When Supplements are Necessary for Effective Anxiety Therapy
.
So what’s the deal with supplements? There is so much information all over the internet via articles and we get varying recommendations from our health professionals. Some people believe we need tons of supplements while others believe we can get 100% of what we need from our diet. What about when we have anxiety, panic attacks, or depression? Are supplements a critical component for recovery and a “must” in our anxiety therapy?
My opinion? It depends on how strong or weak your digestion is and the quality of food you eat. Unfortunately, when we are under stress and depleted our digestive systems shut down. The adrenals are in charge of maintaining the mucosa and peristaltic (muscular contraction) of the intestines. When the adrenals are fatigued, the integrity of the intestines is compromised and digestive problems arise like irritable bowel, leaky gut, constipation, and food allergies. Result: foods we eat will not be digested and absorbed no matter how organic and nutritive dense they are and nutritional deficiencies occur. Period.
In cases where this is happening, supplements are helpful and probably necessary. For me this was absolutely the case. I ate nutrient rich organic and home made foods, but I wasn’t digesting or absorbing nutrients. My body was starving! This was evident when my lab results showed severe deficiency and imbalance with all amino acids, low B12, and debilitating food allergies. On the exterior my body starving appeared as panic, anxiety, 55 lbs. overweight, rashes, no sex drive, erratic periods, asthma, and uncontrolled hypoglycemia. The primary way I have healed my body and eliminated all of these symptoms was via diet modification and supplementation.
My strategy was to supplement to get my levels back to normal range. I had a custom amino acid formula made for me via my M.D. from Metabolic Maintenance. Neuroscience (via my M.D.) also recommended aminos to get my neurotransmitter (brain chemicals) back to normal. I used essential oils from Young Living to balance and support may adrenals, pituitary, and keep my out of sympathetic overdrive (over the top fight or flight anxiousness). My adrenals were nourished from a myriad of adaptogens: Ningxia Wolfberry, eleuthero, rehmannia, ashwagandha, Chinese Fire Yin formula, and Chinese mushrooms. Vitamin C, magnesium, trace minerals, and my super smoothie were also added for adrenal / endocrine support. I strengthened my intestines by eliminating damaging allergens and introducing a super strength probiotic and copious enzymes with meals. I balanced my blood sugar and healed insulin resistance via nutritional changes, liver support, essential oils, minerals (vanadium & chromium), gymnema sylvestre, and coconut oil. (You can find the full “How to and why” in my ebook Let’s’ Get Physical: Anxiety is NOT All in Your Head).
Exhausted by looking at what I had to do? It was what was needed to get better and it worked. I refused to be sick and demanded my body heal itself. I had the mindset that I would do what it took to get better – no if’s, and’s or but’s. I figured that for a period of time (maybe a year or so) I would have to “hit it hard” and supplement like crazy. As my body healed I could slowly eliminate or cut down on supplements. This proved to be true. I no longer need mitt-fulls of pills. I eat well, supplement what’s needed, and feel fantastic. All the effort and self discipline paid off. No price could be put on gaining back my health and sanity! Every bit of it was worth it.
Insulin Resistance Recipe: Firey Hot Red Tomato Salsa Recipe!
.
How could I give you the green tomatillo recipe and not the red tomato version? I wouldn’t do such a thing! Tomatoes are a FANTASTIC source of nutrients to help combat insulin resistance.
If you’re not familiar with how insulin resistance and blood sugar issues are related to anxiety and adrenal fatigue, be sure to check out my posts under the Blood Sugar an Adrenal categories!
Tomatoes are full of vitamin C, which supports adrenal function. Healthy adrenals allow our body to feel relaxed, combat stress, fight illness, and feel mentally terrific! They also have significant chromium, which helps regulate insulin function. Tomatoes are also high in the super anti-oxidant lycopene which has been shown through research to protect us against cancer. If you want 3X the lycopene protection, choose ORGANIC tomatoes!!!
FIREY HOT RED TOMATO SALSA
Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes
1 small bunch of scallions
½ c. cilantro
½ jalapeno
¼ tsp cumin
½ lemon
Salt
Instructions:
Half the tomatoes and squeeze out most of the juice and seeds in the trash. Chop the tomatoes into eighths (big chunks). Add to food processor. Finely chop scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro; add to the tomatoes. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Sprinkle in the cumin and add a pinch of salt. Pulse the food processor four or five times, just enough to mix well and break up the tomatoes a bit more – making them juicy but still chunky. If you like a “smooth” salsa, blend until you reach the consistency you prefer.
*Add more or less jalapeno depending on your heat index tolerance! If you remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno, it will be less “hot”. The flavor can be varied by adding chipotle, cayenne, or habenaro peppers.
Insulin Resistance & Diabetes: Drew Carey Figured out the Blood Sugar Secret
.
About a week ago I saw Drew Carey on The Price is Right and gasped, I couldn’t believe how much weight he had gained. All I could think was, “He’s a walking heart attack!”. Then I saw a post on Facebook that said he had lost 80 pounds and cured his own diabetes – I didn’t even recognize the skinny him in is picture. In the past, I always wondered because of his bloated face and big belly of he was having some type of severe insulin resistance problem.
I didn’t know that Drew Carey had diabetes. I am ecstatic he figured out what to do – get rid of high glycemic fat causing carbs. Using the words ” low / no carb diet” is actually deceiving. Carbs are in just about every food, but some are higher than others. I prefer to say I follow a “no grain” or “no starch” diet. Even if Drew was eating vegetables, he was still getting carbs. But if he cut out all the pasta, corn, potatoes, and bread – he would be eliminating the empty fat causing / diabetes stimulating trouble makers.
