How Stress Makes You Fat

How many of us have tried the latest diet shake, the newest pill, diuretic, and appetite suppressant promising to make us look just like the 18 year old in the advertisement? Who hasn't bought a ridiculous amount of very appealing sports equipment that promised to turn your body into a sculpture after 8 weeks?

I certainly have enthusiastically joined a gym too many times to mention, only to be too exhausted to regularly attend. I suffered guilt not only from thinking of all the money I wasted but that I must be  lazy and unmotivated.

What it took me years to realize is that most of us were never taught about the significant missing link between stress, our adrenals working optimally and how that impacts our ability to maintain our weight within the normal range.

What I'm about to share with you really changed my life and my ability to be compassionate, toward myself and others. It often isn't as simple as taking a pill or exercising til we drop.

Is there a correlation between fat and being stressed? Our bodies are wise. Consider the following and see if you can connect the dots about what your body could be telling you:

• Stress stimulates our 'fight or flight' reflex and our adrenals release stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This is only meant to last briefly and not to be a permanent response. Most of us however, live with chronic stress permanently. Whether its is physical, psychological, or emotional stress, the response is a hyper arousal of our nervous system. 
• Cortisol is the hormone that activates fat being stored in your mid section. So development of belly fat, or saggy tummy is a sign of chronically elevated levels of stress hormones. If you've done thousands of sit ups with not much result of your abs showing, remember this!
  
• Stress is cumulative. A typical 20 year old levels of cortisol are significantly lower than a 50 year old who is menopausal, has a chronic illness, is juggling a busy career and family obligations. That's why supposedly, as we get older we tend to get fatter! 
• With excess stress your adrenals lose sodium. So you may experience salt cravings. Sodium is an electrolyte and therefore your hydration levels will be affected. You may feel or look dehydrated, or experience water retention especially around the ankles. Water retention or looking 'puffy' could be a sign from your adrenals, not an indication that your diet failed you! Dehydration can also present as constipation, which is significant for balanced weight.
• If you don't have sufficient sodium your muscles will tighten, you can notice this especially with the largest muscles, your thighs. They may tighten, and atrophy. You may experience twitching, restless legs, or struggle to walk up stairs like you used to, or get up from a seated position without your thighs aching. You may observe that perhaps your thighs aren't as muscly as they used to be, seem to have shrunk, or your legs are losing shape.
• If you're excessively adrenalized, along with sodium you may also lose other important electrolytes such as potassium. The interesting fact about potassium is that its necessary for proper heart function therefore blood pressure issues may present, alongside palpitations and even chest pain. 
• Adrenals control blood flow to the heart, so there will be a constriction in that area, also constriction of coronary arteries. This constriction in the chest will pull on the neck and shoulder muscles, tension experienced particularly between the shoulder blades is a common sign.
• Long term stress causes digestive system issues. You may not be able to absorb nutrients from food and supplements. If you are not absorbing nutrients you may crave certain foods or have an excessive appetite, in an effort to get those nutrients. For example, chocolate cravings could indicate a need for magnesium, crunchy chips a need for sodium, and deep fried foods for essential fatty acids. Comfort eating and self soothing by choosing calorie high and nutrient poor foods can also become a habit to manage stress. 
  
• Chronic stress dis-regulates our hormonal system and metabolism. There is an undeniable link between hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency.
• Excessive exercise stresses the adrenals further. If it takes you a significantly longer amount of time to recover from exercise, if you seem to catch a 'cold' after exercise, or even if the thought of vigorous exercise makes you fatigued, take note. Not all exercise is appropriate for everybody. Yes, exercise can help with stress management but not if you are pushing your adrenals beyond their current levels of capability.

Managing your stress levels may be the best weight loss advice you have ever heard. Most people's bodies today are seriously struggling with the unrelenting demands of just every day life.

Holidays are too often postponed and the value of relaxation, restoration and convalescence has almost been made obsolete.

We need stimulants just to get out of bed and to get on the tread mill that society has become reluctantly accustomed to.

Before you try another weight loss diet, shake or pill, remember to be kind to your adrenals first. Your life is dependent on these glands for survival. The above mentioned symptoms may be serious clues from your adrenals.

