Author: Ginger Newtrition

Gluten Free Flours for Baking

Many of my client’s discover through an elimination diet or food sensitivity testing that gluten is not their friend. For someone who has Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity, removing gluten is critical for their health. This can be very difficult because that tricky little ingredient, gluten, is in EVERYTHING.

As the food industry is catching on to the popularity of “gluten-free” there are an abundance of foods out there with this label. Although this may be very convenient in a pinch for someone with a gluten intolerance, these foods are often not healthy and just as highly processed as the foods they are replacing. A daily gluten-free muffin or cupcake is not a part of a balanced diet.

Instead of using gluten free products, try to eat foods that are naturally gluten free. Have you ever tried making a wrap or burrito in a collard green? How about spiral noodles out of a zucchini or spaghetti squash instead of pasta?

For special occasions when a collard green birthday cake is not going to fly, here are some flour alternatives for gluten-free baking .

For All Flour Recipes

To make a flour blend, thoroughly combine all of the ingredients, and store in a covered container in the refrigerator until used. You can double or triple these recipes to make as much flour mix as you need.

Note: If you purchase a commercial flour blend, read the ingredient list carefully. Some blends contain salt and xanthan or guar gum. If so, there is no need to add more.

All Purpose Flour Blend

Use this blend for all of your gluten-free baking.

½ cup rice flour

¼ cup tapioca starch/flour

¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch

High Fiber Flour Blend

This high-fiber blend works well for breads, pancakes, snack bars, and cookies that contain chocolate, warm spices, raisins, or other fruits. It is not well-suited for delicately flavored recipes, such as sugar cookies, crepes, cream puffs, birthday cakes, or cupcakes.

1 cup brown rice flour or sorghum flour

½ cup teff flour (preferably light)

½ cup millet flour or Montina® flour

²/₃ cup tapioca starch/flour

¹/₃ cup cornstarch or potato starch

High Protein Flour Blend

This nutritious blend works best in baked goods that require elasticity, such as wraps

and pie crusts.

1 ¼ cups bean flour – chickpea is a fabulous choice

1 cup arrowroot starch, cornstarch, or potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch/flour

1 cup white or brown rice flour

Self Raising Flour Blend

Use this blend for muffins, scones, cakes, cupcakes, or any recipe that uses baking powder

for leavening.

1 ¼ cups white sorghum flour

1 ¼ cups white rice flour

½ cup tapioca starch/flour

2 teaspoons xanthan or guar gum

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

How to Use Xanthan or Guar Gum

Gum (xanthan or guar) is the key to successful gluten-free baking. It provides the binding needed to give the baked product proper elasticity and keep it from crumbling.

Add ½ teaspoon xanthan or guar gum per cup of flour blend to make cakes, cookies, bars, muffins, and other quick breads.

Add 1 teaspoon per cup of flour blend to make yeast bread, pizza dough, or other baked items that call for yeast.

Note: If you purchase a commercial flour blend, read the ingredient list carefully. Some blends contain salt and xanthan or guar gum. If so, there is no need to add more.

August 10, 2014
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Bone Broth

3 to 4 pounds of chicken bones and cartilage (ideally ALL of the chicken such as feet, neck etc) or a whole chicken

1 to 2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2 large celery ribs, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 bay leaves and spices of your choice

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

Filtered water

Salt and pepper to taste after cooking

Add vegetables and bones (or a whole chicken) to a crockpot. Add vegetables and bay leaves. Feel free to add other spices of your choice. Fill the crockpot with filtered water until it covers the chicken bones or the whole chicken. Add 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar.

Cook on low for at least 24 to 40 hours

Store your broth. Strain bones, vegetables, and spices from your broth. Store it in glass mason jars.

Using apple cider vinegar and cooking over a 24 hour period helps to draw the minerals out of the bones. What is left is an amazing food to help boost immunity as well as a helping aid for people who are having issues with intestinal permeability or leaky gut. Just like grandma always said, chicken soup is the way to go!

You can use as the base of a soup, use instead of water to make rice, or just drink a mug daily like you would tea (add Tbsp coconut oil or ghee & sea salt for additional gut healing benefits).

NOTE: If using a whole chicken, boil the chicken until the meat is cooked, then remove the meat and allow the bones to simmer for another 12 or so hours. Use the shredded chicken to add to a soup, salad, or any of your other meals.

