Why Am I So Moody?!

Do you find PMS is lasting longer than it used to?

Are your moods more erratic or intense?

Are you feeling more flat, anxious or overwhelmed?

Changes in mood can be one of the major symptoms experienced by women who present with health concerns in clinic.  While a hormonal imbalance may be underlying our moods, there can also be other factors involved.

Low Progesterone (especially in relation to estrogen) is a common finding in women who are experiencing increased moodiness or low mood.  This imbalance can develop over time from multiple influences, especially ongoing stress and use of the pill.

Thyroid function is also impaired by stress and also plays a vital role in mood regulation.  If you've only had your TSH tested (this is what's usually tested by GP's), it's ideal to also get T3 and T4 tested with a Naturopath to really assess how well you are producing and activating your thyroid hormones.  The TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) can still look 'normal', even if the T3 and T4 are less than ideal.

Iron and B12 are also commonly low in clients.  These nutrients are important for mood and energy, and there's an increased chance of having insufficient levels if you are vegetarian or have digestive issues which can impair absorption.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to low mood and energy.  This is another important one you can get checked through your Naturopath, as Medicare no longer routinely covers this test for GP's, and many Australians are deficient.  This would be one of my most important nutrients to get checked as it also plays a huge role in our immunity and disease protection. Optimal levels are over 100 pmol/L.

Bacteria balance and our gut function is also strongly linked to our mood and mental health - known as the Gut-Brain Axis.  A large number of our neurotransmitters, which influence our mood, are produced in our digestive tract.  If there is an imbalance in bacteria, an overgrowth of yeast, parasites or ongoing infection or inflammation - our gut environment and subsequent impact on our mood will be less than ideal!

Inflammation in our bodies and brain has been associated with depression and mood disorders.  Our diet and lifestyles strongly influence the level of inflammation in our bodies.  Stress, sugars, processed foods, trans fats, chemicals, excess refined grain products and alcohol can all contribute to inflammation.

Quality fats, protein, vegetables and filtered water to support our brain function, and neurotransmitter and hormone production.  If the diet is lacking these nutrients our bodies and mind will be unable to operate optimally.

If moodiness is a symptom you'd like to address, I'd love to help you discover which of these underlying imbalances are relevant to you.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Have You Had Your Iron Checked?

While iron is important for men and women, it is especially important for women as we are losing iron every month during our reproductive years!  Iron requirements are also increased during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and low levels are associated with increased risk of infection and low birth weight.  Teenage females also require more as they are going through extra growth and have started menstruating.

Low iron is one of the most common deficiencies I see in clinic.  Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?

• Fatigue

• Dizziness

• Poor memory or concentration

• Hair loss

• Shortness of breath

• Infections / Poor immunity

• Ridged or brittle nails

• Pale skin, lower eyelids and poor capillary refill

• Low mood

• Restless legs

Iron is essential for transporting oxygen around our bodies, supports muscle function and is also involved in producing energy.  Our immunity relies on iron to function optimally as does our ability to convert thyroid hormones to the active form. 

Reasons your iron may be low include - 

• Heavy periods (possibly caused by a hormonal imbalance)

• Pregnancy and/or breastfeeding

• Eating minimal or no red meat

• Vegetarian or vegan diet

• Digestive issues, gluten intolerance, IBS, polyps etc which reduce your ability to absorb iron

• Antacid use or low stomach acid production

• High intake of flour, grains and legumes, coffee, tea or wine. These contain phytates or polyphenols which can bind and inhibit iron absorption

• Underlying infection, inflammation or bleeding

• Regular blood donation

• Worm or parasites which can cause gastrointestinal bleeding

• Heavy metal toxicity, especially lead, or high copper levels (commonly related to low zinc)

TESTING

An iron studies blood test will show you levels of your blood iron and also your iron stores (ferritin).  Ideally your blood level should be over 15 umol/L while ferritin should be over 100 ug/L.  Ferritin can be falsely increased if there is inflammation or infection present, and recent dietary intake can impact test results, so it’s best to do a fasting blood test.

