Having a healthy metabolism is an important component of being optimally health and fit. Metabolism is the amount of energy the body uses to run. More specifically, it involves a complex network of hormones and enzymes that take the food we eat and then convert it into build blocks that we use for energy. That energy is used for everything from cellular reproduction (which affects how our bodies age) to muscle building and repair.

Metabolism is one of the many catch words in the weight loss industry. You’ll see metabolizers, metabolism boosters, metabola-this and metabola-that. And it’s true that having a healthy metabolism is important to being right weighted. However there are some myths to uncover too.

One of the largest myths: if you are overweight, your metabolism is slow. The opposite is actually true. If you are overweight, you have a higher metabolism than the right-weighted person next to you. The more weight the body has, the more energy the body has to use to keep it running. That’s why when many go on a diet they initially lose a lot of weight quickly and then plateau. The body is revving at a high level so even a modest reduction in calories brings weight loss. The plateaus begin when the body realizes there is less to “run” and it slows down the metabolism. To continue weight loss, understanding what in your lifestyle helps or hinders your metabolism is important. In addition, the things that slow down our metabolism are the very things that challenge our optimal health and fitness from A to Z. Our body is a whole and there isn’t one thing that doesn’t impact another.

That said, and considering how a healthy metabolism is critical to ideal health… let’s look at what we know that slows our metabolism:

1) Age. The first is one we can’t do a blessed thing about and that’s our age. As we age, our metabolism slows. However, the reasons for that, we can control. Typically, as we age, we slow down our physical activity which in turn reduces our muscle mass and fitness. That’s a one-two punch to the metabolism.

2) Eating too much OR too little. Life, in every facet, requires balance. The quantity of food we eat is no exception. If we eat too much food, we give our body more calories or “energy” than our body can use and it is forced to store it as fat. This includes how much you eat at each meal. Eating your calories in three large meals a day will slow your metabolism. On the other hand, eating those same calories in 5-6 smaller meals through the day will increase your metabolism.

Now eating too little – this is the first way most people want to lose weight. The adage is the less calories the more weight you lose. And while it is true that if you expend more energy than you consume, you will lose weight, there is once again a balance of approach to take into consideration. Eating too little is counterproductive to weight loss goals. This is true for a couple of reasons:

• The first is that the body, when not given enough food, will conserve its resources and slow down the metabolic process.
• When you do lose weight, it isn’t fat but instead lean muscle mass (the very last thing you want to lose if you want to have a high-charged metabolism).
• We deprive our bodies of critical nutrition.

3) Lack of sufficient sleep. Not getting enough sleep reduces the amount of Leptin in our bodies and increases Ghrelin. Leptin is created at night while we sleep. Leptin is responsible for telling the brain that whether there is fat in the body. When leptin isn’t produced, the brain doesn’t know there is fat in the body. In turn, the lack of leptin signals the body (i.e. the appetite) that more food is needed when it isn’t. Simultaneously, Ghrelin is increases. Ghrelin is hormone that both increases our appetite and suppresses use of fat as a source of energy for our bodies. It’s a double-whammy. Leptin isn’t there to tell our bodies that we have enough fat and to slow down our appetite and Ghrelin increases and intensifies the bodies cravings for more food. In addition, if we skimp on sleep, we put ourselves at increasing risk for diabetes. Ghrelin has been found in recent years to play a key role in balancing our insulin and glucose levels.

4) Skipping breakfast. Our bodies are literal in their translation. We skip food in the morning and it assumes we are starving. The metabolism slows to a crawl to make sure that we aren’t losing and begin storing energy. That energy storage… yeah, it’s fat. The other problem, when skipping breakfast, most people tend to overeat the rest of the day.

5) Stress. Hormones are at the core of so much of our bodies function. Keeping them in balance and working correctly and all goes well. If they get out of whack, a domino effect begins and our health can deteriorate. An example of this is cortisol. Cortisol is a powerful hormone that is elevated when we are stressed. During times of stress, cortisol can overpower the rest of our hormones. At appropriate levels, cortisol is valuable and even provides a boost to our bodies. But when it periods of prolonged stress, overproduction of cortisol creates reduced mental clarity and ability, thyroid suppression, blood sugar imbalances, reduction in bone density, loss of muscle mass, lower immunity, increased abdominal fat, and of course, higher blood pressure.

Next post on metabolism: let’s get our bodies humming! We’ll cover what we can do to increase our metabolism.

