Category: Energy & Adrenal Fatigue

How to Minimise Jet Lag

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How Our Sleep Rhythms Are Controlled

Jet lag happens when travel across time zones disrupts our internal body clock, or circadian rhythm and is considered a  sleep disorder.

A key factor in how our sleep is regulated is exposure to light or to darkness. Exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the retina in the eye to an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. There, a special centre called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) initiates signals to other parts of the brain that that are involved in making us feel sleepy or wide awake.

Once exposed to the first light each day, the clock in the SCN begins performing functions to prepare us for the day ahead, including raising body temperature and releasing stimulating hormones like cortisol. The SCN also delays the release of other hormones like melatonin, which helps us feel sleepy, until many hours later when darkness arrives.

Melatonin is a natural hormone made by your body’s pineal gland. This is a pea-sized gland located just above the middle of the brain. During the day the pineal is inactive. When the sun goes down and darkness occurs, the pineal is “turned on” by the SCN and begins to actively produce melatonin, which is released into the blood. Usually, this occurs around 9 pm. As a result, melatonin levels in the blood rise sharply and you begin to feel less alert. Sleep becomes more inviting. Melatonin levels in the blood stay elevated for about 12 hours – all through the night – before the light of a new day when they fall back to low daytime levels by about 9 am. Daytime levels of melatonin are barely detectable.

How Air Travel Affects Your Body and Mind

Jet lag can result in mental, emotional and physical symptoms such as:

Pressure in the ears due to changes in air pressure. Chewing gum during ascent, and swallowing or yawning during descent can help equalise the pressure
Headache due to low oxygen. Prevent by drinking plenty of water and avoiding caffeine and alcohol during the flight
Foot, ankle and leg swelling, raising your risk for a blood clot, due to impaired blood flow. Prevent by standing up now and then, and flexing, rotating and extending your ankles while sitting. Compression stockings may also be helpful
Dehydration due to dry air. Prevent by drinking plenty of water before and during the flight
Toothache due to shifts in air pressure. There’s no way to prevent the pain associated with the expansion of gas trapped in fillings or cavities, so see a dentist before traveling if you suspect you have a problem
Fatigue, sleepiness, increased reaction times and reduced ability to make decisions due to low oxygen
Gassiness due to shifts in cabin pressure
Altered/dulled sense of taste and smell. Taste sensitivity can be restored by staying well hydrated
Dry skin due to dry air — a problem easily addressed with moisturizing lotion. Also, be sure to drink plenty of water
Bad breath due to dry mouth. Remedy by brushing your teeth on the plane and staying well hydrated

How to Reduce Symptoms of Jet Lag

When you’re traveling shorter distances

If your destination is just one or two time zones away, it may be possible to wake up, eat, and sleep on your regular home schedule. At your destination, schedule appointments and activities for times when you would be alert at home.

When you’re traveling longer distances

As a general rule, your body will adjust to the time zone change at a rate of one time zone per day. What this means is, if you need to be at your physical or psychological best, you’d want to fly out one or more days ahead of time. If you cannot squeeze in the extra time, you could act “as if,” and pretend you’re in your destination time zone while still at home.

To do this, gradually switch your routine before the trip. For several days before you leave, move mealtimes and bedtime incrementally closer to the schedule of your destination. Even a partial switch may help. As an example, if you were planning to travel from New York to Paris, start going to bed (and shift your mealtimes up) an hour earlier each day, three days ahead of your flight, and avoid bright light for two to three hours before going to bed.

During the flight

  1. Drink plenty of fluids, but not caffeine or alcohol. Caffeine and alcohol promote dehydration, which worsens the symptoms of jet lag. They can also disturb sleep.
  2. If traveling at night, wear blue-blocking glasses on the plane, and continue wearing them until you go to sleep, as excess blue light will impair your melatonin production and make it difficult to fall asleep
  3. Jet lag checker : https://www.britishairways.com/travel/drsleep/public/en_gb    Dr Idzikowski , director of The Edinburgh Sleep Centre, has drawn up a jet lag checker for passengers, which tailors the amount of time and when passengers are to wear sunglasses. Dr Idzikowskisaid that without using sunglasses it took a day to recover for every hour of time difference travelled westwards.