If you have had blood tests that are ‘fine’ but you don’t feel ‘fine’, please see a Naturopath who can give you ideal levels to aim for, rather than just being in the test range which is quite large.  Many women have been told their results are fine, even though they are right at the low end of the range, which is definitely not ideal for feeling great! 

It’s also good to take into account your hemaglobin and red blood cell levels, as these will also decrease with insufficient iron.  

TYPES OF IRON

HEME – animal meat (containing hemaglobin)                                               15-35% absorbed

NON HEME – plant foods (vegetables, spinach, legumes, nuts)                  2-20% absorbed

Non Heme iron is impacted more by other foods in the diet, such as phytic acid (flours, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds) and polyphenols (black tea, coffee, wine) which inhibit absorption. 

Including both types of iron and eating foods away from coffee/black tea/wine as much as possible, and sprouting/fermenting/soaking grains, legumes and nuts to reduce phytic acid, will help you to support optimal iron absorption.   Consuming vitamin C foods such as citrus, capsicum and broccoli can also help increase non heme iron absorption.

Having not eaten red meat for many years, I’m currently having this dilemma – trying to include some meat again or having to take a supplement indefinitely!  I believe it’s best to get as much nutrition as possible from quality foods, as it’s the combination of all the nutrients, and probably other compounds that we aren’t even aware of yet, that make food superior to supplements, which are usually synthetic compounds.  

However, quality supplements do have a place and are a great way to help increase low levels.  It’s good to get your levels checked once or twice a year if you are prone to having low iron, or if you’re supplementing – just to check the supplements are helping and to check you still need supplements, as too much iron is not ideal either! 

Getting your levels checked is also a great way to determine if you are including enough iron in your diet, as the ideal amount to include will vary between women.

Many pharmacy iron supplements can cause constipation and nausea, and are not the most absorbable forms of iron, so it’s best to ask your Naturopath for a good quality supplement.  It’s best to take iron away from other minerals such as zinc, and to take on an empty stomach if tolerated. Good quality iron supplements will also contain vitamin C to help improve absorption.

If you would like to have your iron tested and assess any other areas of your health, I'd love to help you. 

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

5 TIPS TO REDUCE SUGAR CRAVINGS

Do you find yourself reaching for the sweet stuff more and more?

This is a very common experience for many women and one that can be tricky to break free from due to the addictive quality of sugar!  

There are a number of reasons you may be experiencing sugar cravings such as nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, stress or emotional issues.

There are also a number of reasons why you may want to limit sugar consumption including an increase in insulin resistance and risk of diabetes, ageing, weight, inflammation, triglycerides and blood pressure (an indicator of heart disease risk - which more women than men die from!).  

Sugar also reduces skin quality, sleep quality, energy and can cause an imbalance in other hormones, including ghrelin and leptin which regulate your appetite and satiety. 

While our bodies are designed to handle 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, they are not able to deal with a daily onslaught of added sugars! 

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Here are my 5 top tips to help reduce sugar cravings - 

1. Include adequate protein and fat at each meal - this helps to keep your energy and blood sugar levels more stable.  Focus on eating a variety of vegetables along with some protein and fat - free range eggs, grass fed animal products, butter/ghee, wild fish, avocado, olive oil, coconut products, nuts and seeds.

2. Have some low sugar snacks handy - tamari almonds, unsweetened yoghurt and berries, cheese and olives, hummus and veg sticks, apple slices with tahini or nut butter.  

3. Try some herbal tea - cinnamon is great for blood sugar and licorice gives a sweet taste to any herbal tea.  You could also try some kombucha or soda and lime. 

4. Take notice of any underlying reasons that are contributing to your sugar cravings - fatigue, stress, boredom, loneliness.  Sweet food can offer us a quick and easy fix to however we're feeling - but unfortunately this is only temporary and doesn't offer us any real solution.  Be kind to yourself as you become aware of any of these and work on changing your habits to ones that truly make you feel good - both now and in the future. 

