation in my body so much that I am hooked on this feeling!
Well, I was in the South of France with my kids in the summer. We were staying with friends, and I think the pH in the pool wasn’t quite right. They do have a pool cleaner, but something happened for the water to change because my son got a terrible ear infection.
His ear infection was so bad, and he had a fever, so we ended up in A&E, seeing an ENT specialist. We canceled the flight home because of the risk of ear popping and the pain that would cause and took a train instead to London from the South of France.
During that time, I felt a little bit of ear pain, and I just presumed that I was picking up on my son’s pain!
Now, I have a high pain threshold, so this should have been a sign of something, but I was so focused on my son that I missed that I had a middle ear infection.
Untreated Ear Infections Can Be Dangerous.
Fast forward a week or so, and I was hearing noises amplified. An ambulance siren sounded even louder, and somebody shouting was too loud, for instance. I found myself putting my fingers in my ears a lot and asking my boys if it was particularly loud, and they told me it wasn’t and that it was me.
So, I decided that I would get my ears checked when they returned to school. This didn’t happen because when I was on the way home from dropping my son off at school, I felt so ill that I stopped by the hospital. They checked for COVID-19 and discharged me.
A couple of weeks later, I was at A&E, and I felt so terrible that I felt like I was dying. I couldn’t sit down, yet I was trying to find three seats so that I could lie down, and I was so thirsty. My friend had to communicate with the doctor because I couldn’t speak. The pain in my stomach was horrendous, and I had the worst headache that I had ever experienced.
I didn’t know that the pain in my stomach was the beginning of sepsis.
The doctor asked if I had recently had a cold or a virus, and of course, I had a middle ear infection, which I dismissed because of my high pain threshold.
They quickly put me on intravenous antibiotics, thank goodness.
What happens is that we have bacteria all over us, and when it travels to the brain membranes (meninges), that is when it can be a killer. Death can occur in little time with bacterial meningitis.
Bacterial Meningitis Recovery
So, there is viral meningitis, which I am vaccinated against, and bacterial meningitis, which I had.
You can’t catch it, but it develops after a cold or flu, untreated ear or sinus infection, or a skull fracture. Which is what it was in my case, and that is how I got bacterial meningitis.
So, knowing that antibiotics can lead to candida overgrowth (and even the pharmacist said to me when he gave me the antibiotics – and steroid spray for my lungs because I was so inflamed – that I may get thrush in my mouth and other places), I knew that I had to reset my body and do the Eat Burn Sleep Candida Reduction protocol that we have on this anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
I had symptoms like tinnitus, too, which is a sign of inflammation, so I needed to follow the EBS recovery method to a tee to reset my gut health, boost my immunity, and sort the ear ringing out! I had to ensure that my cognitive function wouldn’t be affected in the long run, too.
Can You Prevent Bacterial Meningitis?
No, you cannot prevent bacterial meningitis, so I advise that if you are not feeling well, go to the doctor. I wasn’t feeling well, and I had ear pain, and I ignored it. Look what happened!
It is better to be safe than sorry, so visit the doctor with any ailment that you have and get it investigated.
Can You Fully Recover From Bacterial Meningitis?
Bacterial Meningitis is serious. Some people have had to have amputations with Bacterial Meningitis. Thankfully, I just made it, so yes, if you catch it early enough. Bearing in mind that I live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle on an 80/20 ratio usually, which bolsters me. Of course, I have not only recovered, but by following the protocol to recover from viruses, I am feeling better than before!
Best Way to Eliminate Candida
Well, the candida protocol is part of the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle, so it is an add-on. I advise implementing the candida protocol within around 3 weeks of the 6-Week Reset.
How to Optimize Health
Members explore the platform. When I did my liver detox this summer, I pointed out the Liver Detox personalized advice to follow on top of this lifestyle, and so many members hadn’t seen it.
The lifestyle is easy to follow, and many members have not explored the whole platform yet. It is packed with health education, and members have access to everything.
There is everything you need on this health platform to improve your health.
You may be suffering from multiple symptoms or needing a boost where you need an extra protocol, like for depression and anxiety, fertility, bloating, insomnia, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, healthy weight loss, healthy weight gain, long COVID recovery, acid reflux, Hashimoto’s, and other thyroid issues, hormonal imbalances, gout, psoriasis, or what to eat during Ramadan, say. The list goes on, and it is continually added to.
You may come across some things that you experience, like migraines, as an example. That extra advice in the Specialized Advice section under Learn in the app could give you more results and have you feeling even more incredible.
Knowing how our body works is key to taking care of it.
Because I mentioned France, I must point you to my podcast appearance on Alicetuyet.com. Le podcast est en français!
I have been feeling so good that I thought that I wouldn’t drink again, but the other night, I had a couple of glasses of wine when I went out to dinner.
The next day, I did not like how I felt. Once you get hooked on feeling good, you can’t tolerate not feeling 100%.
This is how members can connect with why Eat Burn Sleep works and is so powerful.
When you feel this good, not only do your brain and microbiota not crave the food and drink you used to have, but you actually don’t want to feel like that again.
Standards rise when you get used to feeling so incredible, and this is how you get hooked on this healthy lifestyle.
Feeling really alive is intoxicating.
This is why so many members state that they are on Eat Burn Sleep for life and love the simple, healthy, delicious recipes like Lebanese Meatballs & Pumpkin Pie.
You feel happier and healthier in your first year on this optimum healthy lifestyle, but it gets better as the years go by. Members (even the ones that had chronic conditions that took over their lives) who are in their second and third years say they have been achieving things beyond their wildest dreams.
Eat Burn Sleep is a way of life that gives even better results as time goes by and gives you more autonomy over your health, which is priceless.
Join the Eat Burn Sleep email newsletter and be the first to hear about new tips, and recipes!
Continue Reading
Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
January 15, 2023
Help With Anemia, B12 and Iron Deficiencies
Do You Have a Deficiency?
Hello Everyone! If you are tired all the time, with no energy and low moods, and feel that you sleep well, consider getting tested for anemia.
Chronic inflammation and conditions like IBD, Crohn’s, colitis, celiac disease, and Hiatal Hernia often cause anemia due to nutrient malabsorption and blood loss. Still, if you don’t have a known condition and are feeling exhausted, it may come down to your eating and what you are not eating.
This post is worth a read because many so-called healthy and trendy diets could lack essential nutrients that can cause irreversible damage to health, and yes, your gut health can help you!
Anemia causes fatigue and shortness of breath, as does chronic inflammation. I advise that you have blood tests with your healthcare professional.
Anemia is a severe global public health problem, affecting over two billion individuals. It is caused by loss of blood, lack of red cell production, and high rates of red blood cell destruction.
It is problematic by itself, but it can also impact other global public health concerns like obesity, for instance, due to the symptom of having no energy to exercise.
Sedentary lifestyles, diabetes, and chronic inflammation are linked to anemia.
Gut dysbiosis causes chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation alters nutrient availability, and this includes iron.
Sometimes, the cause of anemia is unknown, but it is usually caused by a condition, factor, trigger, and mostly, according to the World Health Organization, iron deficiency.
Anemia can occur when we don’t eat enough foods containing essential nutrients like B-12 and B-9 that promote iron-absorbing microbiota.
A significant concern is not the source of the iron but the type of iron and absorption. The kind of iron ingested is essential from many foods that provide iron, but there is also a specific microbiota that improves dietary iron absorption.
This article focuses on protecting yourself from anemia through gut health, reducing inflammation, and increasing nutrition absorption.
What Is the Best Diet to Avoid Anemia?
Gut health is essential to protect yourself from anemia, and many factors cause an imbalance; this includes your diet, how you live your life, how you move, breathe, think, sleep, de-stress, and so on.
Well-being affects gut health, which affects iron absorption.
Anemia is showing particular prevalence lately with this growing trend of veganism. Also, with other unhealthy diets, such as following a calorie-controlled diet.
Vegetarians also risk anemia due to limited essential daily nutritional requirements.
Following an anemia diet devised by a qualified gut health nutritionist is crucial since you have the right amount, depending on your body’s needs and functions.
Addressing any chronic inflammation condition and autoimmune disease causing your anemia and healing it through Eat Burn Sleep will aid in iron, B-12, B9, and other essential minerals and vitamin absorption.
For times when your body may need more red blood cells, with physical changes like trauma or pregnancy, for instance.
Women need more iron than men due to menstruation, but an iron deficiency can also come from regular blood donation.
The primary way to get iron is from food, and many excellent sources exist. Without it, we don’t produce heme, the molecules in blood that host iron.
Heme and non-heme iron absorption in the digestive system involves various processes and proteins.
Many factors, including foods and additives that are eaten, inhibit iron (and other essential nutrients needed to avoid anemia) absorption. As I mentioned above, the gut microbiota is a significant factor. Stimulating the growth and colonization of beneficial gut bacteria will increase iron absorption.
Reducing chronic inflammation through balancing gut microbiota will increase nutrient bioavailability. Improved immune function also occurs!
What is also imperative to iron absorption is lifestyle!
Dietary changes are never enough to achieve optimum health.
Are You Short of Breath When Resting?
Shortness of breath, even when resting, is a sign of iron-deficient anemia. Again, I advise visiting your doctor for a health assessment.
Iron-deficient anemia is when there is a reduced hemoglobin level in your blood. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen around the circulatory system.
When this dips below a healthy level, oxygen is not circulated to bodily tissues, and body homeostasis is not maintained, causing anemia. Iron isn’t absorbed optimally in your gut, either.
This is when you can experience those feelings of exhaustion, low moods, shortness of breath, and irritability attached to anemia. The tiredness you get with anemia differs from the tiredness from lack of sleep! You can feel so drained!
You may like to read How to Ease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME, How to Recover From Virus Infections.
Do You Need Iron?
Iron is imperative to health, as it participates in various metabolic processes.
Iron is needed for electron transfer, DNA, cell cycle control, hormone synthesis, nitrogen fixation, and antioxidant properties. It is essential to a healthy immune system, and you are more likely to pick up infections when you are depleted of iron.
Still, its volume in the body has to be regulated because too much can lead to tissue damage and neurodegenerative diseases.
Iron deficiency and excess iron levels are essential to gut health. Fluctuating levels can impact gut microbiota. Gut microbiota dysbiosis is, of course, the link to chronic inflammation, compromised immunity, and the development of chronic diseases that are linked to 78% of deaths worldwide.
You don’t need to be anemic to be iron-deficient!
Why Do You Feel Depressed and Sick?
Feeling low, depressed, and nauseous are signs of anemia and chronic inflammation, and it would be a good idea to request a blood test from your doctor.
Pernicious anemia, a type of Megaloblastic anemia, can occur without B-12 and B9 (folate).
Not enough nutrients cause pernicious anemia in the diet, and it is also an autoimmune condition that can be inherited. It is when antibodies to intrinsic factor are produced, so the body cannot absorb B-12 (because it needs intrinsic factor to do so). This means that it cannot make enough red blood cells.
Damage to the terminal ileum, which can happen when chronic inflammation is present, can cause impaired B-12 absorption because that is the part of the intestines where B-12 is absorbed.
Gastric bypass surgery is a cause, too, because the area (parietal stomach cells) where intrinsic factor is produced is now bypassed!
Autoimmune conditions also cause an inability to make intrinsic factor due to the body attacking its own tissues and gastrointestinal disorders.
Nutrients are not absorbed, and malnutrition, particularly anemia, can kick in.
Gut health and mental health are connected through the brain-gut axis. Eat Burn Sleep is a successful diet and lifestyle for improving depression and anxiety.
You may be interested to read Depression Diet & Lifestyle Intervention, Signs of Inflammation That May Surprise You, Come Off Antidepressants, Feeling Depressed, Not Jolly? and Do You Often Feel Like Crying?
What Is B-12?