June 17, 2014
6 Ways Juicing Can Help You Lose Weight

Juicing is all the rage lately! There is a juice bar on every corner and $8 cold pressed green juices are flying off the shelf. Is this a silly fad? Why not just eat the fruits and vegetables? Juicing provides a high level of quality nutrition that many people may not be able to otherwise absorb. By bypassing the need for stellar digestion (which is uncommon nowadays!), we can help build our vitamin and minerals stores. Having optimum nutrient levels will naturally assist in weight-loss. Read on to find out how adding in a juice can help you slim down.

1) Easy Digestion

One of the best benefits of juicing fresh fruit and vegetables is that drinking them (as opposed to eating them) makes them really easy for your body to digest. Many of my clients find through functional lab work that they have “leaky gut” or intestinal permeability. With a compromised GI tract, it can be hard to digest and absorb the same amount of raw vegetables found in a juice. But by juicing those vegetables, you can absorb a dense quantity of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients really easily.

2) Reduction in Cravings

When you drink a glass of freshly made vegetable or green juice, you are loading every cell of your body with detoxifying minerals. By drinking your veggies and fruit, you are giving your body all the amazing nutrients that it needs to heal, stay healthy, and reduce the risk of illness. In turn, you will also find that you experience a reduction in cravings, particularly for sweets or processed foods. Often when we eat junk foods, we confuse the body. After eating, a message is sent to the brain announcing that it is still needing certain minerals and vitamin causing cravings. After drinking a nutrient dense juice your body is getting all that it needs and has no need to signal the brain. And it is pretty obvious how not having cravings can help someone losing weight.

3) Tasty Fuel

It is also handy to know that green juices taste great! You can make your juice really flavorful by adding in lemon, mint or ginger to add a tasty punch. You may enjoy the flavors of the juice so much that you choose to make a juice rather than eat another less healthy snack food. It is also worth noting that juice you make at home is a much better option than that which is store bought. Fresh juice made with a base of vegetables is going to contain much more nutrition than the kind that comes from a carton. Even fresh, store-bought juices often have sugars and other additives as well as preservatives added to the juice. On the other hand, a homemade vegetable and fruit juice delivers nothing but goodness that is healthy fuel for your body.

4) Crowding out

This is a principle we learned at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is my favorite approach to weight loss. By adding fresh juices into your daily regimen as either a snack or a meal, you are crowding out the junk that you would have otherwise eaten. Instead of focusing on what you cannot have which leaves people feeling deprived and just wanting that forbidden junk even more, we focus on adding in the good. Over time you start to realize that your body chemistry has shifted and you don’t reach for the junk food as often.

5) It is not a fad diet

Once you start making juicing a regular part of your lifestyle, and start to experience all the health benefits and begin losing weight without a struggle, you will realize that incorporating fresh juices into your life is definitely not a diet fad. Unlike regimented diets that are difficult to follow and which can often make you gain weight, juicing works in such a remarkable way that you will want to include juicing in your life forever. You will never feel deprived or hungry. Not only that, but other aspects of your health will also improve. You might notice your skin is clearer, your eyes are brighter, and your nails and hair grow more quickly. You will also have more energy and you will start to feel amazing. Juicing will become a way of life you will want to follow forever!

6) Fun and Variety

In order to lose weight and to stay motivated, life needs to be fun, right? Juicing is the ideal way to bring this into your life. As you start to get into juicing, you will find it great fun making new combinations of fruit and vegetables cocktails. You will make all kinds of unique and interesting drinks, and you will find that you never get bored from the endless variety of beverages that you can make for yourself and others. You will also want to share these drinks with others, which will mean getting encouragement and support from those around you as you continue your weight-loss goals. Support is extremely important when it comes to making, and sticking to, healthy changes in your life. Really, juicing is a fabulously fun, easy, and healthy way to shed those unwanted pounds without any struggle or deprivation. You have nothing to lose by starting to make green juicing a regular part of your lifestyle. To get you started, here is a delicious and easy juice to kick-start your weight-loss:

Green Ginger Juice

4 carrots

2 apples

1 cucumber

½ beetroot (peeled)

1 rib celery

1 lemon

1-inch piece of ginger (or more!)

Run the vegetables through your juicer and enjoy!

