Let’s look beyond fad diets at a functional approach to weight loss. We’ll explore some lesser-known factors affecting weight and metabolism that you need to know if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

The Top 4 Factors That Contribute to Stubborn Weight Gain

#1: Insulin Resistance

Insulin’s job is to help us transform food sugars into energy. But when we consume too many sugary foods and drinks, our body starts to lose its ability to respond to the insulin in our system. The pancreas tries to bring down blood sugar levels by pumping out more insulin, and as insulin resistance goes up a vicious cycle is created which over time can raise blood sugar and blood insulin to dangerous levels.

That extra sugar in the bloodstream that cannot be converted into energy is stored as abdominal fat and creates an addiction to sugar. This is called insulin resistance and it is widespread, affecting 1 in 3 Americans and in many cases leading to Type 2 Diabetes.

#2: Hormones

Do You Feel Full after eating?

The hormones leptin and ghrelin control how full we feel after a meal, and the strength of our food cravings. When you are overweight, your fat cells produce excess leptin signaling your body to eat more as you aren’t feeling full. It’s a vicious cycle!

How is Your Thyroid?

Your thyroid regulates your metabolism, managing the speed at which you burn calories. When the thyroid is underperforming, it can cause fluid retention, weight gain, and constipation, among other issues, making it nearly impossible to manage your weight. The stats are shocking as 5 out of every 100 people have a low functioning thyroid in the US.

Estrogen Dominance

When your estrogen and progesterone hormones are out of balance, that is called Estrogen Dominance, even if levels of both hormones are actually low. Having too much estrogen in the body relative to progesterone causes a myriad of symptoms, including weight loss resistance, bloating, mood swings, PMS and heavy periods.

Adrenal Stress

Our adrenal glands rule how we respond to stress by regulating the body’s stress hormones. Chronic stress leads to wildly fluctuating cortisol levels, which means more weight gain and water retention.

#3: Genetics

Genetic testing can tell us a great deal about how and why we gain weight, and can be the game-changer for people who have tried everything. I am trained in this area known as ‘nutrigenomics’, which gives personalized answers to these genetic variations, so that we can specifically address such issues at a root cause level.

The FTO Gene Variant

One gene that is particularly well documented, the FTO gene, is also known as the human fat-mass and obesity associated gene. It controls leptin, ghrelin (the satiation hormones mentioned above) and adiponectin (which regulates glucose levels). Several other genes affect how we metabolize fats, carbs and proteins.

I can personally speak to this gene and attest that, our genes are ‘not our destiny’. When we are aware of them and how we can influence them, we can affect some of our gene expressions. I myself have this particular variant, yet I know how to make the adjustments that have kept me at my ideal weight (same as from my teens and 20’s) since I have become a functional medicine physician and now understand this growing field of nutrition genomics.

Genes that impact stress play a big role in weight management too, especially if you’re a stress eater. These genes impact reward pathways, which can affect how you use food to reward yourself. They also affect your sleep, mood, and your brain’s ability to focus.

#4: Toxins

Toxins that are present in our environment can be so dangerous that our body needs to protect us by “walling them off” in a casing of fat. The more toxins we have, the more fat cells we need to imprison them. Get rid of the toxins, and the excess weight may well follow. One word of caution – this needs to be done by a healthcare provider that understand the detoxification pathways so that when the fat releases the toxin – your body is not overwhelmed and they are disposed of safely.

Lifelong Sources of Toxicity

Current exposure to toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides aren’t the only concern. Research shows that even early-life exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can increase fat levels, and with microplastics having recently been found in the placentas of some women, the concern is legitimate.

Many toxins are major contributors to thyroid dysfunction, potentially leading to hormonal weight gain. Toxins can also include heavy metals and even agents such as mold and other biological invaders.

7 Easy Ways to Maintain a Healthy Weight

#1: Cut Down on Natural and Artificial Sugars

Are you replacing real sugar with artificial sweeteners? Sugar causes weight gain, and this is the case for both natural and artificial sugar since anything our body doesn’t recognize as a natural substance is treated as a toxin – including aspartame. Aspartame can also be a neurological toxin. Monk fruit and Stevia are two much healthier sugar free sweeteners. Properly constructed low carbohydrate keto or paleo diets (including green veggies) can support your metabolism to become more efficient and fat-burning. Once your body’s system is reset, you can add more carbs and food varieties to your menu.