5. Take a good quality Magnesium and B vitamin powder - these nutrients are important in regulating blood sugar and insulin, and are also great for energy production and stress.  Chromium and Gymnema are also great - a couple of drops of gymnema on the tongue will make anything sweet taste like cardboard!

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If you'd like to investigate any of these underlying issues, or would like some support in reducing your sugar addiction, I'd love to help you.  

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

When Exercise Can Prevent Weight Loss

If you're like many women trying to lose weight, you might be forcing yourself to do more exercise and/or more intense exercise.  While exercise has so many health benefits from increasing energy, reducing stress and improving mood, more is not always better! 

Like many women you may also be highly stressed and this is when more intense exercise could actually be inhibiting your ability to lose weight!  When your body is emotionally or physically stressed, your stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) are increased.  This stressed state encourages your body to hold onto weight, particularly around the belly, and impacts other hormones such as leptin and ghrelin which influence your appetite and metabolism.  

Stress hormones are given first preference and are produced at the detriment of other hormones - such as progesterone and thyroid hormones, which are also crucial for weight regulation.  This is why ongoing stress can be so detrimental to our bodies and why stress management may be one of the most important things to work on for lasting weight loss.  Our body and hormones like to be in a happy balance and stress really throws everything out of balance!

Intense or prolonged exercise can act as another stress on your body and make an already stressed exhausted woman even more so.  If your body is in a stressed state your nervous system is on overdrive and requires more gentle and calming exercise to help reduce those stress hormones and improve weight loss.  

Walking in nature, yoga, bike riding and dancing may be more suited to you rather than exhausting yourself with long runs, cross fit and intense gym sessions!

Once your body is in a less stressed state you could try some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which involves alternating bursts of high intensity exercise and rest over 20-30 minutes.  This type of training has been shown to be more effective than longer workouts for weight loss.  A mix of cardio, weights/resistance and more gentle exercise is great for overall health, along with eating a whole foods diet with adequate protein, healthy fats and a variety of vegetables.  

What you choose to eat will have the greatest impact on weight - and NO you don't have to count calories, just choose real unprocessed foods!

Always remember to listen to how you're feeling and adjust your exercise to suit.  We are all different and our own needs can change over time and also depend on what else we have going on in our lives.

If exercise is leaving you even more drained and exhausted it might not be the best type of exercise for you - so try out some other options and take notice of how they make you feel.  

Even starting with 1 session or class per week is great if that's all you can manage for now.  Once you notice improvements from this and enjoy it, you will naturally add in more to your week.  Going to a class, working with a PT or exercising with a friend can all help to improve your commitment and enjoyment - along with finding something you actually enjoy doing!  

Also don't forget to schedule exercise into your diary until it becomes a habit - make it and your health a priority as you would other commitments! 

If you would like more personalised support in reaching your weight loss goals and restoring hormone balance I'd love to help you in clinic or via Skype.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Top 5 Foods For Happy Hormones

Hormones play a huge role in women's health and are used in the body to send messages and instructions to different tissues and organs.  Some of our major hormones include

• Progesterone, Estrogens and Testosterone

• Thyroid Hormones

• Cortisol and Adrenaline

• Insulin, Ghrelin and Leptin

These hormones influence many aspects of our health including

• Menstruation

• Fertility

• Energy

• Moods

• Weight Regulation

Our bodies love to be in balance or homeostasis and our hormones are no different.  When a hormone imbalance develops over time, this can lead to symptoms and disease.

The top 5 foods to support happy and balanced hormones are -

QUALITY FATS - such as olive and coconut oil (cold pressed), olives, coconut products, avocados and butter from grass fed cows.  Hormones are made from cholesterol and other lipids (fats) - which is one huge reason why low fat diets are a terrible idea for women!  

Although we have been told fats are bad for us for decades, the right fats are essential for optimal health - on both the inside and out!  Adding fats to your food helps you to absorb certain vitamins and minerals, helps to keep you full for longer, provides energy and supports youthful skin.  Processed vegetable oils in plastic packaging are the damaging fats you will want to avoid.

