Natural Anxiety Therapy

I had a terrific question posed to me, “What type of supplements do you use for hypoglycemia?”.   Duh, with all of the posts I’ve done recently on how to eat for blood sugar balance, I forgot to address what I’ve used to remedy the crazy blood sugar swings that gave me panic attacks and anxiety.  Be sure to also look at any of my posts on adrenal support.  Recovering their health is extremely important blood sugar balance and anxiety therapy.

As for the correcting insulin resistance and hypoglycemia, I’ve tried just about everything that claimed to balance blood sugar. Many things dropped me too low. So caution: if a product claims to support diabetes (high blood sugar) it does NOT mean it will balance low blood sugar.  Some supplements (cinnamon, ocotea, green tea extract) gave me anxiety because it caused my blood sugars went down into the 50’s.  So anytime I change my supplementation program I only introduce one new thing at a time, test my sugars frequently, and note how I feel until I’ve determined if it’s working well or not.

Through research and personal experimentation, this is what I’ve found that helps regulate my high / low blood sugar swings:

1. Fiber.  I get 7 grams of fiber through my Power Meal. I also eat a lot of non-starchy vegetables, so there is more fiber there. But, the one thing my body really loves as a fiber source is … an apple.  Very complex and hard to find, right?  Every day I have one along with raw almond butter as a meal or snack and my body is happy.  Fiber has been well documented to help regulate blood sugar levels.
2. Omega 3 fatty acids.  These help anxiety, depression, seasonal affective disorder, etc. but as far as blood sugar goes – they are terrific. They help insulin sensitivity as well as cell membrane fluidity.  Huh?  Helps fix the root problem of hypoglycemia and insulin resistance at the cellular level.  Plus, they help perk up my mental attitude.  My prefered Omega 3 source is Omega Blue and my doctor recommends about 5 grams a day.
3. Reservatrol.  This has been shown to support insulin regulation.  I get reservatrol from my True Source food based vitamin / mineral.  I prefer “food” versus synthetic vitamins.
4. Vitamin E.  Another thing shown to improve insulin sensitivity.  The source that I get my Vitamin E from pairs it up with CoQ-10 – which also has been shown to assist with insulin resistance.  I use CoQ-10 from Ortho Molecular Products. It’s available through health practitioners.
5. Coriander oil.  Historically coriander oil has been used for anxiety and to regulate blood sugar.  Makes sense because many times anxiety is caused by blood sugar swings. This has been a LIFE SAVER for regulating my blood sugar levels immediately while all the other nutritionals I take repair the actual problem over time. I ONLY USE THERAPEUTIC GRADE CORIANDER OIL.  Stuff from the health food store is cheap and it can be very unsafe. I just rub 3 drops on veins close to the surface, usually on the wrists or neck once or twice a day.
6. Herbs.  I have played with many herb combinations over the course of the past few years. Some with wild success, other times not.  The most success I’ve seen is through Ortho Molecular’s Diaxinol and Amazon Herb’s Metabazon. I do only 1 Diaxinol a day and 2 Metabazon’s with each meal.

The combination of items above is what I used that addresses swinging blood sugar levels in the now as well as cellular repair in the long run. Because of their role in blood sugar balance, I also support my liver and adrenals. I did a report on called Loving the Liver that outlines what works for me.  Plus, there’s a recorded training I did called Adrenal Intro Audio that’s accessible HERE.

One of the often overlooked causes of anxiety, panic attacks, and mood problems is imbalanced blood sugar.  Some people may see it as diabetes (hyperglycemia – high blood sugar), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and/or insulin resistance.  As sugar levels swing high and low, the body blasts out adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol to balance blood sugar levels so the brain doesn’t starve of glucose.  How can balancing blood sugar help anxiety?

By balancing blood sugars, adrenal hormones adrenalin and cortisol levels aren’t all over the map. This also allows the adrenals to rest as well as lessen anxiety because high levels of adrenaline circulating around.  Panic attacks and anxiety is very common especially when blood sugar levels are low since it’s the adrenaline and cortisol that raise levels to safe levels.

Most of the panic attacks and anxious feelings I experienced were due to hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes.  It only took six long months to figure this out!  When I hit 39 (very low number!) during my 6 hour glucose tolerance test my doc said “Yep, you have SEVERE hypoglycemia!”.  Eating correctly to balance blood sugar levels and taking supplements to fill nutritional voids was  how I stopped the relentless 24/7 panic and anxiety.