Once you’re at your destination

  • Switch your bedtime as rapidly as possible upon arrival. Don’t turn in until it’s bedtime in the new time zone.
  • If you have travelled east, try going to sleep earlier and getting up and out into the early morning sun. Or if not possible switch on the lights, to shut down melatonin production (the hormone which makes you feel sleepy)
  • If you travelled west, try to get at least an hour’s worth of sunlight as soon as possible after reaching your destination
  • The sunlight will cue your hypothalamus to reduce the production of sleep-inducing melatonin during the day, thereby initiating the process of resetting your internal clock
  • The sooner you adapt to the local schedule, the quicker your body will adjust. Therefore, if you arrive at noon local time (but 6 a.m. your time), eat lunch, not breakfast.

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine Consumption Before Bed

Both alcohol and caffeine can adversely affect quality of sleep when they’re consumed a few hours before bedtime. Alcohol should be avoided altogether if you still have jet lag and caffeine should only be consumed in order to enhance daytime alertness.

Studies show that when caffeine is consumed too close to bedtime, it may result in difficulty falling or maintaining sleep. This can lead to exposure to light during the night, which further shifts the internal clock out of phase with the new light-dark cycle.

The Anti-Jet Lag Fast

Devised by a team of researchers at Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, the anti-jet lag fast involves determining the time of breakfast at your destination and then fasting (abstaining from all food and drink except noncaloric beverages like water) for 12 to 16 hours beforehand. One of the researchers states “Since most of us go 12 to 16 hours between dinner and breakfast anyway, the abstention is a small hardship.”

This strategy is thought to work because fasting causes your master clock to suspend the circadian clock and instructs your body to sleep less. When food intake resumes, the master clock switches the circadian clock back “on.”

“The master clock probably evolved because when our prehistoric forebears were starving, they would have been tempted in their weakness to sleep rather than forage for the food they needed to survive. 

Today, when a traveller suspends his circadian clock before flying from Los Angeles to London, and then reactivates it upon breaking the fast, the clock doesn’t know that it should still be on Pacific Time. It knows only that the breakfast and the daylight declare morning in Mayfair, and it resets the body’s rhythms accordingly.”

Minimize Jet Lag With Traditional Chinese Medicine

You can also trick your body into connecting with a new time zone using Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques involving the stimulation of certain acupuncture meridians.

Borrowing the knowledge of the general circulation of chi, and being aware that each meridian undergoes a two-hour time peak that moves and peaks from meridian to meridian as it travels through its general circulation, it was reasoned that if one were to reset the body clock utilizing the horary cycle, the body in theory could be made to function at the horary cycle of wherever the person is physically located on the planet, disregarding the effects of so-called ‘time travel.’

Cardiologist Dr. Lee Cowden devised  a shorter version of this technique, focusing on just one meridian — the heart meridian. He explains this technique in the very short video below, originally taped in 2009. Here’s a summary of the steps:

  1. The day of your trip, set your clock to match the local time at your destination (depending on the time of your flight, you may have to do this a day ahead)
  2. At 11 a.m. (the local time at your destination), stroke your heart meridian three times on the left and three times on the right. Your heart meridian begins just to the outer side of your nipple, up through your armpit and down the ulnar aspect (inner side) of your arm, down the outside of your pinky. Once you reach the end of your pinky, gently press into the base of the fingernail (heart point in Traditional Chinese Medicine). For a demonstration, please see the video below.
  3. At noon, repeat the heart meridian strokes

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=K3qlO3wM8ho

References:

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/10/19/ways-to-minimize-jet-lag.aspx

https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep

https://www.medicinenet.com/jet_lag/article.htm#are_there_any_remedies_for_jet_lag_is_it_possible_to_prevent_jet_lag

Food to boost your mood

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by London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Can you alter your mood through your food?

Many people are seeking to take control of their mental health using self-help, and to find approaches to help reduce the need for, or to use alongside prescribed medication. One self-help strategy is to make changes to what we eat, and there is a growing interest in how food and nutrition can affect emotional and mental health. We don’t have the whole story yet, but there are some interesting clues. Food appears to affect our mood by bringing about chemical and physiological changes in our brain structure.

A survey in the UK (1) of 200 people found that 88% of participants reported that dietary changes improved their mental health significantly: 26% said they had seen large improvements in mood swings, 26% in panic attacks, 24% in cravings, 24% in depression, 22% in irritable/aggressive feelings, 19% in concentration/memory difficulties. People also said that cutting down on food “stressors” and increasing the amount of “supporters” they eat had a beneficial effect on their mood. Stressors highlighted included sugar (80%), caffeine (79%), alcohol (55%), chocolate (53%), wheat-containing foods (48%), additives (47%) and dairy (44%). Mood supporters included water (80%), vegetables (78%), fruit (72%), oily fish (52%), nuts and seeds (51%), ‘brown’ (wholegrain) food (50%), fibre (48%) and protein (41%).

