Health | Linda Vezzoli

Ten signs you may be addicted to running on stress hormones… and what to do about it

26th May 2021 By Linda Vezzoli

In today’s modern society, being busy and productive is seen as a badge of honour. Busy busy busy, work work work! If you’re not doing or constantly producing, you are slacking off. Back in the day when we were not constantly reachable by phone or email, when our work day was done, we were able to go home and spend time with our family and rest. I remember during my childhood in Italy often seeing adults and elderly people simply sitting out in the street in the evenings chatting or people watching. Nowadays our work never seems to stop, we are constantly online and available and being stressed has become synonymous with daily life.

Some of us may have become so used to running on stress hormones, that it may feel strange when we are not always on the go, or when we stop, we crash. One of my clients was telling me the other day, for example, that she absolutely adores what she does for her work and loves being in a constant creative flow, but when she eventually takes time off, she is almost bedridden with fatigue. On my client intake form I have a question ‘do you feel guilty when relaxing?’ and more often than not, the answer that is ticked is ‘yes’. Isn’t that crazy when you think about it? And what are the consequences of being a society of Energiser bunnies?

Let’s have a look at some signs which may indicate that you are running on stress hormones. Do you identify with any of these? If so, let’s chat!

10 signs you are running on stress hormones:

Sugar cravings
Needing caffeine to keep energy levels up
Irregular or painful periods, or symptoms such as night sweats
Struggling to sleep or waking up in the night
Frequent urination
Constipation or bloating
Not hungry in the morning
Feeling anxious, overwhelmed or losing your sh*t at the drop of a hat
Exhausted but seem to have more energy after a workout (which you never skip)
Feeling cold all the time

How many people do you know that are experiencing these symptoms? I sure do know a few, and I was one of them! Here’s the thing: the stress hormone cortisol can give us a temporary energy boost, because it’s there to keep us alive. In a life or death situation (say, we find ourselves we are face to face with a bear) cortisol will increase our blood sugar to help us fight or flee, will give us laser sharp focus so we can assess the situation, and will downregulate digestion and reproduction because these functions are not essential for survival. So when we are running on stress hormones we may feel more energetic (to begin with!), not feel hunger and even feel like we are more alert and sharp than normal. Awesome right? Not so much. The stress response should be a temporary measure, for emergencies, not a state we should be permanently in. In the long run, the constant release of stress hormones will mean that our digestion is compromised, leading us to feel bloated all the time or constipated. Our reproductive system will have been downregulated, which can show up as irregular or painful periods, PMS symptoms or even menopausal symptoms such as night sweats. Our blood sugar will be messed up and we may find ourselves with crazy sugar cravings or prone to bingeing due to being on a blood sugar rollercoaster. With hormones and blood sugar out of whack we may also be feeling more anxious or overwhelmed, or find ourselves losing our proverbial sh*t at the drop of a hat. We may feel tired but wired, unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, waking up multiple times a night to urinate. And because constant activation of our stress mechanism will impact thyroid function and metabolic health, we may start to feel cold all the time.

Does this symptom picture resonate with you at all? If so, the first step is recognising that stress may be affecting you – once you have acknowledged it then you can start doing something about it! Here are my top tips for reducing stress:

Eat regular meals to balance blood sugar and blunt stress hormones. That means eating within 30 minutes of waking up, girl! And having regular meals and snacks throughout the day. Always combine a protein with a carbohydrate and some fat for optimal blood sugar balance.
Get outside in the daylight and move your body regularly. When I say move your body, I do not mean punish yourself with gruelling workouts every day. Getting outside for a walk in nature in the mornings can do wonders not only for our mental health, but also helps lower our stress hormones and set us up for great sleep later in the day. If you have a sedentary job, take breaks throughout the day and move your body.
Prioritise sleep. I have talked about the importance of sleep extensively in this blog post. If you are neglecting sleep or finding that sleep is an issue, work on optimizing sleep. Lack of sleep is a further stressor on the body, which will perpetuate your stress symptoms.
Rest. This is so important! If you are feeling tired, sleepy or fatigued, take a break rather than forcing yourself to push through with exercise. The whole ‘you’ll never regret a workout’ mentality is so toxic, as it justifies pushing our bodies above the limit when really what we actually may need is some well deserved rest! If you have not slept properly the night before, opt for a more restorative form of exercise such as walking or yoga.
Re-evaluate your life load, prioritise and learn to say NO! We cannot be everything to everyone, so it’s important to look at all the things we are saying yes to and prioritise. Look at your weekly or monthly schedule and if it’s packed to the rims, consider cutting back some activities or tasks to ensure you have some much needed downtime.

