Do you ever wonder whether your hormones are balanced?
 
Here’s what wonderful hormonal balance looks like:

• You have great energy levels throughout the day.
• Your moods are stable.
• You don’t experience cravings.
• Your hair is shiny and full.
• Your skin is clear.
• You have a good libido.
• It is easy to maintain your weight.

 
If you don’t identify with this picture then the chances are you are experiencing some hormonal imbalances. One important way to improve things is to takes steps to minimize your stress levels. Here’s why:
 
How does stress impact my hormones?

• When you are stressed your adrenals increase production of the hormone cortisol, which raises your blood sugar levels ready for “fight or flight” activity. This increases your body’s production of the hormone insulin to take that glucose to the cells. When your insulin levels are raised your body will start to store fat, typically around the middle of your body, which is the most dangerous place to have extra fat stores.  If your blood sugar is perpetually elevated due to chronic stress and production of cortisol then the cells can become resistant to insulin and it becomes more difficult to control blood sugar levels. This can cause problems with cravings, shakiness between meals, poor mood, anxiety, broken sleep and more.

 

• Cortisol is a steroidal hormone. Other steroidal hormones are estrogen, progesterone and testosterone – our sex hormones. They are all made from the same base ingredient, cholesterol. When cortisol is needed to handle stress our body can find there isn’t enough cholesterol left to make our sex hormones and we can experience symptoms of imbalance. Take a look at my blog on Sex Hormone Imbalance to find a list of possible symptoms.

 

• Production of thyroid hormones is in delicate balance with the production of stress hormones so stress can exacerbate hypothyroid conditions and increase symptoms like mood issues, fatigue and weight gain.

 
I recommend that you do a stress audit. Identify where you are dealing with unnecessary stress in your life so that you can take steps to minimize it.  If you want to learn more about other natural ways to balance your hormones then consider joining me for my 2 hour workshop on Nourishment for Hormonal Harmony. I would love to have you join me.

Here is a guest blog from our Women Wine, & Wellness - Lowry speaker for May, Fran Gallaher.

When I was 13 my sister married. A male family member photographed the wedding. I, as a member of the bridal party, sat at the main table, in the middle. The wedding cake sat nearby, on the table, in the middle. The family member/ photographer had a grudge against me and was determined to hurt me and so made sure I was in very few of the photos by making sure that the angle of the photos put the wedding cake in front of me. The photographer had higher standing in the family than I did. I knew that complaining got me—got any of us in the family—nowhere. So I said nothing. I still remember the helpless, hopeless feeling I had at that wedding.
 
The more such slights affect us emotionally, the more we can suppose they have been used against us in the past—sometimes in such a distant past that we have no recollection of it. This is especially true if we were inculcated into this freezing out technique when we were very young. Also called the Silent Treatment, to ignore or overlook a child is extremely cruel when applied by a parent, caregiver or person in authority.
 
Child Abuse 
A child is someone who does not have a fully developed ego, identity or sense of self. It is this undeveloped state that we consider precious. A child MUST HAVE reflection and validation to develop a sense of self—or even HAVE a sense of self. To ignore a child is to deny that child a sense of self. To ignore a child—to not include them, to overlook them, or intentionally freeze them out—is equivalent to psychological murder. The silent treatment, when applied to a child, is abuse.
 
And, again, we can likely tell if we ever received the Silent Treatment or were overlooked or ignored if that technique causes us anxiety and distress as adults--whether we remember experiencing it or not.
 
The Silent Treatment And Anxiety 
A few years ago I was involved with a man whose mother came to visit. The three of us spent the weekend together and our interactions were pleasant. A few visits into the weekend I began having anxiety and anxiety attacks. I had had them a few years previously and I was horrified to have them back. What on earth was causing them?
 
Mysterious Anxiety
I turned to my favorite solution to my own psychological mysteries and journaled and meditated and then journaled again. Then the three of us went out in the evening, I had a glass of wine, and to my shock and horror and the shock and horror of my boyfriend and his mother, I said something completely out of character and extremely inappropriate. Mercifully, I don’t remember what it was, although I do remember that it was sexual in nature. My boyfriend stared at me, stunned. I went home and journaled some more.
 
And then it clicked: his mother had never looked at me! For about two days, she had never actually given me eye contact. Ah-ha! There it was! And, apparently, that caused me anxiety and, apparently, I would do anything, including embarrassing myself, to get her to look at me!
 
What About Eye Contact?
I had, years before, realized that, as a child, I had been the victim of the Silent Treatment. The technique had found its way into some of my intimate relationships as an adult. A component of the Silent Treatment is a lack of eye contact. A truly adept passive aggressive person chooses a stealth form of the Silent Treatment with what I now believe is its most effective component: to effectively deny another person eye contact.
 
With relief I continued to participate in the weekend and was able to see that, indeed, the woman couldn’t look at me. And her bland responses to me were only there to make it seem as if she were being courteous. And now that I knew what was going on, I could go into observer mode. I probably continued to journal with a great deal of enthusiasm but my anxiety disappeared and I made no more compulsive remarks.
 
Eye Contact Is Crucial
In the years since, I have become more and more conscious of the presence—or absence—of eye contact. I sometimes see casual social interactions between two people where someone isn’t giving eye contact and the other person, apparently thinking it is a positional thing, tries to move into the line of sight of their conversation partner—usually with little success. I notice that I have relationships that include eye contact—and when they don’t, the relationship ends.
 