June 17, 2014
5 Cheap At-Home Health Tests That Don’t Require A Doctor

Have you been searching for a reason that things aren’t quite right or wondering why those annoying symptoms keep popping up? Or do you feel great but are curious how you are doing on the inside? These 5 tests are a great place to start as you search for clues and gather information. The cost of functional lab work that we use to check hormones, detoxification, intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and food sensitivities can cost a lot of money! Although they are often needed, why not start with the basics? Read on to find out how to use these cheap (or free) tests in the comfort of your home. Great tools for monitoring your own progress!

To test at home: Blood Sugar Levels

Did you know that balanced blood sugar is the common attribute of people who live to be over 100? Keeping blood sugar from fluctuating is extremely important to health and longevity. Monitoring your levels can give insight into how your body reacts to the foods you eat.

1)   Buy an inexpensive glucometer. Glucometers can be really expensive and the strips can be even more expensive (I pay $1.00 per test strip since I didn’t have this handy information before!). Amazon has the Tru 2 Go for only $13.25 and the test strips that go with this are $17.50/100 (17.5 cents ea).

2) For 7 days – test your blood sugar first thing in the morning before having any food (ideally 12 hours since your last meal) for your fasting blood sugar level. An ideal level is less than 86 mg/dL. Although this is not the number that is considered “normal” at the doctor’s office, this study shows that a person with a fasting glucose level of 90-94 has 49% greater risk of developing diabetes compared with a level less than 85. While testing, I highly suggest that you keep a detailed food journal to watch the patterns. For my more advanced testers you can check blood sugar levels 1,2 & 3 hours after a meal to see how you are reacting to a food. If you want more information about this topic Chris Kresser has an awesome article Why your “normal” blood sugar isn’t normal (Part 2).

To test at home: Food Sensitivities

An elimination diet is a good test to find out if you have a food sensitivity. According to Dr. Mercola, food and chemical sensitivities are estimated to affect up to 50% of Americans. Sensitivities are much harder to pinpoint than a true food allergy, because sensitivities cause a slower and more subtle response. The top 5 Food sensitivities are corn, soy, gluten, dairy and eggs. But, your sensitivity could be to any food. If your gastro-intestinal tract is compromised or has been under attack for a long time, you might have devolved sensitivities to many foods. To test: Remove most common food sensitivies corn, soy, gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, and processed foods, alcohol, sugar and anything else that you suspect might cause a problem (I also have my clients remove most beans & grains since this can be hard on digestion for many people) for 2 weeks. Add one new food back in every 2 days and watch for any reaction. Reactions can include digestive problems, skin issues, headaches, or low mood and energy. A food journal of mood as well as physical symptoms is imperative in this process.

To test at home: pH

An Acid-Alkaline balance in the body is an important factor for your health.   Just as we know it is important to keep your pool at a certain pH or funky things will grow, this is the same within your body. Cancer thrives in and acidic environment but cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Maintaining a proper pH will help the body be able to detoxify and will increase our immunity.

6 days in a row

1)     Buy pH strips from your local drug store or health food store in the supplement section

2)     Upon waking (before eating or drinking anything) put one strip in your mouth to test your saliva

Should be 6.8 to 7.2

3)     Test 1^st urine between 5 am and 8 am – this should be more acidic because during the first 4 hours of sleep your body removes acid from the joints.

4)     Test 2^nd urine (before eating if possible) – This is the most important reading to give you a good baseline of where you are for the day

Should be 6.8 to 7.2

To test at home: Candida

6 days in a row

Spit in a glass of water 1^st thing in the morning when you wake up before eating, drinking or brushing your teeth. Check the glass over 45 minutes. If after 45 minutes your spit is floating on the top, you are good to go. If the spit has formed legs and traveling down, we need to work on your balance. If the spit has completely dropped to the bottom, then candida is planning a major takeover and we need to take care of the candida to improve your health.

To test at home: Thyroid Health

3 days in a row

Take your temperature first thing in the morning when you wake up. Put your thermometer under your armpit and then get back into bed for 10 minutes. You can also take your temperature before you go to bed and 20 minutes after each meal. If you are consistently under 97.4 then you might have a sluggish thyroid.

June 10, 2014
Signs Your Adrenals and Cortisol Aren’t Helping your Athletic Performance

I was on my way to becoming a professional marathon runner when all of a sudden I got knocked off course by my out-of-whack hormones.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t exactly a professional, but I ran my first marathon in Honolulu in 2009 and finished without dying!! I think that is pretty professional, and it makes for a much better story than the truth; I was a recreational runner who ran a few races, got the itch to run faster, train harder, do speed workouts, and increase the long runs but ended up dizzy and dehydrated with a painful IT band, low cortisol and imbalanced hormones instead.