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Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Slows-Down-Your-Metabolism&id=753095
http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/index.php/diet-slow-metabolism/
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/991202/sleep.shtml
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10875
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ghrelin.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060510091429.htm
http://www.alive.com/4320a12a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=150
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm
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Here in the Pacific NW, the last week has been dark, windy and wet. Did I mention dark? The forecast for the next week or so, more of the very same. It doesn’t typically bother me unless it continues on for a very long time. However, I’ve been conscientious of our weather because we have a lot of family here this week for Thanksgiving. And, all of them are from Southern California…

In talking about this, one of my friends mentioned that she’s been feeling the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) where she lives. She asked: “Any natural remedies for that?”

Setting out to find out what there is to do, naturally, to help counteract SAD, here’s what I found:

• Lightbox, or any bright light – flood your space for a time each day with, ideally, bright full-spectrum lighting. There are specialized lightboxes made just for treating SAD. It takes as little as 30 minutes a day of sitting in front of these boxes to make an impact on your “winter blues”.
  • If you work at a desk, you might consider a desktop lamp. That would be an easy way to get your light time in… while simply sitting and working as you normally would.
• Get Great Nutrition – Eliminate sugar and refined flours and fill your diet with dark leafy vegetables (rich in B vitamins and folic acid), Omega 3s and high tryptophan foods like bananas, avocados, legumes, quinoa, and nutritional yeast.
• Vitamin D – Vit D, the “Sunshine Vitamin”, is what our bodies produce when we are in the sunlight. It’s critical for optimum health. When we lose out on regular sunshine exposure, our Vitamin D levels tend to plummet. Take 1,000 – 3,000 IUs a day of D3 (cholecalciferol) and not only will you help support your mood, but you’ll be reducing your risk of cancers like colon, prostate, breast and more. Because Vit D isn’t found naturally in many foods and where it is found… it is in such small amounts, taking a high quality Vit D supplement is the best way to go. *Note: Many health professionals recommend taking a break from Vitamin D supplementation on the weekends (or two days a week).
• Get outside – take every chance to get outside, 30 minutes or more, in the sun if possible, but do it regardless.
• Exercise – do some kind of aerobic exercise… walking or other type that you enjoy!
• Yoga – Yoga creates an energizing effect as well as mitigating and relieving stress. Many yoga meditations are thought to act on the pineal gland which controls circadian and seasonal rhythms. Yoga is a great practice/discipline anytime, but especially during the darker, shorter winter days.
• Sleep – Get adequate and consistent sleep. Sleep is critical for cellular repair from damage caused by stress, pollutants, infection and so on. it’s also important for creativity, memory, mental clarity, maintaining a healthy weight and heart heath. Sleep isn’t something you should scrimp on.
• Essential Oils – Jasmine essential oil is anti-depressant and euphoric. It stimulates beta brain wave activity as measured by EEG. Also helpful are citrus oils such as lemon, bergamot, lime, neroli, tangerine, and mandarin. Citrus oils stimulate the autonomic nervous system which helps with alertness, mood support, reduced anxiety, relieving stress and creating mental clarity.
• Laugh! – Laughter relaxes the body, boosts the immune system, triggers the release of endorphins (especially helpful for helping reduce SAD symptoms), protects the heart, and more. The saying “Laughter is the best medicine” really is more than just a nice sentiment.
• Other methods that have helped SAD sufferers:
  • Spend time with family and friends
  • St. John’s Wort, SAMe
  • massage
  • hot baths
  • counseling/psychotherapy
  • more sex (really? cool!…)
  • short afternoon power naps

Bottom line, do what works for you. Everyone is individual and the reasons why you are affected by the shorter, darker days varies. So how you treat it may very well be different than a person next to you who is also affected.

On the Embracing My Health Facebook fanpage, I shared that I had chia cereal for breakfast. In reply, I got this comment: “Tell us more about chia cereal, and why you think it’s good.” So here you go, in a information dense, “cliff-notes” fasion — here’s what’s so good about chia:

Chia seeds are 21 percent easily digested protein which is greater than other grains such as oats (15.3%), amaranth (14.8%), wheat and corn (both at 14%), barley (9.2%) and rice (8.5%). Chia seeds are the only grain with 18 of the 20 amino acids, including the 8 essentials for humans. *Other plant sources that include the 8 essential amino acids, and therefore considered complete proteins, are quinoa (16.2%), buckwheat (12%), hempseed (23%), and amaranth (15%).

Chia seeds are a rich source of B vitamins, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper. One serving of chia seeds (2 tablespoons) gives a large amount of the recommended daily allowance of fiber, molybdenum, chromium, selenium and biotin. Chia is gluten free, high in fiber, supports low blood pressure while improving blood sugar control.