How about you? Can you begin to be conscious of your desire for eye contact in your intimate relationships? When you get it and when you don’t? And could there be a hidden cause of anxiety in your life?

Contact Fran: 
www.reallyflourish.com | fran@reallyflourish.com | 303-722-5115

Here is a guest blog from our Women Wine, & Wellness - Lowry speaker for May, Ric Taylor. To receive an invitation to this private event you can sign up here: http://www.waystooptimizehealth.com/women-wine-wellness-lowry.html​

​Stress, anxiety and depression are part of your body’s system to handle life’s curve balls. Imagine that when too much stress builds-up, it overflows into the “Anxiety Bucket”. As we continue to experience stress, the anxiety bucket overflows into the “Depression Bucket”.

Symptoms of stress include: low energy, headaches, muscle tension, frequent colds and infections.
Symptoms of anxiety include: ruminating on thoughts (thought-looping), sweating, irritability, sleep problems and moments of panic.
Symptoms of depression include: fatigue, apathy, lack of interest, excessive crying and thoughts of suicide.

These symptoms are part of your body’s dashboard for mental health. The symptoms are warnings that it’s time to address the stress in your life. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18% of Americans experience symptoms of anxiety or depression each year (Facts and statistics, 2017), few realize that these are treatable. For comparison, 11.6% of Americans got the cold in December 2014 (Riffkin, 2015).

Typical treatment for anxiety or depression involve medication and psychotherapy. Doctors prescribe medications for three to six months that affect how our neurons receive serotonin and dopamine. These are often effective in lowering symptoms but side-effects make this a short-term treatment. Psychotherapy involves addressing the source of stress and natural methods for managing symptoms.

If you know someone experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, contact a psychotherapist and start treatment right away. Life is too short to live in the shadow of chronic stress.

References:
● Facts and statistics. (2017, August). Retrieved from: https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
● Riffkin, R. (January 8, 2015) U.S. flu and cold reports among highest since 2008. Retrieved from: http://news.gallup.com/poll/180434/flu-cold-reports-among-highest-2008.aspx

Ric Taylor, MA is the owner of Touchbase Counseling in Lone Tree, CO where he specializes in psychotherapy for men and couples

Contact Ric:
www.touchbasecounseling.com | ric@touchbasecounseling.com | 720-924-1144​​

Omega 3s Deliver Health Benefits
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard a lot about the benefits of eating fish. They are packed with Omega 3 fats that are good for our brain (more than half of the brain is made from fat), nervous system, heart and cardiovascular system. Omega 3 fats are anti-inflammatory and so protect against chronic disease like type 2 diabetes, autoimmune conditions and depression.
 
Not all fish are created equal for delivering Omega 3s.  Dark, oily, stronger tasting fish typically contain the highest amounts. These ones have some of the best levels.

• Sardines
• Herring
• Salmon
• Trout
• Oysters
• Mussels

 
It is worth noting though that some seafood that is lower in Omega 3s deliver other nutrient benefits like abundant minerals that can be lacking in our diets. Don’t feel too constrained!
 
It’s possible that you’re aware of some concerns around eating fish too and if you’re like many of my clients you could use some more guidance.
 
Farmed vs. Wild Fish
 

1. Wild fish is best for our health (although keep reading for more about Mercury toxicity), but with the pressure to keep up with consumer demand, more and more fish that we buy is farmed.
2. Some farm-raised fish is produced responsibly, without the use of harmful antibiotics, fungicides and parasitides and providing the fish with appropriate food.
3. Unfortunately though, much of the farm-raised fish is contaminated with toxins and raised on food that’s far removed from what it would naturally eat.  That reduces the Omega 3 content of the fish, sometimes to almost negligible levels and exposes us to toxins.

 
Ask your fishmonger or look for labeling on farmed fish that indicates:

• The fish were raised without antibiotics or hormones.
• They were farmed in low-density (not cramped) pens or tanks.
• The fish tanks or pens were not treated with synthetic herbicides.
• The fish were fed a more natural diet that does not include genetically-modified plants or land-based foods.

 
Mercury Toxicity
 
Industrial factories pollute our oceans and waterways with mercury and other manufacturing toxins. These toxins are absorbed by small water organisms and plant life which are then eaten by larger fish. For this reason, fish higher up the food chain contain more mercury than smaller fish as it accumulates.
 
Avoid eating larger fish like these that tend to be higher in mercury:

• Bluefish
• Cod
• Halibut
• Mackerel
• Orange Roughy
• Shark
• Swordfish
• Tilefish
• Tuna

 
If you’re like me and love your sushi, you might consider using spirulina, chlorella  or other heavy metal detox ingredients afterward to support your body in detoxing.
 
Eat smaller fish like these that are lower in mercury:

• Anchovies
• Catfish
• Crab
• Oysters
• Sardines
• Shrimp
• Tilapia

 
Should I take a fish oil supplement?
 
Many people in the US are deficient in Omega 3s. For that reason I often add an OmegaCheck to other blood testing that my clients are doing.  It can be challenging to get your omega 3 levels to where they should be. So whilst it’s not as beneficial as eating the whole fish, I suggest taking an Omega 3 fish oil supplement. I am so impressed by Xymogen’s Omega MonoPure that my family and I take it and I recommend it to all of my clients. You’ll need a referral code so if you’d like to find out if it’s a fit for you then let me know and we can chat.

As always, let me know if you have questions or comments.  We always like to hear from you.