by Kate Driver | May 13, 2018 | Fatigue
You must have a healthy THYROID to have healthy hormones and metabolism, and for your cardiovascular system to be healthy. If you are over 40 or nearing menopause then be aware you need to have a healthy thyroid and adrenals to have a symptom free and healthy perimenopause and menopause. Women are more prone to thyroid conditions as they age. If your hormones are out of balance and/or if you have a difficult menstrual cycle, or are starting to put on weight , feel tired as you age, or are struggling with your hormonal issues through yours 30’s 40’s and 50’s…. then please consider looking after your thyroid…..it is such an important gland to be aware of and nourish for your hormones to be in balance ( along with your very important adrenal glands ) and for your overall health.
If you want a healthy thyroid …. You need to
· Have a healthy gut
· Have a healthy liver
· Have healthy adrenals
· Have a good nights sleep
· Eat healthy food
· Drink clean alkaline water with no fluoride or chlorine
And just as importantly you need to look at what can be causing the thyroid to not be functioning properly.
TOP 10 THING YOU MUST AVOID FOR A HEALTHY THYROID
1. HORMONES- in food such as dairy products, eggs and meats containing hormones
2. BAD FATS- Foods high in inflammatory fats (ie- fried, processed fats, margarines )
3. UFILTERED TAP WATER – fluoride and chlorine in water and traces of heavy metals
4. MEDICATIONS – antidepressants and hormone replacement therapy including the oral contraceptive pill
5. CHEMICALS AND TOXINS -Parabens and Phthalates in skin care, Chemicals in cleaning products and household products, fly sprays , pesticides, preservatives in foods
6. ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS – BPA, Phthalates and other endocrine disruptors in plastics, parabens and phthalates in skincare
7. GOITRAGENIC FOODS - Too many foods high in goitrogens IE;-unfermented soy, uncooked kale, cabbage and Brussel sprouts.
8. STRESS and negative emotions
9. HEAVY METALS - from pesticides, insecticides, light globes amalgam fillings, car fumes and industrial fumes.
10 . POOR GUT AND LIVER HEALTH - function both affect thyroid function
If you would like to know more, please check out my video here
https://youtu.be/JUeCUeIikv8
by Kate Driver | Mar 26, 2018 | Fatigue
Did you know we spend a third of our lives sleeping? And that if you don’t get enough of it, it will have detrimental effects to your health? Many people underestimate the importance of sleep. Some people sleep more than others. Some people claim they need lots of it and others don’t need much at all. Margaret Thatcher and Napoleon only had 4 hours sleep a night. That explains why they were a bit mad! Recent studies show that adults need approximately 8 hours sleep a night to stay healthy.
“Sleep is the great cycle of involutional restoration that heals the foundation of our mind, body and Soul” (2)
Many people come to me with fatigue and a large contributing factor is their lack of sleep or poor quality of sleep.
Sleep is a recuperative process. Sleep supports some of the following processes;
- Regulates metabolic processes which are chemical processes that maintain life
- Detoxification
- Supports neurotransmitters (chemical messengers that carry signals to other cells in the body).
- Contributes to growth and development
- Temperature regulation
- Immune system responses
- learning and memory
Insomnia
Insomnia is loss of sleep from a difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep. Sleep loss is a very common complaint which many people do not take seriously.
The two types of insomnia are Sleep onset insomnia and Maintenance insomnia. Sleep onset insomnia is when there is a considerable delay in falling asleep. The average time for falling asleep is 25 minutes. Maintenance insomnia is when there are periods of waking up during the night or waking up too early.
Causes of insomnia.
Some causes of insomnia include;
- Noise and /or light pollution
- Allergies or food intolerances
- Alcohol excess
- Medications (ie; oral contraceptives, thyroxine, aspirin)
- High or low blood sugar levels
- Sleep apnoea (pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep)
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Over hydration at night
- Infections
Over hydration at night
- Infections
- Low iron levels
- Low brain levels of serotonin and melatonin.
- Stress and anxiety
- Hot flushes / night sweats
What happens with lack of sleep??
And acute or short term lack of sleep for 6 days can lead to increased production of the flight and fight hormones. This can lead to symptoms such as feeling anxious, tired, unhappy, nervous, difficultly in concentrating and not feeling confident.
Long term sleep loss contributes to development of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity and memory loss.
Long term lack of sleep affects the brains ability to function. This is part of the brain that controls the memory, planning and sense of time.
“With continued lack of sufficient sleep, the part of the brain that controls language, memory, planning and sense of time is severely affected, practically shutting down. In fact, 17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05% (two glasses of wine). This is the legal drink driving limit in the UK.” (1)
Stages of Sleep
There are 5 stages of sleep;
Stage 1 is the interim between wakefulness and sleep
Stage 2 is 50 % of our total sleep time. This is the real sleep stage and is a lighter stage of sleep, where if the person is woken, they feel they were not asleep.
Stage 3 Is slow wave sleep. This is when the body makes repairs.
Stage 4 is slow wave sleep and is a deep slow wave sleep where our Body temperature and blood pressure decreases. Stages 3 and 4 cover about 20% of our total sleeping time.
Stage 5 is REM or rapid eye movement sleep. There is an increase in eye movement, heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and temperature. This is when most of your dreams occur.
Melatonin
Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It is released in a rhythmic manner throughout the night. The peak level of melatonin is around 3 am. Apart from facilitating sleep is also acts as an antioxidant and regulates the core body temperature.