I believe that most of us are not simply fat, we're just over adrenalized! Before we judge anyone as being 'fat' perhaps we could view them with compassion and consider they may be utterly overburdened with stress?

If this subject resonated with you and you're interested in learning more about wellness, please subscribe to YouTube or to receive blogs by clicking on the icons above.

Vitamin C: How Can This Remarkable Nutrient Help You?

Vitamin C is such an important nutrient that has been researched extensively over many decades. And many amazing facts keep getting unveiled. Are you keen to learn some more fascinating findings that could increase the quality of your life?

Humans are unable to produce their own vitamin C and have lost their ability due to a non functional gene. Most mammals are able to produce their own vitamin C as a metabolite of glucose in the liver.

Guinea pigs, primates and humans however, are unable to produce this important vitamin.  This is the reason why we must get our vitamin C from external sources.

However even if you are consuming organic vegetables and fruit, you may not be consuming enough vitamin C to sufficiently cover your body's needs. And most of us who are health conscious can clearly taste that conventional food isn't what it used to be 30 years ago.

Eating an orange in the 1950's would not have the same nutritional value as eating an orange today. Once you buy it at your local supermarket, most likely that orange has been sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, transported thousands of kilometers, possibly stored for months at a time, refrigerated, and then sold to you. I think you get the picture about declining nutritional value of our food.

If you are elderly, have a chronic illness, are experiencing stress, have recurring infections, are exposed to environmental toxins, live in a major city, and other factors most of us are exposed to in this day and age, you will have a higher need for this particular antioxidant.

History of vitamin C research and medicinal use
Two time recipient of the Nobel Peace Price, Dr Linus Pauling was influential in making everyone aware of the importance of vitamin C and its ability to enhance the immune system.

He was the pioneer of orthomolecular medicine which uses megadoses of vitamins.

Dr Linus Pauling was successfully treating people suffering from numerous illnesses with intravenous vitamin C, with pharmacological doses of up to 100,000 gm! He claimed that the more serious the condition, the more vitamin C the person required.

 
If you would like to read more about intravenous vitamin C therapy please read the fascinating published documents of Dr. Klenner, in which EVERY disease is healed by this therapy.

Clinical Guide To The Use Of Vitamin C written by Dr. Fredrick Klenner, was a medical researcher and also a pioneer in orthomolcular medicine.

More recently the worlds most renowned vitamin C researcher Dr Ronald Hunninghake continues to research and successfully treat people via intravenous (IV) vitamin C with amazing results.

Watch a brilliant interview with Dr Mercola and Dr Ronald Hunninghake on his ground breaking work with vitamin C here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL56766D98C0433796&v=vzeZ8u5W6iw


Fascinating facts about vitamin C you may not know!

•  According to research men have a 20% higher requirement for vitamin C than women!

• Regarding getting your vitamin C from food, always remember that the more colorful your diet, the higher it will be in bioflavanoids and cartenoids which will naturally increase availability of vitamin C. 

• Studies show that vitamin C is the best antioxidant within the plasma or fluid of the body primarily because it is water soluble.

• Vitamin C has the ability to regenerate vitamin E and intracellular glutathione so they can be used again and again 

• Analgesics, alcohol, antidepressants, anticoagulants, oral contraceptives, and steroids reduce the levels of vitamin C in the body. 

• Smoking causes a serious depletion of vitamin C.

• Vitamin C is highly concentrated in the fluid within the eye and is a very important nutrient for the retina. 

• Vitamin C is needed for the metabolism of folic acid, tyrosine and phenylalanine

• Vitamin C increases absorption of iron.

• Studies confirm that vitamin C does NOT cause kidney stones.

• Vitamin C can combine with toxic substances, such as certain heavy metals, and render them harmless so they can be safely eliminated by the body.

• Essential in the formation of collagen, so a deficiency has implication for everyone that is aging or experiencing a decline in health.

• Promotes the healing of wounds, bruising and burns.

• Avoid chewable forms of vitamin C as these can damage tooth enamel due to the ascorbic acid.

• Works synergystically with both vitamin E and betacarotene, which means when these vitamins work together they have an effect even greater than the sum of their individual effects. Vitamin E scavengers for free radicals in cell membranes, whilst vitamin C attacks free radicals in biologic fluids. They both reinforce and extend each others antioxidant activity.

