Uncontrollable Sugar Cravings: A Holistic Approach to Stress
There is a very famous TED talk that suggests that stress is only bad for you if you believe it to be so. Now that is a very empowering idea.
And when my kids are nervous about a swim meet or an upcoming spelling test; or when I'm getting ready to speak in front of an audience, I think about this talk and I tell my kids and myself that the butterflies in our stomach, and our heart beating faster -- this is our amazing body getting ready to perform. And that we have to trust that it will perform brilliantly because we've prepared for that moment.
Good Riddance to Grain-Based Prebiotics!
Recently on Thrive, we have focused a lot of probiotics and their role in optimum gut health. But here's a little more info on prebiotics, where they come from, why they're important and how much we need. If you think of probiotics as good seeds that you sprinkle into your gut to keep it healthy. PREBIOTICS are like the fertilizer that ensures the seeds proliferate. So including prebiotic foods in your diet is pretty important to create a sustainable little ecosystem of healthy bacteria in your gut.
The Antidote to Your Child's Sugar Hangover
It struck me this morning that children have hangovers too....
Sugar hangovers.
Yesterday was my daughter's birthday party. And whilst the menu was about as grain-free, refined sugar free as could possibly be, we all still had a healthy sugar overdose from the birthday cake, almond-meal chocolate chip cookies, popcorn and delicious date-sweetened pomegranate-lime juice.
The Amazing Nerdy Popsicle
Hormones: It's a Blood Sugar Thing
Want to Boost Your Immunity? Start with Sugar
We all know that sugar makes us fat by messing with our blood sugar. But the lesser known fact about sugar is that it is an immunity killer. Why? It depletes the body of major vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin C, zinc, calcium, potassium & magnesium. Vitamin C and glucose use the same transporters to get into cells, so they compete with one another. The more sugar you pump into your body, the less VitC gets carried to the cells that need it most.
Poop Like a Champ Even Under Stress
We're closing out "Sleep Love Poop" week with my favourite action of the three: POOP. Maybe it's because I have kids, but I can't say that word without giggling. Plus, the honest truth is that being constipated is generally the fastest way to feeling grumpy. And that's because 90% of our feel-good hormone "serotonin" is made in our gut! Now you know why you feel so rotten when you don't poop and so good when you do! Unfortunately stress can either constipate you or take you to the other extreme. But this little warm tonic first thing in the morning is what I find helps the most no matter which end of the spectrum you lie on --- AND it has the added benefit of acting as a tonic for your liver. Because your liver - much like your adrenals - puts in a lot of overtime when you are stressed.