Chia is high in omega-3 essential fatty acids.

A few of the things I use chia for:

• a cereal, as well as adding it into other raw cereals
• adding to smoothies (as chia gel)
• as a fat and egg replacer

There are many, many other healthy ways to add it into your diet. I’ll share some of these for another post.

Follow-up post coming shortly – chia versus flax, is one better for you than the other?

I posted to Kevin & Annmarie Gianni’s Renegade Health blog yesterday. Kevin asked the question which raw foods couldn’t be eaten raw. I mentioned that cruciferous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale are problematic because of their thyroid suppressing enzymes. (Surprisingly, peaches and pears have these enzymes too.) Also mentioned in my comment were greens like beet greens, spinach and chard, that have oxalic acid. Oxalic acid block calcium and iron absorption and can irritate the mouth and intestinal tract.

It stirred up quite the conversation and confusion with the commenters. It’s understandable. The rub is all of these vegetables and greens are nutritional powerhouses and are valued and renown for their anti-cancer fighting abilities. And who doesn’t want food that has great nutrition and inhibits cancers?

So what do we do?

It’s the age old truism. All things in moderation. And for those who don’t have existing thyroid issues, chance are you will be unaffected by the thyroid suppressing enzymes in cruciferous veggies and greens provided you don’t overdo. For those who currently suffer from hypothyroidism, if you eat a lot of these vegetables and you will likely find yourself experiencing hypothyroid symptoms.

Donna Gates of BodyEcology recommends that, in lieu of cooking them, raw foodists eat raw, fermented cruciferous vegetables. However, Weston A Price’s article on crucifers asserts even fermentation does not get rid of the thyroid suppressing effects. Weston Price’s recommendation:

“An increased dietary intake of iodine compensates for the consumption of moderate amounts of crucifers but cannot reverse the effects of large amounts of crucifers.”

Add natural iodine into your diet with foods like asparagus, dulse, garlic, kelp, sea salt, sesame seeds, and interestingly… check it out… cruciferous veggies spinach, swiss chard and turnip greens. Hmmm… maybe nature was helping us out on those last three.

I found it interesting that the Weston Price article points out that there may be some additional cancer-fighting properties to even goitrogens – although that is still unknown as of right now.

Again, I believe the key is all things in moderation. If you have hypothyroid, you’ll want to be especially careful. The wonderful thing is nature has given us such an amazing diversity of nutritious, cancer-fighting foods… that we don’t have to rely solely on cruciferous veggies. So bottom line, mix these amazing vegetables into your diet, just not too much.

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

I’ve known for a long time the importance of clean water and believe in and support the work of organizations like charity : water.

The documentary FLOW, For the Love of Water has completely left me changed.  Opening up a new angle on the water issue, documenting what is happening with water and water rights around the world, this film is a must see. From the website:

(FLOW) builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

After watching it, I wanted to DO SOMETHING. I didn’t want to have all this knowledge, all this information and have nothing I could do. The first thing I did was sign Article 31. Article 31 is a call, a petition upon the United Nations to establish access to clean and potable water as a fundamental human right.

Okay, done. But now what? I felt (and still feel) the need to do more. The FLOW website has links to organizations, non-profits and activism sites where you can partner, donate and volunteer to make a difference. You can be sure I’m going to be clicking those links and learning more.

But the first instinctual responses I had after watching FLOW were:

1) I will not buy/drink bottled water. Whatever it takes, I’m not going to do it. I’ll buy portable filters for road trips and and fill up my jugs at the local tap, wherever I may be. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it – I will not buy bottled water again.

2) I will not buy any products from Coca-Cola, Pepsi or Nestle. (watch the film and you’ll learn why I’m boycotting these three companies in specific) The harm they are causing here at home in the US and around the world is wrong. I will not support them or any of their brands until they stop their horrific, inhuman and environmentally damaging business practices.

Given the enormity of these three companies, it’s going to be interesting to avoid all the brands and products they make. But I’ll make a freakin’ master list if I have to. Thankfully, my lifestyle and diet already keeps most of their products off my shopping list… but I will be sure to keep an eye out and avoid any that might happen to appear.

I share all this for two reasons:

1. Please watch FLOW. You may not have the same reaction I did – but I think the information they share in that film is important for all of us to know.
2. I’m curious, what gets your goat? What topics or issues have made you get up out of your chair and do something, anything!… because you couldn’t imagine sitting still about it one more day?