Is anyone else in this boat? A lot of us are, but if you are thinking, “Not me, I am in my prime!” then this is the perfect time for you to get ahead of the game. You can find any small imbalances and restore balance before you would have suspected they might be there.

Many of the practitioners in the holistic health field spend a lot of time trying to help other people avoid making the same mistakes that they made, and I am here to do the same. Symptoms are the last thing to occur as a sign of imbalance. This means that we may have lost 30% of our optimal function before our body gives us a sign! Using functional lab work, we can find and correct this imbalance at its earliest stages.

For an athlete, this is exciting. This is a chance to make sure we are getting the best possible performance out of our body, maximizing our potential and endurance, while also fending off the potential for burn-out.

Top signs your body is sending you that your adrenals might be struggling include:

1)   Brain Fog – Did I take my vitamins today? I think I did, but I am not sure. Sound familiar? Or maybe you can’t remember 🙂

2)   Slow recovery from exercise – I used to think it was normal to have a headache and need a nap an hour after a hard workout. If you are still trying to recover from a workout more than 30 minutes later, then your adrenal glands might be struggling.

3)   Up and down energy and mood swings – Sleeping at your desk in the afternoon is a true sign of adrenal dysfunction. You might tell yourself that it is only because you had a hard workout that morning, but often it carries over to days that you don’t work out. Ideally, our cortisol level is highest in the morning, which gives us enough energy to get up and go, and be able to keep up for the rest of the day.

4)   Carb and sugar cravings – Hitting up the vending machine or taking a quick trip to Starbucks no matter how many times you tell yourself you will quit tomorrow. When our cortisol output is low due to chronic stress of all kinds, we turn to carbs and sugar for quick energy.

5)   Loss of libido – Although we are talking about athletic performance, performance could be lacking in other areas as well. When all of our hormonal resources are used for cortisol, the stress hormone, our sex hormones are often depleted.

6)   Trouble sleeping – ‘Tired but wired’ is a classic sign of adrenal dysfunction. Ever feel so exhausted but once lying in bed you can’t seem to sleep because your monkey mind starts jumping from one crazy thought to the next? Or do you feel like you are tired all day and then get a second wind around 8 or 9 pm? Elevated nighttime cortisol, when it is supposed to be going down so that you can sleep, is a really common finding with my clients.

7)  More allergies and sensitivies – You never used to have a problem with hay fever or gluten but now you do. Instead of just blaming this on the seasons or your new dog, consider this a warning sign from your body.

8)  Digestive issues – When your body is in a state of stress, the fight-or-flight reaction kicks in and digestion takes a back seat to survival. This is great for the occasional life-threatening chase by a bear, or when you are about to win the Boston Marathon, but not so great when this is your day-to-day life. For runners with digestive issues, we know how horrible (and embarrassing) this can be.

9)   Weak immune system – Chronic infections are the name of the game for people with adrenal fatigue, and include bacterial, viral, fungal, yeast. I was in the “best physical shape of my life” yet came down with shingles at age 28 during my marathon training. Don’t ignore the signs that your body is giving you.

10) Training harder with little improvement in muscle tone – Making gains quickly in beginning, but then plateauing or getting worse, is a dreaded situation for an athlete. DHEA and testosterone are important for muscle building. Most of my client’s have very low DHEA and testosterone since the master hormone pregnenalone has been consumed by the constant need for cortisol.

11)   Injuries – For me , it was IT band issues. The dreaded pain in your knee when you are 10 miles out on a 20 mile run! Although an injury might seem completely unrelated to your hormones, the more injuries stacking up, the more we suggest you get those levels checked.

Wondering how to get your hormone levels checked? It is quite simple, and there is no need to drive to a lab or get an appointment with your doctor. As a part of my 4 month program I will send you an easy at-home test that requires you to spit into four vials during the day. All you do is seal them up, put them in the self-addressed return package, and drop them off at FedEx. In 2-3 weeks, when I receive the lab results we will discuss how well your lovely hormones are doing and help to balance anything that has gone astray!