• Vitamin C can concentrate in the tissue and fluid around the brain and nerves. It's able to pass through the blood brain barrier. This barrier protects our brain by acting as a filter so no toxins can cross and only essential nutrients can pass.

• Vitamin C promotes bone and tooth formation and growth, improves appetite, raises resistance to infection and bacterial toxins, keeps blood vessels in a healthy condition, protects the heart, distributes and diffuses calcium to tissues from the blood and is necessary for normal adrenal function.

• Bioflavanoids (hesperedin, rutin, citrin) work concurrently with vitamin C and together are known as vitamin P. They have a strengthening effect on capillary walls and act as anticoagulants and are antihistamine. 

• Bioflavanoids are important because they prevent the destruction of vitamin C in the body by oxidation, and are beneficial in supporting the roles of vitamin C which they also share.

Broken capillaries indicating possible deficiency

What is esterfied vitamin C, also known as Ester C?
It is created by having the vitamin C react with a mineral, such as sodium, calcium, potassium or zinc. This results in a non acidic form of vitamin C, which contains metabolites identical to those produced in the body. 

Esterfied vitamin C allows the person to take higher doses because its in the non acidic form which won't irritate the gut.

Large amounts of ascorbic acid alternatively, can irritate the gut and lead to diarrhea, also known as 'bowel tolerance'. Once you reach 'bowel tolerance' that is your maximum absorption dose. This will vary with each individual. That's why smaller divided doses are always advised. 

Apparently esterfied vitamin C enters the bloodstream and tissues four times faster than standard forms of vitamin C because it is able to move into the blood cells much more efficiently. It is also able to stay in the body tissues longer. 

The levels of vitamin C in white blood cells were much higher than those levels achieved with non esterfied vitamin C. And, only one third as much was lost through the urine. So esterfied vitamin C showed to be retained by the body faster, for longer periods of time.

For a while the public went off the buffered forms of vitamin C (ie Ester C) because it was rumored that it may have been oxidized. However based on Dr Hunninghakes expertise in this area, those claims have been proven untrue.

What about liposomal vitamin C?
Because vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin and our cell walls consist of fat this makes it difficult for it to pass into the cell where its needed. 

Liposomes are tiny “nano-size” fat soluble vehicles that can carry a nutrient directly into the body’s cells.

Liposomal vitamin C once swallowed is predominantly taken up by the lymphatic system in the stomach, so its absorption rate is significantly higher than standard vitamin C, it is absorbed directly by the cell. 

In this way it super charges the immune system directly. Larger doses won't irritate the gut, cause diarrhea or be lost in the urine.  

For these reasons, liposomal technology is considered to be the most efficient way to deliver high curative doses.

Dr Thomas Levy, another expert in vitamin C therapy, claims that 6 grams of liposomal vitamin C is equivalent to 50 grams intravenous.

You can purchase sachets of Lipo-spheric Vitamin C here!


Or,  learn to make your own lipospheric vitamin C here!

Research and studies are still being conducted and we are learning new things about this humble vitamin every day. Its exciting to always be learning more about how we can support our body through specific nutrients and what marvelous ways we can nurture our health.

Keen to learn more about health related topics? Then please subscribe to the Journey Thru Wellness YouTube channel or blog by clicking the icons above.

Glutamine: The Overlooked Key To Faster Recovery

This humble amino acid may have flown under most health conscious persons radar for too long!

Whether you're recovering from an injury, a digestive issue, depression, immune dysfunction, allergies, or even a strenuous gym workout, then you must know about glutamine! 

Are you unable to stay on your newest 'healthy' diet because of your carbohydrate or alcohol cravings? Glutamine could be the answer to your problems!

What is glutamine?

Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid.

Even though its not considered an essential amino acid because our body can produce it, when we suffer any stress or trauma, our body relies on its reserves.

If our reserves are not replenished it can lead to our body telling us we require fast supplementation!

Glutamine supports muscle gain and prevents muscle loss, it is essential for metabolism, repair and recovery. Glutamine is found in large amounts in muscle tissue.

Most serious body builders know about glutamines' brilliant ability to build and maintain muscle. That's why you can see all the serious gym junkies drink their protein powders and glutamine within half hour of finishing their workouts!