#2: Eat more Fiber

One of the biggest benefits of eating more fiber when you are trying to lose weight is its ability to satiate. Soluble fiber such as that found in properly cooked beans, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and sweet potatoes helps you to feel full longer and slow down the release of sugars into the bloodstream. Soluble fiber cannot be broken down by your own enzymes, so it reaches the gut undigested where it feeds the good bacteria and helps them to flourish. One important aspect of soluble fiber is that it needs water to reach its potential, so staying hydrated is a must.

#3: Green Coffee Extract

Don’t like the taste of coffee but want to take advantage of its weight loss benefits? Green coffee extract (GCE) helps maintain a healthy weight and reduce BMI and waist size – in fact it has been proposed as a low-cost and safe obesity treatment. One word of caution – if you are sensitive to caffeine which can even stimulate the stress response in some people, this is not the best option.

#4: Eat Real Food

Much of what we eat isn’t actually “real” food. Make sure you fuel your body properly by avoiding pre-packaged and processed foods that are chock-full of preservatives, dyes and other chemicals. Focus on fruits, veggies, organic meats and healthy fats. Remember the more toxic your food, the more those toxins will get encased in fat cells. If it looks like meat and it is not – then it’s processed!

#5: Aim for 10,000 Steps Per Day

Getting those steps in can be hard when you’re spending more time at home. But where there is a will, there is a way! A combination of dietary changes and walking 10,000 steps per day was shown to help significantly reduce total weight, BMI and hip size. Bonus: lower anxiety levels are a natural outcome of making these changes as well.

#6: Meditation

Did you know that calming your mind can be a powerful weight loss tool? Adding meditation to standard weight loss treatments can result in additional weight loss in as little as two months. Managing your stress will help your adrenals and can positively affect your weight loss goals.

#7: Intermittent Fasting (IF)

One of the most effective ways to get rid of toxins and their corresponding fat prisons is intermittent fasting. How does it work? Designate several hours per day as your ‘eating hours’ and stick to it. This gives your glucose and insulin levels a chance to even out, gives your body a break from the hard job of digestion, and puts the focus on getting toxins out of your body. However, IF is not for everyone, so be sure to check in with your healthcare practitioner before you begin.

Are you ready to step out of the diet roller coaster? Give us a call! We can assess your insulin, stress response, thyroid, genes, and toxin load. Together we can design a custom-made treatment plan with targeted supplementation, metabolism, and even nutrition gene testing – supporting nutrients and nourishing foods. We can’t wait to join you on your health care journey!

References

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Castres I, Tourny C, Lemaitre F, Coquart J. Impact of a walking program of 10,000 steps per day and dietary counseling on health-related quality of life, energy expenditure and anthropometric parameters in obese subjects. J Endocrinol Invest. 2017 Feb;40(2):135-141. doi: 10.1007/s40618-016-0530-9. Epub 2016 Sep 6. PMID: 27600387.

Choi YJ, Jeon SM, Shin S. Impact of a Ketogenic Diet on Metabolic Parameters in Patients with Obesity or Overweight and with or without Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2020 Jul 6;12(7):2005. doi: 10.3390/nu12072005. PMID: 32640608; PMCID: PMC7400909.

Collado-Mateo D, Lavín-Pérez AM, Merellano-Navarro E, Coso JD. Effect of Acute Caffeine Intake on the Fat Oxidation Rate during Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 24;12(12):E3603. doi: 10.3390/nu12123603. PMID: 33255240.

Mohammadi-Sartang M, Mazloom Z, Raeisi-Dehkordi H, Barati-Boldaji R, Bellissimo N, Totosy de Zepetnek JO. The effect of flaxseed supplementation on body weight and body composition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 45 randomized placebo-controlled trials. Obes Rev. 2017 Sep;18(9):1096-1107. doi: 10.1111/obr.12550. Epub 2017 Jun 21. PMID: 28635182.