June 3, 2014
Simple Radish Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

(Makes 2 Servings)

2 cups mixed greens

½ bunch watercress

½ cup cucumber, chopped

2 to 3 radishes, thinly sliced

¼ cup parsley, chopped

TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

1 large Roma tomato

1 to 2 sundried tomatoes

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 scallion

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

¹/₈ cup fresh parsley, chopped

¹/₈ cup fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Make the vinaigrette. Add your fresh tomato, sundried tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, scallion, basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, raw apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and black pepper. Blend until well incorporated. Set to the side to allow the flavors to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Prepare your salad. Wash your mixed greens and add them to a bowl. Then wash the watercress. Remove thick tough ends of the watercress and place in a salad bowl. Add radishes, cucumber, and parsley. Mix and top with your tomato vinaigrette.

June 3, 2014
Berry Mood Stabilizer

1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries or blueberries

1 Teaspoon maca powder

1 Tablespoon almond butter

1 handful of spinach

1 Tablespoon raw, organic honey or stevia to taste (optional)

Blend and Enjoy!

May 22, 2014
20 Healthy Foods Found at Costco for Less

I am sure that prices vary in different locations, but in sunny San Diego I have gotten pretty used to a large chunk of my check and my right arm going toward groceries. If you are like us and also look for these kind of items; organic, grass-fed, pastured, non-GMO, chemical/nitrate/additive-free, then you know what I am talking about!

How can we eat healthy or buy organic food when on a budget? This seems to be a top request from clients so I thought I would do a little research at Costco.

After 1 hour with a 3 year old clinging to my leg, here are the 20 items that made it into our cart! We didn’t have time for the fruit and veggie section, but I know that they carry a good amount of organic produce, so check that out as well!

Top Finds of the Day:

1)      Albacore Tuna (Wild Planet) – $14.99 for 6-5 oz. cans

2)      Almond Milk- unsweetened (Silk) – $7.79 for 3- ½ gallons

3)      Organic Apple Juice (Evolution)- $5.69 for 64 oz.

4)      Avocado Oil (Chosen Foods) – $9.49 for 33.8 oz.

5)      Bison Burgers (Kiva Sun) – $13.49 for 6 burgers

6)      Organic Brown Rice (Lundberg) – $13.79 for 12 lbs.

7)      Chia Seeds (Nutiva) – $13.99 for 32 oz.

8)      Organic Chicken Breasts (Coastal Range)- $16.89 for 3 lbs.

9)      Organic Cold Pressed Juice (SUJA) – $29.49 for 9-12 oz.

10)   Organic Frozen Strawberries (Pure Nature) – $8.99 for 4 lbs.

11)   Hemp Hearts (Manitoba Harvest) – $14.89 for 28 oz.

12)   Himalayan pink salt (Kirkland)- $3.99 for 13 oz.

13)   Hummus (Pita Pal) – $5.99 for 32 oz.

14) Grass-Fed Butter (Kerry Gold) – $6.99 for 3-8 oz. bars

15) Coconut Oil (Nutiva) – $22.49 for 78 oz.

16)   Organic ground beef (Kirkland) – $17.99

17)   Organic sundried tomatoes (Kirkland) – $8.99 for 4 lbs.

18)   Organic Quinoa (Truroots) – $18.99 for 64 oz.

19)   Organic Raw Coconut Water (Harmless Harvest) – $15.89 for 4-16oz

20)   Tangerine juice (Evolution) – $5.69 for 64 oz.

What else have you found at Costco? I would love your input in the comments below!

Happy Shopping.

May 20, 2014
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
Look around. Stress and stressed out people are everywhere!

Is this the most stressful era in which to live? Maybe, or maybe not. But we seem to be getting hit with stress from all sides.

We have one type of stress that comes in the form of a stressful situation, like the death of a loved one, a demanding job or a physical injury. These are the known stressors, whether they are physical or mental/emotional.

But we are also affected by hidden stressors. Hidden stressors include eating the wrong food for your bio-individual type, being exposed to heavy metals or living with bugs and parasites. In a world where toxins and chemicals are in everything–our air, water and food–we are constantly bombarded by stress.

All stress, no matter what kind, invokes a response from the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are a triangle shaped endocrine gland that sit on top of the kidneys. These little glands, no bigger than a grape, are required to produce the hormones needed to regulate energy production, immune function, heart rate and other stress reactions.

What happens when we repeatedly produce cortisol, the stress hormone, in response to the many stressors in our life?