QUALITY PROTEIN - eggs from true free range chickens, wild fish, grass fed meats and poultry, legumes/nuts/seeds (if tolerated - cooked/soaked for easier digestion).  Most of these proteins will also include some fats, and help to build hormones.

FOODS TO SUPPORT GUT HEALTH - include a variety of colourful vegetables (spray free when possible) which contain fibre, slippery elm powder, chia seeds, flaxseed meal, hemp seeds/meal, prebiotics such as artichoke, asparagus, onions/leeks and garlic, and fermented vegetables (if tolerated).  Your digestive system helps to bind and eliminate excess hormones and ensures optimal absorption of nutrients for hormone production and use. 

FOODS TO SUPPORT YOUR LIVER - cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and brussels sprout.  These contain I-3-C (Indole 3 carbinol), a compound which helps to reduce excess estrogens and support hormone metabolism, for which the liver plays a large role.  Onions, garlic, rosemary and turmeric are also great for liver support.  

(Avoid eating a lot of raw cruciferous vegetables if you have an underactive thyroid).

SEAWEEDS - contain iodine and other minerals which are essential for hormones and tend to be lacking in many diets.  Seaweeds can easily be added to foods while cooking, or sprinkled on top or meals.

Two of the major foods to avoid or minimise are sugars and soy.  Some fermented organic soy products such as tempeh, miso and tamari are ok for most women, but too much soy in general can affect estrogen levels. Sugar increases your need for insulin, and constant intake will increase your risk of diabetes (and the many complications that come with that), increase weight and contribute to other hormonal imbalances.

Keep it simple by filling up on a variety of colourful vegetables (spray free when possible) and add enough fats and protein to keep you satisfied for a few hours.  This can differ between women and at different times in your life - so always take notice of how your body is feeling and what foods help you to feel your best.

If you have a significant hormone imbalance supplements can help to correct this, and then you can maintain hormone balance through diet and lifestyle. I would love to help you get your hormones back into balance so you can feel your best!

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Why The Pill Will Not Fix Your Hormone Imbalance

It is a sad fact that women who present to their GP with hormonal symptoms are nearly always prescribed the pill.  The other options offered are the Mirena or in severe cases a partial or full hysterectomy.  It makes me feel sad that many women feel these are their only options!

While the pill may help reduce symptoms it is in no way fixing the underlying hormonal imbalance.  Your hormonal imbalance will continue to exist and when you stop the pill it's likely your symptoms will return or will have worsened.  While the pill is busy masking your symptoms it is also depleting your body of essential nutrients including B vitamins including folate, vitamin C, zinc and magnesium. 

There are many factors which can contribute to hormonal imbalances and having one blanket approach to the problem is unlikely to address womens individual needs.

Your menstrual cycle is an important indicator of your bodies health, so just masking your symptoms or using drugs to skip your period indefinitely is like putting your head in the sand!  However this approach is recommended to women every day by health professionals.

While there is a place for the pill and it's ability to help make womens symptoms bearable, there are many other treatment options that can help restore your hormones to a happy balance without side effects, and which many women are unaware of.  I don't want any woman taking the pill to feel bad, but just to be educated on the other options available to them, so that they can make a more informed choice on treatment options. 

Some hormonal issues such as endometriosis are now being shown to involve an underlying auto-immune issue, which Naturopathic treatment can also help with, but for which the pill will do nothing.

With salivary hormone and other blood tests we can better understand where your hormones are at now, possible contributing factors which led to the imbalance, and how best to restore hormone balance and improve your symptoms for good!

A hormonal imbalance can present with many symptoms and can also have a huge impact on your fertility.  So it's a great idea to work on any hormone issues now, so that in the future if you want to have children you will be much more likely to conceive and carry to term without complications.

Hormonal imbalances also contribute to diseases including fibrocystic breast disease, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, polycystic ovary syndrome and breast cancer.  So ensuring your hormones are in balance now, and learning how to keep them in balance, will reduce your risk of hormonal related disease later in life.