Ruanpeng D, Thongprayoon C, Cheungpasitporn W, Harindhanavudhi T. Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages linked to obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. QJM. 2017 Aug 1;110(8):513-520. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcx068. PMID: 28402535.

Rynders CA, Thomas EA, Zaman A, Pan Z, Catenacci VA, Melanson EL. Effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Feeding Compared to Continuous Energy Restriction for Weight Loss. Nutrients. 2019 Oct 14;11(10):2442. doi: 10.3390/nu11102442. PMID: 31614992; PMCID: PMC6836017.

Sampaio C, Magnavita G, Ladeia AM. Effect of Healing Meditation on Weight Loss and Waist Circumference of Overweight and Obese Women: Randomized Blinded Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2019 Sep;25(9):930-937. doi: 10.1089/acm.2019.0092. Epub 2019 Aug 2. PMID: 31373827.

Vajdi M, Abbasalizad Farhangi M. Alpha-lipoic acid supplementation significantly reduces the risk of obesity in an updated systematic review and dose response meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials. Int J Clin Pract. 2020 Jun;74(6):e13493. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.13493. Epub 2020 Mar 26. PMID: 32091656.

Wang X, Li D, Liu F, Cui Y, Li X. Dietary citrus and/or its extracts intake contributed to weight control: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 randomized clinical trials. Phytother Res. 2020 Aug;34(8):2006-2022. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6673. Epub 2020 Mar 17. PMID: 32182635.

Wassenaar PNH, Trasande L, Legler J. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Early-Life Exposure to Bisphenol A and Obesity-Related Outcomes in Rodents. Environ Health Perspect. 2017 Oct 5;125(10):106001. doi: 10.1289/EHP1233. PMID: 28982642; PMCID: PMC5933326.

Yazdanpanah Z, Azadi-Yazdi M, Hooshmandi H, Ramezani-Jolfaie N, Salehi-Abargouei A. Effects of cinnamon supplementation on body weight and composition in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Phytother Res. 2020 Mar;34(3):448-463. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6539. Epub 2019 Dec 4. PMID: 31800140.

The post How to Get off the Diet Roller Coaster – and Stay Off! appeared first on Valencia Ray, MD.

Stress is a sense of overwhelm, a feeling of lack of ease or an alarm that your body is under an imbalance in some form.

It could be a threat – so your sense peace and safety are disrupted. Being a woman in an alpha male dominated world understandably takes extra self-awareness at times to hold our center. It is a skill to be able to keep an open heart while at the same time holding clear boundaries without having to put ‘heavy duty armor’ on metaphorically. It can be done, and it is healthier to be able to do so.

It could be that your physiology is out of balance due to your eating habits – so your hormones, like cortisol kick into gear to remedy the imbalance. Even chemical and food sensitivities can throw your body off balance. Increased stress could come from being out of balance with nature – not sleeping with your circadian rhythms, eating late at night, staying on your mobile devices too late – all of these factors throw off your health and well-being. 

Even those harsh ‘bootcamp’ exercise classes can imbalance your physiology, increase inflammation, and contribute to disease conditions when your adrenals are overworked excessively. Did you know this?

In this article, you will learn about five common foods that trigger stress – many of which you may be eating because they are all quite common in many of our restaurants, grocery stores, and probably pantry shelves at home for many women. So, you may be wondering – how does the foods we eat create stress?

When we regularly eat high sugar, high carbohydrate (high glycemic) meals for example, we send our blood sugar on a rollercoaster ride. This can cause sugar spikes followed by sugar crashes.

These crashes create anxiety and causes not only our cortisol levels to drop and spike, but also our insulin levels. If this is a common enough occurrence, we develop insulin resistance, which means our cells are not as sensitive to insulin’s efforts to stabilize and lower our blood sugar. If this occurs, you are well on your way to developing prediabetes or Type2 Diabetes.

When this happens, we can get higher and higher insulin levels which cause us to store excess fat, increases inflammation throughout the body but especially in our deep belly tissues, and creates sugar and other food cravings. If we are over-eating sugar, chances are we are not eating more of the healthier foods and macro and micronutrients that stabilizes our blood sugar and energy – thus creating a vicious cycle of hunger and annoying health symptoms – such as anxiety, brain fog, irritability, sugar cravings, hot flashes and weight gain. 