In addition, Mind, a charity which helps people take control of their mental health, has received numerous reports of improvements in a wide range of mental health problems by people making dietary changes, including: mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, cravings or food ‘addictions’, depression (including postnatal depression), irritable or aggressive feelings, concentration, memory difficulties, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), obsessive-compulsive feelings, eating disorders, psychotic episodes, insomnia, fatigue, behavioural and learning disorders, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) (2).

Which foods can negatively affect mood?

The foods and drinks that most often cause problems are those containing alcohol, sugar, caffeine, chocolate, wheat (such as bread, biscuits, and cakes), dairy products (such as cheese), certain artificial additives (or E numbers) and hydrogenated fats. Other commonly eaten foods, such as yeast, corn, eggs, oranges, soya and tomatoes may also cause symptoms for some people. A qualified nutritionist can help identify suspect culprits.

How can your food boost your mood?

1. Don’t avoid carbohydrates, but choose the right ones-The connection between carbohydrates and mood is all about tryptophan, a non-essential amino acid. As more tryptophan enters the brain, more serotonin is synthesised in the brain, and mood tends to improve (3). Serotonin, known as a mood regulator, is made naturally in the brain from tryptophan with some help from B vitamins. Foods thought to increase serotonin levels in the brain include fish and vitamin D.

There’s a catch though: while tryptophan is found in almost all protein-rich foods, other amino acids are better at passing from the bloodstream into the brain. Thus, by eating more carbohydrates you can help boost your tryptophan levels; carbohydrates seem to help eliminate the competition for tryptophan, so more of it can enter the brain and help boost your mood. However, it’s important to make good carbohydrate choices like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, which also support positive mood in other ways by helping to stabilise blood sugar levels and contributing important nutrients and fibre (4).

2. Eat More Omega-3 Fatty Acids-your brain is 60 % fat if you take out all the water. This fatty tissue needs replenishing, but you need to know which fats will nourish your brain the best. Essential fatty acids known as Omega-3 and Omega-6 are intimately involved in brain function and deficiencies or imbalances in brain fats are now known to be associated with numerous mental health problems.

In particular, researchers have noted that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in oily fish, flaxseed, and walnuts) may help protect against depression. This makes sense physiologically, since omega-3s appear to affect neurotransmitter pathways in the brain. Past studies have suggested there may be abnormal metabolism of omega-3 in depression, although some more recent studies have suggested this association may not be as strong as previously thought. Aim for two to three servings of fish per week, of which at least 1 should be oily (5).

Some common symptoms of omega-3 deficiency or omega-3: omega-6 imbalance include:

  • Excessive thirst
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Dry or rough skin
  • Dry hair, loss of hair or dandruff
  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or breast pain
  • Eczema, asthma or joint aches
  • Dyslexia or learning difficulties
  • Hyperactivity
  • Depression or manic depression
  • Schizophrenia

The best foods to feed your brain are:

  • Omega-3: flax seeds (linseeds), hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies, eggs.
  • Omega-6: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds.

3. Eat a Balanced Breakfast- eating breakfast regularly can lead to improved mood, along with better memory, more energy throughout the day, and feelings of calmness (6). It seems sensible then to reason that skipping breakfast would do the opposite, leading to irritability, anxiety and fatigue.  So what should you be eating for a good breakfast? Lots of fibre from whole grains, nuts or seeds, as well as legumes (such as baked beans), some lean protein, omega-3 and/or omega-6 fats

4. Follow a Mediterranean Diet– the Mediterranean diet is a balanced, healthy eating pattern that includes plenty of fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals, legumes, and fish — all of which are important sources of nutrients linked to preventing depression.

In particular, the low levels of the B vitamins folate and B12 status have been found in studies of depressive patients, and an association between depression and low levels of the two vitamins is found in studies of the general population (7). These B vitamins help to control “methylation”, a chemical process which goes on throughout the brain and body and helps to turn one neurotransmitter into another.  The brain uses these neurotransmitters to communicate, sending messages from one brain cell to another. Folate is found in Mediterranean diet staples like legumes, nuts, many fruits, and particularly dark green vegetables. B-12 can be found in all lean and low-fat animal products, such as fish and low-fat dairy products.