Let me know if you have tried any of these tips and how you got on. If you would like to have a one-to-one chat with me to see how lowering your stress can help your health flourish, then click here to book a free 30 minute discovery call with me and let’s get you started on your healing journey!

Is estrogen dominance affecting your hormonal health?

17th May 2021 By Linda Vezzoli

As a nutritional therapist who specialises in women’s health, I see so many clients in my practise who are struggling with issues such as mood swings, PMS symptoms, low libido, and fertility issues. A lot of women tend to accept symptoms such as painful breasts, cramping before and during a period, mood swings, cyclical headaches as part of the menstrual cycle, but often these are signs that there is an imbalance in the two main hormones involved in the menstrual cycle: estrogen and progesterone. Having too much estrogen – or not enough progesterone – is known as ‘estrogen dominance’, and I am seeing more and more of it in my practise. In this blog post, I am going to explain the role of estrogen and progesterone, as well as outlining some signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance, potential causes and what we can do to address this imbalance. If any of this information resonates with you and you are struggling with any of the symptoms below, we should definitely talk!

What are estrogen and progesterone?

Estrogen is a steroidal/ sex hormone whose main function is growth and proliferation. It is most prominent in the first half of our menstrual cycle, i.e from day 1 of our menstrual bleed up until ovulation. Its role is to thicken the uterine lining as well as triggering ovulation. We usually have a surge of estrogen just before ovulation, which acts as a trigger for our ovary to release a mature egg. Estrogen also has a stimulatory effect, which may contribute to us feeling more energetic and sassy in the follicular phase of our cycle (we also get a little boost of testosterone just before ovulation, which can explain why we may feel more in the mood mid-cycle!).

Progesterone is also a steroidal hormone, whose function is to maintain a pregnancy (pro-gestation), but also has a calming effect on the body. It is the star of the luteal phase of our menstrual cycle (from ovulation to menstruation) and is produced by the corpus luteum (the ovarian follicle which has been released during ovulation). Progesterone has been referred to as ‘the great sedator’, which may explain why often pregnant women feel that ‘pregnancy zen’ (progesterone levels are 200 times higher than normal in pregnancy). It may also explain why in the second half of your cycle you may feel more introverted and wanting to relax rather than go out on adventures! Progesterone is not only involved in pregnancy, however, but also has strong anti-stress effects, as well as other important functions in our body.

“Experiments have shown that progesterone relieves anxiety, improves memory, protects brain cells, and even prevents epileptic seizures. It promotes respiration, and has been used to correct emphysema. In the circulatory system, it prevents bulging veins by increasing the tone of blood vessels, and improves the efficiency of the heart. It reverses many of the signs of aging in the skin, and promotes healthy bone growth. It can relieve many types of arthritis, and helps a variety of immunological problems.” (Ray Peat)

Estrogen is often referred to as the ‘women’s hormone’ because it is produced in our ovaries during our menstrual years – although we now know that we carry on making estrogen even after menopause, in our peripheral tissues, especially our fat tissue. There are 3 types of estrogen: estradiol, estrone and estriol (produced in pregnancy). After menopause, our ovaries stop producing estradiol, but our other tissues carry on producing estrone. Progesterone, on the other hand, is mostly made in the ovaries, and after menopause there is a huge drop in the production of this protective hormone. So often menopause is a time of unopposed estrogen rather than love estrogen. Mind blown yet? Anyways, that is a subject for another day! Let’s get back to estrogen dominance and have a look at symptoms and potential causes, as well as what we can do about it.

Signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance:

Irregular menstrual cycles
Mood swings
Painful periods
Increase in PMS symptoms
Insomnia
Spotting before your menstrual bleed
Fibrocystic lumps in the breast
Anxiety
Weight gain (especially around the thighs and hips)
Headaches and migraines
Low libido
Varicose veins/ Bulging veins on the back of the hands
Cellulite
Memory problems
Fertility issues
Uterine fibroids
Endometriosis
Uterine polyps
Low thyroid function
Fatigue
In men: fertility issues, erectile dysfunction and gynaecomastia (‘man boobs’)

On top of causing a lot of the symptoms listed above, high levels of estrogen increase a person’s risk of ovarian or breast cancer, strokes and blood clots.

Remember, estrogen dominance can happen even when estrogen levels are low – as long as there is not enough progesterone to keep estrogen in check.

What causes estrogen dominance?

Stress:

Chronic stress is one of the main reasons why you may be estrogen dominant. This is because progesterone is the precursor to our stress hormone cortisol, when we are under chronic stress, our body has to use up progesterone to keep up, causing us to have less available to balance out estrogen. Other stressors which can affect estrogen levels include poor sleep, excessive or intensive exercise as well as undereating, fasting or having imbalance blood sugar levels. Katharina Dalton, who studied and treated PMS extensively, observed that “Progesterone receptors do not bind to molecules of progesterone in the presence of adrenaline, which is released when the blood glucose level is low”.

The oral contraceptive pill

Often women are recommended to take the pill in order to regulate their hormones, but the birth control pill is usually just a big ole dose of estrogen. Not only does it not address the root cause of your hormonal issues, it downregulates your menstrual cycle which means that as soon as you stop taking the pill, you are back at square one. On top of that, you are getting estrogen on top of estrogen, leaving you even more estrogen dominant. Even progesterone only pills may be an issue, as synthetic progestin used in these progesterone only pills can actually bind to other hormone receptors in the body, causing them to effectively have an estrogenic effect.

Exposure to endocrine disruptors in personal and homecare products

Our modern environments contain a lot of man made chemicals which act as estrogens in the body. These can range from chemical laden personal products we use on our bodies, to cleaning products and fragrances used in our home, plastic containers, furniture and even clothing.

Poor liver and gut health

When estrogens are used in our body, they need to be detoxified and excreted. Our liver is our main detoxification organ and the one responsible for detoxifying estrogen once it’s used and getting it ready to be excreted by the colon. If our liver is not functioning properly, this process is impaired, and our estrogen levels are increased. Once the liver has detoxified estrogen and packaged it up in a lovely parcel to be excreted from the body, it is sent to the colon to get excreted. If our gut health is not optimal, it may not be excreted fast enough, and that lovely little package can be opened and sent back into circulation in the body.

Excess body fat

Our fat tissue not only stores estrogen, but it can also convert other hormones to estrogen through a process called aromatisation. This can become a vicious cycle, as the more fat cells you have, the more estrogen you produce, which in turn can cause our weight to increase.

So what can we do to improve this estrogen/ progesterone balance? Here are my top tips!

Reduce stress: identify sources of stress in your life and find out how to reduce these. Although we cannot always control external stressors, there are plenty of stresses we do have control over, i.e. how well we sleep, how often we eat, the type of exercise we do and the people we surround ourselves with.
Optimise digestion: ensure you are having daily bowel movements and address any gut dysbiosis issues. Eating a raw carrot salad every day is a great way to help do both.
Love your liver: your liver is the main organ in charge of removing excess estrogen, so if liver function is not optimal, chances are you are not getting rid of excess estrogen efficiently. Include liver loving foods as well as avoiding substance which tax your liver (I’m looking at you, glass of wine!).
Look at reducing endocrine disruptors in your environment (chemicals in the home and personal products) – switch to more natural products or learn how to make your own!
Eat regular, nutrient dense meals which balance blood sugar. Ensure you are not skipping meals and always balancing blood sugar by combining protein and carbohydrates with each meal, as well as a little fat for hormonal health and satiety.
Optimise sleep. If you are not sleeping well, find the root cause and work on optimising sleep. I work with plenty of clients who struggle to sleep and often some simple nutrition and lifestyle adjustments can make a big difference. You can find out more about sleep and hormonal health in my blog post about sleep.
Consider changing your birth control method.