When we learn what to eat, it is a first step to creating new lifestyle habits that slow down aging and prevents chronic disease, hormonal imbalances, and other signs normally attributed to aging. We can affect our rate of aging through the use of food, lifestyle and our mindset.

Aging is a process, and it is does not necessarily correlate with the number of years you have been on this planet.

Regularly eating the foods on this list of foods to avoid, will accelerate aging and your risks for having a difficult perimenopause/menopause experience, moodiness, social isolation, distractibility and lack of focus, and other common unpleasant symptoms that are ubiquitous it seems in our modern-day society in general. What are these foods?

1. Sugar Triggers Stress

Sugar can create a real addiction; it literally is habit forming. Refined sugars and processed foods easily stir up problems for your adrenal and cortisol system in your body by causing erratic production of cortisol. Insulin production also increases in response to surging blood sugar levels.  Also, by potentially activating pleasure systems in the brain that release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with addictions, it is easily habit forming. 

Some people are more genetically prone than others, though the good news is, by using food as medicine and other lifestyle skills, we can literally change our very gene expression to change our body’s responses and break our sugar addictions. The ability to affect our gene expression is known as ‘epigenetics’. And a word of caution – starting your day off with a high carbohydrate sugared-filled breakfast will put you on the fast track to ‘dis-ease’ and aging. The type of breakfast foods you eat can set the pace for your energy all day long.

Nuts, seeds, green vegetables such as leafy greens, salads, asparagus, chicken, fish and the good old standby eggs with use of olives and olive oil – can all also be eaten for breakfast for a change. Or try almond or coconut-based yogurts and you can add collagen and other protein powders of your choice. Just make sure they are clean and organic. 

2. Processed Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)

The type of fats you eat affect your levels of inflammation and hormones – which affect your stress levels. 

We need healthy cholesterol to make hormones and brain cells.

Processed, polyunsaturated vegetable oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, soybean are common examples) cause a buildup of excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, and most people are not getting enough of the anti-inflammatory Omega 3 forms from fish (DHA, EPA in particular are higher) and plant-based, such as chia seeds for example that are most protective. 

I do want to emphasize though that the Omega 3 in the form of DHA and EPA from animals/fish is most protective from inflammation and supports chronic disease prevention, diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis and mood disorders for example. You can learn more about essential fatty acids from this article on the Weston Price Foundation on ‘Good Fats, Bad Fats’, HERE .

Here’s one more important point: when these polyunsaturated fats are exposed to toxic sugar products, especially fructose – they can oxidize. Oxidized lipids can actually cause blood vessel disease and increase chronic inflammatory disease and cardiovascular problems. This is also why the quality of your fish oil even matters because if it is a poor quality, it could be causing more harm than good.

PUFAs are easily turned inflammatory because they are unstable and sensitive to sunlight. Inflammation is one of the four key stressors. While we need some of these types of fats, it is the source and quality that matters most. Also, beware of the clear plastic bottles which contain toxic chemicals and the oils themselves often contain GMOs and pesticides when not organic. This is one category of oils, however, that even if organic – if processed and chemicalized by plastic bottles are not the best choices.

Keep in mind that the TYPE of fat matters to health. Our body needs both monosaturated and some saturated fat in low amounts also. In fact, the monosaturated fats are healthier for our body than the excessive polyunsaturated fats that are massed produced that most people are eating. You can find monosaturated fats in unrefined olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut.

Lastly, when you reduce sugar and increase healthy fats, you are more likely to increase your energy levels, balance your hormones and even lose weight.

Why? The ‘low’ fat diet creates more room for ‘high carb’ foods, that ultimately get converted and stored as fat in your body due to the excessive amounts of sugar you eat instead. Low fat and high carbs increase sugar cravings. Healthy fats reduce hunger and provides more energy between meals. Also, protein is important for physiologic functioning in your body, and if you are not getting enough, you will become malnourished and age quickly.

3. High Glycemic Fruit Juice Triggers Stress

I used to think that apple juice was healthy until I realized how dangerous sugar is for our liver and adrenals. Now that my focus is on taking control of stress and doing it using functional medicine – I have even more of a sense of urgency in getting this message out to people. 

