Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Energy in the Body written by: Noreen Kodula, Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) Energy is essential for all body functions. Involuntary processes like breathing and circulation, and voluntary actions like movement and thinking all rely on energy. Most people think of energy in terms of …
Blood Sugar 101 By: Noreen Kodula, Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) Blood sugar, also known as blood glucose, is the amount of simple sugar moving through your body at any given time. The main form of energy that your body uses is glucose. Everything that …
Managing Diabetes during the Holidays
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Managing diabetes during the holiday time may seem to be an insurmountable task. But with a little twist to some classic recipes and a little help from classic invite supplements, eating healthy during the holiday is not quite as insurmountable as you might expect! Let us get into it, shall we?
While there are several forms of diabetes in this blog, I will be concentrating on type 2 because it is the most common form that people call to talk about. Type 2 diabetes is a condition where your blood sugar is higher than normal. This can occur either because your body is not making enough insulin or it is not properly using it and glucose is building up in your blood. Diabetes is much more common than you might expect. In fact, approximately 11% of the US population has diabetes.
What is the most common symptom of diabetes? Well, there may be an increase in thirst, a feeling of dry mouth and even more frequent urination. There may be weight loss without any diet changes. You may find yourself feeling more tired than usual. Your vision may be blurry. Any sores or cuts may take longer to heal. There may be an increase in yeast infections. In some case’s there can be numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. (1) Diabetes can have dangerous complications. Please see my blogs on diabetes for more information on complications.
How does this relate to the holidays? As we all know, holiday time is a time that can be incredibly stressful. Stress can affect our blood sugar. Cortisol, the hormone that our body makes when we are under stress, can make it harder for insulin to work. That is because cortisol wants your body to have enough sugar or in other words fuel to “run away” from your stress. That is why the higher the stress, which triggers higher cortisol or stress hormone, the higher your blood sugar! (2)
Travel, another aspect of holiday time, can also impact blood sugar. I know what you are thinking, Dr. Claire HOW can travel impact my blood sugar? Well travel can be stressful and that stress can affect blood sugar. Travel can often lead to motion sickness and motion sickness can affect your blood sugar. (3) Lastly very often it can be difficult to find diabetic friendly options when traveling. Eating foods higher in sugar than you normally do can obviously affect blood sugar.
Alcohol is another common aspect of holidays. However, alcohol can be a concern for those with diabetes because it can raise or in some cases lower blood sugar! This can be dangerous since the symptoms of low blood sugar can be mistaken for those of alcohol or in other words you may think you are just tipsy but you are actually having an episode of very low blood sugar. (4)
Another aspect of the holidays is the sleep disruption. This can happen for a number of reasons. Are you having trouble sleeping in a different space? Is it too quiet or too noisy? If you have company, are you staying up late talking or cooking for them? As you can see, the holidays can wreak havoc on your sleep. Sleep is especially important for blood sugar control. In fact, studies have found that just 1 night of poor sleep can increase insulin resistance. (4)
Last but not least, is the food aspect of the holidays. Some people skip meals to have “space” for later. Then there is the idea that just a little is ok. In my experience a little tends to add up fast and in the case of many holiday foods this can involve much more sugar than you are used to eating. Many people find that after the holidays their treats have led them to having higher blood sugar readings than they usually have.
So, what can you do at this time of year?
Recipes for the holidays!
Cranberry goodness
Take 1 package of cranberries and cook them in water that has 2 scoops Reds Hx and 3 scoops Ribose complex mixed in. (Basically, mix the powders in water and use that water to cook the cranberries.). If it is not as sweet as you like you can add more Ribose complex. Feel free to add some nuts for a fun texture.
Blender muffins of health (lol)
With this recipe feel free to have fun! Take 2 eggs, 2 scoops of Invite Whey protein, 1 scoop Cocoa Hx, and 1 cup instant oats. As you blend add enough water so that it is a muffin like consistency. Generally, between 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup. Scoop into a muffin pan and cook at 350 for 20 min checking to see if they are done. Variations to this include using almond milk instead of water. You can also add fruit and nuts for texture! As I said it is not exact and you can have fun changing things up!