If you are struggling with any of the symptoms above and would like to delve deeper into hormonal balance, testing can be a helpful tool. If you feel like you could use some more personalised investigations and nutrition and lifestyle plan, I would love to chat to you! Click here to book a free discovery call and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help your hormones flourish.

Five reasons why you may not be losing weight

15th March 2021 By Linda Vezzoli

Weight loss – a topic that comes up quite often in my conversation with clients during our consultations or on discovery calls. A lot of messaging and marketing in the wellness sphere is heavily focused on weight loss, and yet I have many clients who are doing ‘all the right things’ and not seeing a shift in their weight or in some cases, may even see their weight creep up. If it is really as simple as eating less and moving more, then what gives?

Today I thought I’d try a different format and jump on a video to talk about five possible reasons why you may not be losing weight. In this video I will share the five things which may be standing between you and weight loss. Some of them may suprise you! Let me know if any of these resonate with you.

If you’re looking to optimise your health and metabolism in order to maintain a healthy weight effortlessly, and are ready to do health differently this year, I would love to talk to you! Click here to book a free discovery call and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help you flourish.

How to Feel Your Best in the Dark Winter Months

3rd January 2021 By Linda Vezzoli

With the days getting shorter and the air getting colder, we tend to become more susceptible to winter illnesses. This can be due to factors such as lack of sunshine, spending more time indoors with poor ventilation, as well as comfort eating and indulging in alcoholic drinks during the holidays. Most of us will have started the New Year with unrealistic resolutions such as restrictive diets, cleanses and unsustainable exercise routines. However, in doing so we may be depriving our bodies of the nutrients it needs to function optimally, cause unnecessary stress and even some long term damage on our metabolism. Also, the dark winter months are not exactly the time we should be depriving ourselves, are they? The darkness itself can be a stress on our system and our mindset, so we want to be incorporating daily habits which make us feel great and happy.

So what can we do? By nourishing ourselves well throughout the year, we can give our body the building blocks for optimal health and immunity. Trust me, there is no need for extreme dietary and exercise regimes. In this blog post I will outline what I recommend to my clients and what I practise daily myself.

Boost your nutrient status by eating regular meals

Most of us are chronically undereating or not eating frequently enough, so my first point of call is to ensure we are eating enough calories and including a variety of easy to digest carbohydrates (fruits and root vegetables are the best sources) and nutrient dense animal protein (such as eggs, dairy, fish and seafood, gelatin and grassfed meats and organs). When focusing on winter immune health, Vitamin C is a well known powerful antioxidant. My favourite Vitamin C rich foods include oranges and citrus fruits, pepper, strawberries, melon and kiwis. Drinking a freshly squeezed orange juice with breakfast is a great way to start the day and give your body some much needed carbohydrates first thing in the morning. Furthermore, oranges contain a substance called naringenin, which has been shown to have potent anti-inflammatory effects on viral infections including COVID-19 and SARS.
Including zinc-rich foods such as seafood, properly prepared lentils, grass fed beef and lamb can help with immunity provided by your mucous membranes, including the gut lining – which we know is fundamental for immune health. Vitamin A is also important to include for immune health, as well as skin and reproductive health. Liver is a great source of vitamin A, and is one of my top fertility superfoods (more information on why can be found in my blog post here.) Betacarotene is a vitamin A precursor (i.e. it needs to be converted into the body into retinol) and can be found in orange produce such as carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes. Remember, eating well cooked vegetables and stewed fruits in the winter helps with digestion and keep us warm!
Reducing foods high in refined carbohydrates (such as processed baked goods, biscuits and pastries) is helpful as these foods will negatively impact your white blood cells (needed to attack pathogens) as well as your microbiome – which we know now is a key player in immunity. I actually find that when clients include more ripe fruits and good sources of carbohydrates into their daily diet again, a lot of the cravings for processed and refined sweets (and even alcohol!) magically vanish – it’s incredible what happens when we give the body the glucose it needs.