B-12 (cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin from red meat, eggs, and dairy.
Intrinsic factor is produced in your parietal stomach cells that help your intestines absorb vitamin B12. It aids in synthesizing DNA, fatty acids, and myelin through its use as a cofactor for the enzymes involved in the process.
Myelin is an insulating sheath that forms around nerves, such as the spinal and brain cord. If it is not functioning, which can happen with a B-12 deficiency, then important electrical impulses slow down.
B-12 Deficiency Symptoms
Not only does B-12 deficiency cause symptoms like fatigue, lack of energy, irritability, brain fog, headaches, weight loss, chronic infections, a tender tongue, and shortness of breath, but it also causes neurological problems.
B-12 deficient-neurological problems can be irreversible, and they include:
Memory loss
Pins and needles
Vision issues
Damage to the nervous system, which affects walking
Loss of coordination
B-12 deficiency can affect your unborn child, increase heart conditions, put you at risk of jaundice, and compromise surgery recovery.
A doctor recently told me about a vegan patient who was depleted in B-12 and was paralyzed after an injury involving myelin from the waist down. That’s how vital B-12 is!
B-12 deficiency is tricky to pick up since symptoms may be subtle in the early days, and you may have grown accustomed to living with them.
Symptoms of Anemia:
Lack of energy
Fatigue – it feels so different than ‘lack of sleep’ tiredness
Shortness of breath – even when you are resting
Cold hands and feet
Chest pain
Depression
Loss of appetite
A smooth tongue
Nausea
Restless legs
Cravings for non-food items
Can Vegans Get Anemia?
If you are a vegan, you will not have essential B12, heme iron, and other minerals needed for optimum health. You won’t be having essential complete amino acids, etc.
B12 (cobalamin), B9 (folate), and iron are essential for optimum health and protection from anemia. Without them, megaloblastic anemia can settle in, which symptoms include: shortness of breath, palpitations, shortness of breath, weakness, heart murmurs, and some irreversible neurological issues.
Although folate is abundant in many foods a vegan can eat, being vegan is unsuitable for your body. I know this is a hot topic, but if you have to supplement for something that your body needs and nutrients are not absorbed efficiently because of what you eat, it isn’t an optimum healthy diet.
If you have been thinking about changing from being a vegan to introducing animal products into your diet again, which I strongly advise, then in the Premium Membership, there is specialized advice guiding you gently through the process, emotionally and practically—Reintroducing Animal Products.
It is imperative to get all of the nutrients that you need from food.
(If you have an IBD condition like Crohn’s or Colitis, you will possibly be having iron supplements or transfusions to treat anemia due to the nature of your condition).
The bioavailability of food is far superior to any supplement, and many nutrients do not work without their synergistic allies!
There are consequences to not taking care of your health.
Gut health will soon be compromised by not getting all the essential macro and micronutrients your body needs and eating ultra-processed foods. You may be living with stress or not getting enough sleep. You could be overloading your liver and not exercising properly for optimum health.
Many people feel that they live a healthy life. Then they realize that they eat a limited diet and have learned to live with symptoms like feeling tired and cold all the time. Or are burning the candle at both ends and have a sedentary job, and so on.
There are many external factors that you can blame for your lack of energy, like having young children or a busy job and not having enough sleep, but it is always a good idea to keep an eye on your health.
Your microbiota needs your attention, not just for iron absorption.
Sustained inflammation running in your body may not present itself at the moment. How to Silence Hidden Inflammation.
It may not mean anything to you now if you feel semi-okay and are not overweight, and manage your weight by counting calories. your body needs to absorb essential nutrients to age beautifully and live fully. Gut microbiota needs to be balanced to keep chronic inflammation at bay.
Without counting calories and having fantastic food, effective workouts, sweet treats, neuroplasticity, better mental well-being and sleep, energy, joie de vivre…
Eat Burn Sleep is not just a lifestyle. It is a life changer!
There’s no finer way to start your journey to optimum health. You won’t be disappointed if you join our fantastic community.
Join the Eat Burn Sleep email newsletter and be the first to hear about new tips, and recipes!
Continue Reading
Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
January 08, 2023
How Can You Prevent & Treat Cervical Cancer?
Reduce Cervical Cancer
Hi Everyone! Many members have amazed their oncologists by following this lifestyle. It’s for a good reason. Gut health and inflammation play a role in cervical cancer treatment and development.
This post is about protecting yourself from cervical cancer and managing cervical cancer, not just through treatment, diet, and lifestyle but through something so powerful that it has a massive role in remission recovery.
Run this anti-inflammatory lifestyle by your doctor if they haven’t already prescribed it!
Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer, the fourth most frequent cancer in women, and cervical cancer is treatable. The lower the number, the less chance it has spread, and many women who have cervical cancer put their condition into remission.
Members, access your personalized advice for Cancer here.
If you have been diagnosed with cervical cancer, there are many factors that influence your outlook. Indeed, there are also many factors for reducing the risk of developing cervical cancer.
Reducing the risk of cervical cancer is possible by:
Regular screening. Symptoms don’t present themselves in the early stages.
Protecting yourself against sexually transmitted diseases by using barrier methods and practicing safer sex. HPV (common sexually transmitted disease) vaccination and regular screening. Reducing lifestyle contributing factors like smoking, lack of exercise, malnutrition, etc.
Reduce psychological stress. Encourage diverse, healthy microbiota in the gut.
Improve sleep. Boost immune cells.
Detox liver. Increase nutrition. Do regular anti-inflammatory movements. Practice neuroplasticity exercises.
Remember that information about cancer advice and treatment online does not replace your doctor’s advice or treatment. There are some strange cancer-cure diets and suggestions online! Run everything by them.
This anti-inflammatory lifestyle is BUPA-Global-approved and is prescribed by doctors worldwide. Check the testimonies under cancer for our members’ cancer treatment success stories.
How to Keep Your Cervix Healthy
Although HPV is a pivotal factor in cervical cancer development, it is not HPV alone that causes it, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Most HPV viruses are harmless and can go away on their own, or the immune system clears them up.
For ones that don’t go away, many contributing factors increase HPV persistence.
Keep your cervix healthy by keeping your inflammation down and your immune system boosted with healthy gut microbiota composition.
This will reduce the environment that creates optimal conditions for HPV to thrive and for cancer to grow. Chronic inflammation has powerful effects on cancer development.
In studies (Mhatre et al., 2012; Di Paola et al., 2017, Gosmann et al., 2017, Casellie et al., 2020), elevated inflammatory cytokines are found in the vaginas of patients with cervical cancer or precancerous lesions.
Inflammatory cells have potent effects on the development of tumors, a mass of tissue that forms when cells grow, divide more than they should, and do not die.
It isn’t the growth of cells alone that causes cancer. It is the environment in which they are, along with other responses to tissue injury.
Many processes happen alongside the inflammatory cells, DNA-damage-promoting agents, and other factors that promote the risk of tumors.
Inflammatory cells promote tumors early in development
This is because the state of inflammation and the chemokines and cytokines that are produced provide an environment for the growth, survival, and spreading of cancer.
Reduce Chronic Inflammation for Cancer Protection
Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress lead to the production of reactive oxygen species and the release of pro-inflammatory factors, decreasing antioxidants.
This reduces the activity that antioxidants play since fighting reactive oxygen species at the cellular level does not occur, and this inactivity increases oxidative DNA damage.
Persistent, sustained inflammation encourages disease and can turn on genetic expression. If non-communicable diseases exist in your family, you have more chance of developing these diseases if you don’t reduce your inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is one of the critical drivers of cervical cancer.
An anti-inflammatory lifestyle will protect the body from the development and the progression of cervical cancer tumors by decreasing tumor-promoting properties such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing tumor-reducing properties like anti-inflammatory cytokines.
When the homeostasis of microorganisms is compromised, the microorganisms themselves cause immune responses in the organism.
How to Keep the Female Reproductive System Healthy
Focusing on gut health will assist here because certain microbes trigger inflammation which contributes to cervical cancer development.
Like in the gut, there is a diversity of bacteria in the female reproductive tract, and imbalances and inflammation can occur through various factors. Some of which we are in control of.
For instance, our dietary patterns, sex life, contraception, and cigarettes, as well as where and how we live, influence the composition of a vaginal microbiome. It can also be affected by hormones like estrogen and the immune system.
Of course, estrogen fluctuates throughout a woman’s menstrual life. It reduces in menopause, of which we have no control, but a weakened immune system can be something that can be controlled and managed, too (as in autoimmune diseases, which are treated successfully on Eat Burn Sleep).
Numerous studies show that healthy women have one or more good bacteria in the vagina and a small diversity of other bacteria.
This suggests that healthy microbiota composition is a potent defender in the female reproductive tract, as it is in the gastrointestinal tract.
When the female reproductive tract is in disorder, bacteria that destroy tissue or release toxins are dominant, and this counteracts the positive effects of good bacteria, which change the pH, promote oxidation, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and so on, and epithelial cells (which maintain structural integrity) can be damaged, disrupting the mucosal barrier (which is essential to health).
When microbiota is disturbed, physiological changes can lead to disease development like cancer.
An effective immune system clears most HPV that enters the reproductive tract. However, a compromised immune response sparks up the pathological process and aids in the development.
HPV, inflammation, and microbiome dysregulation all influence each other.
Which Foods Increase the Risk of Cervical Cancer?
High-inflammatory diets almost always open the body up to chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, joint issues, depression, and autoimmune and skin disorders like psoriasis.
Countless studies suggest a direct association between high-inflammatory diets and cervical cancer.
High-inflammatory foods that are highly processed, low in dietary fiber, and high in sugars, carbohydrates, saturated and trans fats, protein, cholesterol, sodium, and additives with very little nutrition increase dysbiosis and inflammation and dysregulate the immune system. This all contributes to the development of cancers.
Consumption of processed, high-inflammatory foods will increase your risk of an array of diseases, leaving your body susceptible to cervical cancer and less robust to fight illness.
A pro-inflammatory lifestyle induces chronic inflammation. Cervical cancer is associated with women with a pro-inflammatory diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and an HPV infection.
Best Cancer Diet
Eating gut-healthy, nutritious foods to keep inflammation down will fight cervical cancer and, indeed, can prevent the development of cervical cancer.
Increase nutrition and good gut bacteria composition, boost immunity, and lower inflammation to protect against HPV and reduce proliferation and migration if HPV is already present.
A diet rich in powerful antioxidants, prebiotics, probiotics, omega-3, and other cancer-fighting vitamin and mineral essentials, micronutrients, and compounds found on Eat Burn Sleep will encourage and maintain an excellent antioxidant balance. It will reduce oxidative processes and inflammation, protecting cells from DNA damage and proliferation and mitigation, preventing cervical tumors.
It is important to remember that the mind and body should be treated holistically to recover well.
Successful cancer treatment is possible. But it is never just by diet and medication combined. Nor just regular anti-inflammatory exercise and boosting immunity. It also includes something so powerful that it is often overlooked and has a massive role in remission recovery.
What Helps Cancer Recovery?
Health status and mindset are vital for responding to cancer treatment.
A focus on health recovery as well as protection from cancer and chronic disease also includes the powerful tool of the brain. Neuroplasticity exercises are as important as what we put into our bodies and how we move, breathe, destress, etc.
This is what Sofia, our member, who also kindly appeared on a recent podcast, said was the missing link that she was looking for on her cancer recovery journey, which she found on Eat Burn Sleep.
All areas of Eat Burn Sleep promote the lowering of chronic inflammation and protection from disease. It promotes the mental power to get through and keep stress and inflammation down through neuroplastic exercises.
Plus, members can access the Cancer Prevention and Recovery Protocol in the Personalized Advice section. This includes advice on nutrition, supplements, mental wellness, exercise, and what to avoid for cancer protection and cancer recovery.
