wellness tips

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Getting the blues every now and again is quite normal, particularly if there is an obvious reason for feeling down. But if sadness starts to take over for no apparent reason, and is interfering with your life or someone you know, something needs to be done. And much can be done to resolve mild depression.   Increasing omega 3s (fish oil) consumption while reducing consumption of vegetable oils (omega 6), sugar and flour products and can help, as can exercising regularly, and getting to bed and turning out the lights by 10h00 or 10h30pm. These interventions aid in rebalancing hormone and neurotransmitter levels over time.  Making the effort to go out and do something fun with others can help a lot.  Even putting a silly smile on one’s face and assuming the posture of someone that is on top of the world can actually change one’s mood, as emotions and our physical body are intimately related. 

For those of us that have never experienced the horror of severe depression, I don’t think we can even come close to imagining how bad it is.  Here is a description of what living with depression is like from someone who has been there.  When one is suffering from moderate to severe depression, it is very difficult to find the motivation to do what is necessary help oneself.  If I felt that bad, I would probably try anything to feel better. The current belief is that imbalances in the neurotransmitters serotonin and/or epinephrine play a role in depression, and many of the current drugs given for depression work by keeping serotonin around in the brain a little bit longer.  The problem is that frequently over time, the dosage of SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) needs to be raised in order to get the same effect.  The rather severe side effect of suicide is well known with many of these drugs, as well.

If you are wanting to avoid or to gradually come off of antidepressants, an option may be to look into the services of Neurogistics, who examine  excretion levels of the various neurotransmitters and then provide amino acids  targeting specific neurotransmitters in order to rebalance them.  I cannot speak to the validity of their methods – anecdotal evidence suggests it may work.   Because neurotransmitters play such a fundamental communication role in our bodies, neurotransmitter imbalances are involved in a large number of health complaints in addition to depression, including anxiety, stress, insomnia,  lethargy, lack of motivation, lack of focus, poor memory, PMS, addictive disorders, and carbohydrate cravings.  I am in the process of trying out Neurogistics, and am looking forward to a great night’s sleep.

In the last couple of years, Dr. Helen Mayberg of the University of Toronto has done some very interesting research on depression, where she used PET scans to examine the difference in the brains of clinically depressed and normals.  What she found was that although the frontal and paralimbic sections were less active, an area just over the roof of the mouth, which was named Area 25, was overactive.  When healthy people asked to think sad thoughts were scanned, they too had depressed frontal lobe activity and hyperactivity in Area 25.  And those that had managed to cure their depression had less activity in Area 25.  Dr. Mayberg concluded that hyperactivity in Area 25 feeds depression, and lowering activity in this area resolves it.   When electrodes are inserted into Area 25 with leads attached to a pace maker emitting a continuous four-volt current, two-thirds of clinically depressed patients felt much better within months, and others felt profound relief as soon as the current was turned on.  This shows that one can almost consider Area 25 a "depression mood switch". 
Hopefully this will eventually lead to better treatments that don’t involve cutting holes through the skull for deep brain stimulation.

Related tips:
How hormones, steroids and neurotransmitters work
Mind and body; psyche and soma
Sugar, the disease generator
Light pollution messes with our hormones

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Here is a topic I am intimately familiar with. I don’t think I realized that it was abnormal to feel so tired all the time until I started to feel better. I just figured that fatigue came with the insane pace of life.

I haven’t completely licked this problem, but I figure I’m 90% there, and I feel SO much better than I did. I used to DRAG myself out of bed in the morning (okay, I still do …), and I would wake up sometime between 10am and noon, no matter how early I physically got out of bed.

I would rely on a black tea to get me going in the morning and I would feel okay until about 3 or 4 pm, when suddenly fatigue would hit me like a ton of bricks. Unfortunately, my evening appointments would be starting around then, so I would get another tea and a sweet, and plow through my evening as best I could, trying to keep my eyes open.

I remember dragging myself down the hall to my condo after work. The thought of having to prepare ANY meal was overwhelming, let alone something that was somewhat healthy. But miraculously, after dinner I would feel like a million bucks. The best I’d felt all day. That was my power time, when I could focus well and get stuff done.

So, I took advantage and stayed up late, getting to bed at midnight at the very earliest. And so the cycle would start again the next day.  Sound familiar? And my symptoms were mild. Many are constantly sick and suffer from mild depression in addition to the overwhelming fatigue.

Our adrenals are tiny organs that sit on top of our kidneys that secrete steroid hormones including cortisol, the "stress hormone" that helps us cope with day-to-day stress. The adrenal hormones effect every system in the body, including how we metabolize our food, where we deposit our fat (that poochie belly we can’t get rid of no matter how much exercise we do), blood sugar regulation, sex hormone regulation, brain function, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and immune function.

When we don’t get an adequate break from all the stressors in our life, like poor quality diet, poor sleep patterns, too much work stress, mental and emotional stress, a lack of or too much exercise, being sick, catastrophic events etc., our adrenals become “fatigued”, and over time, have difficulty secreting adequate cortisol.

Addisons Disease is extreme adrenal exhaustion, but most people will be feeling pretty bad long before they are close to having Addisons. According to Dr. James L. Wilson, an Adrenal Fatigue specialist, the “normal” range used in blood cortisol testing is too broad, so many physicians miss the problem. Therefore symptoms like the ones I described above need to be considered. If you constantly feel dizzy upon rising, this is a sign that your adrenals are not functioning well.