Get outside daily, especially first thing in the morning.

Getting some daylight on your eye retina first thing in the morning will lower stress levels and regulate your circadian rhythm. Moving your body daily has a profound effect on immunity. Whilst strenuous exercise has been shown to temporarily suppress our immune function, regular, moderate exercise is beneficial. As little as 30 minutes of walking five times a week can increase white blood cells and antibody response, whilst acute bouts of moderate duration (<60 minutes) and intensity (< 60% VO2max) will positively impact our natural killer cells, neutrophils and macrophages. Walking in nature has also been shown to have a positive effect on mood and mental well being. If unable to go for a walk first thing in the morning, aim to have your cup of tea or coffee in the garden or by an open window 🙂

Open your windows for 10-20 minutes every day

Even in the bitter cold, airing out your house every day will get rid of condensation (which leads to mold), toxins, dust, viruses, bacteria and indoor air pollution, all of which can have a negative effect on our health. Central heating also tends to dry out our mucus membranes, form a mechanical barrier for pathogens entering our bodies. Exposing our lungs to fresh air daily can also help lower our stress and anxiety levels.

Prioritise sleep

Yes, I know I sound like a broken record! Getting a regular eight hours of sleep and finding time for rest and relaxation replenishes the immune system and improves resistance to infection. Lack of sleep depletes many nutrients and can increase the body’s production of cortisol – our stress hormones. If you are struggling with your sleep, look at practising good sleep hygiene such as avoiding screen use 2 hours before bed, dimming the lights in the evenings and keeping your room temperature cool. You may also want to ensure you are eating enough carbohydrates throughout the day and consider having a bedtime snack. I have written a separate blog post about sleep here.

Minimise stress

Did you think you could read one of my blog posts and not have me talk about stress? Yeah, I thought so! Stress depletes nutrients important for health defence, such as Vitamin C, zinc and magnesium, as well as affecting your metabolism and thyroid function (also crucial for overall health). Easier said than done, but one important thing to remember is that most stress is a mindset – your brain cannot distinguish from actual stress (i.e. being chased by a bear) and perceived stress (i.e. sitting in a traffic jam) and will activate the same physical stress response system, which can have damaging repercussions on your health. Look at including mindfulness and relaxation in your daily life and working on a mindset shift.

Ensure you are adequately hydrated by drinking mineral rich fluids.

Central heating tends to dry out our mucus membranes, form a mechanical barrier for pathogens entering our bodies. Including plenty of fluids such as herbal teas and infusions, soups and bone broths into your daily diet can replace the ones lost during fevers or from your body making mucous. Remember not to overhydrate – there is no need to be drinking litres of water every day – this can actually cause you to dilute your electrolytes and affect your mineral status which is so important for cellular hydration. Over hydrating can also cause a whole host of digestive issues. Our bodies will remind us to drink by making us thirsty!

Consider taking an immune tonic.

One of my favourite immune tonics for the winter is elderberry syrup. You can make this yourself by simmering some dried elderberries until half the liquid has absorbed and mixing the decoction with equal parts honey (this is a lovely recipe), or you could purchase elderberry syrup (I like Pukka). Echinacea root tincture is fantastic for cold and flu and bacterial infections or for general immune strengthening.

Now, does this sound more inviting than a 10 days raw juice cleanse? I thought so! Hey, I hear you: I used to make unrealistic New Years resolutions which would be very short-lived and unsustainable, causing me to feel guilty and like I’d somehow failed to become the ‘new me’. I now know better and realise that true health means playing the long game – you will find no quick fixes, 30 day diet challenges or magic pills around here! I help my clients feel great by nourishing their bodies daily, not depriving themselves. If you’re ready to feel empowered and back in control of your health, click here to book a free discovery call with me and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help you flourish this year.

