The Freedom to Live 5 things Friday
Every Friday, 5 things of value from the integrative health sciences.
The best of the best functional medicine, educational resources, research, quotes, books, tips, advice etc. all from the key pillars of the integrative health system.
1. A focus on Micros: Track your Micro Nutrition
Here is a chart from Health Canada that outlines the Required Daily Values needed from our daily nutrition.
These reference numbers assume that the person is already healthy and at adequate and sufficient levels.
This week, I researched Apps, there must be an app that tracks micro nutrition since there's a million already out there to track macros, food, water intake, weight loss etc.
The best I came up with is Nutrients (formerly known as Foodle). On here I can track my meals and micro nutritional value.
It's less about counting calories and macros (yes important), but to a point.
Let's track the value of our food and then we can see where exactly we need to supplement the diet.
After a day of tracking, as you can see below, I didn't meet my Daily Required Nutrition. I'm low in critical nutrients like my B vitamins, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium.
Try it out!
If you want to discover in how much detail you are getting, here is a great example. 1 cup of cooked unsalted broccoli.
The Macros, Micros, Amino Acids, so much information!
2. Magnesium & Stress
When the body is under chronic stress (emotional, mental, physical), this impacts our levels of key nutrients in the body.
Magnesium specifically is rapidly lost under stress. One study in Kosovo found that those under chronic war stress lost large amounts of magnesium in their urine.
Excess alcohol, salt, coffee, sugar, phosphoric acid in pop/soda, profuse sweating, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics, other drugs, as well as some intestinal parasites.
Source: The UltraMind Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman
Implement More Magnesium Rich Foods:
Sea Vegetables
Nuts
Greens
Beans
Remove/Reduce Stress and Magnesium Depleting Foods:
Coffee
Alcohol
Sugar
Image source: Integrative Health Practitioner Course
3. Mindset: Words from Tiny Buddha . com
4. Exercise and the Blood Sugar Connection
I've been testing blood sugar at the gym for people and teaching how to use an at home glucometer.
🧠Blood Sugar balance is one of the cornerstones of health.
I'm surprised at how much of this is a reality
⛈THE PERFECT STORM:
⚠️Skip breakfast
⚠️Skip meals (long fasting)
⚠️Just coffee breakfast
⚠️Combined with hard workouts and lack of sleep.
👉Long-term low carb low calorie diets are essentially nutrient deficient diets. "It's the only thing that has ever worked".
You may get short term results and win a challenge, but at what cost? 😓
In fact this is the perfect recipe to keep weight on and train your metabolism to survive within these conditions instead of thrive.
This IS survival mode. 🧪
👩🔬Cortisol and glucocorticoids are released singling for sugar to be sent into the blood stream as a response to this biologically perceived famine, physical exertion, lack of nutrients; aka perceived danger or threat to your existence. Over time, this constant release of sugar leads the body to stop responding (insulin resistance).
5 Steps to get back to balanced blood sugar and metabolism:
1. Have a smoothie breakfast
2. Eat 3 balanced meals with enough protein, healthy fats, and good carbs (fibre) to be satiated for 3-4 hours.
3. Give yourself 3-4 hours in between meals without food.
4. Fast overnight from after dinner to morning (no evening snacking)
5. Do some steady state cardio like walking, biking, low rep push, pull, squat, lunge sequences, or stretching to help lower blood sugar after your last meal of the day.
**This last step is super important to lower blood sugar and get into a deeper rest.
Try this for 30 days. 👊🌷
5. Toxicity Exposure: EMFs
REDUCE EMF EXPOSURE is a known mutagen aka carcinogen.
Linked to brain troubles, mood disorders, heightened anxiety and depression; plus all the other symptoms in the above info graph.
1.Turn off WiFi at night
2. Don't sleep with your phone by your head or in your room. Use Air Plane mode.
3. House Plants and Salt lamps help absorb toxins and naturally filter the air.
4. Avoid using wireless ear buds.
5. Opt Out of your home energy smart meter.
*** Apple ear pods emit between 0mV/m – 10 times the level of a mobile phone call. They continue to transmit even when the phone is in airplane mode + turned off. The only way to stop them from transmitting is to shut them in their case.
Check out this article here to see how to test EMF transmissions in your environment.
