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Stop Blaming The Turkey What’s Behind Your Post-Dinner Slump

Stop Blaming The Turkey – What’s Behind Your Post-Dinner Slump

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True or false – eating turkey at Thanksgiving makes you sleepy? We’ve all heard the jokes about curling up in a recliner after a big holiday meal. Maybe you have been looking for a comfy place to take a nap. But I think it’s time that we stop blaming the poor turkeys and explore what is really happening.

What is it in turkey that’s blamed for making you sleepy? Tryptophan is what most people associate with turkey and sleep. That is because tryptophan is an amino acid that is a precursor for melatonin. However, that doesn’t mean that it works so quickly to cause sleepiness right after your meal.

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Why Blood Sugar Is Foundational For Hormonal Health

Why Blood Sugar Is Foundational For Hormonal Health

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Your blood sugar works like a metronome. When it’s steady, your hormones tend to stay more balanced. But when it spikes and crashes, the roller coaster affects everything from how well you sleep to how often you crave sugar.

Every time your blood sugar rises – especially after a flour-based or sugary meal – your body sends out insulin to move that glucose into cells. Over time, if those spikes happen too often, the cells stop responding. That’s called insulin resistance, and it can lead to weight gain, inflammation, and fatigue.

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How Alcohol Affects Your Sleep

How Alcohol Affects Your Sleep

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I know many who enjoy an alcoholic beverage at the end of a busy day. It may be a regular habit or an occasional one, but they use it to wind down. And then there are days of celebration when there may be even more alcohol involved. If you enjoy an alcoholic beverage to wind down, have you ever considered how alcohol affects your sleep?

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4 Habits For Balancing Blood Sugar

4 Habits For Balancing Blood Sugar

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You may think that balancing your blood sugar levels is a task reserved only for people with diabetes. While it is true that people with diabetes must closely monitor their blood sugar levels, the truth is that everyone should pay attention. That’s why we want to talk about 4 habits for balancing blood sugar.

Having high levels of glucose circulating in your body is damaging to blood vessels and kidneys. The body responds with insulin to escort the glucose into your cells where it can be used for fuel.

However, when there are recurring spikes of glucose throughout the day, your cells may turn down their receptivity and not accept the insulin or glucose. The alternative is for insulin to escort the glucose to be stored as fat.

I believe in being proactive with my health, so I take measures to balance my blood sugar and protect my body. Here are four tips for balancing blood sugar so that you have stable energy throughout the day.

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Stabilize Energy By Balancing Your Blood Sugar

Stabilize Energy By Balancing Your Blood Sugar

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Many who have not been diagnosed with diabetes overlook the need to balance their blood sugar. They – perhaps you? – think that balancing blood sugar levels is a task reserved only for people with diabetes. While it is vital that people with diabetes closely monitor their blood sugar levels, the truth is that everyone should pay attention to their blood sugar levels. Here are some ways you can stabilize energy by balancing your blood sugar.

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Insulin Resistance As The Starting Gate

Insulin Resistance As The Starting Gate

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We all know someone with Type 2 Diabetes. What is their primary challenge? It’s common to think it is high blood sugar, but it is actually insulin resistance. What is the main issue for someone with cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure? Insulin resistance. What about frequent migraines, non-alcoholic fatty liver, osteoporosis, or infertility? You guessed it – insulin resistance. Are you beginning to see insulin resistance as the starting gate?

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Are Your Symptoms Aging or Inflammation?

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Do you have a friend (or two) who claims that “getting old sucks?” Many struggle with growing numbers of symptoms that they attribute to aging, but few realize that most of those symptoms are actually caused by inflammation. What about you? Are your symptoms aging or inflammation?

I firmly believe that many of the symptoms we attribute to age are avoidable. Some call this inflammation that comes with (or accelerates) aging “inflammaging.” Yet there is good news! With proper nutrition and lifestyle strategies, you can slow this inflamm-aging process and reduce your risk of health issues. Read more

Moderating Stress Requires Knowing Its Sources

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Stress. It would seem that its presence in our lives is a given. Even still, that doesn’t mean you have to yield to its effects without recourse.

Why the concern about stress? Because, we can’t escape its effects on our bodies and our health. Read more

How to Answer Carb Cravings

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Even when you begin changing your eating habits for the better by incorporating cleaner foods and better practices, you can still fall victim to occasional carb cravings. Sometimes, we attribute these to a rough day at work or a stressful week of deadlines, but carb cravings can also come from physiological imbalances.

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EDIT Your Meal’s Courses

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Healthy PlateYou’ve heard about the problems related to eating a diet full of processed carbohydrates or added sugars. Have you experienced the blood sugar spike and subsequent crash that brings hunger and cravings along with it? You may not have realized what was happening inside, but the result is the same.

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