When we drink fruit juice – especially processed juice that is striped of the body of the fruit – we are essentially drinking sugar.

It throws our adrenal system into the rollercoaster ride of sugar spikes and crashes. This is a source of creating sugar cravings – of course along with cookies and doughnuts.

Fructose is a major cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Yes, that is correct – and NAFLD is a leading cause of having to need a liver transplant – even in teens. Scary enough, NAFLD currently affects 10-20% of the U.S. population and you need not be obese either. The processed, high carbohydrate-filled (sugar) Standard American Diet (SAD) is the major source of this problem.

Fruit in moderation is a good idea, especially the highly nutrient dense, low glycemic berries. I feel better and healthier now that I no longer choose the high sugar category fruits, such as bananas, apples, mangos and grapes as examples. Having an occasional piece of whole, organic fresh fruit of course can be helpful – and it is a matter of balance with other food groups. It can be a source of healthy fiber also. Because my body functions best on a lower carb, higher plant-based fats with moderate protein diet, I focus on the berry category as a whole. This does not mean I can never eat other fruits – it is just a lot less often.

4. White Flour and Stress

While flour is very processed, high in carbs and stripped of fiber. When high carb sugar is dumped into our blood without fiber to slow down absorption, it is a sugar bolster into the bloodstream. It also contains gluten typically. Gluten, especially from our processed wheat flours can be highly inflammatory for many people and it does not require that you have celiac disease. It is sticky and affect the flow of your bowels, affecting stool and frequency of bathroom habits.

Does this all sound familiar now? Can you see the interconnections and repeating themes of how sugars are throwing off your adrenals and hormonal systems? Of course, bread and pasta are in this category. I used to LOVE bread. This included muffins, cookies and cakes. I truly had a sweet tooth and it did take its toll on some of my teeth, unfortunately as a child. Fortunately, my bones are strong and as a young adult, I started developing an interest in food and health early on, so I was able to stop the cavities.

Now that I have broken this addiction also, I have found health options in the form of almond and coconut flour-based breads. Even cauliflower can be used as a main ingredient to make tortilla like flat bread substitutes that work beautifully and tastes good. We humans are creatures of habit – it’s just a matter of which habits will you choose. Those that make you sick and prematurely age you, or those that give your more vitality and ability to thrive?

I just also have to make some comments on white rice because I see so many malnourished vegans. I actually like rice, white rice included, but when I realized it was not only a big source of sugar but also arsenic – I had to move on.

5. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Did you know that HFCS is so ubiquitous, it is in a popular brand ketchup, in bread and even in popular peanut butter brands? Jelly? Fruit juices? Breakfast Cereals? Sodas? Crackers? Candy? Cough Syrup?…on, and on, and on. Remember what I just said above about NAFLD? Fructose – highly processed, highly sweet fructose corn syrup – may be the number one cause. Read those labels and avoid it like the plague if you want to maintain healthy weight and cortisol levels. 

Some of us also have genetic tendencies that make it even worse. But here is the good news about genetics – your genes are not your destiny! I have some ‘obesity’ genes, but I am not overweight. The difference nowadays than when I was a child eating too much sugar is that now we have rampant pesticide and environmental toxins to deal with as well. 

We also have more processed dry foods and meats than ever. This includes dairy and other vegan food substitutes. We now have extreme stress levels due to our lack of sleep and 24/7 culture. Our intense emphasis on work without relaxation and recreation time. No time for even ‘cool down’ in some exercise classes – which are the ones I definitely avoid. 

The key is mindset and lifestyle. We can’t change the system overnight, but we can stop supporting it with our attention and money.

Ultimately – the bottom line of profit is going to decide what institutional changes are made in this country and in the world at large. It’s time for the ‘masses’ to wake up if we are as a society ever going to move the needle on chronic disease and obnoxiously expensive healthcare with poor outcomes.

In summary – avoid excessive sugar and processed foods and oils to avoid adding to your stress levels. Eat more healthy plant-based fats (please do NOT cook with olive oil, unless very low heat to sauté – maybe). Get between 20-25% of your calories from healthy, organic, farm-raised protein sources of meat, nuts, (peanuts are legumes by the way and can be a problem for a few different reasons) and wild caught fish. 