Plus, the forum is valued for being in touch with fellow members. Drawing on others’ experiences, support, and sharing our journeys helps us so much.
When Sofia returned for her blood results, her Oncologist was so impressed with her blood results, going down the list, saying, ‘Wow! Wow! Wow! What did you do?”.
An Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle for Cancer
Chronic inflammation is modulated by what we eat, how we live, and how we mentally deal with recovery.
Listen to my conversation with Dr. Tamsin Lewis about the links between mental and physical health here.
Encouraging a diverse microbiota, regulating immune cell production, and reducing pro-inflammatory factors are well documented in mitigating types of cervical cancer strategies.
Of course, Eat Burn Sleep detoxifies the liver, which is essential for good health, and was especially protective during medical treatment for Sofia. Your liver has to process many chemicals in cancer treatment and perform its regular functions, of which there are 500.
Cancer Recovery Success Story
If you haven’t heard Sofia’s uplifting cancer recovery story yet, please head over there when you can. Sofia is in remission from squamous cell carcinoma. She is raising awareness about this common cancer that presented itself in her anal canal.
Her approach in how she dealt with it, through what we practice on Eat Burn Sleep, visualizing the cells and holding the tumor, and leading it all out of her body as quietly as it came, is precisely what neuroplasticity is all about.
She appreciated the help she was getting and embraced each day of treatment, knowing that she was getting better. You have better chances of recovering with this mindset.
It is so powerful and a reminder not to fight with your body but to treat it with kindness and hold it in your hand.
The truth is, we are not our bodies. We are a soul within our bodies. Our body acts as a vessel.
The vessel changes as we go from being a baby to a child, to a teenager, to an adult, to an elderly person until we die.
The vessel has nothing to do with who we are. It doesn’t make you less of a person or less strong to have health issues. If you have been diagnosed with a health condition, see it as a dent on the vessel that needs to be fixed.
And you have the tools and the power to fix it.
I urge you to have cervical screening, protect your body, and arm yourself with the most powerful tools to get through anything!
With any physiological events, there will be challenges (for some, more than others).
Not everyone feels unwell with menopause. It shouldn’t be seen as a fearful time in a woman’s life.
Some women sail through menopause with very few symptoms. And others can feel like they have been in a tumble drier all night and are walking around in someone else’s body.
Menopause can feel so chaotic and out of your control.
Weight gain! Hot flashes/flushes! Night sweats, vagina soreness, bloating, brain fog…!
Menopause can make women feel uncontrollably moody, agitated, frustrated, indecisive, forgetful, tearful, and more sensitive emotionally.
There could be an array of symptoms that go on. Symptoms of menopause include joint pain, weight gain, skin conditions, slow healing, and digestive changes. Anxiety can kick in, such as muscle pains, urinary incontinence, migraines, lethargy, and low libido.
The libido might be there, but you may not be able to experience the same pleasures because of discomfort and the lack of estrogen in your vaginal tissues.
Symptoms around menopause can be managed with an anti-inflammatory lifestyle since the decline in hormones and depletion of eggs produced in the ovaries are inflammatory events.
Top these off with what else is happening during menopause; how we live, eat, drink, move, stress factors, genetics, exposure to toxins, and even how we think (and what we think about).
You cannot control biological changes like hormone imbalances and depletion that cause many symptoms of menopause. Still, you can intervene and eliminate a lot of multifactorial effects.
Understanding how our bodies work helps us take more care of ourselves at all times.
Is It Really the Menopause or Not?
As I mentioned, there could be things that you are doing that are contributing to the effects of menopause.
Discuss your menopause with a health professional who deals with women’s health issues. Certainly, rule out conditions by having some health screening/blood tests.
It is good to question whether you are going through menopause, whether it is something else, or to take stock and make some lifestyle changes.
I suggest listing all of your symptoms and going through them and not dismissing any of them. What could be evident to you as a menopause symptom could be something else, and vice versa.
They may present themselves at this time of your life since low estrogen levels cause more inflammatory responses.
Inflammatory Responses:
Brain Fog – recognized as a part of menopause, as lower serum hormone levels temporarily affect cognition and memory loss. Brain fog is also a sign of inflammation running in the body. Diabetes and high blood pressure can also affect brain health, for example. Depression is neuroinflammation.
Thyroid issuescan lead to weight gain, brain fog, fatigue, and low moods, for instance.
Weight gain can result from low estrogen levels, but it could be the food you eat, lack of sleep, too much alcohol, digestive changes, and lack of exercise. Weight gain is linked to inflammatory events and, if it isn’t controlled, leads to the chronic inflammation condition of obesity.
Gut dysbiosis leads to a whole array of issues, including immune dysregulation and, of course, not producing ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters, chronic inflammation, and neuroinflammation.
You may feel like crying or have increased anxiety because your gut health is off because of your food, new intolerances, dysbiosis, insomnia, overloaded liver, fatigue, and the consequences of your lifestyle.
Menopause ‘Belly’ can be gut imbalances due to a change of diet, lack of sleep, insufficient movement, and even stress.
Decreased libido can directly result from lower levels of estrogen and testosterone. Still, it could be the side effects of medication and even psychological feelings surrounding menopause.
Medication can cause gut dysbiosis, affect sex functions, and cause ‘menopausal symptoms.’
Sleep, although connected to the estrogen-hypothalamus link, could cause depression, rumination, weight gain, chronic inflammatory conditions, and life stressors. There is a bi-directional relationship between mood and sleep disturbances.
Hot flashes, night sweats, and sweating all have to do with how estrogen levels affect the hypothalamus, which regulates temperature control. You cannot change this, but you are in control of making some positive changes with a menopause-support diet and lifestyle.
If you are looking to lower your cholesterol, please check this article.
Does Alcohol Affect Menopause?
Alcohol can cause biological stress and can undoubtedly affect your gut homeostasis. This then affects your immunity and neurotransmitter production, which all affect menopause.
It depends on your tolerance, which can change during menopause, but estrogen levels rise when you drink alcohol.
Then, when they have dropped, this is when you can feel doom and gloom, anxiety, irritability, and have more hot flushes. It can also encourage mood swings.
Alcohol can cause weight gain, depression, mood swings, metabolic issues, and sleep disruptions – all of the symptoms that you may just be attributed to menopause!
Menopause and Sleep
Sleep is a significant part of optimum health, and menopause brings disruption due to temperature control being askew, which can significantly impact your quality of life.
It may not just be disrupted due to night sweats because many factors cause poor sleeping patterns. You could have many challenges and personal life stressors at this time.
Again, it could all be down to lifestyle and what you eat and drink, but sleep deprivation is linked to increasing the risk of chronic inflammation, weight gain, and joint pain.
It is such a vicious cycle because, of course, without regular, decent sleep, energy is depleted, depressive symptoms occur, and feelings of not being able to cope!
If you are gaining weight yet haven’t changed your healthy lifestyle and have been on the leaner side for most of your life, this will be disconcerting, I know.
So many women feel like they don’t recognize their bodies anymore, which can be upsetting.
It doesn’t mean that gaining weight during menopause will happen to everyone, but there is a reason for it.
You may now have an intolerance for what was okay to eat before, which a menopause diet would alleviate.
You could be consuming emulsifiers and additives in foods you thought were healthy. I always advise looking at ingredients.
You would not believe how many ‘health foods’ in ‘health food stores’ are full of inflammatory additives. Plus, additives may have crept into foods that were originally made more wholesomely.
You may not have changed your routines, but with hormones fluctuating, those foods and drinks may be too much for your system to metabolize now that you are in this transitional time.
When faced with a challenge such as this weight gain that has suddenly appeared, try not to be so hard on yourself.
I always turn my thoughts into positive ones when faced with challenges, including physical challenges, because it helps – and works!
Turn your thoughts into positive ones, and know you can get back on track with this anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle to treat menopause weight gain and all the other symptoms.
The great news is that menopause weight is reversible with Eat Burn Sleep.
Best Exercises to Get Rid of Menopause Belly
Stay fit and stay active to eliminate ‘menopause belly’ and menopause.
It may seem like a slog when your weight used to be easy to maintain, but changing your exercise and movement routine may be the answer.
For instance, even though you are active, you may need regular movements to reduce inflammation since estrogen decline is linked to chronic inflammation conditions.
The right menopause exercise will help your bone health and protect against osteoporosis, a significant concern in these years.
It will also strengthen parts of your body that will aid in reducing symptoms.
Like strengthening the core to aid gut health and reduce menopause bloating, for instance.
You could be doing less dashing around than you used to or be full of lethargy during menopause and not prioritizing yourself and exercise (or food, stress reduction, sleep!).
It can be an overwhelming time, menopause.
Best Natural Remedy for Menopause
Eat Burn Sleep addresses all the needs of peri-menopause, menopause, and post-menopause and can complement allopathic treatment.
Also, it may better prepare you for an easier time with the whole menopause transition if you are too young to even think about this stage in your life.
As well as being a Bupa Global-approved lifestyle, doctors prescribe and use it worldwide. This combination can completely transform your experience of menopause.
Embark on a Happy, Healthy Lifestyle!
It will reduce inflammation, weight, mood swings, depression, brain fog, cortisol and stress, cholesterol, blood pressure, and water retention and protect against all of the consequences of menopause.
Also, being part of our fantastic health community here at Eat Burn Sleep is inspirational and motivational.
Exchanging coping strategies, sympathy, and empathy with people going through similar situations and connecting with all of us gives extra support. It’s a beautiful thing!
Members: access the Personalized Advice Menopause section for advice on how to take care of yourself during perimenopause and menopause.
Access the Masterclass Live on How to Stay Fit over 35 for more menopause support, as well as the personalized advice section for Hormonal Balance and Menopause, Hair Loss Treatments, Depression and anxiety, Migraines, Insomnia, Bloating issues, and any other menopause symptoms that you may have.
Treating the body at systemic levels will increase the positive impact of nutrient-rich compounds from omega-3s, phytoestrogens, antioxidants, and so on.
And it all works synergistically together, promoting well-being, energy, and happiness! Oh, and the Eat Burn Sleep ‘Glow’.
What Is the Good News About the Menopause?
Menopause can be all-encompassing, but rest assured, the symptoms you are experiencing can be reduced, and most definitely are not forever.
Once you get the proper support with transitioning to the other side, you will feel more energized and happier, with more clarity, and just pretty fantastic!
Imaging studies at Weill Cornell Medicine show that the brain’s recovery after menopause was associated with increased memory and cognitive performance!
Many women can feel beautiful and free at this time—no more PMS and periods. No more anticipating when to have holidays or when to have sex!
Relieving yourself from the symptoms of menopause through Eat Burn Sleep could have you embracing this transition into one that might be one of the most liberating, empowering times in a woman’s life!
Lifestyle factors can have a significant effect on how long menopause lasts. By understanding your body, you will be in a better place to take care of it. As you transition through life, looking after yourself will always be a good decision. Treat yourself with kindness.
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Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
October 16, 2022
10 Reasons To Walk
What Are the Benefits of Walking?
Walking is such an underrated exercise! How many of us give it a second thought when going about our daily business?
When stopping to think about that last question, how many of us realize that we spend a lot of time in the car, on public transport, or sedentary, staring at screens?
For this post, I wanted to remind you about the benefits of what we have access to and have control of that contributes to our good health.
The speed, duration, and frequency can be adjusted to suit you*. You can do it alone, anywhere, and year-round. It’s facility-free, and it doesn’t cost a thing!
Persistent, sub-clinical inflammation is a risk factor for many chronic diseases and disabilities associated with aging.
Keeping chronic inflammation at bay is essential for your overall health – through your eating, thinking, moving, and lifestyle.
Physical inactivity is linked with low-grade systemic inflammation, as is inappropriate physical activity.