References

Perspective: The Potential Effects of Naringenin on COVID-19
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7546806/

Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9701160

Exercise and the Regulation of Immune Functions https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26477922

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9129268

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205674/

http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Antibiotics.html

Should you be eating breakfast or skipping it?

18th December 2020 By Linda Vezzoli

To breakfast or not to breakfast – this is the million dollar question, a topic that’s often highly debated in the health sphere.

I will admit it, I have never really been a breakfast person. Even as a teenager, I remember my mother chasing after me with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the mornings so that I would at least not go to school on an empty stomach. Through my adult years I have had breakfast on and off, and in recent years, with the advent of the intermittent fasting trend (I will write a blog post about this soon!), I found the perfect excuse to skip this meal. Having said that, I have always recommended to my clients never to skip breakfast, especially for fertility, hormonal balance and for weight loss. But I’m only human and sometimes I don’t practise what we preach, right? *slaps own wrist*

There have been periods of time when I have woken up early to do a high intensity workout, had a coffee for breakfast and not eaten food until 11am because I was too busy. The fact that I was not hungry and actually felt ‘energised’ seemed to confirm my idea that I did not need breakfast. Little did I know that the reason I felt so ‘good’ was because I was running on adrenaline. And once I started to experience untoward symptoms like hair loss, weight gain around the middle and my thyroid function tanking, I quickly realised that my habits were contributing to these symptoms.

Today I’d like to explain why it’s important to eat first thing in the morning, and what a balanced breakfast looks like. But let me start by explaining about what happens overnight and in the morning with cortisol and liver glycogen.

The stress of darkness

In his book Generative Energy, Ray Peat writes that darkness not only increases the rise in our stress hormone cortisol, but also progressively damages the mitochondria (the cell organelles that generate most of our energy), which are then restored during the day. Falling glucose levels also signal for cortisol to rise, so if there is not enough glucose stored in the liver to take us through our nighttime fast, cortisol and adrenaline will be released and will cause us to wake up in the night (or give us nightmares).

Sleep minimises the increase of cortisol, however this hormone will still fluctuate during the night, depending on our glucose levels. Our blood levels of cortisol are usually higher in the morning, and tend to wane throughout the day. Cortisol rises quickly when we first awaken and continues to rise for about 60 minutes (this is often called ‘the awakening response’). By eating breakfast as soon as possible after waking up, we can blunt those cortisol levels and put our body in a more relaxed state. By further eating regularly throughout the day, we will keep our blood sugar levels stable, staving off any unnecessary adrenaline and cortisol spikes triggered by low blood sugar. Interestingly, eating regularly throughout the day will also have an impact on the quality of our sleep, which will in turn lower our body’s stress levels.

Furthermore, our stored glycogen in the liver (which is where our body gets its energy from) is usually very low in the morning. Without adequate glycogen stores we are also unable to convert thyroid hormone, which will in turn could lead to symptoms such as low energy and mood, weight gain, low body temperature, menstrual and fertility issues. By eating a good breakfast soon after waking, we are restoring our glycogen levels and energy levels which will help with blood sugar regulation throughout the day, and help our thyroid work optimally. Breakfast really does kickstart out metabolism!

Numerous studies have also shown that skipping breakfast is associated with more risk factors for disease, such as cardiovascular health, type 2 diabetes and even ‘all cause mortality’. One study even found that ‘Skipping breakfast is related to cardiovascular risk factors such as lack of exercise, smoking, high blood pressure, and high serum total cholesterol.’ Skipping breakfast has also been associated with an increased risk of obesity. How? Prolonged periods of fasting – even just the overnight fast and avoidance of breakfast – can increase insulin resistance or increased insulin levels in the next meal consumed. This can further exacerbate stress in the body, which will have a knock-on effect on all other aspects of health (you can read more about stress and hormonal health here)

But I’m not hungry in the morning!