If you suffer from any hormonal symptoms such as irregular/heavy/painful periods, acne, PMS, endometriosis or ovarian cysts, please know that there are many effective Naturopathic treatment options available.  I would love to help you restore a happy hormone balance and eliminate your symptoms for good! 

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Why you should throw away your scales for weight loss!

Scales encourage you to put all your self worth into 1 number, and more often than not this creates feelings of self-loathing and hopelessness!  How you feel for the rest of the day hangs on that 1 number - and sometimes that can be a temporary high if it's the number you're hoping for, but more often than not it only creates negative feelings!

This 1 number can be super misleading and unreliable, which is why I encourage women to not use it as their sole marker of success, or even better to just throw their scales out!

You may have been trying really hard and feel you've lost weight, but if the scales say otherwise it can totally derail you!  The big problem is that your body shape and size can be changing significantly, while the number on the scale can remain unchanged or even go up! 

Our weight can also fluctuate depending on hydration, water retention, hormonal changes and other factors which differ from day to day.

Taking notice of how your clothes are fitting and how you're feeling energetically and mentally is a much more accurate way to track your progress - rather than letting 1 number dictate how you feel about yourself.  You can also use waist and hip measurements, or take photos every 2-4 weeks to track changes.

With any weight loss effort there may also need to be changes in mindset to make the weight loss sustainable.  Do you believe you're worthy of achieving your ideal weight?  Are you self-sabotaging your efforts and/or not dealing with underlying emotional issues?  

I'm not an expert in this area, but I do know that just working on self-compassion and coming from a place of love and kindness can have a huge impact on making lasting changes - and it makes the whole process much more enjoyable!  Are you exercising to punish yourself or to celebrate what your body can do and because it feels good?!  The same can be applied to the foods you're choosing to put in your mouth.

If you're struggling with weight loss there may also be other contributing factors such as hormonal imbalances, thyroid issues or excess cortisol production.  These are all factors that a qualified Naturopath can help you investigate and resolve.

If you've been addicted to using scales and it hasn't gotten you far or made you feel good about yourself, why not give life a try without them?!  

You are much more than a number! 

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, thyroid issues and weight loss.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Anxiety Symptoms And Natural Treatments

Anxiety can be a super hard thing to live with, especially when it's a constant companion and takes over your ability to enjoy life or just to function on a daily basis.

If you experience anxiety you are certainly not alone.  Anxiety is the most common mental health condition affecting Australian women, and our hectic pace of life is likely to see numbers continue to rise.

Anxiety symptoms can vary but commonly include -

• continual or excessive worry

• negative self talk and poor self worth

• sweating, palpitations, flushing, trembling, feeling faint

• shortness of breath or holding breath

• avoiding social situations

• relying on drugs/food/alcohol to numb anxious feelings

• panic and fear

• insomnia and fatigue

• unrealistic perception of event/situation

• nausea, diarrhoea, constipation

Anxiety could be occurring due to ongoing stress and worries, or could be related to imbalances in the body such as nutritional, neurotransmitter, hormonal, digestive/bacterial or genetic conditions such as pyrroluria or MTHFR.

While anti-anxiety medication may be helpful in the short term, addressing these underlying factors will help you to reduce anxiety symptoms in the long run, without the reliance or side effects of medication. 

I've found a variety of practices and supplements have helped to reduce my anxiety over the years - you can read more about that here.  In particular food, exercise, stress management and working on my mindset, beliefs and self talk have had the biggest impact.

There's so much that can help reduce anxiety symptoms, so please don't feel hopeless if you haven't yet found the combination that works best for you.  Keep reading, talking with others and asking for help - you definitely do not need to struggle with anxiety alone - even though that's what anxiety ironically encourages us to do!

I loved reading Sarah Wilson's book - First We Make The Beast Beautiful - it's reassuring to know there are other people out there who feel like you, there are other ways to view our experience of anxiety rather than just as a negative, and how you can use anxiety to help you live a fulfilling life.

Anxiety can make us feel very alone so I think it's really important to talk about it with others and share our experiences to help each other deal with our beautiful beasts! 