Regular walking exerts anti-inflammation and can assist with protecting against those diseases associated with low-grade systemic inflammation.
Diseases such as obesity, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and pulmonary and neurological conditions, for instance.
What Exercise Burns Fat?
2.Fat Burning
Walking is so good for fat burning. What happens is that we break down triglycerides when we take regular walks.
Fats are liberated from adipocytes into free fatty acids that flood into your circulation. Muscles, lungs, and the heart pick up these fatty acids and utilize their energy.
What is left are the byproducts: water, which is eliminated as urine and sweat, and carbon dioxide, which is breathed out from your lungs!
It is a great way to feel energized, improve body composition, and improve muscular strength.
Is Walking Good for Stress?
3. Lowers Stress
Stress comes in many mental, emotional, and physical forms, produces many symptoms and is an inevitable part of life.
It is anything that triggers the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol regularly.
Cortisol is needed in the body and touches every single system, playing a huge part in assisting the body when dealing with stress.
It is also vital for regulating processes like metabolism, blood pressure, and immune response.
When you are experiencing stress frequently, though, and cortisol is triggered from the adrenals more often, this is when it becomes a problem.
Excess cortisol in your system can lead to hormone imbalances, immune dysregulation, thyroid problems, Cushing syndrome, and serious chronic inflammation conditions, including neuroinflammation.
Of course, then the vicious cycle begins because when the body has inflammation, then mental stress is increased.
As part of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, walking lowers cortisol and adrenaline, the stress hormones.
It alsopromotes the release of ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters which will send signals of calm, relaxation, and pleasure to the mind and body.
What Exercise Is Good for Mental Health?
4. Improves Brain Health
Again, because it induces the production of the neurotransmitters endorphins and dopamine, walking is so good for your brain health.
Endorphins interact with receptors in your brain that reduce pain perception. They decrease sensitivity to pain and stress and can make you feel euphoric.
Walking will lessen the risk of depression and anxiety, improve cognitive functions and affect your emotional health because it reduces neuroinflammation, increases cerebral flow, and activates neurotransmitters.
There is so much involved with brain health, but basically, reducing neuroinflammation and increasing cerebral flow brings nutrients to your brain cells and removes toxins.
Also, the Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor is an essential protein for neuronal health, cognitive thinking, depression, and such, which is released with walking.
Should You Rest With Joint Pain?
5. Gentle on the Joints
Because it is a low-impact exercise, walking does not exert any strain on your knees, hips, and ankles. Sometimes the pain is a way to say that you need to take it easy, but many conditions will worsen if you rest too much, as joints are made to move.
Combined with anti-inflammatory food and an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, walking is a super way to exercise to protect your joints and if you have swelling.
If you have arthritis, for instance, walking can relieve pain, stiffness, and swelling by lubricating the joints and strengthening supporting muscles.
Can You Exercise With Heart Conditions?
6. Improves Heart Health
Walking improves cardiorespiratory fitness so that it will protect you from cardiovascular disease. As you walk, your heart rate increases, lowering blood pressure by improving blood flow.
When regular walks are taken, there is a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and so on.
Run it by your healthcare provider about what other forms of exercise you can do.
What Exercise Will Lower Blood Sugar?
7. Good For Blood Sugar
When you walk, insulin sensitivity increases, so your muscle cells can use any available insulin to take up glucose.
Walking helps the muscles use more glucose, the sugar in your bloodstream, and use it for energy whether insulin is available.
So, when done regularly, it is a natural way to lower your blood sugar levels.
Does Walking Help Your Immune System?
8 Enhances Immunity
Regular walking will boost your body’s defense system and ward off infections.
Getting the blood circulating helps the white blood cells in the immune system roam around as needed, fighting off pathogens.
Because walking reduces stress, too, and this assists with immune defense because stress causes impaired immunity.
Is Walking Good for Sleep?
9. Improves Sleep
It goes without saying that the more active you are, the more likely you will sleep better, but it isn’t just that alone.
Walking, as mentioned, is beneficial for reducing stress and aids mental well-being, which will help your quality of sleep.
*Depending on when you walk, walking will affect your melatonin secretion and natural circadian rhythm.
Walking taps into the different parts of our brain (dependent on the type of creativity domain) and truly promotes creativity.
Whether visual, musical, verbal, or visuospatial… walking is the perfect antidote to getting creative, as it refreshes the mind and eliminates distractions.
Shifting writer’s block or coming up with an idea often comes from a good walk!
Should You Walk Every Day?
*There’s a comprehensive version of this article, including speed and timings, in the Walking Guide for Eat Burn Sleep Members here, as part of the anti-inflammatory lifestyle advice to reduce inflammation with efficacy.
Walking is good for you whether it is your lunch break stroll around the block, in the park, on the treadmill, or as part of your commute.
If you can find some green, natural space, then this will be even more beneficial.
Walking in nature is even healthier, as you do earthing simultaneously and boost vitamin D levels. It improves your mood and lowers cortisol.
It can be calming and a time to reflect, tuning into what is around you and clearing your head.
Put your phone in your pocket. Let your brain have a rest from focused attention. You never know what you will discover!
Breathe deep—free your mind.
It’s also a reminder that some of the best things in life are free!
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Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
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October 02, 2022
Diabetes Advice: Is Drinking Tea Good for You?
Your Daily Habit May Be Protecting You
Hi Everyone. I love tea! I also love it for its anti-inflammatory and gut health properties. It has been known for a long time that tea has medicinal properties, and evidence grows stronger with each study about how the world’s most widely consumed beverage’s amazing benefits for a whole host of health conditions.
A recent report from the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes indicates that if you drink around four cups of tea a day, you are doing yourself a favor by reducing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes!
There is a multitude of scientific studies that state that tea aids diabetes management. So, I decided to delve deeper into this post.
Why not make yourself a cup of tea and have a read?
Whether black, green, oolong or so on, it comes from the Camellia sinensis bush, an evergreen shrub.
Herbal tea comes from flowers, bark, spices, and dried fruits and may have some black and green tea in there. These have health properties, too, but this post is about tea from the Camellia.
The composition of tea differs with its leaves, climate, season, and horticultural practices; each differing process affects the chemical composition.
The excellent taste of tea is all down to the growing conditions, leaves storage, fermentation process, and what it is exposed to. Which is why there are so many depths of flavors and aromas. This cultivation causes the tea to have a positive effect on your health.
What Are The Nutrients In Tea?
The cultivation regions and process of tea create bioactive compounds called catechins.
Catechins then form complex health-giving theaflavins and other compounds during fermentation. This unique chemical composition is responsible for the amazing taste, aroma, and color, too.
Tea is such a rich source of nutritional molecules, including phenolic compounds and powerful antioxidants, polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, fiber, carbohydrates, lipids, and minerals.
What Is the Study About Drinking Tea and Diabetes?
There are 422 million diabetes sufferers worldwide (and it is climbing!). In the last three decades, the prevalence of diabetes has risen dramatically, and according to recent projections, it will continue to grow to a whopping 629 million by 2045.
What is really alarming is that there is a massive trend of diabetes in children and teenagers! It is such a serious issue.
Type 1 diabetes is not preventable and is treated by insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is preventable and can be reversed by lifestyle factors. For instance, reducing inflammation, which plays a vital role in glucose and lipid metabolism pathology, eating the right foods, exercising, and managing insulin.
The study report at the ESDA came from China and relied on 19 cohort analyses of over 1.1 million adults from eight countries, including the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia.
They found a ‘significant linear association’ between drinking tea and a reduced risk of developing diabetes.
People who drank 1-3 cups of tea a day, compared to people who didn’t drink tea, had a 4% reduced risk of developing diabetes. The risk was reduced even further if they drank four or more cups of tea daily.
The conclusion was that drinking four cups or more a day reduces the risk by 17% of developing Type 2 diabetes. The effects were consistent with everyone.
“Our results are exciting because they suggest that people can do something as simple as drinking four cups a day to potentially lessen their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.” – Lead author Xiaying Li from the Wuhan University of Science and Technology in China.
How Does Tea Aid Diabetes Management?
So, as I mentioned before, tea (black, oolong, and green) has many health benefits. One reason why I love it so much is that it improves intestinal flora and has anti-inflammatory effects.
Regarding diabetes management, the phenolic compounds, polysaccharides (TPS), and amino acid L-theanine in tea are responsible for the physiological effects. Without getting too scientific and delving into subgroups (8,000 phenolic compounds), I will refer to the phenolic compounds as polyphenols.
Polyphenols are a rich source of pharmacologically active molecules.
Polyphenols, which are bioactive compounds in many fruits, vegetables, drinks, legumes, nuts, and spices, are being recognized for their antioxidant properties and involvement in many powerful enzymatic and cellular mechanisms in the body.
Some tea polyphenols connected with reducing the onset and progression of diabetes are quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, theaflavin, thearugibin, and catechins (mainly EGCG – epigallocatechin-3 gallate).
In countless experimental studies, these three teas were proven to protect against the onset of diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications in a powerful way.
The tea produces anti-hyperglycemic activity and improves insulin resistance, activating the insulin signaling pathway, playing an insulin-like role, improving oxidative stress, and alleviating the inflammatory response.
Tea is also shown to protect the kidneys in people with diabetes, diabetic eye conditions, and cardiovascular complications in diabetes.
Polyphenols and polysaccharides have beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis, decreasing hyperglycemia and improving acute insulin secretion and sensitivity.
L-theanine is also a potent stimulator of insulin activity. It is effective in giving partial protection to pancreatic cells when your antioxidant levels are low (oxidative stress).
Oxidative stress is when there is an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidant defenses in your body, hence the need for antioxidants.
There is so much to say about the powers of the properties in tea!
There is enough evidence to back up the claims that tea does affect diabetes management.
Without a doubt, lifestyle modification plays a vital role in the ultimate solution to the problem of diabetes. Likewise, in the prevention of diabetes.
Do note that there must be a multitude of nutrients and lifestyle tweaks for optimum health to be achieved.
Numerous factors that could cancel out the benefits of any compounds need to be addressed. This is why Eat Burn Sleep successfully prevents, treats, and manages diabetes.
If you are looking to lower your cholesterol, please check this article.
The next time you have a cup of tea (if you are not having one now), note the aroma, taste, and color.
It’s the polyphenols that are responsible for those, too. I love the distinctive aroma of different teas.
You may know that our sense of smell has an intense effect on what we crave. I have only to smell the maltiness or the earthiness in tea, and I want a cup.
Of course, it is also associated with sitting down and relaxing (which lowers the stress hormone cortisol)—or socializing, meeting someone for a cup of tea. Taking your time and pouring the pot until every drop has gone is a lovely ritual.
Memories make that craving stronger. We associate tea with pleasure and reward, which then releases dopamine, which further boosts your health.
Of course, we know that tea improves intestinal flora, too. Plus, when you relax, you contribute to your gut microbiota by following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle (not loading your tea with sugar and eating a high-fat meal with your cup of tea, of course).
So, since 70% of neurotransmitters are produced in a healthy gut, you are also creating more ‘feel good’ ones, which are essential for mental well-being. Good gut health is good for your mental health.
A consistent increase in serotonin and dopamine production is associated with lower rates of depression!
Not only that, but the amino acid L-theanine in tea promotes relaxation.
So, sitting down with a cup of tea with someone that you love being with will reduce your inflammation, make you feel happier, and assist in managing conditions such as diabetes.
How Much Tea Is Good For You?
Again, it is all about moderation; up to four cups are enough. Though some studies suggest more, it depends on dosage (and how big your cups are!).
Too much could exert adverse effects, and I always advocate that moderation is the best way.
After all, tea does contain caffeine. This could have diuretic effects (and effects on sleep) if you have too much. Some people have more sensitivities to it than others, which could affect the nervous system.
Because of the tannins, tea could also inhibit iron and other nutrient absorption.