5. Balance your blood sugar levels- The most common underlying imbalance in many types of mood disorders is fluctuating blood sugar levels. The negative effects of imbalanced blood sugar levels include irritability, poor concentration, fatigue, depression and food cravings- especially for sweet foods or stimulants such as tea, coffee and cigarettes, all of which in turn send your blood sugar levels on a roller coaster. Here are the most common symptoms of blood sugar imbalances:

  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Heart palpitations
  • Fainting, dizziness or trembling
  • Excessive sweating or night sweats
  • Excessive thirst
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Frequent mood swings
  • Forgetfulness or confusion
  • Tendency to depression
  • Anxiety and irritability
  • Feeling weak
  • Aggressive outbursts or crying spells
  • Cravings for sweets or stimulants
  • Drowsiness after meals

A few simple steps you can take to help balance your blood sugar: Continue reading “Food to boost your mood” →

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Fatigue & Performance

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A Corporate Nutrition article by London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Prevalence of fatigue among the workforce

Fatigue is an everyday experience common among the general working population, with UK prevalence estimates as high as 22% 1 and US prevalence rates ranging as high as 45% 2. Broadly defined as “a feeling of weariness, tiredness or lack of energy,” 3.  Fatigue is best viewed on a continuum with behavioural, emotional and cognitive components 4.

Causes of hazardous fatigue

Fatigue is caused by prolonged periods of physical and/or mental exertion without enough time to rest and recover. By the end of the day, some fatigue is normal but hazardous levels of fatigue can be due to one or more of the following:

  • Feeling stressed for extended periods
  • Excessive workloads
  • Long shifts
  • Working long hours in total over the week or longer periods
  • Working nights
  • Inadequate sleep, particularly over extended periods
    • Iron deficiency anaemia
    • Chronic pain
    • Infections, such as flu
    • Depression
    • Anxiety
    • Cancer
    • Thyroid dysfunction
    • Diabetes
    • Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
    • Lifestyle factors: obesity, insufficient physical activity 5, environmental stressors (eg, personal relationships)
      • Psychosocial work characteristics: job demand, decision latitude, social support, and job strain6

The effects of fatigue on work performance

Employees with fatigue experience more concomitant physical health problems, bodily pain, poorer general health, vitality, and social functioning than workers without fatigue 7. Fatigue has been associated with accidents, injuries 8, and ill-health 9, 10, all of which indirectly impair work performance. Fatigue can also restrict an individual’s ability to compensate physically or mentally for functional impairment from other concurrent health conditions 11. Continue reading “Fatigue & Performance” →

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Energise Your Diet

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by London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

One of the most common causes of visiting a healthcare practitioner is the complaint of fatigue. There are different kinds of fatigue. It may be constant, beginning in the morning after a full night’s sleep or it may build up throughout the day. Your nutritional status can and does play a major role in the prevention and treatment of fatigue.  Here are some factors to consider when trying maximising your energy levels throughout the day.

Nutritional causes of low energy

  • Eating refined carbohydrates and sugars: these are found in white bread, rice and pasta, cakes, honey, jam, soda drinks, sweets. These foods are digested quickly and therefore rapidly release sugar (glucose), the main source of fuel for our cells, into the bloodstream. This provokes the release of excess insulin, a hormone which controls blood sugar levels by stimulating cells to take up glucose, as excess glucose is toxic to tissues. Excessive amounts of insulin remove excessive amounts of sugar from the blood, which results in low blood sugar; this can reduce the glucose supply to cells which depend on glucose for energy and therefore reduce our energy levels.
  • Food sensitivities: allergenic foods can act as a stressor on the body and lead to low blood sugar so that cells lack enough sugar (glucose) for optimal functioning, making you feel tired.
  • Nutrient deficiencies such as B and C vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper which are needed for energy production can lead to low energy
  • Stimulants such as coffee, chocolate and nicotine increase levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline (1) which sharply spike up blood sugar levels. This causes the release of large amounts of insulin to remove the excess sugar which is not used by the body and subsequently leads to an energy slump.
  • Dehydration– every cell in your body needs water for a myriad of chemical reactions, including the burning of glucose and the breakdown of fat for energy production.