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

This news came out of Consumer Reports blog post  “Death by bad health care“:

In the number of people who die for want of timely and effective health care…. From 1997-98 to 2002-03, the United States dropped from 15th out of 19 to dead last.

As the article wraps up:

“Something to keep in mind the next time you hear a politician boast that the U.S. has “the best health care in the world” or warn of the supposed horrors of the British or Canadian systems.”

A quick note: I’m not advocating universal health care as the cure all for all our country’s health ills.  We Americans, as a norm, have not taken responsibility for our health.  We’ve given our health and longevity into the hands of doctors, pharmaceuticals and symptomatic treatment systems.  Before we ever sit nervously in the doctor’s waiting lounge, pay out our hard earned money on pharmaceutical drugs, before all of these things… we have the responsibility to manage our personal health.

The most radical health care reform our country could experience is each of us owning the right and responsibility that we have for our own health and well-being.

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

Fresh figs are appearing and I bought my first batch this past week. I’ll confess that I’ve never had a fresh fig until now. Figs are a great nutritionally!

• high mineral content, filled with potassium, calcium, iron and trace manganese
• high fiber
• good source of flavonoid and polyphenols (plant-based antioxidants)

I bought enough figs that I knew I would need to find a smoothie recipe to help me use them up. After some poking around online and experimenting on my own, I discovered a smoothie that was, to the taste buds, Christmas in August. So here it is, the recipe for “Green Eggnog!” Enjoy!

Healthy Green Eggnog Recipe

• 4 fresh figs
• 1 1/2 bananas
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
• large handful of greens (I used spring mix greens)
• vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

If you try it, let me know what you think!!

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

I woke up thinking about this topic again (I wrote this originally at the beginning of this year):

I borrowed a book from my good friend Ahmis, Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais. There is a lot of fascinating material in this book… but some of the very first words in the book made it difficult for me to go any further. While I read more, I wasn’t really able to take in more. Apparently, I’m having to deal with first things first.

It started with these two sentences:

We act in accordance with our self-image.

Each one of us speaks, moves, thinks, and feels in a different way, each according to the image of himself that he has built up over the years. In order to change our mode of action we must change the image of ourselves that we carry within us.

Feldenkrais is talking here from the context of the educational system he created called the Feldenkrais Method. I know next to nothing about it… but what I’ve gathered so far is that how we move can influence how we are and who we are. There is a level of awareness about our lives that becomes available to us as we become aware of how we move physically. The method is used by athletes, dancers, artists and those simply interested in personal development.

Back to the two sentences above and let me add one more:

It should further be realized that as changes take place in the self, new and hitherto unrecognized difficulties will be discovered. The consciousness previously rejected them either from fear or because of pain, and it is only as self-confidence increases that it becomes possible to identify them.

I told Ahmis in an email today… after read this, I was impressed with three things:

1. We are whole and every way that we eat, think and move influences our minds and spirits… and vice versa.
2. We can be transformed in being aware. Feldenkrais is teaching about doing this through physical movement. I am struck that movement needs to be present in all aspects of ourselves… physical, mental and spiritual.
3. Journey! It’s all a journey and it’s good. There is no sudden arrival, quick fix, magic bullet or what have you. It’s a journey. I resist that idea, because I want instant results and transformation. At the same time, coming to grips with that truth, I can see an incredible amount of freedom and peace.

This has me thinking about where I am today. When I look at my health, my flexibility, fitness and agility (or lack thereof)… I see so much how my self-image has informed and created where I am today. When I look at my creativity and spirituality, I see clearly how I have acted out my self-image. It’s a make-me-sit-down-in-my-seat kind of realization.

I’ve allowed my self-image to sit in the corner, unattended to and neglected. Even worse, I’ve abused, shamed and humiliated it. I’ve been unaware and without movement. My health and my weight, my lost teeth and my lack of physical fitness, my tentative and squandered creativity, my lack of spiritual connection… it’s all clearer to me why these things are what I’ve become over the last 10+ years. I’ve chosen to not have a life of movement (in the literal and figurative senses). It has allowed me to avoid certain fears and pain, but at a deep cost.

It’s interesting. I started working out again 3 days ago after being away from it for a very long time. My muscles are oh-so-sore and my body aches. What kick started me back into exercising was a small but startling experience. I was cleaning our kitchen and wanted to hop up onto the counter to clean the window box behind the kitchen sink. I mentally began the hop and then physically felt my body say, “No. It’s not going to happen.” I might of been able to do it if I tried again. I don’t know. I was just so shocked that I couldn’t do it on impulse. My body couldn’t physically support what I wanted it to do. I haven’t been moving and so I couldn’t move. I haven’t been practicing movement that allows for strength, flexibility and grace.