It also matters how you take your tea because I am referring to neat, unadulterated tea without sugar and milk since additional ingredients will alter the composition.
Also, some research suggests that if you take dairy milk in your tea, the fat in the milk may reduce the antioxidant capacity. This makes sense because flavonoids deactivate when they bind with proteins.
So, those regular tea breaks are essential!
You may look at your daily cuppa differently and even go so far as to put its benefits on your gratitude list.
Needless to say, from these studies, if you like tea and have Type 2 diabetes, you can relax and enjoy four neat cups daily.
Tea, without sugar, is suitable for almost everyone. How do you take yours?
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10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
August 25, 2023
Boost Your Immunity to Fight Viruses
Shifting Through The Seasons With Boosted Immunity
Hello Everyone! I love seasonal changes, for each one carries beauty. Of course, when the weather, temperature, and light change, it is inevitable that these will have an effect on our mental, physical, and emotional health.
For this post, I am going to focus on the immune system. It reminds everyone, no matter the season, that good immune health equals good health. Many of you can be in control of looking after it, too!
Our immune system is complex and influenced by many factors, but I will try and explain briefly.
An effective, healthy immune system can interpret the world around it and respond appropriately. It can powerfully defeat invading pathogens, bacteria, viruses, and foreign invaders.
We have two types: innate and adaptive immunity.
Our innate immunity is our first-line defense, achieved by protective barriers that disallow foreign invaders from entering our bodies.
These barriers are via the skin (keeping them out), mucus (trapping them), immune system cells (attacking them on entry), sweat and tear enzymes (anti-bacterial compounds), and stomach acid (destroying them).
Our adaptive immunity is where our immune system recognizes what a foreign invader is.
So, when one enters the body, cells and organs create antibodies.
This leads to a counterattack and the multiplication of immune cells (including the signaling of different white blood cells) that are specific to that pathogen. They attack and destroy it.
Then, our immune system adapts (remembers) so that if the invader enters again, the cells and antibodies built will be more efficient and destroy it more quickly.
Memory is the signature attribute of the immune system.
So, if the immune system has no memory of a new strain, say, then this is when we are likely to catch a virus.
What is important to note is that this is how we build T-cells and antibodies (unless you need to shield, of course).
We need exposure to microbes to raise T-cells but also be cautious of germs that cause severe disease when underlying conditions exist. Of course, that is why vaccinations exist, like coronavirus and flu, for instance.
What Can Weaken Your Immune System?
Factors that weaken our immune system are:
Poor nutrition
The quality of your gut bacteria dictates your nutrient absorption. Poor gut health (dysbiosis) is linked to a weakened immune system and non-communicable diseases since 70% of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) resides in the gut.
GALT and the intestine are essential in the body’s immune defense, allowing tolerance to good bacteria and dietary nutrients while dispelling the body of foreign invaders.
Gut microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract provides essential health benefits, particularly immune homeostasis.
It’s a vicious cycle: Gut dysbiosis equals immune dysregulation and the risk of autoimmune disorders! Immune dysregulation causes gut dysbiosis!
Reduced microbial exposures and a low microbiota diversity are linked to chronic inflammatory conditions, including neuroinflammation.
Unhealthy lifestyle
An unhealthy lifestyle weakens your immune defense. Poor sleep patterns, smoking, excess alcohol, and drug abuse contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle.
As does lack of exercise, being overweight, being underweight, and following calorie-restrictive diets. Negative thinking is detrimental to good health and disease defense, too.
What you do every day, how you eat, how you move, what you think, and so on, all majorly affect your health.
An overburdened liver due to heavy medication and excess alcohol, for instance, disrupts the homeostatic role of the liver.
Exposure to toxins and pollution suppresses the regular activity of immune cells. It is such a vast topic. I could go on!
Lack of sleep
Sleep is vital for a healthy immune system. A bidirectional relationship exists between your immune system and sleep.
For instance, the body releases specific proteins called cytokines that help the immune system while we sleep.
You only have to think about how your body craves sleep when you have a cold or virus.
No amount of anything will keep you awake, as your body’s natural healing defense urges you to lie down and sleep. If you fight it, you prolong the sickness period.
Likewise, suppose you have long periods of insomnia. In that case, you are more susceptible to catching a virus because important infection fighters decrease, and you are more open to getting other chronic inflammation conditions.
There’s a strong link between circadian disruption and sleep in developing diseases!
Chronic inflammation
If you have inflammatory issues, you are more at risk of catching a virus.
Many people have inflammation running for a while before they notice it develops into a disease. (There are signs of inflammation that people often dismiss).
Obesity is a chronic inflammation condition. Fat tissue produces adipocytokines that promote inflammation, and impaired T-cells stop the immune system’s optimal and timely response when faced with pathogens.
Also, people who are overweight tend to have lower blood vitamin D levels. Vitamin D accumulates in excess fat tissues but is not readily available when the body needs it. The good news is that it does rise again when weight is reduced.
Living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle in a complete 360-degree way can curb this from happening. Even in genetic diseases, it gives your body a more robust defense.
Autoimmune diseases and issues
You can be born with the genes of or acquire a weaker immune system. Conditions like ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, Graves, Type 1 diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis…where the immune mistakenly attacks and potentially disables healthy cells, tissues, and organs.
An overactive immune system could cause asthma and eczema. All sorts of other medical conditions compromise, disable, and depress the immune system and leave people highly vulnerable to pathogens, like certain cancers and HIV/AIDS.
Have you read Anti-cancer Diet: Recovery & Prevention, How Can You Prevent & Treat Cervical Cancer? & Reducing Cancer Risk & Recovery
Please also listen to the podcasts, where you can access inspirational stories from my guests – Karen Greenberg and Member Sofia Toubani, who talk about how they survived cancer.
Immune-suppressing medication
These are given for autoimmune diseases to reduce the risk of rejection of foreign bodies in transplant organs and cancer treatment.
Read NSAIDs, Gut Health & Inflammation,& Side Effects of Antibiotics & IBD,
Chronic stress
The immune system, central nervous system, and endocrine system interact with each other. Stress dysregulates the immune system by upsetting these systems’ interplay.
If you are stressed, then your sympathetic nervous system kicks in. The sympathetic nervous system shuts down the immune system and the parasympathetic nervous system, which is essential for gut motility and health.
70% of immune cells and 60% of neurotransmitters reside in the gut.
Excess cortisol that is triggered, along with other hormones in times of chronic stress, leads the immune system to reduce the production of white blood cells (germ hunters) and increase stress hormones and inflammation increases.
Vitamin D deficiency
Unfortunately, we learned from COVID-19 fatalities that vitamin D is an important immune regulator.
Vitamin D is a nutrient we eat and a hormone our bodies make. It is more of a multifunctional hormone as it contributes to many body processes. Processes involving the immune, intestines, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems, as well as other metabolic pathways and the brain!
Many essential vitamins are obtained from food, but only 10% of vitamin D is obtained from food.
The other 90% is produced by sunlight, and the efficiency depends on the UVB protons penetrated into the skin. Conversion then occurs in the liver mainly, and it is utilized. It isn’t stored for long, though!
Vitamin D diminishes with:
less exposure to sunshine
light restriction
skin having higher amounts of the pigment melanin
wearing more clothes and covering the skin
not spending time outside
older age
excess fat.
More about vitamin D is below.
Also, check out this article with more information about vitamin D and the benefits of sunshine if you haven’t already. It also includes information for those of you basking in the hot sun.
Older age
Age brings a reduced immune system response capability. This is why many older people are more vulnerable to assaults on their immune systems. It also makes them more susceptible to contracting respiratory infections and viruses.
This could be due to poor gut health and lack of nutrient requirements, which means poor immune health and less T-cell production.
Nutrition is needed for the immune response to pathogens, and many enzymes in the immune cells require certain micronutrients to enhance optimum immune function.
What happens with an unhealthy gut and compromised immune system is that the inflammation pathways could lead to neuroinflammation. This includes depression, anxiety, and neurodegenerative diseases. (There is comprehensive, personalized advice for Depression Members that is proving to be so successful).
Also, poorer appetites could be down to living alone, lack of interest in cooking for one, medications, neurodegenerative disease, no access to fresh, real food…and loneliness!
There are many reasons why being social is the number one factor for longevity!
Isolation
Not socializing weakens your immune defense because we need to raise T-cells to protect us. If you are vaccinated, socializing will be good for you.
Does Lack of Exposure to Harmful Microbes Weaken The Immune System?
Reduced exposure to harmful microbes may reduce memory updates to the immune memory cells. This would reduce the activity of the innate immune system, but it shouldn’t weaken the ability to respond to new threats in a healthy immune system.
The key is to maximize your immune health and look at your lifestyle. Some significant factors that reduce the immune system’s defense are listed above.
Note: What we need to remember is that we need to protect ourselves from exposure to harmful microbes like toxins, pollutants, chemicals, and lethal infections while maximizing exposure to essential microorganisms (microbiota, natural environment, socializing, and so on).
An anti-inflammatory lifestyle strengthens your microbiota, immune, liver, and overall health. Discuss it with your doctor.
Do We Need Supplements For The ‘Cold and Flu’ Seasons?
Firstly, be aware of marketing. In the cooler seasons of the world right now, we will be bombarded with ‘Immune-boosting Vitamins’ and ‘Immune Defence Supplements.’
(Supplements are a billion-dollar industry and not regulated! Check the ingredients and buy from a reputable brand).
There are reasons why the cooler seasons are referred to as the ‘cold and flu’ seasons, and the cause used to be blamed on more behavioral reasons rather than biological ones. We spend more time indoors with people, allowing for easier germ spreading.
The cooler air allows viruses to stay airborne longer. Studies suggest that the cooler air could also affect the nose’s first line of the immune response, reaching mucous membranes, thus disabling the body’s ability to fight germs.
Read How To Recover From Virus Infections & Reduce Asthma With an Anti-inflammatory Diet
More About Vitamin D
Vitamin D insufficiency affects almost 50% of the population worldwide, across all ethnicities and age groups, and supplementation is often necessary.
Lack of sunshine is a challenge for your immune system because vitamin D (from the sun) plays a vital and complex role in immune system function and regulation.
Sitting near an open window or using a S.A.D. lamp (throughout the day) is beneficial if you have to isolate or in cooler months.
Although sitting behind a window alone will feel nice but will block the necessary UVB rays.
Taking in a correct dose of sunshine when you can is essential for your immune system since 90% of vitamin D is absorbed from the sun, but there are challenges when the skin is covered. See above.
The best way of bolstering immunity for better protection against disease and infection is by having vitamins and minerals through food and living an anti-inflammatory, immune-healthy lifestyle.
This will allow maximum absorption of optimum health nutrition and virus defense.
Vitamin D Deficiencies
If you have a deficiency, condition, lower blood levels of D due to skin pigments, live in places where sunlight is limited, or any reason you do not get enough vitamin D, as in veganism, then the requirements for supplements increase.
Poor vitamin D absorption could occur with chronic inflammation conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, celiac, Crohn’s, and ulcerative colitis. Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so it depends on the gut’s ability to absorb dietary fat, and these conditions can cause malabsorption.
Some conditions require vitamin D supplementation, which is vital for calcium homeostasis in bone health; for instance, vitamin D deficiency also causes respiratory infections. The hormone is essential to the body.
I advise getting a deficiency test if you think you are depleted from vitamin D.
Talk with your doctor about vaccinations, deficiency tests, and supplementation.
Vitamin D is in cod liver oil, trout, beef, liver, mushrooms, egg yolks, and many fortified foods like cereals (but check the ingredients because these fortified foods could also increase your inflammation).
Also, I reiterate that supplements are not an effective alternative to diet and lifestyle, but vitamin D differs due to vitamin D absorption restrictions and our requirements.