Because I get asked so often, I’m going to share how I eat for blood sugar balance.  Everybody is different, so each individual will have to experiment to see what works for them.  I also use a glucose meter to check my levels first thing in the morning, before and after a meal, in-between meals, and before bed.   My system may seem simple, but it works for me.

Jen Crippen’s Blood Sugar Balancing Strategy:

• BREAKFAST:  It is important to eat something within a 1/2 hour of waking. If not, the body runs on adrenalin to keep blood sugar levels up until a meal is consumed. This is very taxing on the adrenals.  I eat a high fat/protein meal with a tiny bit of low glycemic carbs to get me going.  For example: apple (CARB) with raw almond butter (FAT & PROTEIN; eggs (FAT & PROTEIN) with carrots (CARB), tomato (CARB); smoothie of PowerMeal (CARB & PROTEIN) with added coconut oil (FAT) and raw egg (FAT & PROTEIN)

• MID-MORNING SNACK:  Something light and protein rich like a handful of almonds (FAT & PROTEIN) with Ningxia Wolfberries (CARB) or 1 hard boiled egg
• LUNCH: Nice substantial meal with veggies, protein, and substantial fat. For example:  tuna salad (PROTEIN) with celery, tomato (CARB), natural food mayo (FAT); spring green salad with 2 hard boiled eggs (FAT & PROTEIN), green peppers, scallions, carrot (CARB), sunflower seeds (FAT & PROTEIN), oil & vinegar dressing, couple of Ningxia Wolfberries (CARB); hamburger (PROTEIN) with small spring green salad
• AFTERNOON SNACK:  Again, something light and protein rich.
• DINNER:  Dinner I always have a heavy protein (seafood, meat, poultry) along with  green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, chard, green beans) and a starchy vegetable for carbohydrates (root vegetables, sweet potato, squash).  Very rarely will I eat any grains, but when I do it’s quinoa, black rice, or teff.
• AN HOUR BEFORE BEDTIME SNACK:  This snack is very important because often my blood sugar levels would plummet overnight and give me restless sleep or nightmares.  Sometimes I will have a bit of the leftovers from dinner in a very small portion or even a PowerMeal.  I keep it very light and total volume of food is normally about a 1/2 to 3/4 cup.

As for drink, I typically have water or non-caffeinated tea (herbal). I don’t drink soda of any kind and rarely drink alcohol. Alcohol creates a blood sugar nightmare!  Also, anything with caffeine creates blood sugar havoc because of the adrenaline surge. So it’s best to avoid with blood sugar, anxiety, panic, and/or adrenal issues.

There is a lot more to my strategy on how to eat to help anxiety. Next post will be on some of my secrets such as portion size of carbs to protein and fat, getting off soda, and how to enjoy sweets without the blood sugar consequence!

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We’re in full Holiday immersion right now. No matter if you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Yule – this time of year can add stress that calls for anxiety therapy!

Here are some of my favorite tips to stay SANE during Holiday crunch time:

1. Sleep.  Be sure to rest 8 hours every night. No staying up late to finish baking cookies or wrapping presents!
2. Diet.  Yes, goodies and alcohol are very tempting this time of year.  Nothing better than home made treats. But, watch the quantity.  Every year I would get very ill after the Holidays until I discovered it was caused by my love of home made cookies. About two weeks after being gifted cookies from grandma and mom I would get the flu. I stopped eating the goodies, no more sickness!  My philosophy is if you eat a goody, eat an equal portion of a vegetable like cucumber, spinach, steamed broccoli, etc.  Another angle I take is if I’d like an alcoholic drink, I skip the starch on my dinner plate (rice, potato, etc) and dessert. I only have one treat per meal, so I have to choose between dessert, alcohol, or starch.
3. Personal Time! There’s a lot of pressure on us to get our homes ready to receive guests, get shopping done,  schedule the family visits, and maintain normal daily tasks.  Take time out to exercise, get a massage, or have a night out of play with friends. It’s more important for maintaining your sanity than you think.
4. Super Foods.   When I run around in super busy mode, I ramp up my super nutrition. When the body is running in overdrive, the demand for stress handling nutrients skyrockets.  To support my adrenals, I always have PowerMeal with Amazon Power Shake added, Ningxia Red, and Mineral Essence.
5. Stay Present.  Sounds weird right?  We can get so wrapped up with all the things we have to do we forget to savor the moment. When I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, I stop what I’m doing and grab my Grounding oil.  I open it up, rub a few drops on my palm, and then take a deep breath.  Works wonders for me!