If you would like to investigate which imbalances may be contributing to your anxiety symptoms, I would love to help you.  You can book online here or check out my Anxiety Ebook.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

This Essential Practice Can Help You Achieve Any Of Your Goals!

No matter what your goals or intentions for the new year, there is one essential practice that can help you achieve them -  self compassion!

Whether you know it by this name or self care or self love, this essential practice involves being kind, patient and encouraging to yourself.  And it's called a practice - cause it takes practice!  Especially when your self talk and other habits have likely been on auto pilot for years! 

If you are trying to change habits or achieve something new it can be hard!  If your self talk is negative, harsh or unrealistic, or it makes you feel shame, guilt or inadequate, it's unlikely to motivate or encourage you to continue once your initial willpower has been exhausted.

How much more pleasant would it be to come from a place of love and treat ourselves with kindness and patience while achieving our goals?

Would you speak to your best friend or a young child in the way you speak to yourself?

While self talk is one aspect of self care, other areas include

• Stress management and taking time out for ourselves
• Booking in regular holidays or breaks at the start of the year, before we get to a burnt out stage
• Assessing what we spend our time/energy/money on, and if that's inline with our values and goals
• Working on our boundaries
• Working on our beliefs and mindset
• Being mindful and present and not being consumed by our past or future worries
• Accepting ourselves wherever we are at, but also working on improving any areas of our life where we'd like to grow, learn or change. 

There are many books, podcasts and websites which can help you in this area, but a good start is just becoming aware of your self talk and automatic assumptions/beliefs - as this is with us all the time and has such a huge impact on our quality of life.  A lot of times we aren't even aware how we talk to ourselves as it is so constant and automatic!

So take time to become aware of your self talk so you can then work on improving it to be more compassionate, supportive and encouraging as you work toward your goals!

If you would like some support in achieving your health goals this year, book in for a consultation here.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Top 7 Causes Of Fatigue - Part 2

Top Causes Of Fatigue - Part 2

PROGESTERONE, ESTROGEN AND TESTOSTERONE

Many factors in our lives can impact our hormone levels including stress, chemicals, plastics, diet and medications.  Our hormones like to be in a happy balance so when this balance is disrupted we can experience a range of reproductive and other body symptoms including fatigue.

Low progesterone, high estrogen or low testosterone are the most common imbalances I see which contribute to fatigue.  We can assess your levels through a salivary hormone test which shows the levels of these hormones including the three types of estrogen.  Testing will help to ensure treatment is specific to your particular hormone imbalance which will result in quicker symptom improvement.

METHYLATION ISSUES

Methylation is a process which is involved in many essential areas of health including energy production, mental health and reproduction.  A genetic mutation can reduce your ability to activate and utilise folate, and thereby reduce the efficiency of this methylation cycle (by 30-70%!) and contribute to fatigue and many other health issues.  This gene mutation affects the enzyme MTHFR (for short!) and reports estimate 1 in 3 of us may have this defect.  This means taking certain forms of folate - such as folic acid in supplements and consuming foods fortified with folic acid are not a good idea for everyone!  

A simple salivary test can detect if you have a defect in the 2 most common and researched gene variants.  However even if the test comes back negative, you could still have impaired methylation due to other reasons.  This is why it is important to work with a qualified Naturopath or Nutritionist in this area, and utilise other blood tests to assess other markers of methylation efficiency.  There is more involved than just taking an activated folate supplement!

POOR BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL

If you rely on sugars and flour products (and caffeine!) for quick energy, or these make up the majority of your diet, it's likely you will have blood sugar regulation issues which will contribute to fatigue.  This will be experienced as short bursts of energy followed by energy slumps or crashes. This pattern usually continues in an unfortunate cycle - however you can make simple changes to stop it!

Eating adequate fat and protein at each meal will keep your energy more stable for longer and keep you full for longer, as there will be less of an impact on your blood sugar and insulin levels.  

Include good quality fats such as olive, macadamia, avocado and coconut oils, grass fed butter/ghee/eggs/meat, local wild fish, avocado and some nuts and seeds.  