Sleep duration
The average sleep duration amongst adults is 7.5 hours a night, give or take and hour either side. There are people who are outside this who are considered long sleepers if they sleep for more than 9 hours and short sleepers who sleep less than 6 hours.
Women and Sleep
The menstrual cycle has an effect on sleep. Oestrogens increase REM sleep, increase the time it can take you to go to sleep, causes more wakefulness and Increase total sleep time. Progesterone has a sedative effect and increases deep sleep. Low progesterone (and therefore oestrogen dominance can causes poor sleep in women.
During menopause hot flushes/night sweats can interrupt sleeping.
Long term lack of sleep in women can cause infertility, miscarriage, menstrual problems, low birth weight babies and premature labor.
Solutions for insomnia
Some rules for getting a good night’s sleep include;
- Maintain regular hours for sleep
- Exercise at least 6 hours prior to sleep
- In the mornings, expose yourself to bright light
- Treat stress and anxiety
- Avoid bright lights, computers and TV’s an hour prior to sleep
- Avoid mental or emotional stimulation before going to bed
- Engage in calming or relaxing activities prior to bed such as mediation
- Avoid caffeine
- Eating at the same time each day helps set the circadian clock
- Avoid stimulants such as alcohol, coffee and chocolate
- Avoid drinking excess fluids at night.
- Avoid napping during the day
- Avoid spicy, sugary, heavy foods 4-6 hours before bed.
Supplementation for insomnia and a better sleep
There are many herbal formulations which help with sleep onset and duration. These include passion flower, Zizyphus, magnolia, and valerian. Valerian is particularly effective when your brain won’t shut up! Just be aware that a small percentage of individuals become more aroused with this herb and it has the opposite effect.
Adenosine , which is a brain sleep molecule, increases deep sleep and may increase REM sleep. It is effective for stress related insomnia.
5-HTP or 5-hyrdoxytryptophan, is the precursor to serotonin and from serotonin we can produce melatonin.
Melatonin, is available in homeopathic and crude form . It can also be used for jet lag.
Magnesium, relaxes muscles and the nervous system and is affective if insomnia is due to stress, anxiety or restless legs.
GABA, (gamma aminobutyric acid) due to its relaxing effects it has been shown to reduce the time to get to sleep and increase length of quality deep sleep.
Treating the underlying cause of insomnia is an important factor. It is too important to ignore.
** Some of these are practitioner only supplements and need to be prescribed.
If you are having problems with sleep please contact me for a consultation!
Here is to your perfect slumber!
References
Science: Human Body and mind “what would happen if we didn’t sleep’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/articles/whatissleep.shtml
1.P 53 ‘So what is sleep’ Sleep, health and consciousness a physician’s guide. Reza Samvat and Henry Osieki.
Encyclopedia of natural medicine – Michael Murray pp 602-608
The Nervous system, Henry Osieki, Fiona Meeke, Jennifer Smith, pp 83-90
by Kate Driver | Mar 19, 2018 | Fatigue
The liver is an amazing gland. It is constantly detoxifying and metabolising hormones, chemicals and toxins we get exposed to on a daily basis. The liver helps manage your blood sugar levels and cholesterol. It produces bile which helps us break down and digest fats. The majority for the thyroid hormones are converted to the active form in the liver.
Insulin resistance, fatty liver, estrogen dominance or progesterone deficiency and thyroid issues are all associated with the function of the liver
Sign and symptoms associated with poor liver function
- Fatigue and muscle weakness
- Hormonal imbalances such as estrogen dominance and /or progesterone deficiency
- High cholesterol
- Nausea
- Intolerance to fatty foods
- Weight problems
- Multiple chemical sensitivities
- Headaches and migraines
- Loss of appetite or no appetite in the mornings
- Waking up between 2 and 3 am
- Digestive issues or bloating
- Insulin resistance and diabetes
- Skin issues such as itchiness, eczema or acne
What you must do to look after your liver
- Drink water! Your liver cannot function properly if you don’t drink adequate water.
- If you drink alcohol is a good idea to protect your liver. St. Mary’s thistle is a great herb which protects the liver and helps the cells of your liver regenerate.
- And have at least 2 days a week that are alcohol free
- Drink green tea which protects the liver and the gut bacteria
- Avoid toxins and chemicals in your environment and foods
- Avoid non- prescription medications as much as you can (there is always a natural alternative!)
- Take a probiotic and resolve any gut issues. You need to have a healthy gut for a healthy liver
- Make sure you are having at least one complete bowel motion a day
- Eat cleanly – avoid processed foods where possible and eat at least 3 cups of veggies per day and some fruit. Fibre helps bind to toxins to eliminate them more efficiently
- Eat regularly to balance your blood sugar levels.
- Drink dandelion root tea to increase your bile production. Bile breaks down fats but also helps with elimination of toxins from the body.
- Add beetroot to your diet regularly, apart from being high in the phytonutrient ‘anthocynanins’, they help the liver detoxify.
- Sulphur containing veggies such as onions, broccoli and garlic also support liver function.
- Get your thyroid checked, if its underactive then it will affect the liver function
- Resolve anger. Anger issues affect the liver!
Many of my clients who can’t budge their weight or are ‘stuck’ with their symptoms, often need to work on their liver or need a detox. If you decide to do a detox don’t jump into it alone- consult your naturopath and do it properly! You need to have a healthy gut and adrenals to be able to detox without unwanted symptoms. And there are ways to do it properly with plenty of nutrient and herbal support so the toxins don’t get stuck you don’t and up feeling worse!