Continue be open to learning – we have a lot of misinformation to delete off of the hard drives of our minds. What I discussed in this article is focused on things that aggravate inflammation and blood sugar levels – there are other key stressors I will discuss in other articles.

The post 5 Common Foods that Trigger Stress and What to Choose Instead appeared first on Valencia Ray, MD.

Why is stress and burnout such an important topic for busy professional women in particular? I put myself in this category also, and I’m so passionate about it because it almost sabotaged my life and professional work early on in my career. Women often take on too much trying to care for everyone else but themselves, and frankly, we are typically conditioned by the world around us to do so. This is one reason why we do not tend to our own stress. Another reason is that we do not know how to, nor understand what really causes stress and burnout.

What is stress? If you search the word online, you will likely see some scary images of people who look like they are being tormented with anxiety or severe mental distress. Some look totally overwhelmed and unable to cope. This is a common misconception and a gross exaggeration! The fact is, most people in our society are struggling with stress on a daily basis…even with a smile on their faces. When we realize what stress is and where it comes from, we are better empowered and enabled to avoid burnout.

As an MD medical doctor extensively experienced and trained in psychotherapy coaching techniques, and also functional medicine, stress is one of the most prevalent issues I see in my practice. I believe that you need to take a holistic Mind-Body-Spirit approach to resolve stress before it turns into burnout.

Fortunately, I have learned over time just how dangerous this is for our health and well-being and made it a part of my business (literally) to learn what stress really is, and to learn stress self-regulating skills. Let’s face it – the world around us is not likely to change much very soon. The sooner we learn how to better deal with it, the better!

Chronic stress leads to common symptoms for example, such as anxiety, irritability, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, food cravings, sleep disturbances, recurrent colds, cold hands and feet, hair loss, digestion issues, recurrent infections, low energy and libido, and even lack of motivation!

You can probably see how this will affect your confidence, career, and even relationships!

You can think of stress as feelings of overwhelm that connect with our sense of survival and activates our body’s ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response. Also, stress affects our adrenal-brain connection physiologically, which leads to these physical symptoms and if not treated at the root cause, can result in chronic disease. As stress becomes chronic, it can lead to burnout which causes common mental, emotional, and physical, ‘dis-eases’ which are currently plaguing our society at this time.

There are four key stressors that you want to learn about in order to begin to ‘take back control’ and live a more healthy and thriving life. One has a focus on the mental and emotional realms, and the other three have to do with our food and lifestyle habits.

When we overemphasize ‘hard work’ and struggle and do not understand the necessity of rest, restoration, and renewing our mind as well as how some foods contributes to this, we accelerate our aging.

We increase our risk for low energy and low libido due to inflammation and hormonal issues, and chronic weight gain in particular when we do not understand how food, mindset, and lifestyle are at the root causes of these symptoms. These symptoms are commonly associated with a variety of health concerns. Considering how expensive our traditional disease-care system is these days, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a TON of cure’, not only a ‘pound’.

I can say that it is better and easier to stop a problem, illness, etc., from happening than to stop or correct it after it has started. Though now that I have also trained as a Functional Medicine specialist, I am grateful so say that we can actually reverse and prevent much of chronic disease that I was taught in traditional medical school to be ‘incurable. Our bodies are very resilient and can heal when we know what to do and why.

In the realm of Functional Medicine, you would be surprised how much capability we have to heal and reverse many chronic, common diseases. At the root cause of 90-95% of chronic disease is stress and the root causes of stress. This is why is it very important to educate yourself about prevention and reversing stress and burnout and their causes, and what you can do about it.

The 4 Key Stressors

Stress essentially is triggered by four basic pillars as shown in the photo below. I will briefly address all four. While you may be familiar with the idea that food, inflammation, and sleep could be connected to stress, very few health practitioners specifically discuss what follows.

The mental/emotional and even spiritual causes of stress (no sense of purpose or feeling disconnected) are often totally overlooked in terms of what is at the root cause of this category of the four stressors. I want to emphasize these areas in particular because hardly anyone talks about this area in the way I will share in this post.