Vitamin D is available in D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol). They have different molecule structures since D2 is created from plants.
I recommend D3 as the preferred form since it is naturally produced in the body and is found in most foods that contain the vitamin naturally.
I recommend Solgar for D3. Check out the Yalda Loves page for other recommendations.
Do Teenagers Need Supplements For Their Immunity?
Teenagers should not need supplements if they eat a varied diet with all the nutrients they need. The bioavailability of nutrients in food is far superior to supplements because of serum levels.
Teenagers aren’t going to have a robust immune system just by taking supplements. The supplements will be a waste of money if they eat a high-fat diet that lacks vitamins and minerals and do not get enough outside space and exercise.
Encouraging Healthier Eating
One good way to encourage healthier eating in growing children is not to have snacks lying around. Regarding mealtimes, they will be so hungry that they are less likely to be fussy.
Also, find ways to incorporate vitamins and minerals into favorites like sauces with carbohydrates that children enjoy, like pasta, potato wedges, gut-healthy bread, etc.
Growing children and teenagers love most recipes on Eat Burn Sleep (tried and tested). I know this because of what my boys say, what my family and friends say – and the testimonials!
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10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
August 25, 2022
4 Secrets to Feeling Good
Want to Know How to Feel Good?
Hi Everyone! Okay, there are a lot of components in creating a state of mind and feeling good, and you know that I am going to say that tiptop gut health is imperative to it. But this post is about some other matters!
Although this post touches on gut health, I will talk about 4 functions to focus on to feel good and how to activate them yourself.
For the sake of this post, the secrets to feeling good are wrapped up in hormones that are also neurotransmitters.
Hormones (neurotransmitters) are your body’s chemical messengers, carrying, boosting, and balancing signals between nerve cells and target cells around the body.
They are released by glands into your bloodstream and rise and fall throughout the day and night, acting on various organs and tissues.
Neurotransmitters manage everything from our heartbeat to our memory, for how you feel and your body functions.
It’s a complex and highly interconnected system, with over 60 neurotransmitters (e.g., amino acids, peptides, purines), and imbalances occur if optimal health isn’t achieved in the body.
Now, amongst these neurotransmitters and hormones, there are ‘feel good’ hormones that you have the power to control.
These ‘feel good’ hormones are:
Dopamine (pleasure and motivation hormone)
Oxytocin (love)
Serotonin (happy hormone)
Endorphins (pain relief and well-being).
D.O.S.E.
Use the following as a checklist to encourage the release of and activate your daily D.O.S.E!
What Is the First Secret to Feeling Good?
The first secret to feeling good is the hormone and neurotransmitter: Dopamine!
Dopamine is part of our brain’s pleasure and reward system. It’s often called the ‘motivation molecule.’
It is all the things that trigger that intense feeling of reward, like sex, food…winning an award!
It’s that feeling you get when you do something like going on a scary ride at the amusement park – or jumping off a boat in the middle of the ocean, as I did recently!
Dopamine is that feeling of pleasure washing over you while your brain feels perked up.
About 50% of dopamine is produced in the gut by enteric neurons and intestinal epithelial cells (more about their role, with serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain-gut axis another time!).
The rest is produced in the brain’s substance nigra, ventral tegmental area, and hypothalamus.
This is in the process of converting the amino acid of tyrosine into another amino acid called L-dopa! L-dopa then undergoes another change, where enzymes turn it into dopamine!
The role of dopamine is involved the following:
punishment and reward
voluntary movement
inhibition of prolactin production
lactation
blood vessel function
kidney function
heart rate
motivation
behavior and cognition
sleep
dreaming
working memory
attention
learning
mood
Dopamine transmission levels increase in response to ‘rewards’.
Its involvement in reinforcement is what makes us go back for more! More food, more sex, more scary rides – more jumps into the water!
Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons why people get hooked up on addictions like shopping, gambling, and gaming!
Dopamine deficiency presents itself in back pain, constipation, muscle cramps, low mood, feeling hopeless, lack of motivation, and full of brain fog (despite low moods being mostly linked with serotonin deficiency).
Dysregulation of dopamine shows itself in conditions such as Depression, Parkinson’s disease, and Irritable Bowel Disease.
You may be interested in reading How to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.
How Do You Increase Dopamine Naturally?
Yes, you can increase dopamine and reset your zest for life!
1. Reduce inflammation, improve gut health, and ensure nutrition and absorption are maximized by following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
2. Regular movement in the form of anti-inflammatory exercise – stimulating the vagus nerve, increasing blood flow to the brain, and promoting neurogenesis.
Proper exercise stimulates the immune system and produces an anti-inflammatory response.
3. Tyrosine plays a critical role in dopamine production, so boosting levels with tyrosine-rich foods like bananas, pumpkin seeds, chicken, and avocados is a good way.
Tyrosine can also be made from phenylalanine, another amino acid found in many protein-rich foods like turkey and eggs!
Have some Dairy-free Scrambled Eggs or an Asparagus, Zucchini & Avocado Salad!
These provide an extra boost of memory and mental performance!
Needless to say, you always need complete nutrients to allow for conversions and synthesis in the body.
Like iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins, for instance, concentrating on tyrosine alone won’t fix it if your body lacks good nutrition.
4. Sunlight for Vitamin D. Especially in the morning, setting the circadian rhythm.
5. The practice of meditation, since consciousness change may trigger its release.
6. Listen to music. Even the thought of listening to your favorite music can release dopamine!
7. Sleep regularly and for reasonable amounts of time. Lack of sleep disturbs circadian rhythms.
8. Massage and touch – reduces cortisol, stimulates the vagus nerve, and increases oxytocin (see below!).
What Is the Second Secret to Feeling Good?
The second secret to feeling good is the hormone and neurotransmitter Oxytocin!
It is produced in the hypothalamus and transported to and secreted by the pituitary gland at the brain’s base.
The way to feel some of the oxytocin’s magic is that wonderful sense of well-being that occurs when you hug someone.
Or when skin is touched, in massage, holding hands, making love.
Or spending time with your favorite pet! Oxytocin levels rise in both pets and owners when they have time to snuggle with each other!
It’s not just that, though. Oxytocin plays a huge role in female reproductive functions.
Oxytocin is present during labor, increasing uterine motility, which causes uterus or womb contractions.
As the cervix and vagina widen in labor, oxytocin is released. Further contractions enable the widening to increase.
That overwhelming love feeling you have with a baby is what oxytocin is responsible for.
It fosters the bond between mother and child immediately after birth and affects milk release from mammary glands for breastfeeding.
That sense of bonding, when entwined with music, increases oxytocin levels if you are in a band or choir together.
Practicing random acts of kindness boosts oxytocin levels, too!
Ensure that you top up your oxytocin levels and maintain real contact with people and animals. Socialize, touch, and hug! Our immune relies on socializing, too.
What Is the Third Secret to Feeling Good?
The third secret to feeling good is ensuring that gut dysbiosis does not suppress the hormone and the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Serotonin is one of the most important signaling molecules within the gut.
It plays a pivotal role in initiating secretory and motor reflexes. Serotonin keeps your appetite and satiety in check.
It is serotonin that kicks in when you have eaten something that your body does not like.
It lets the brain know it is time to dispel it as soon as possible.
90% of serotonin is in the gut and stored in the intestinal mucosa.
This is why, as I always mention, depression, low moods, and tearfulness are linked to an unhappy gut and low serotonin levels!
The other 10% of Serotonin is attributed to the serotonergic neurons of the enteric nervous system.
It works a little differently there, promoting feelings of well-being and happiness.
These cells play an essential role in regulating serotonin homeostasis and possess the apparatus to produce and store serotonin.
This affects many parts of the brain that affect sexuality, memory, fear, body temperature, stress response, digestion, sleep, breathing, and addiction.
Tryptophan, the amino acid – is used by your brain to make serotonin, but only 1-2% of dietary tryptophan is converted to serotonin.
Do You Have to Eat Tryptophan to Produce Serotonin?
It isn’t a case of eating more tryptophan foods to increase the amino acid to make serotonin, though.
When you eat tryptophan-rich foods like chicken and other high-protein foods, the protein breaks down into amino acids.
This competes with tryptophan to get across your blood-brain barrier.
The blood-brain barrier prevents harmful substances from reaching your brain and, as such, blocks tryptophan from getting in.
Getting Tryptophan Into Your Brain Without Medication
Eating carbohydrates (not high-protein foods) with tryptophan foods may help get tryptophan into your brain.
This is why immune-boosting chicken soup made with vegetables is suitable for a dose of tryptophan to soothe your mind and heal your body.
You see, your body produces insulin when you eat certain complex carbohydrates.
Insulin helps your muscles take in more amino acids, which is why tryptophan has a better chance of making it across the blood-brain barrier.
How Serotonin Aids Sleep
Serotonin is a regulator of the sleep-wake cycle.
Serotonin levels increase with sunlight, and melatonin kicks in with the dark.
These aid sleep regulation and lower stress levels.
This is why light therapy is suggested in the winter for many people who suffer from S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder).
Melatonin also sets the body’s circadian rhythms. As well as countering infection, reducing chronic inflammation, suppressing skin damage, and clearing many diseases.
Sleep is imperative to live!
Looking to improve your sleep and lose weight?
Some Signs of Serotonin Deficiency
Depression
Anxiety
Anger
S.A.D
Sleep-cycle disturbances
Chronic disease
Neurological disease
What Is the Fourth Secret to Feeling Good?
The fourth secret to feeling good is the hormones and neurotransmitters: Endorphins!
There are twenty different types, and the most studied is beta-endorphin – the euphoric endorphin.
The one that is felt when we dance, exercise, have sex, or laugh out loud, lots!
In fact, laughter alters serotonin and dopamine levels, as well as releases of endorphins. Laughter is so good for you!
Ever danced and laughed at the same time? It’s an amazing feeling.
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland release our body’s natural pain relievers that give us a sense of well-being.
You feel them when you meditate and breathe deeply and correctly, inducing calm in the body and mind.
It is connected with that beautiful feeling that you get when you have had exposure to the sun!
The calmness and the sense of well-being are connected to UV light, which has stimulated the release of beta-endorphins in the skin.
Endorphins promote other hormones that are involved in all of the feelings when you are in love!
They are also responsible for one of the reasons why exercise is recommended for depression.
When repeated daily, the buzz from endorphins you get from workouts aids mental well-being.
Can You Take a Feel Good Hormone Supplement?
Supplementing these feel-good hormones wouldn’t ever be as effective as encouraging their production biologically with lifestyle, food, movement, thoughts, actions, and who we have around us.
Supplements can’t produce what these elements can.
You know my thoughts about supplements being no contender against the bioavailability of foods and how our body absorbs and utilizes nutrients based on our lifestyles.
Extra caution is paid attention to serotonin level-raising supplements, for instance, because they are linked to severe diseases and organ damage.
How Do You Optimise Your Feel Good Hormones?
So, you can optimize your feel-good hormones with your lifestyle and the people around you by focusing on choices that secrete these neurotransmitters.
Gut-health foods that are nutrient-dense with an ample amount of essential B vitamins, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, and micronutrients – that work intricately in concert with each other will assist with neurotransmitter health.
What foods we eat are not enough, though, for lifestyle choices are cofactors in synthesizing nutrients in the body. I know that I say this a lot, but it is so important!
What you eat, how you move, how much you sleep, and what you think all play a significant role in these feel-good hormones.
Who you hug and spend time with and what you do in a day aids optimization, too.
You could take a walk with a friend, turn up the music and dance, or hold hands with someone you love.
Watch a movie with friends or your family that you know makes you all laugh out loud.
Sitting in the sun and shifting consciousness will aid in feeling good mentally.
You could reward yourself with an early night and a good book.
