Stress affects everything, including your brain, body, emotions, productivity, self-care, and even relationship interactions. Your gut is one area particularly vulnerable to stress and the connection is bidirectional. Emotional and physical triggers can impact the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and digestive distress can cause or perpetuate stress symptoms. Many have experienced a “nervous stomach” because...
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How Stress Affects Your Gut
When your stressed-out your whole body is affected, from your brain to your hormones. It is necessary to have these physiology shifts to effectively respond to threats and ensure survival. Thankfully, when the stress is removed, you can recover. Interestingly, your body can’t tell the difference between the mind’s perception of stress and true...
Why We Sleep: A Summary on Sleep Stages, Your Chronotype (Night Owls vs. Early Birds), and How to Optimize Sleep from a Neuroscientist
In my series on slumber so far, we have learned that staying busy at the expense of rest is a bad trade-of. Being underslept negatively impacts job performance, brain health, cognitive function, emotional balance, relationships, and general wellness. In fact, sleep is as vital for health as nutrition, movement, self-care, relationships, and socio-economic factors....
Too Much to Do to Sleep? Is the Status of Busyness Worth Sacrificing Slumber?
Busyness has become a badge of honor in our society. Somehow, getting things done has taken precedence over sleep, family time, and even other values. This shift in cultural priorities occurred for several reasons. Among these factors is that busyness became a status symbol of importance and a means to elevate one’s self worth....
Why We Should Still Consider Serotonin When Dealing with Depression
A recent review of studies took over headlines in psychiatry. The media claimed that it “debunked” the serotonin hypothesis of depression and made antidepressants invalid. Yet, there were three major caveats to that conclusion. One of the biggest issues was the fact that the researchers were measuring a biological marker against symptoms and using...
How the Gut-Liver Connection Hurts or Helps Our Liver and Overall Health
Caring for Your Microbiome for Better Brain, Liver, and Hormonal Health: Part II
One of the organs that doesn’t get enough accolades, at least not for being more than a “detox” champ, is our liver. In fact, it is the gut that is getting most of the current scientific research and clinical headlines. More precisely, the spotlight has shined most brightly on the diverse roles that the...
How to Balance Your Hormones by Supporting Your Liver Health: Part II
The Link Between the Liver and Hormones
With over 500 functions, our liver impacts virtually every organ system. Although it is most well-known for its role in detoxification and digestion, it does so much more. Some vital liver functions include: regulating many of the chemicals in the body processing all the blood leaving the stomach and intestines nutrient break down, balance,...
The Many Benefits of Melatonin: A Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Guide to Taming the Stress-Hormone Attack: Part II
Our hormones are potent and they regulate almost all bodily processes. So, any dysregulation in them can seriously impact our mind and body. In Part I, I discussed the stress hormone, cortisol. Although it is essential for optimal health, when it gets too high, it downregulates our other hormones, especially progesterone. This shift in...
Calming the Cortisol Stress-Hormone Attack with Naturopathic and Functional Medicine
When our hormones are imbalanced, we suffer emotionally and physically. These potent compounds regulate almost all bodily processes, so we can have system-wide symptoms when they are not ideal. Furthermore, when even one hormone tips unfavorably, all the others are affected too. This adds to the impact. Stress is one of the most universal...
Addressing Progesterone Imbalances Using Naturopathic and Functional Medicine
Our hormones are powerful and impact almost all bodily processes. Though potent, they are also easily swayed. If any trigger throws even one hormone off balance, it affects all the others. As a result, our biology and brains can suffer. In my previous post, I provided some natural tips to address stress overload, one...