Don't forget to include a variety of organic vegetables too - you can fill up on these instead of bread!

A guide to daily protein is 0.8g per kg of ideal body weight.  So 0.8 x 70kg = 56g of protein per day, spread over 2-3 meals.  Of course this is only a guide and recommendations can vary depending on your activity level, health issues or if you're pregnant or breastfeeding.

FOOD INTOLERANCES

Many women are intolerant to certain foods even if they don't have a diagnosed allergy.  The most common are

• Gluten in Wheat, Barley, Rye
• Casein and/or Lactose in Dairy
• Soy
• Eggs
• Peanuts or Tree Nuts
• Shellfish
• Corn

We can also be intolerant to natural plant chemicals in 'healthy' foods such as

• Oxalates (spinach, kale, nuts, soy)
• Histamines (fermented foods, aged cheese, wine, avocado)
• Salicylates (tomato, zucchini, blueberries, almonds)

Food intolerances may produce digestive symptoms or may present in other ways such as fatigue, headaches and irritability.

There are blood tests which test different panels of foods however it is not always completely accurate and will only pick up an intolerance if the tested foods have been consumed recently.  Working with your Naturopath and eliminating foods for certain periods of time can be another option to figure out the foods you feel best on.

Food intolerances can improve once gut health has been improved, so you may not have to avoid these foods forever.

If you would like to get to the bottom of your fatigue and improve your energy in 2018, book your consultation today! 

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Still Tired Even After A Holiday?

TOP 7 CAUSES OF FATIGUE

Are you feeling refreshed and full of energy for the new year?  If not there's likely an underlying reason!  Fatigue is a very common symptom for the women I see in clinic - here are the top 7 causes and the tests we use to figure out which one is relevant to you.

NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

These can be some of the quickest to notice improvements in energy levels with the right supplement.  However it's also our job to figure out why you developed this deficiency - is your digestive function impaired, are you lacking certain nutrients in your diet, are your periods excessively heavy?

The most common deficiencies I see in regards to fatigue are

• Low Iron and/or Ferritin (iron stores)

• Low B12

• Low Vitamin D

A simple blood test can help us assess your levels and determine the best dosage and supplement.

UNDER-ACTIVE THYROID

Even if your GP has said your thyroid is fine - just being in the test range does not mean your levels are ideal or optimal!  You can have an under-active thyroid which affects the amount of thyroid hormone (T4) produced and/or the amount converted to the active form (T3).  This can be happening without having 'diagnosable' hypothyroidism.  

An under-active thyroid is especially common in women who have ongoing stress - as stress really impacts thyroid function.  Weight gain, poor cognition, dry skin, constipation, hair loss and high cholesterol are other common symptoms of an under-active thyroid.

A simple blood test from your Naturopath which tests the 3 thyroid hormones (TSH, T4 and T3) is essential, to give a total picture of how your thyroid is functioning.  Due to medicare, GP's usually only test TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) - which alone doesn't tell us enough about your thyroid hormone production and conversion to active T3.

ADRENAL FATIGUE

Women today are pushing themselves more and more - and burning themselves out in the process.  We all have a tipping point and can handle stress for a certain time before our body starts to seriously malfunction and fatigue.  Your adrenal glands produce cortisol (and other hormones) in response to any type of stress - and while some cortisol in short bursts is fine, many of us have high cortisol 24/7!  Eventually your adrenals cannot keep up with demand and your cortisol production will fall, or your regular cortisol pattern over the day will become dysregulated.  This will mean your cortisol and energy will be higher at night, instead of in the morning, which can then contribute to sleep issues, further exacerbating fatigue.

We use a saliva cortisol test which measures 4 or 6 samples over one day to assess your levels and 24hr pattern.  Depending on the extent of your adrenal fatigue it can take months to recover from, so don't ignore the hints your body is giving you!

Keep an eye out for part 2 coming next week....

If you would like help getting to the bottom of your fatigue and improve your energy for 2018, book your consultation today!

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.