According to Dr. Wilson, you can test yourself by shining a flashlight from the side of your head across your eyes. Your pupil should constrict and remain constricted (get smaller). If you have poor adrenal function, your eyes will not be able to maintain the contraction, and they will begin to dilate again within 2 minutes, and may remain dilated for 30 to 45 seconds before constricting again.

If fatigue is your constant companion, the first thing I would do is make sure you are eating unprocessed, high quality food in the right proportion of carbs, proteins and fats based on your metabolic type. That alone can be quite powerful in reducing symptoms of fatigue, along with a whole host of other issues.

If your cells are getting the nutrients in the ratio they require, your cells are healing from the inside out. Using a Metabolic Typing Advisor to help you learn about and implement your personalized eating plan is highly recommended. Because sugar, processed flour (another word for sugar) and caffeine are stimulants, they are about the worst things you can do to compromised adrenals.

Examine your life for energy thieves, and eliminate them. Stop doing things that don’t inspire you, and stay away from people that drain you. Force yourself to go to bed by 10pm, and if possible, sleep in a bit in the morning. Enjoy naps or lie down for at least 15 minutes in the day and imagine vividly that you are in your favourite place in the world. Enjoy some mild exercise daily, like yoga, qi gong or tai chi. Go for a walk in the woods.

If you think you might be suffering from adrenal fatigue, seek out the help of a medical professional or naturopath who can test your cortisol and DHEA rhythms through saliva testing.  If you can’t find anyone local, Biohealth Diagnostics can do this kind of testing for you, and assign a doctor to you. 

The test results would determine whether or not hormones like pregnenalone or adrenal cortical extracts may be helpful, and the doctor can guide you with regard to dosage and timing. It takes time for the adrenals to recover, so be as disciplined as you can with your food and sleep etc., and be patient with yourself.

Related tips:
Customized Nutrition
Is going to bed too late making you fat?
FEAR = False Evidence that Appears Real
Blood-Sugar Regulation
Exercise parameters

www.wellnesstips.ca

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A healthy environment is an absolute must if we are to remain healthy and disease free, and I’m sure it is obvious to you that our environment is being sorely threatened, from the air we breathe, to the water that supports all life, to the soil that gives life to the plants that provide food and habitat for land animals. There is a lot we can do to turn the fate of the planet around, and if enough of us act together, we can use our buying power to have a big impact quickly. Because companies are so bottom-line oriented, choose to only support companies that tread lightly on the earth. Make the environment part of your buying criteria when making large purchases as well as the small day to day ones. Don’t buy stuff that is overly packaged. Choose dish-washing and laundry detergents that are phosphate free, and only wash when you have a full load. With food, refuse to support commercial agribusiness that kill the organisms in the soil and pollute our waterways with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Only buy organic produce, preferably local, (farmer’s markets are great!) so the food doesn’t travel far using fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases.  Only choose pasture-fed meat and dairy, and free-range poultry and eggs.  Don’t support factory farms that are cruel to the animals involved and cause huge pollution problems. Governments are largely hamstrung by trade laws and industry lobbyists, and don’t have the courage to make the tough environmental decisions for fear of the economic and legal repercussions. As individuals, we have more power than governments to create big change, by how we spend our money. Companies are beholden to their customers, and even the worst offenders will change if their customers demand it, or they will go out of business. So, use your purchasing power wisely, and spread the word! Pass on these fun yet educational links: The Meatrix and The Meatrix II, Revolting and StoreWars.

Changing the subject rather drastically, let’s talk about the Elixir of Youth. Yes, such an Elixir does exist, and it is very powerful. To become younger, you must take this Elixir at least three times a week on a regular basis, and over time you will notice signs that you are regaining your youth. You will notice your energy increasing, your moods improving, your stress levels decreasing, your muscles becoming stronger again, your body regaining a more youthful appearance, your body-fat decreasing, your balance improving, and your skin becoming more clear and radiant. It won’t be long before you are sleeping much better, and you may even find that your aches and pains are disappearing! If we could look inside your body, we would notice that you are controlling your blood sugar much better, your bones are becoming stronger, your blood pressure is improving, your joints are lubricated and working better, and your digestive system is functioning better. Some may find that over time, your life is expanding – you are once again capable of doing things that perhaps you were unable to do for a while. You are indeed reducing your biological age. The Elixir works well if taken regularly, and doesn’t work at all if not taken frequently enough. Is this Elixir expensive or hard to obtain? No. Do you want some? It is yours for the taking. The Elixir is exercise.

Related tips:
Organic vs. Conventional meat, poultry, eggs and dairy
What is organic food?
Eat local and save the world

www.wellnesstips.ca

Well, today was Easter Monday – I didn’t take appointments today, although I did catch up on paperwork at home. It was sort of sunny, and it crossed my mind that I should go out for a run. Break up the time I spend at the computer. Get the blood flowing. It would be good for me.

But you know, I really hate running. Every April I say “this year I’m going to learn to like running”, and I drag myself outside, and for 15 or 20 minutes I torture myself and with every breath I ask myself how soon can I stop. And then I keep it up three times a week for about a month, and then sometime in May I drop it.

I don’t understand how runners find that activity fun. I really admire people that love to run, and I really want to be like them. Running whips one into shape so quickly. And it is a natural movement. Remember when we were kids how much fun we had running around? What happened? Now I’d rather bike 100km than run 5.

So, did I go out running today? No. I sat outside on the porch and felt guilty that I didn’t. Tomorrow the mental battle begins again.