1. Blood Sugar Imbalance

Sugar. Sugar by itself, in excessive amounts, can cause adrenal-axis dysfunction, known as Glycemic Dysregulation. Your brain and body need energy under perceived (whether real or imagined) stressful conditions. Sugar or glucose is one form of energy that is readily available. One important role of the adrenal gland and cortisol is glucose regulation.

Your adrenal glands (located on top of your kidneys) release cortisol as a response to regulate blood sugar levels by affecting insulin levels. While this can be helpful for acute ‘fight or flight’ they can be disastrous when we have chronic stimulation of this process, day in and day out. Individuals who consume a lot of sugar can become ‘insulin-resistant’ and this process starts to dysregulate or dysfunction. This can lead to a low blood sugar crash after a meal, which again, will retrigger the cortisol response. This rollercoaster response of the blood sugar can lead to a vicious circle and become difficult to control.

The macronutrients (fat, protein, or carbohydrate) content of our foods matter, particularly at breakfast time. If your first meal of the day is high in sugar (carbohydrates), over time you may accelerate problems within your hormonal and stress response systems. People who have chronic stress will likely to experience these types of dysregulation problems. Eating low-glycemic fruits and vegetables are quite important to this process to keep a good balance in blood sugar.

Read those labels! For the purpose of this discussion, let’s define high levels as more than 15-20 carbs per serving. Having been a ‘go-getter’ and over doing things for too long, I like many, have a history of being in the chronic stress category. I see a definite improvement in sugar craving and hunger since making this breakfast shift. I no longer need to carry protein bars and can go 4–5 hours between meals without any hunger during the daytime, even longer between dinner and breakfast the next day. What a difference!

There is no such thing as an overall ‘one size fits all’ best diet/food plan; this concept of the effects of breakfast sugar is based on the physiology of the stress response, particularly under chronic stress.

Having a ‘my diet is better than your diet’ argument is probably not going to be productive and may even raise our stress levels! In general, breaking your overnight fast (which is what ‘break-fast’ is), with high carbohydrates will likely cause mid-morning or afternoon brain fog or energy crash. Healthy fats and protein do not cause a sharp rise in blood glucose levels and tend to suppress hunger much better.

2. Chronic Inflammation

We are starting to hear more about inflammation, but we often do not connect the dot as to where this inflammation is coming from. It can come from our food sources, with sugar and processed foods leading the charge. It can come from toxins in our environment. It can also come from excessive ‘bootcamp’ style exercise!

What is often not considered as a source that is a very real source, are our toxic thoughts and emotions. Our mindset can ‘inflame’ our bodies. Just think about the effects of anger. While anger is a natural emotion and can inspire or energize us to take action, when we are chronically angry, anger itself is a cause of inflammation. Think about the idea that, ‘he was inflamed with anger.’ This is more than just a metaphor!!

One final cause I will mention here is lack of sleep! Sleep is our body’s chance to heal itself and to recover. When we don’t sleep enough or have restorative sleep, we are much more likely to trigger the biochemical responses of excessive inflammation in our body. Some inflammation is normal and an important part of our immune system, however when out of balance high or low end, it can lead to autoimmune problems or even lack of an ability to fight off infection.

3. Sleep

Well, you probably knew this was coming! I have personally come to realize just how dangerous lack of sleep is. Even as a physician of many years, I had no idea how deadly a lack of sleep can be for our health and well-being until I retrained in Functional Medicine in recent years.

There was a period of time of four years when my children were younger that I would routinely go to bed at midnight and wake up at 4:30am! This was during a time when I was also running a very busy medical practice and doing such a good job with spending time with my children, that at age 7, my son said to me, ‘mom, you don’t seem like you work because you are always here’. I built my schedule, planning and life around their schedules.

Little did he realize at that age and time just how much effort I was putting in to make this impression! Knowing what I know now, I would not have pushed myself this hard.

Lack of enough sleep can dysregulate not only your stress and cortisol, through this mechanism you can disrupt your thyroid, your sex hormones and even add inches to your waistline!

This is nothing to play with. When combined with lack of sleep, poor eating habits and inflammation, a perfect storm of chaos is created in the body’s system that can lead to prediabetes, hypothyroidism, autoimmune conditions, ‘leaky gut’ and gut disturbances, menopausal and peri-menopausal problems, PCOS, anxiety and more.