Let’s break it down a bit. The release of cortisol in response to stress or danger is lifesaving when you are being chased by a bear. However, the same chain reaction occurs while watching a violent movie. Although there is no inherent danger, your blood is redirected to your arms and legs to get ready to fight, your heart rate increases, and your airways open. In this state, other functions such as digestion, reproduction and repair are put on hold.

It makes sense. I mean, what good is great digestion anyway if you were just eaten by a bear?

Although it makes sense, repeated exposure to increased stress hormones can wreak havoc on the body. In modern times we enter this fight or flight mode at every hour of the day in response to things such as traffic, a crazy boss, too many bills or our children screaming. The constant production of cortisol starts to deplete our valuable resources needed to make other hormones.

These neglected hormones are necessary for every single human function. So, you can imagine why we end up with symptoms like these:
- Weight gain in waist, inflammatory hormonal fat
- Increased appetite and cravings due to blood sugar fluctuations
- Low libido
- Loss of muscle mass
- Poor memory
- Excess mood responses after eating carbohydrates such as pasta, breads, and sugar
- Bone loss
- Sleep disturbances, tired but wired feeling
- Thyroid issues
- Increased risk for GI infections
- Increased inflammation, lower back pain
- Hypoglycemia – shakiness, lightheaded
- Sugar cravings
- Salt cravings
- Low blood pressure
- Allergies, chemical sensitivities
- Stressed out feeling, depression
- Cold body temp
- Excessive sweating or perspiration with little activity
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Chronic infections (bacterial, viral, fungal, yeast)
- Tendency to startle easily
- Cystic breasts
- Premature aging
- Dry, unhealthy skin with excess pigmentation
- Hard time recovering after exercise
That doesn’t sound fun does it?

You will also notice that these symptoms affect many different parts of the body. One of the reasons that the symptoms are so varied is that there are 3 phases of adrenal fatigue. Although you might experience a kind of a “high” in phase 1 with increased anxiety and the tired and wired feeling, by the time you reach phase 3 you might just barely be able to get out of bed!

So, are you ready to stop experiencing all of these symptoms? I know I was. Read Top 10 Tips for a Tired Mama for the easily-implementable steps that I used to help restore balance to my adrenal glands.

Which of these symptoms can you relate to?
May 13, 2014
Top Ten Tips for a Tired Mama
Two years ago I didn’t have the energy to brush my teeth. I would lie in bed before work thinking about what body part I could break that wouldn’t be that painful but would keep me out of work for a few weeks? Yes, I was THAT tired. I was in phase 3 adrenal fatigue. There is no phase 4.

Two years later, things are quite different. I am able to juggle a full-time corporate job (although not for much longer!), build my own health coaching business, attend courses for continuous education and keep delicious, nutritious food in the house all while running after a 3 year old.

Don’t get me wrong, my health is always a work in progress, but the difference between 2 years ago and today is night and day.

As you can guess, one of the most common questions I get asked is this “What did you do to restore your adrenals and your energy?” Here are my top ten tips for the busy person or mom who suspects adrenal fatigue or hormonal imbalance.

1) Start with the numbers. Get your hormone & cortisol levels checked with a Functional Medicine Doctor or a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) practitioner like me. We use a saliva test with samples taken at four times during the day. This provides a baseline of the state of your hormones and also gives clues into what other areas need investigating. An individualized supplement protocol based on your lab work can offer support and improve energy while we are digging to find the root cause of your adrenal fatigue. Sometimes we need a little boost before we can make lasting changes in diet and lifestyle.

2) Blood sugar balance is key. This was incredibly important for my shift in energy. I learned that when you eat is just as important as what you eat. One study looked at the fasting blood sugar levels of nearly 2,000 men, over a 22-year period. Men with fasting glucose levels over 85 mg/dL had a 40 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The same study indicated that with fasting blood sugar between 85-90mg/dL, there is a 20 percent increased risk of dying of a stroke or heart attack; from 90-95mg/dL there is another 20 percent risk of dying of a stroke or heart attack. (1)
- When to eat. This is the most important factor when trying to maintain blood sugar balance. For busy mamas who get up and go, you MUST eat breakfast. I know, I know. How many times have we heard that this is the most important meal of the day? But it is true! Eating within 30-60 minutes of waking will set you up for a balanced day. Establish a route of preparing all of your smoothie supplies the night before, or make an egg burrito ahead of time and heat it in the toaster oven.
- What to eat. For every meal and snack, include a carbohydrate, protein and fat. All carbs are not created equal when it comes to blood sugar regulation. Complex carbs such as quinoa, brown rice and sweet potato are ideal. After eating a half of a sweet potato every day at lunch with cinnamon and coconut oil, my blood glucose numbers stabilized.
- Test your blood sugar. Consider buying a glucometer at the drug store. Take your blood sugar first thing in the morning and then thirty minutes before each meal for a week. This will give you an idea of exactly how you are reacting to what you are eating.
3) Drink water with minerals. Are you constantly thirsty but then when you drink water it doesn’t seem to quench your thirst? This is really common for those with adrenal fatigue. Making sure you are getting enough water is important, but the quality of the water is just as important for adrenal health. Our body is craving the minerals that are naturally in spring water. Since nowadays it has become necessary to filter our water, the good stuff gets filtered out with the bad. We drink a tall glass of water and our body is thinking “where the heck are the minerals that I asked for?” My suggestion is to buy spring water if you can. If you cannot, then you can add the minerals back in with a product like Concentrace Trace Mineral drops.