Your difficulty and my difficulty and the difficulty of every individual who ever desired to achieve something worthwhile, comes in the movement.

- Peter Nivio Zarlenga

I don’t think I would have seen it for what it was, had I not read what I did. What happened right there was the physical truth revealing the spiritual one. The literal became the knife that sliced clean through the stiff hoary hide of my self-image’s creation and what it has wrought. I wouldn’t have seen it had I not been made aware. My movement, even my inability to move, made me aware. And now it has, as Feldenkrais said it would, brought up a whole new set of difficulties. But these difficulties, these are the ones that make a difference (inside and out) as to what my life will be. A part of me is both hesitant and daunted. Yet, a larger and greater part of me feels excited… that excited you feel when you’ve bought your ticket, you’re buckled in, and you are at the tippy-top and you know the real ride is about to begin.

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

Today was, for us Pacific Northwestern folks, uncomfortably hot.   By mid-afternoon, I was wilting.  Because of my recent oral surgery, I still can’t chew vegetables.  To get my desired quota, I’ve been making an extra green smoothie each day.  Today’s smoothie creation was MOST welcome! I’ve dubbed this smoothie “Super Fresh Raspberry Refresher!”   Made with all locally grown (and most of it picked just this morning!) produce…

Ingredients:

• heaping cup of fresh raspberries,
• a medium cucumber
• 6 large leaves of red buttercrunch lettuce
• cinnamon and a little stevia to taste
• 2 cups of water

Pile in blender and presto!  Green smoothies are not only easy and delicious – and so very, very good for you!!  This one for example…  has

• 11 grams of fiber
• 4 grams of protein
• 42% RDA of Vitamin A
• 104% RDA of Vitamin C
• 10% RDA of Calcium
• 14% RDA of Iron
• as well as a great source of magnesium, potassium and additional trace vitamins and minerals!

You can’t go wrong.

Try it!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

For more about green smoothies and more tasty smoothie recipes, click here!

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!

So, the l-lysine eliminated or at a minimum kept my abscesses from increasing or getting worse. I had no further pain after taking the lysine from the infection, all the way up to my surgery last Wednesday. I can’t tell you what a life-saver it was. My testimonial: when amoxicillan and clindamycin didn’t help reduce the abscess infections and with it the extreme pain I was experiencing… taking 10,000 mg of l-lysine daily did.

My regimen:  Zinc intake above 150 mg a day begins to be associated with zinc toxicity. Because of this, I took 5,000 mg of Solaray L-Lysine with Vitamin C, B-6 and Zinc. The remaining 5,000 mg a day came from pure Now Foods L-Lysine.

Here’s the skinny on l-lysine. It’s an essential amino acid that our bodies have to have but cannot make. It strengthens our immune systems , increases the body’s ability to manufacture antibodies and has anti-viral properties. (This is my guess as to why and how I personally found relief.)

L-lysine doesn’t stop there. It’s popular for treating and preventing cold sores, is critical for collagen formation (think less wrinkles!), provides energy and more. If you have a deficiency in lysine, these are some of the symptoms you are likely to have:

• bloodshot eyes
• fatigue
• moodiness
• anemia
• problems concentrating
• reproductive issues
• weakened skeletal, circulatory and immune systems
• kidney stones
• inability to breakdown and utilize dietary fat properly
• accelerated aging
• elongated healing processes

Typically, raw, vegan, vegetarians and extreme athletes are most at risk for lysine deficiency. But without a balanced and attentive diet, anyone can become low or deficient. For optimal lysine levels, add lysine in your diet by eating (in no particular order):

• meat
• wheat germ (but not wheat)
• cheese (Parmesan is best)
• eggs
• fish, particularly cod and sardines
• limas
• nuts
• spirulina
• fermented foods like miso and yogurt

If you aren’t getting enough of these in your diet – daily dosage recommendations are 12-30 mg per each 2 lbs of body weight. To treat symptoms: 3,000-9,0000 mg per day divided into doses.

Note: if you have cardiovascular diseases, elevated cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels – work with your naturopath. There is controversy for and against Linus Pauling’s therapy for cardiovascular disease consisting of megadoses of Vit C and Lysine. (Sources to begin your research: http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/vitcheart.htm, http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/)

Embrace Love and Life. Embrace Your Health!