Hans Selye, the founder of the stress theory, noted that a well known symptom of stress was loss of appetite. A strong appetite is a sign of a healthy metabolism and digestive fire. If you don’t feel hungry in the morning, chances are you are running on adrenaline. And the only way to break this cycle is by eating. You can start small, for example a boiled egg and some fruit, until your appetite returns and you can have a larger meal. If you drink coffee, you should wait until after you have had some food to consume it, so as not to exacerbate the stress response of having caffeine on an empty stomach. I always advise my clients to have a protein and a carbohydrate for breakfast for optimal blood sugar balance (with some fat to aid satiety). I will admit, I had to force myself to eat breakfast in the mornings, and actually recruited my daughter who would remind me every morning ‘EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!’ I now wake up hungry, and really enjoy having freshly squeezed orange juice, some eggs and fruit and a milky coffee with sugar. Pure bliss! I am also a fan of non breakfast foods for breakfast, such as bone broth soups and leftovers from dinner the night before. But the freshly squeezed orange juice (with a pinch of salt to further help the adrenals) is the first thing that touches my lips in the morning and it feels glorious.

My favourite breakfast options:

Scrambled eggs with some fresh fruit, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a milky coffee with collagen and sugar
A slice of spelt sourdough bread with chicken liver pate’, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a milky coffee with collagen and sugar
Stewed apples (with cinnamon, cloves and honey) with some greek yogurt, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a milky coffee with collagen and sugar
Soup made with bone broth, a side of fruit, orange juice and coffee as above

And guess what? Within 4 weeks of eating breakfast regularly, changing my exercise routine to mid-morning (and only when I had the extra energy) as well as fuelling myself regularly through the day, my hair stopped falling out and my thyroid levels greatly improved.

Our modern lives are filled with stressors, and most of us are constantly on the go or have a million things going on in our heads at all time. We are bombarded by information 24/7, and this year more than ever we have so much going on around us. All of this ‘busy-ness’ requires energy from our body, and fuelling it correctly is the best way to make our bodies resilient to life’s stresses.

So tell me, are you a breakfast person or not? Are you struggling with any of the symptoms above and need some more tailored advice? I’d love to help! If you’re ready to feel empowered and back in control of your health, click here to book a free discovery call with me and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help you flourish.

What your temperature and pulse can tell you about your metabolism and overall health.

4th December 2020 By Linda Vezzoli

Whenever I start working with my clients I always focus on getting the basics dialled in first – eating enough and nourishing the body, managing stress and optimising sleep. Then we look at potentially adding in some therapeutic supplementation, and further down the line in our journey together, we can also look at some functional testing to delve deeper into the root cause of any remaining unresolved issue.

I am so lucky to be able to access and offer my clients a lot of fantastic functional tests: hormonal panels, stool testing, SIBO breath tests etc. These can really identify what could be causing a chronic issue which may not have completely been resolved with diet, and can give us an idea of the correct protocol to follow.

Today, however, I want to talk about one test which can be carried out at home on a regular basis which gives us a great indication of what is going on with our own metabolism, the key to optimal health.

First of all – what is our metabolism?

The definition of metabolism is ‘the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life’ More simply said, it is the chemical process which turns our food into energy. The higher our metabolism, the easier it is to maintain our weight, but also has other health benefits like increased energy, better immunity, stable moods, healthy libido and optimal sleep.

What are signs of a healthy metabolism?

Steady energy levels throughout the day
Warm hands and feet
Regular daily bowel movements
Healthy libido and fertility
Pain-free periods and no PMS
Sleeping through the night
Stable and happy moods
Being able to maintain one’s weight easily, without dieting and exercise

Metabolic rate can be divided into:

Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR) – the minimum metabolic rate ( i.e. calorie expenditure) needed to keep your vital organs (lungs, heart, brain) functioning when asleep.
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) – the minimum metabolic rate needed to keep you alive when asleep or at rest. This accounts for 70% of the calories we burn.