Green bean casserole
Take 16 oz. of green beans and steam until fork tender and put in a baking pan. In a separate bowl add 2 scoops of Greens Hx to 1 can of Cream of mushroom soup. Add ½ can of water (or at least enough water that you can easily pore the mix). Add spices of choice and mix. Place over the green beans. Add a liberal amount of dried onions or shallot. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Spaghetti squash? Yes, Spaghetti squash can be a fun food for the Holidays!
Cook your spaghetti squash as normal and then add the following sauce. To a mixing bowl add precooked onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Add some tomato sauce and the contents of 3 Probiotic Hx, 3 scoops of Greens Hx and 1 scoop of Beets Hx. Add in any spices you like! Mix till well combined and then add to your spaghetti squash.
Sources:
Thyroid Autoimmune Disorders! Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Let us talk about Autoimmune and how it relates to the thyroid. This is important to talk about because thyroid health is much more complex than just under or overactive thyroid. It can be such a complex issue …
Thyroid and Women’s Health Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Thyroid health is important for our overall wellbeing. But did you know that it can also affect women’s health concerns? In general women are more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid issues. In fact, up to …
Thyroid Health and the Adrenal Glands
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
When it comes to holistic health care 2 of the most common things to talk about are thyroid health and adrenal health. What is interesting about these 2 topics is that they are more closely related than you may expect! But just how do these 2 organs that aren’t close to each other in the body affect each other? Let us get into it, shall we?
Let us start at the very beginning. What are the adrenal glands? Well in a nutshell they are small glands on the top of the kidneys that produce hormones. They look like little hats that live on top of the kidneys. They produce mineralocorticoids for example aldosterone which can control blood pressure, glucocorticoids predominately cortisol which is the hormone in charge of our flight or fight response, and adrenal androgen such as DHEA and testosterone and estrogen. What does all this mean? Well to sum it up the adrenal glands are in charge of our blood pressure, sodium balance in the body, water balance in the body as well as the body’s response to stress or illness. If any of your body’s systems are not working up to par the body sees that as stress and the adrenals will react by making cortisol. The adrenals are also in charge of regulating metabolism for example weight as well as fat metabolism and glucose regulation and even sleep regulation. In fact, when the adrenals are signaled to produce more cortisol (which given it is the main hormone associated with stress it is the main hormone I will talk about) the symptoms include fatigue with a difficulty staying asleep. This can lead to feelings of anxiety as well as weight gain and higher than normal blood pressure. (1)
How does this relate to thyroid? One of the problems with having too much cortisol produced by the adrenals is that they affect the thyroid itself. Cortisol can cause the conversion of T3 from T4 to be reduced hence increasing the likelihood of hypothyroid symptoms! (2) This may be one reason when we see clients with what is called adrenal fatigue, we often are also working with them to address hypothyroid symptoms. Interestingly, in cases of long-term thyroid dysfunction there is also adrenal dysfunction. Now you might say “I know I just read that” but what I mean is that the adrenals can affect the thyroid, but the thyroid can affect the adrenals long term. How is that possible? Because the adrenals will often try and compensate for the reduced thyroid hormones. To produce energy, they will produce cortisol. However, eventually this can cause adrenal fatigue. What exactly is adrenal fatigue? In the normal process your body will produce cortisol in the morning to wake you up, a small amount in the afternoon to keep you going and none at night so you can sleep. When you are under stress the adrenals are constantly forced to produce cortisol. This leads to the adrenals becoming unregulated or fatigued. One such issue is that they produce cortisol at night rather than in the morning. They also tend to produce either too much cortisol or not enough. Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can include trouble with brain fog, sleeping/fatigue, headaches, and digestive issues, changes in weight, and anxiety, brain fog, depression and even joint pain, PMS, Low/High blood pressure, salt cravings, blood sugar fluctuations, sensitivity to cold, infertility and reduced immunity. (3, 4)
What can you do?
SOURCES
th