4) Sea salt on everything! Salt is bad right? Not anymore! I remember when my nutritionist told me to put as much Pink Himalayan salt as I could stand on all of my food. Sure! Sea salt is packed with minerals that support the adrenals and it is delicious.

5) Chicken Bone Broth just like Grandma said. Christa at The Whole Journey taught me that daily bone broth with help someone recover from adrenal fatigue 30 percent faster! I don’t know how I would measure that 30 percent, but bone broth was an important part of my protocol. Bone broth made from organic raw chicken bones (all of the bones!) that is cooked over a 24-hour period helps with gut repair, has highly absorbable forms of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur and is an easily digestible protein. It’s the perfect food for someone in deep adrenal fatigue who needs the maximum nutrients with minimum effort.

6) Don’t forget Vitamin C! Healthy adrenal function requires vitamin C. Tissues in the body use more vitamin C during times of stress. Vitamin C is found naturally in a lot of foods such as citrus fruits, leafy greens, tomatoes, sprouts, kiwi, papaya, red pepper, and cauliflower. One teaspoon of Camu Camu powder added to a smoothie has the same amount of vitamin C as eating 6 oranges, so this is a good option for those of us who really need a boost!

7) Magnesium is essential. Magnesium was really important for my journey out of zombie-land. I would add 2-4 ounces of Magnesium oil, 1 cup Epsom salts and lavender in a bath and soak most evenings. The same thing can be accomplished with a foot bath while you read a book or watch TV. It is a great way to help your body relax while you are also absorbing your way to feeling better!

8) Sleep! Maybe this should have been #1, because this is very important. Every hour of sleep that you get before midnight is like 2 hours in terms of rest and recovery for the adrenal glands. Aim to be in bed by 10pm every night. Don’t forget that the lights from the TV or electronic devices stimulate the pineal gland and can throw off your sleep cycle. I ask my clients to avoid all screen time after 8pm.

9) Less Stress, more massages. As a mom, we sometimes feel that we have to do everything. Create a list of all of the top activities that drain your energy. Brainstorm which of these activities are critical and which could be put on the back burner or delegated. This might sound silly or simple, but this is crucial! We must give ourselves the space and energy for recovery if we want to be able to restore balance.

10) Minimize alcohol & caffeine. Do you wish you had an intravenous drip of caffeine every morning but instead settle for multiple cups of coffee? Although VERY common, heavy use of alcohol and caffeine is very stressful to the adrenals. They give us a quick fix that leaves us ultimately in a more depleted state, causing us to need even more the next time around. This is a very rough cycle.

If you are heavy coffee drinker, start by switching to organic and try to get yourself down to only 1 cup. Always make sure to eat you breakfast first. If you really love the morning ritual of coffee, you could try something like Teechino, an herbal coffee alternative or green tea.

Note: In addition to the above recommendations, the basis of all of my programs to restore hormonal balance starts with eating whole foods while minimizing refined packaged foods, additives, chemicals, toxins, alcohol and caffeine.

Disclaimer: Please see your Doctor to rule out any serious conditions. This information is not meant to diagnose or treat disease, but is just what I have personally found to work well for me.

References:

1. Bjornholt JV, Erikssen G, Aaser E, et al. Fasting blood glucose: an underestimated risk factor for cardiovascular death. Results from a 22-year follow-up of healthy nondiabetic men. Diabetes Care. 1999 Jan;22(1):45-9.
May 13, 2014