It eases muscle soreness, speeds repair of muscle tissue, and promotes a faster recovery from strenuous workouts. 

 

Watch my glutamine video here for more info..

10 Awesome Ways Glutamine Can Help You Heal Faster

Glutamine and cancer

Because glutamine helps prevent muscle break down it is also fantastic for people suffering from any muscle wasting conditions due to prolonged bed rest, such as cancer.

Cancer patients who experience mouth ulcers when receiving chemotherapy and radiation will benefit from glutamine because it helps speed healing, boosts immune function and helps enhance energy levels.

Did you know that double blind studies have shown that glutamine supplementation dramatically increased survival in critically ill patients? That is a significant finding!

Glutamine is especially important for the immune system because it serves as a source of fuel for white blood cells.

Many cancer treatments have detrimental effects on the gut and can impair appetite and nutrient absorption.

Dr. Michael Murray, one of Americas most prominent doctors specializing in natural medicine recommends using glutamine to support recovery from surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

As much as one third of the glutamine present in the muscles can be released into the bloodstream during times of stress, injury and trauma.

That's why sick people can lose a significant amount of skeletal muscle tissue. However, if enough glutamine is available, this muscle wasting can be prevented.

Have a look at my favorite and most affordable glutamine here!

Glutamine, leaky gut & allergies

Glutamine is one of the most important nutrients for your intestines. It has the ability to repair a 'leaky gut' by maintaining the structural integrity of the intestinal wall.

Its an important amino acid in the gastrointestinal tract because it modulates inflammation and promotes repair mechanisms.

Its imperative for nourishing and restoring the intestinal villi (gut lining) that have been affected by immune reactivity and inflammation. It also helps prevent bacteria from attaching to the intestinal wall, and growing and spreading.

People who experience IBS, cealiac, colitis, gastric ulcers and can all support their bodies recovery by supplementing with this amino acid.

Almost every case of allergy, chemical sensitivity, skin rashes, and migraines can be traced back to an issue with gut permeability, or 'leaky gut'. Glutamine is a major contributor in helping 'seal' a permeable gut.

Most nutritional formulas that aim to improve digestion will contain glutamine in their list of ingredients for this reason. 

Glutamine and the brain

Glutamine is known as 'brain fuel' because it can pass the blood brain barrier. 

This very selective barrier filters the circulating blood going to the brain, and glutamine is able to pass through and have a direct affect on brain function.

Glutamine will enhance mental activity, improve mood, ease anxiety, brain 'fog', lift depression, and generally just stabilize moods.

Other amazing facts about glutamine

Glutamine and detoxification

Glutamine is important for the formation of powerful antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione helps the liver detoxify many toxins that we are exposed to in our environment, as well as those that form internally.

We form more toxins when we are sick, suffer inflammation, and when our immune system is impaired. These are the times our body would benefit from supplementing with glutamine.

We are also less able to clear those toxins when we don't have enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as glutamine, which support the body’s detoxification processes.

What is an effective dose to supplement with?

This will depend on what you are needing help with. Obviously, the more chronic your symptoms, the higher and more frequent the dose will generally need to be.

Doses can range from 1,000gm-20,000gms per day.

For example, someone who just wants to prevent muscle soreness after a workout it would be sufficient to supplement with approximately 5gm once daily.

Whereas someone experiencing more serious and chronic health conditions such as IBS, clinical depression, or cancer may need to take 5-10grams three times a day.

And of course, if you have a chronic condition, always work with an integrative health practitioner who embraces all healing modalities who can guide you accordingly to your needs.

5 grams is approximately 1 heaped teaspoon of glutamine powder. Mix in with a glass of water, or put it in a smoothie. 

I personally prefer the powdered form instead of tablets because you can adjust the dose accordingly.  

So next time you're recovering from any illness, trauma, or surgery remember this humble amino acid.

Please also feel free to subscribe to the Journey Thru Wellness You Tube channel and blogs if you are keen to learn more about how you can maximize your health!

References:

How To Prevent & Treat Cancer With Natural Medicine-Dr M. Murray

The Physicians Handbook Of Clinical Nutriton- H. Osiecki

Prescription For Nutritional Healing-Balch &Balch