I am a massive advocate for this, as you know because health optimization rewards yourself daily and is essential for hormone balance.
Of course, other elements come into play when it comes down to feeling good, like following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle 80/20.
This D.O.S.E. of neurotransmitters is an excellent focus to assist you with optimum health, though. They play a crucial part in maintaining homeostasis for the entire body.
They’re a reminder to have fun, be with people, take a walk, and sit mindfully while you eat. To live and love well. That sort of thing!
Getting your ‘feel good’ hormones optimized and your body balanced will not just make you feel good. You will feel amazing!
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Is AG1 Supplement Good for You?
10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly
Vegetarian to Meat Eater
August 14, 2023
Do You Often Feel Like Crying?
Not Feeling Sad but Want to Cry?
It doesn’t matter who you are, your age, or your resilience; we all cry and need to cry.
It’s an essential release for grief, sadness, stress, anger, sentimentality, and tiredness.
Sometimes though, we can go through periods of crying without obvious external motivators, wondering what is going on with ourselves!
So many people say that they feel like crying and don’t know why.
They say they have a good life, many great friends, a wonderful family, and good health (without a condition). They are flummoxed because they have lots to look forward to – and just cannot put their finger on why they could burst out crying at any given moment.
In this post, I am going to talk about what the reason could be.
You are not alone if you cannot quite pinpoint why you feel so emotional lately and want to cry.
If you are crying spontaneously (unusual for you, and your doctor has ruled out disease), you may be surprised to know that it could all be down to your gut bacteria.
You may have heard me talk about the bidirectional link between the brain and the gut before.
Neuroinflammation, depression, and mood disorders are linked to gut bacteria.
Why do you nip to the bathroom before a public speaking event or get ‘butterflies’ in your stomach before meeting someone?
That’s the brain-gut connection!
Why Does Gut Health Affect Mental Health?
The gut is the largest immune organ in the body!
In brief, the intestine’s surface area is the epithelium; under that is a network of immune cells. Above the mucus layer that tops the epithelium sits the gut microbiota.
What we eat influences gut microbiota composition and activity.
Gut microbiota affects our inflammatory state by breaking down food into compounds that modify immune cells.
Simplified, a whole cascade of body health events occurs according to what we eat. A gut imbalance affects the body and mind.
Gut microbiota interacts bidirectionally with environmental risk factors such as diet and lifestyle.
When we are born, we inherit our Mother’s microbiome (entire habitat of the body: microorganisms, genomes, environmental conditions).
Over time, from when we are weaned into solid foods, our guts develop a diverse and distinct collection. Over 250 bacterial species, in fact – but it can contain 1,000 different species.
This comes from genetics, bacteria that surround us, and bacteria from other people around us (environment).
Also, how we deal with stress, medication, what foods we eat, and what nutrition we give our bodies.
We have 100 trillion microorganisms that are in our microbiome.
Not only do gut microbiota aid digestion, metabolism, and nutrient absorption, but they inhibit pathogens and assist with developing and protecting the immune system.
Gut microbiota balance hormones, nourishing intestinal cells, and the gut where feel-good neurotransmitters are produced!
Does Your Gut Produce Happiness?
Feel-good neurotransmitters that are produced by gut bacteria are:
Serotonin (the happy hormone)
Dopamine (pleasure and motivation hormone),
GABA (the reward hormone)
Melatonin (the sleep hormone)
So, a compromised balance of gut microbiota results in these neurotransmitters not being produced, which means we won’t feel good mentally.
90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, for instance.
Serotonin is responsible for happiness and well-being, reducing mood swings and anxiety. It is also a precursor for melatonin, the hormone that aids sleep.
So, if you have wondered why you are not sleeping, this could explain why.
Sleep is affected by gut imbalance, too. This does not help with keeping your emotions in check!
Common triggers of chronic insomnia are emotional concerns and the body’s overactive fight-or-flight mechanism (but this article is about not being able to pinpoint why we cry when there aren’t any obvious reasons).
In turn, critical biological functions, like hunger hormone regulation, occur when you go through the sleep cycles.
Without essential sleep, these essential hormone regeneration functions do not occur. This leads your body to not operate at optimum health levels, possibly activating inflammatory genes.
There’s a symbiotic relationship between gut microbiota and the body as long as good health exists.
What Is the Best Diet for Your Brain?
I always advocate for a lifestyle change rather than just a diet because how you move and think significantly affects your gut health.
So, I would recommend an anti-inflammatory lifestyle with good gut health recipes.
One that contains omega-3-rich foods that optimize brain function. The long-chain omega-3 fatty acid is suitable for brain development and plays an essential role in neurotransmitter release, cellular membrane function, and fluidity.
Choose a healthy gut lifestyle that contains all the nutrition to aid in feeding the body with good bacteria and eradicating harmful bacteria.
Because it heals the body and affects pro-inflammatory cytokine release in the brain, it allows for maximum absorption and fights against neuroinflammation in aging brains.
I always say that the way to reduce mood disorders or neurodegenerative disorders in the brain is to start with the gut!
Doctors recommend a gut-healthy lifestyle for physical and mental well-being.
If you are a member of Eat Burn Sleep, you will be experiencing the gut-healthy effects on your mental health and know firsthand that you will have improved mental well-being.
It won’t be just because your health goals are being met, but it will be for scientific reasons: biologically, physically, and mentally.
When there is gut dysbiosis, our overall health is impacted.
How Does Your Gut Make You Sad?
Microbiota is essential for homeostasis, and any dysbiosis (imbalance) compromises not only physical health but also mental health.
It’s incredible what a balanced gut microbiota can do!
You see, many people who describe themselves as ‘fit and healthy’ with good body composition can’t understand why they feel tearful and emotional.
These ‘fit and healthy’ people are often surprised to learn that despite evidential physical fitness, they are not in optimum health.
Their chosen exercise could make their bodies inflamed and susceptible to disease.
The same people experience the positive change themselves when their lifestyles (not just diet) become more gut-health-focused.
A balanced microbiota in the gut lowers chronic inflammation and promotes optimum health.
It may seem obvious now, but many people are surprised to learn why they may be crying when all is good in their world:
In the same way that your gut bacteria can make you happy when there’s a good balance in the microbiota, an imbalance causes an impact on your emotional behavior in a less-than-positive way.
Your gut bacteria affects your emotional behavior negatively and positively, and an imbalance soon happens.
Sadness, anger, and fear can all present themselves as a representation of your gut bacteria.
Even the mildest amount of stress that you may be dismissing – that couldn’t possibly warrant such uncontrollable outbursts of tears – can cause a microbial imbalance that can cause those tears and mood changes.
That is why, with gastrointestinal disorders like IBS and high inflammation, there are often accompanying depression and anxiety.
This isn’t just because of the nature of the condition or having to navigate life while dealing with the condition, such as triggers and timing.
Feeling good and the well-being of gut microbiota are tightly connected.
What Affects Gut Health?
Social Stress Can Cause Imbalanced Gut Health.
Stress can affect your mental health via its effect on the gastrointestinal tract.
It could be that you have spent time, however brief, with someone who has decreased your gut diversity. For instance, if you have experienced conflict or aggression from someone.
Positive social interaction is beneficial to gut health, optimum health – and longevity!
Likewise, oxytocin, a mood-modulating hormone, is produced in the hypothalamus and released into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland when we hug, touch, and love someone.
Or having a dance or exercise with friends!
Despite not being produced in the gut like the other feel-good hormones, oxytocin is linked with gut health because it is an anti-stress hormone.
Stress triggers gut health imbalance and digestive and inflammatory issues.
You may be recovering from an illness or an operation or have taken antibiotics even, that have wiped your body of good (as well as bad) bacteria.
So many factors can contribute to gut dysbiosis and open the pathways to inflammatory conditions. It is essential to nurture yourself.
So, the next time you feel like crying and can’t explain why, think about your gut. Is it time for a microbiome reset?
What Foods Boost Happiness?
Learn about the foods that will boost your happiness in The Lifestyle Guide and save your favorites! Access the in-depth, personalized advice for depression and anxiety here.
Improving gut health improves brain health.
It’s science!
Don’t forget to do daily anti-inflammatory movements for gut health, too! It all works synergistically together.
Metabolism is linked with weight gain and loss because of its biological process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy.
Your metabolism is not the reason for weight gain or loss, though.
Metabolism, in medical terms, is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the minimum number of calories your body needs to form basic functions like breathing, digesting, cell repair, body temperature, and hormone level management.
Your metabolism naturally changes at different stages throughout your life.
It is the thyroid gland and the thyroid function that have the most significant influence on how we burn energy.
The thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your neck, makes the hormones that control how your body uses energy, controlling essential functions and affecting nearly every organ.
These hormones affect your weight, digestion, muscles, heart rate, moods, brain, and breathing.
How Do You Know If You Have a Slow Metabolism?
People with a slow thyroid function experience a ‘slow metabolism.’
Symptoms of a low thyroid function (slow metabolism) include:
Weight gain
Fatigue
Slow digestive functions
Brain fog
Feeling cold
Low mood
How Do You Know If You Have a Fast Metabolism?
Having a fast metabolism is indicated with:
Good energy levels
Good hormonal balance
Regular bowel movements
Not gaining weight easily
Clear mind and focus
What Slows Down Your Metabolism?
Many factors could be slowing down your metabolism, and a sedentary lifestyle is one of them.
So often, people associate a slow metabolism with getting older, but as people age, they are not as active as they were, so this is why this fallacy is believed.
A sedentary lifestyle can lead to a toxic liver.
This impedes regular healthy liver functions like performing hormonal homeostasis (hormone balancing), which leads to a slower metabolism.
There are many other factors, like medication, processed foods, alcohol, and toxins, that also influence your metabolism.
Can Exercise Boost Metabolism?
Exercise can boost metabolism, but probably not the type of exercise that you think will boost it.
High-intensity workouts are often associated with boosting your metabolism, are counterproductive, and raise your cortisol levels (the hormone associated with stress).
Then, consequently, this leads to a hormone cascade, unbalancing hormones.
High-intensity workouts increase inflammation in the body and lead to water retention and further weight gain for people with a slow metabolism.
The biggest mistakes I see are people who go on extreme crash diets and grueling workout programs to get ‘quick results.’
Inevitably, they don’t lose weight and slow their metabolism even further because it increases stress, inflammation, and hormone imbalances. More on that below!
You see, the body perceives pain as inflammatory.
Eating very little food can backfire because the body will think there is a shortage of food, so when you eat, your body will store it.
Regular anti-inflammatory and low-impact movement (alongside anti-inflammatory food and neuroplasticity exercises) boosts metabolism and improves body composition.
What Food Boosts Metabolism?
Foods that focus on thyroid health and an anti-inflammatory lifestyle boost gut health, liver health, and metabolism.
Members: access the thyroid healing advice in the specialized advice section here.
What Can Kick-start Your Metabolism?
A liver detox that focuses on real foods rather than juicing boosts your metabolism.
Members: access the liver detox advice in the Lifestyle Guide.
This reboots the liver and gastrointestinal tract, rebalances hormones, boosts weight loss, and speeds up the metabolism.
Does Drinking Water Aid Metabolism?
Good hydration is fundamental to keeping a well-functioning metabolism.
Dehydration leads to water retention, as the body tends to hold water when it isn’t getting enough and is linked to weight gain and sugar cravings.
Also, when the body is dehydrated, kidney function isn’t optimal.
So, what happens then is that the liver takes over some of the kidney functions, and then lipolysis (fat burning) is halted since it isn’t a vital function.
Constipation occurs with dehydration, which further lowers the metabolism by keeping toxins in the body longer. This ultimately taxes the liver even further.
This, in turn, leads to further hormonal imbalance and low thyroid function.
So, drink plenty of water daily. Your liver, skin, and digestion will thank you for it!
Does Sleep Affect Your Metabolism?