Do you have any tips that help you during this time of year?  Please comment to Jen Crippen and share how you get Holiday anxiety relief!

Now that the clocks have been turned back the days feel very short.  Darkness will fall earlier everyday until December 21st, then the days start getting longer.  This time of year many of us (including myself) start to feel the winter blues.  The past few years I have made a few changes to help me from feeling the effects of SAD (seasonal affective disorder).   Here are a couple of tips as part of my anxiety therapy!

With less natural light, the body makes less vitamin D3. D3 is one of the critical vitamins that combats depression, anxiety, SAD, and other mental ’stuff’.  A simple search on the internet for “D3 SAD” or “D3 Depression” “D3 anxiety” will yield a ton of wonderful information on the connection of this vitamin and how how it can help anxiety.  To raise my D3 levels, I take about 4000 IU a day through the winter months. D3 can also be made from the sun, what a great excuse to go on a Caribbean vacation right after New Years!  Wonder if I can deduct it as a medical expense?

I also try to get out in the sun a bit during peak daytime hours. D3 is made when the sun hits the skin. Sunlight also increases serotonin levels in the brain when it hits the iris.  The neurotransmitter serotonin is on of the most important feel good brain chemicals. Later in the day, it is converted to melatonin which prepares us for a good night’s sleep.   If it’s not possible to get out into the sun, some people have used full spectrum light bulbs and have had great – uplifting results.

Omega 3 fatty acids are another weapon in my arsenal to help SAD.  My favorite source of omega 3’s is cod liver oil, the lemon flavor! My goal is to get about 4 grams a day. This helps my brain feel happy!  Plus, I remember things better, my joints hurt less, and skin looks fabulous. Funny how people who live in areas with funky daylight times such as Alaska and Norway have an abundance of fish that can supply them with D3 and omega 3’s? Nature is awesome!

The last thing I do is diffuse essential oils.  Essential oils from plants have been studied heavily for their properties to lift and balance mood.   I have a house diffuser and use a blend called Citrus Fresh.  If I start to feel the blues and need extra support, I break out The Feelings Kit.  What I would do without these I don’t know, they helped keep me glued together when the anxiety and panic attacks were at it’s worst.  People say, “You always know when Jen Crippen is around – it smells wonderful!”.   Besides smelling good, they make me feel happy and help anxiety!

Why is it that when we know our limit on something and if we go beyond that, we’ll feel like “junk”?  For example, I experience many food sensitivities – gluten, diary (whey/casein), caffeine, sugar, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potato), soy, and corn. Here’s the situation: because my body prefers that I do not eat the aforementioned items I can indulge in a TINY bit of dark chocolate.  Key word: TINY (two 1″ X 1″ squares).  Any more than that it is the OPPOSITE of anxiety therapy! It is an anxiety cause.

However, I know when I should stop.  Then, I go back for a few pieces more. “Just a few more tiny squares, I’ll be fine.”  Those few pieces take me from feeling grounded to jittery, racy, and anxious.  My good friend Cynthia always knows when I’ve overdone the chocolate because I get on the phone with her I won’t take a breath as I ramble at lightening speed for 45 minutes!  She’ll say, “Have you been eating chocolate?”.  I ask if it’s that obvious and she always gives me the honest, “Yes!”.   For me, over doing it on the chocolate is equivalent to taking a handful of speed.

Yum!

Thank goodness for natural remedies that calm me down in a jiffy or I wouldn’t sleep for days.

I guess almost all of us do it. If you don’t, please do tell your secrets to self control!  Chocolate is my weakness, I confess.  At least now – after re-building the strength of my body – small amounts of caffeine don’t send me into full blown panic attacks.  Two years ago, different story. My body was so out of balance that anything stimulating (even cayenne!) would throw me into the crazy zone.  I am so sensitive to the sugar and caffeine, why do I over do it?!?  Personal boundaries? Childhood trauma?  Lack of self love? Or, something more complicated – I just love CHOCOLATE!