Oftentimes I see clients who are stressed, toxic, overexercising or simply not eating enough calories to even maintain their resting metabolic rate. This has a profound effect on the whole body, which will respond to this lack of lack of calories by slowing everything down to conserve energy, resulting in them feeling cold all the time, urinating constantly throughout the day, digestive issues such as constipation/ gas/ bloating, hair loss, interrupted sleep, hormonal imbalances, low energy or weight gain.

One of the things I have started asking my clients to track their temperature and pulse. This can be done very easily at home and can be a great way to assess your current metabolic function and see if it needs some support.

Body temperature and thyroid function

Have you ever thought about why children seem to always run hot and it’s a constant struggle trying to get them to layer up in the winter, whilst as we get older we tend to feel colder even when we’re bundled up? Our body temperature tells us a lot about our metabolic and thyroid health. In fact, before we had serum lab testing for thyroid function, Broda Barnes (an American physician and professor of medicine who studied thyroid dysfunction in the 1970’s) used the morning waking temperature as an indicator of thyroid function. He also argued that hypothyroidism was responsible for many of the health issues he was seeing in patients at the time. And as one of the thyroid’s main functions is to regulate hormones which control our metabolism, it makes perfect physiological sense that a higher body temperature will indicate not only better thyroid function but also a better functioning metabolism.

Ideally your waking body temperature should not be lower than 36.4C and should increase after eating (a sign that your metabolism is revved up and blood sugar is stable) and throughout the day. It normally peaks to around 37C around 1-3pm and slowly reduces again before bed.

How to take your basal body temperature

You will need a thermometer – a basal temperature thermometer is best, but any digital thermometer will do.
Keep your thermometer on your bedside table.
Upon waking, before getting out of bed or doing any major movements, reach for your thermometer and place it under the tongue.
Keep under the tongue for a minute or so, then take your temperature
Record this temperature for 3 days in a row to see what your average is.
Measure your temperature again throughout the day (see below).

Please note that certain factors can affect your temperature reading such as:

Interrupted sleep – i.e. if taking your temperature before 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Alcohol consumption the night before.
Where you are in your menstrual cycle (your temperature will rise by about 0.5C after ovulation until menstruation.
If you have a temperature.

Your pulse rate and metabolism

Despite popular belief, a low resting pulse rate is not a sign of optimal health. It may be a sign of physical fitness (a lot of athletes have very low pulse rates), but fitness does not necessarily equate health. Exercise is a stress (albeit a good one if done correctly) and by exposing our body to chronic stress, our bodies become more efficient in surviving in this stress state and using up less energy. But this is not necessarily ideal. In fact, many fitness enthusiasts or athletes, despite being lean and fit, will still suffer from metabolic issues such as disturbed sleep, low body temperature, fertility issues and low libido.

Your pulse rate should be around 75-90 beats per minute upon waking and should increase after eating. If it’s higher than that (with low body temperatures) it could be a sign that you are running on adrenaline and are in a stressed state. High pulse rate can also be a sign of other health issues (such as high blood pressure, for example) so keep this in mind and look at the overall picture.

How to measure your pulse rate

Place your index and middle finger on your wrist or neck
Count your pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4 – this is your pulse rate beats per minute

To get a better understanding of how your metabolism is doing, chart your temperature and pulse throughout the day for a few days:

Upon waking
Before breakfast
20minutes after breakfast
Between 1-3pm in the afternoon
Before bed

https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22372331&appointmentType=21256235If you are noticing consistently low temperatures throughout the day (under 36.4C upon waking and under 37C in the early afternoon) and a low pulse rate (under 75bpm) then there is something that is affecting your metabolism and thyroid function. This could be your diet, your lifestyle, your stress or toxic load and you may need more tailored support in getting to the root cause. I’d be happy to help!. If you’re ready to feel empowered and back in control of your health, click here to book a free discovery call with me and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help you and your metabolism flourish.

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Hormonal Health

Thyroid and Adrenal Health

Healthy Weight

Corporate Wellness

Testing

If you’re ready to feel empowered and back in control of your health, click here to book a free 30 minute discovery call with me and let’s chat about how some bespoke diet and lifestyle changes can help you flourish.