Other causes of low energy

  • Stress leads to a sugar imbalance because it triggers the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol which increase blood sugar levels. This stimulates the release large amounts of the hormone insulin, which removes the excess glucose from the blood, leading to low blood sugar and insufficient energy supply to our cells
  • Anaemia–this refers to a condition in which the blood is deficient in red blood cells or the haemoglobin (iron-containing) portion of red blood cells. The function of red blood cells is to transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body and help turn fats, carbohydrates and proteins into energy. Thus a lack of red blood cells reduces the amount of oxygen being delivered to tissues and thus energy levels. Iron, vitamins B12 and folic acid are needed to make properly functioning red blood cells, and anaemia may be caused by a shortage of these nutrients.  These nutrient deficiencies may be due to a poor diet, heavy menstrual bleeding, pregnancy or poor nutrient absorption as found in coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease.
  • Poor adrenal functioning-the adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys and The adrenal glands are situated on top of the kidneys and one of their main jobs is to release hormones which help the body maintain a state of alertness as well as help raise  blood sugar levels when they are low. If the adrenal glands are overworked due to constant uninterrupted stress and poor nutrition, their ability to produce hormones which help maintain steady blood sugar levels can become compromised.
  • Poor thyroid functioning– The thyroid controls energy production, so an underactive thyroid can result in reduced energy production, making us feel tired..

Optimising your energy levels through nutrition and lifestyle Continue reading “Energise Your Diet” →

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The Thyroid, Adrenals And Weight Gain

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by London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

There is a connection between our adrenal glands, thyroid glands and weight gain. When these two glands are not kept in a healthy state, the result can often be weight gain. The good news is that on the other hand, if these two glands are supported through proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, it can lead to a natural weight loss.

What our adrenal glands do

The adrenal and thyroid glands are very closely connected in how they enable the body to function properly. The adrenals are small triangular shaped glands that sit on top of both kidneys. They are responsible for releasing the hormones adrenaline and cortisol which among other functions, help control body fluid balance, blood pressure, blood sugar and are designed to help the body deal with physical and psychological stress. In addition, the adrenal glands produce small amounts of oestrogen when women enter into menopause and the ovaries reduce their oestrogen output. This is why it’s so important to maintain adrenal function in the menopause years.

Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a “syndrome” that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary level.  This happens most often when you are exposed to constant , uninterrupted stress so that your body (and adrenal glands) cannot fully recover, or during or after acute or chronic infections. Consequently, the adrenal glands become fatigued and are unable to continue responding adequately to further stress.

You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not even have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of feeling unwell, tiredness or “grey” feelings. People suffering from Adrenal Fatigue often have to use coffee, tea and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

Some Manifestations Of Adrenal Fatigue: Continue reading “The Thyroid, Adrenals And Weight Gain” →

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Food Allergies & Sensitivities

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By London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Different Types Of Food Reactions

Type 1 Immune Reactions

The best known and well-studied form of food allergies is called a Type 1 immune reaction, also known as a classical food allergy. Type 1 food allergies occur in approximately only 2-5% of the population, mostly in children and are less frequent in adults.  The reaction is immediate, usually appearing 15 – 30 minutes from the time of exposure to the offending food substance. Usually occurring in people who are genetically predisposed, the immune system begins creating a specific type of antibody called Immunoglobulin E (IgE) to certain foods. One side of the IgE antibody will recognise and bind to the allergic food.  The other side of the antibody is attached to a specialised immune cell called a mast cell which is packed with histamine. Histamine is one of the chemicals that is released in the body as part of an allergic reaction, and which causes the itching, sneezing, wheezing, and swelling typical of allergic symptoms.  Primed for action, the IgE antibody now patiently waits for re-exposure to food allergens.

So, when you eat the allergic food the next time, IgE antibodies hungrily latch onto the food.  Instantaneously, histamine and other allergy-related chemicals are released from the mast cell, quickly bringing on the unwelcome symptoms of stomach cramping, diarrhoea, skin rashes, hives, swelling, wheezing or the most dreaded of all Type 1 reactions, anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction which causes your blood pressure to drop suddenly and your airways to narrow, blocking normal breathing. It requires immediate emergency medical attention.

Clinical approach: In Type 1 food reactions, offending foods are completely avoided and nutritional immune and digestive support provided.