Hopefully, it is obvious why sleep is fundamental to ‘anti-aging’. As you can start to see by now, chronic disease is not about our age in years – even young adults are now experiencing these conditions with greater and greater frequency. HOW we age is what really matters.

One key area that is typically ignored is staying on technology devices or watching television into the evening hours. The blue-white light that is emitted can literally raise your cortisol and stress levels and disrupt your sleep quality! No joke! At the very least, use a good quality blue blocker eyewear protection, and even better, stay off of devices at least one hour before bedtime. Lifestyle medicine is an idea whose time has arrived and is greatly needed.

4. Mental and Emotional

Mental or emotional causes of stress can also be perceptual in terms of ‘how we see or feel’ about a situation. If this situation feels ‘novel’, or like a threat to our person or ego, or feels unpredictable or that we have a sense of loss of control…. it triggers our stress response of ‘fight, flight or freeze‘. This is why some people may love public speaking while others are terrified even at the thought of it! This category of stress requires special skills training to overcome.

Many people think that practicing mindfulness is a panacea that will alone,…and of course, in a short period of time (the quick fix), take care of this category. This is simply not the experience of many people, nor of my own. Mindfulness practice is an important aspect of beginning to retrain our brain to deal with this aspect of stress, but it is only the first step.

Mindfulness allows us to observe our thoughts and feelings, but we must then have tools and skills to ‘self-regulate’ our thoughts, feelings – intentions and attention – so that we are best able to take back the steering wheel of our mind. We must learn emotional resiliency.

This is more layered than it initially appears. This is where I tend to pay attention to stress management in a different way and where most physicians are not aware to do so. Remember stress management is not just about food, exercise, and sleep, though as I have already pointed out, they do matter.

For example, our own self-image and level of confidence will affect how we respond to the 4 Key Aspects of Mental/Emotional Stressors, which are:

• Novelty
• Threat to our ego (real or imagined)
• Lack of predictability
• Need for control

This is where learning how to transform our perception and ‘retrain our brain’ comes in. This is a skill set that we can all learn. As an entrepreneur, I can say that I am exposed to all four of these key aspects on a regular basis. I have observed in myself over the decades the power of these skills to bring greater confidence, fulfillment, less stress, and greater physical health and well-being when used with self-awareness. I now have greater emotional resiliency because of this.

A few words about spirituality and stress. When we do not have a sense of purpose or contribution that comes from our authentic heart, we may struggle with the meaning of our lives. Having a sense of connection with a higher power, purpose, or to nature can help us to live with more joy, inner peace and even tap into our own unique form of creativity easier. As you can imagine, this would all be stress alleviating on several levels.

You will generally not hear about these mental/emotional/spiritual aspects of stress management from your healthcare provider, whether in functional or traditional medicine. Understanding our ‘whole self’ is central to being able to live a life of thriving, not simply surviving.

Maintaining good health takes conscious effort in the world we live in now due to food quality challenges, excessive environment toxins, and a work environment and society that does not tend to honor self-care and downtime.

In order to be in control of our health, we will have to reeducate ourselves and look for alternative healthcare options and modalities that allow our body to tap into its natural healing powers. We can prevent and reverse many common chronic conditions when we understand how and have a strong enough desire to learn how to do so. This is a personal journey and the science is here now to validate many of the holistic approaches I use.

Yet, many of these approaches I used before the science substantiated it – like mindfulness of example – are now recognized quite broadly. Personally, I decided a while back not to wait on consensus from science but to trust my own experience – and it has served me well. I invite you to explore new ways of thinking about your health so that you can better empower yourself to thrive also.

Next Steps….

It’s my mission to help as many people as possible to live beyond stress and burnout. Please help me with this mission by sharing this blog post! ????????

If you’d like to learn more about how stress can lead to burnout, aging and low energy, I invite you to watch my free webinar on this exact topic.⁠ You can access it by going to the link at Taking Control of Stress and Burnout .

If you would like to learn how you can begin to transform your experience with stress, schedule your Free Discovery Session with me Here

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