Sleep deprivation is a chronic stressor, so yes, sleep affects metabolism and many mind and body functions.
Regular good sleep each night, going through all the sleep cycle stages, is essential for maintaining metabolic homeostasis.
Sleeping less impacts the hunger hormones, blood sugar level regulation, hormonal balance, and fat burning.
Also, 75% of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced during sleep.
HGH induces growth in almost every tissue and organ in the body and is especially renowned for its effect on bone and cartilage in the adolescent years. It’s also associated with fat burning!
You need your beauty sleep!
The Human Growth Hormone also accelerates skin repair and keeps you looking younger.
So, sleep deprivation causes metabolic dysregulation through various pathways like sympathetic overstimulation, subclinical inflammation, and hormone imbalance.
You can aid sleep through good day and nighttime habits and satisfy your body nutritionally.
It’s a huge focus on this lifestyle, re-programming even long-standing insomniacs, shift workers, and circadian misalignment.
Low stress levels are also essential for metabolism.
High levels of stress cause cortisol to be released, sending the body into fight or flight mode.
This temporarily pauses regular body functions, like the metabolism – slowing it down – unbalancing hormones, and increasing chronic inflammation levels.
Do Metabolism-boosting Extreme Diets and Supplements Work?
As mentioned, metabolism is not to be blamed for weight conditions.
I had to include this because there are so many suggestions for boosting your metabolism to lose weight on the internet, and you must be very careful.
An extreme ‘metabolism boosting’ starvation diet will damage your metabolism.
Some very low-fat, high-carb diets with excessive cardiovascular exercise will increase your inflammation.
If inflammation runs high in your body for a while (which can go undetected if you do not know the signs of inflammation), you are increasing your risk of disease.
Likewise, long fasts, the ketogenic diet, and chronic undereating are not suitable for optimum health.
Yes, you hear about initial weight loss. I got excited when I tried a diet similar to the ketogenic diet while exploring what would help my body heal (before I created this anti-inflammatory lifestyle).
I experienced weight loss, but I also soon experienced the downside.
Seriously, your health will be jeopardized! It is temporary and causes harm to the body. Extreme diets cause extreme issues. It’s a recipe for ill health.
I wouldn’t advise following a ‘metabolism-boosting weight-loss diet’ that a qualified nutritionist or doctor hasn’t prescribed.
Also, taking a ‘metabolism-boosting slimming pill’ could be dangerous.
Supplement producers are not regulated!
You could be consuming a load of bulking agents that could cause nausea and abdominal pain (as well as inflammation) or a substance that could seriously affect your health.
Extreme eating and deprivation disrupt metabolic functions, digestion, liver health, and mental health, increasing inflammation in the long run.
What starts as an intention to lose weight and get fit quickly opens your body up to disease and health problems.
If you seek extreme measures because of weight concerns, I suggest you approach them from a different angle.
Approach weight concerns from an angle that is nurturing, kind to the body and mind, and fosters self-awareness.
Follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle that teaches you to connect more to your body to understand how to change it for better health.
Learn what has a positive and negative impact on your body and to lose weight in the long term.
I would advise following a lifestyle (i.e., this one!) that includes stress management, meditation, self-care tips, and nutritional education to aid longevity.
Members can access specialized advice: emotional eating, depression, weight loss tips, water retention, unusual eating times, and overindulgence recovery.
Don’t forget to check out the guided meditations, like the one for emotional eating.
A successful weight loss lifestyle will be one that nurtures every part of your mind and body to function optimally, looking after your digestion, liver, and thyroid.
Can You Change Your Metabolism?
Yes, you can change your metabolism to function more efficiently by taking on all of the above, as well as liver health.
Not only does good liver health support healthy hormones and a healthy thyroid, but it also supports lipolysis (fat-burning).
Regular anti-inflammatory movement can also support metabolism and good organ functions.
What is Recommended for a Healthy Metabolism?
I would advise optimizing the whole body, not just focusing on the metabolism.
A gentle, nutrient-packed, anti-inflammatory lifestyle is recommended for optimal health because the focus is on de-stressing, keeping the body and mind calm, and allowing the organs to heal and reboot.
Or scroll through the videos and hear what happens to the body with veganism, for instance.
I recommend you listen to the podcast where I talk with my wonderful friend, Flavia Morellato. She is one of London’s top lymphatic drainage therapists (and she helps me when I have water retention).
Also, listen to the podcast ‘Unstressable’ with my other wonderful guest, Alice Law, a top Stress Management Consultant.
We talk about how to manage stress and live a happy, un-stressful life.
Of course, to assist with mind and body health, I always recommend getting good sleep and going to bed before 10 p.m. to read an actual book for ten minutes or so without a digital device close by.
Then, do a two-minute gratitude prayer for everything good in your life.
Believe in the power of this optimum health ritual as you drift off to sleep.
Whatever time you read this, I hope that your day or evening is wonderful!
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April 28, 2024
How to Deal With a Hangover
Hi Everyone,
Do you enjoy socializing with a drink? So do I! I am not a big drinker and it doesn’t take much to make me feel unwell after a night out. But as with many things in life, it’s all about moderation and having fun.
Let’s face it, we are not perfect and hopefully never will be. Life wouldn’t be life without ups and downs, boring times, and fun times! And I have a top tip for managing drinking and socializing: drink less and have more fun.
It’s important to socialize and see people. It benefits your mental health and strengthens your immune system. And for many people, socializing goes hand in hand with enjoying a drink. Because of this, small amounts of alcohol are allowed as part of the Eat Burn Sleep lifestyle.
Of course, the downside of having a drink is feeling rough the next day! If you want to know how to deal with a hangover, this post is for you.
If you’re like me, after a couple of glasses of wine, you won’t care about watching what you eat. And the next day you feel so ravenous you wolf down food and don’t feel full. So what’s going on?
There are a few reasons why a hangover makes you feel hungry:
Alcohol is essentially liquid sugar. When you enjoy a few drinks the sugar floods into your bloodstream, elevating your blood sugar levels. A few hours later, your blood sugar levels fall rapidly, leaving you hungry for starchy foods.
Alcohol is dehydrating. Dehydration can make you crave food as the body sometimes mistakes thirst for hunger.
Sleep is badly affected by alcohol – especially deep, restorative sleep. You might feel drowsy and fall asleep quickly, but your normal cycles of deep sleep and lighter sleep will be disrupted.
Poor quality sleep affects your hunger and satiety hormones. Without good sleep, you will have more ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and less leptin (the satiety hormone).
You may be interested in reading about how good, regular sleep helps you lose weight.
Your liver has to work hard to detoxify alcohol. This process uses up a lot of energy and nutrients so it makes sense that your body craves food to keep up with this demand.
How To Recover From a Hangover
Firstly, don’t feel guilty or beat yourself up. You’ve had a great time, and life is to be enjoyed. Overindulging happens.
If you can begin your hangover recovery plan before you go to sleep, that is a great start.
When you get home, drink plenty of water with added electrolytes. Electrolyte minerals like magnesium and potassium help your body to rehydrate faster than if you drink plain water. You can see which electrolyte products I recommend on the Yalda Loves page and I also use this simple homemade electrolyte mixture. Sometimes I take a dose of Alka seltzer* too, to prevent acid indigestion. All the sugar in the alcohol is a big trigger for reflux.
When you get up the next morning, repeat the above. You need to rehydrate and not overtax yourself.
(*Please check with your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medicines.)
What to Eat the Morning After
When I wake up with a hangover, I crave sugar badly, and the last thing I want to eat is something healthy like eggs and salmon! So, I make my super yummy and nutrient-dense coconut protein shake. It satisfies all my sweet cravings while stabilizing my blood sugar levels.
Other great breakfast options include:
Bananas are packed with magnesium, vitamin B6, and fiber.
Avocados are another great source of fiber, magnesium, and potassium to help optimize energy levels and blood pressure.
Almonds for fiber, B vitamins, and antioxidant vitamin E.
And if you can face them, eggs! Boiled, scrambled, poached, or in our delicious Shakshuka recipe.
Eggs are a fantastic source of protein, B vitamins, and glutathione – our master antioxidant nutrient. Your liver needs plenty of glutathione and B-vitamins to detoxify alcohol so it’s a good idea to top up after a night out.
Later on, you could enjoy a bowl of our Immune Boosting Chicken Soup. It’s hydrating and packed with liver-health ingredients like egg yolk, turmeric, carrots, lemon, and olive oil.
You want to fill your body with nutrients and resist the urge to eat junk food. Junk food is precisely that – junk. Ultimately, it will make you feel worse.
You don’t want to punish yourself. Nourish yourself. Eat Burn Sleep’s anti-inflammatory foods deliver what your body needs when you have a hangover.
Non-Members/Members: You could make these egg muffins before your evening out so that you have a healthy snack on hand when you get home.
What to Drink When You Have a Hangover
Water is the most important drink to help relieve a hangover. Drink it plain or add slices of fresh lemon for a boost of vitamin C.
Coffee can add to blood sugar imbalance but if you really want one, have one. Just be sure to have it after a meal and not on an empty stomach.
Green tea has more antioxidants than other forms of tea. It’s a good option for maintaining healthy blood pressure, regulating blood sugars, and optimizing your metabolism (among many other health benefits).
The caffeine in green tea is counterbalanced by an amino acid called theanine. Theanine soothes your nervous system to help you feel alert and calm at the same time.
Get Moving and Shake Off That Hangover
Gentle movement and exercise will get your blood flowing and boost your endorphins (those happy mood chemicals). Aim for a gentle workout, light jog, or easy yoga session. If you can get outside in the sunshine, all the better. Natural daylight and vitamin D will help your body get back into its normal rhythms.
Then, later in the day, Eat Burn Sleep members can relax and enjoy a soothing meditation bath before bed.
What to Drink to Avoid a Hangover
What are the best drinks to have to avoid a hangover? Wine, beer, spirits? Or just let go and enjoy a few cocktails?
Here’s what I do on a night out with friends…
1/ Alternate water and alcoholic drinks to avoid becoming dehydrated.
A little trick is to order sparkling water with ice and a slice of lemon so people assume you are drinking alcohol (and you aren’t being a joy killer) when, in fact, you are taking a little break and having water.
2/ Steer clear of cocktails
I try to steer clear of cocktails because they are loaded with sugar, and I would prefer to save those calories for a nice paleo muffin the next day!
Sugar makes everything worse because it disrupts the healthy bacteria in your gut. Drinking sugary cocktails is a surefire way to feel even worse the next day.
If you love cocktails, try switching to plain spirits like vodka, tequila, and gin with soda water, lime, or a drop of cordial. That amount of cordial is fine compared to how much sugar there would be if it were a cocktail. Again, it is about moderation and finding the right middle ground.
3/ Limit wine and champagne
As much as I love a good glass of wine, I only have one. Maybe two! My health issues make me feel how much yeast and sugar (from the fructose) there is in those drinks, and I invariably feel it the next day. But if you are dining out, by all means, do enjoy some good wine.
I hope this was helpful to you. If you have any tips, please share them in our members’ health community or drop me a message on Instagram.
Don’t forget to smile and enjoy having a fantastic social life!
I chat about the importance of socializing with Nick Potter in the podcast about the behavioral immune system. It’s fascinating! We talk about the immune system, gut health, and socializing (amongst many other things!). Definitely worth a listen!
Also, if you find that you are regularly getting hungover and feeling anxious or depressed, please know that we have personalized advice for depression on this platform. Plus, Insomnia and 30+ other conditions.
Enjoy your night out!
Yalda x
About the Author
Yalda Alaoui is a qualified Naturopathic Nutritionist with a foundation in Biomedicine. She studied with the College of Naturopathic Medicine in London and has spent over a decade performing groundbreaking research in chronic inflammation and gut health.
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