Type 3 immune reactions

Type 3 immune reactions are much more commonly involved in food sensitivities than Type 1 reactions.  In fact, 45-60% of the population has been reported as having delayed food allergies.  A delayed food sensitivity also involves the immune system and occurs when your immune system creates an overabundance of antibody Immunoglobulin G (IgG) to a specific food.  The IgG antibodies, instead of attaching to Mast cells, like IgE antibodies in Type 1 allergies, bind directly to the food as it enters the bloodstream, forming food allergens bound to antibodies circulating in the bloodstream.  The allergic symptoms in Type 3 immune reactions are delayed in onset – appearing anywhere from a couple of hours to several days after consuming allergic foods.  This delayed onset makes pinpointing the culprit food difficult. In this instance, laboratory testing may be useful.

Delayed food reactions may occur in any organ or tissue in the body and have been linked to over 100 allergic symptoms and well over 150 different medical diseases.

Clinical approach: In Type 3 immune reactions, it is important to identify food triggers, either through food exclusion tests or laboratory testing (more on this below).Depending on the symptoms,  these foods are then excluded for a period of time, and then reintroduced on a rotational diet to avoid retriggering symptoms. In addition, nutritional immune and digestive support is provided.

Why Has the Incidence of Food Sensitivities Risen? Continue reading “Food Allergies & Sensitivities” →

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Is Your Thyroid Sabotaging Weight Loss?

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Part 1

By London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Have you tried every diet known to man, really watch what and how much you eat, exercise regularly and find that you STILL CAN’T LOSE THE WEIGHT???!! Well, here’s some good news. Research is pointing to the fact that an underactive thyroid might be the number one cause of weight problems, especially among women.

So what is the thyroid and how might it be affecting your weight? Well, the thyroid gland is a small butterfly shaped gland with two lobes found just in front of your neck below the Adams Apple. One of its main functions is to control metabolism- that is, the rate at which we burn calories to maintain vital functions. Our bodies need fuel just as a car needs fuel to power itself, so whether we are sleeping, shopping or exercising, we are constantly burning calories.

Now, your thyroid gland produces two main hormones. One is called thyroxine (T4) and the other is called triiodothyronine (T3). The thyroid produces approximately 80% T4 and 20% T3. T4 is generally considered to be inactive and only becomes active when converted to T3, although some researchers believe that T4 does, in fact, have a function. T3 is an active hormone needed by all of the cells and tissues of the body and is the one which does all the work of regulating the body’s metabolism.

Thyroid problems often run in families and can happen at any age. Things can go wrong with the thyroid in two ways:

Hyperthyroidism, also called an overactive thyroid where the thyroid produces more thyroid hormone than it should which causes the metabolism to run too fast.

Hypothyroidism, also called an underactive thyroid where the thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone which causes our metabolism to work too slowly.

What are the symptoms Of An Underactive Thyroid (Hypothyroidism) Continue reading “Is Your Thyroid Sabotaging Weight Loss?” →

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Re-Energise Your Fatigued Body and Mind

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By London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

What happens to our bodies during stress?

As a London nutritionist, I see many clients with stress-related health issues. We’re all familiar with stress but what we aren’t so familiar with is the body’s response to stress and the ways in which the stress we face today ends up depleting our energy and health.

When faced with a stressful situation, whether psychological or physical, our bodies rely on the 2 adrenal glands which sit on top of  the kidneys  to initiate our “fight or flight” response, which is an evolutionary mechanism  designed to help us escape or fight off danger (stress). For the most part, our stress response evolved from short-term events. For our ancestors, this meant being able to run away quickly, fight or pursue an enemy or game, endure long periods of physical challenge and deprivation, and store up physical reserves when food was available. In modern life this means being able to cope with stressful circumstances such as difficult bosses, family quarrels, financial problems, too little sleep or illness.

Healthy adrenal glands which are supported by sound nutrition and a healthy lifestyle respond by releasing the hormone adrenaline, making us more alert and focused, and the hormone cortisol, which converts protein to energy and releases stored sugar in the form of glycogen, to fuel our bodies for a quick response. The adrenal response rapidly increases our heart rate and blood pressure while releasing energy, tensing our muscles, sharpening our senses, and slowing our digestion so we are primed to escape or fight back, whichever is needed. When the threat is gone, the body returns to normal — quickly with respect to adrenaline levels, less quickly with respect to cortisol.

The effects of long term stress on health and energy levels Continue reading “Re-Energise Your Fatigued Body and Mind” →

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Sylvia Salvendy