Drew also did something else right – he exercised. Exercise is a proven way to increase insulin resistance. This helps repair blood sugar problems over time. I started out borderline diabetic back in 2007. My insulin resistance problem was so bad that my blood sugar would swing into the 200’s and drop under 50 – all in the same day. Not good. The result: SEVERE PANIC / ANXIETY ATTACKS & 55 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT. Not to mention the hormone imbalance, candida overgrowth, and bad attitude! I’m sure Drew had none of those issues either, right?
Diabetes poses greater risk of depression and other mental disorders. Well, it makes sense because blood sugar levels are directly impacted by neurotransmitters (brain chemicals adrenalin and nor-adrenalin) and hormones (cortisol and HGH). So, if Drew did experience “the blues”, he may now have a much more uplifted outlook on life now he’s got his blood sugar levels under control.
I must sound like a broken record, blood sugar balance the most effective and least expensive form of anxiety therapy.
Insulin Resistance Recipe: Green Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
Sometimes I wish I was born into a family that made Latin cuisine all the time because I just love the food. A more recent discovery that my palate enjoys is the tomatillo. It’s a green little fruit that is a variation of gooseberry also known as the Mexican green tomato. It technically is in the tomato “nightshade” family. They are tart with a hint of sweet, I just love them!!! I like to use them as a source of carbohydrate in my diet because this type of fruit is low glycemic and won’t aggravate my insulin resistance.
Enjoy this quick and easy green salsa recipe. I love it on eggs and fajitas! If you go back and read my posts on blood sugar, you’ll find my strategy for eating that repaired my severe insulin resistance. When the insulin levels are erratic (spiking and crashing), this is very hard on the adrenals and can lead to “adrenal fatigue”. Adrenal fatigue was the #1 reason for my severe hypoglycemia problem and panic / anxiety attacks.
Got anxiety? Heal the adrenals!!!
GREEN TOMATILLO SALSA RECIPE
Ingredients:
4 tomatillos
2 scallions
½ jalapeno
¼ c. cilantro
1/8 wedge of lime
1/8 tsp of cumin
¼ wedge of lemon
Salt
Instructions:
Chop tomatillos into eighths (big chunks) and place in food processor. Finely chop scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro; add to the tomatillos. Squeeze in juices of lemon and lime. Sprinkle in the cumin and add a pinch of salt. Pulse the food processor four or five times, just enough to mix well and break up the tomatillos a bit more – making them juicy but still chunky. If you like a “smooth” salsa, blend until you reach the consistency you prefer.
*Add more or less jalapeno depending on your heat index tolerance! If you remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno, it will be less “hot”.
Insulin Resistance Approved: A Gluten Free Chocolate Maple Abundance Cake Recipe!
I have made many recipes over the past few years, this one seems to take the cake! (Ha Ha). I’ve tweaked, experimented, and substituted to get this chocolate cake sent from heaven just right. It’s very rich, but I’m not concerned about that. This recipe is gluten, dairy, and soy free. I choose recipes that are friendly and won’t adversely affect my insulin resistance.
Many recipes call for agave as a sweetener and deem it as “SAFE” for hypoglycemia, diabetes, and insulin resistance. I have read new reports saying that it is jacks up the liver because it’s pure fructose and many of the harvesting/processing methods are questionable (See Mercola.com). I don’t know if all that is true. All I know is when I use agave my blood sugar flies all over the place; I can’t regulate it. When I stopped using agave the I was able to really heal my insulin resistance issues. Remember, my panic and anxiety attacks were directly associated with blood sugar spikes and crashes. So not only did my blood sugar regulate, the panic and anxiety improved. Agave is NOT anxiety therapy!
This is why I choose maple syrup, it’s sucrose not fructose. The higher the grade the better, A is lightest and C is darkest. Grade B and C syrups taste wicked good, are full of minerals, and they have a low glycemic index of 54. BUT, it has a high glycemic load. Which means the blood sugar rises and can crash down if the there is not enough fat, fiber, and protein on the back end of the food to stabilize levels. I love this recipe because it has a ton of fat, fiber, and protein which don’t make you fat, it’s the spiking and crashing of your blood sugar that does.
Another trick I do is cut back on the main sugar type sweetener and add stevia. For this recipe, I use Young Living’s stevia. It is the true extract, not the clear stuff you find commercially. It is sweet, but it is also high in minerals and has the blood sugar balancing health benefits of the stevia herb due to it’s high level of chromium.
The flour that is used is coconut, which is 58% fiber and 15% coconut oil. Bran is only 27% fiber! Very few people are allergic to coconut, so it’s considered hypoallergenic. I love the taste and when baked goods made with it are fresh, it is not cononutty. Coconut flour is now found in many grocery stores in the health food section.
So what’s YLTG oils? They are Young Living Therapeutic Grade essential oils. I use them medicinally for myself and in my practice. However, they taste great too! I would never, ever, ever recommend using a store bought oil for ingestion. So please, if you make this recipe use Young Living’s Oils only.
The best part about this cake is that it is rich and satisfying. The texture is like a pound cake and it is very moist. Each piece has the equivalent of one egg in it!!! So enjoy and don’t feel guilt with this wonderful treat.
THE CAKE ITSELF:
Ingredients:
¾ C coconut flour – sifted
¼ c Dutch coco powder – sifted
1 teaspoon Redmond RealSalt
1 tsp baking soda
10 eggs
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup Grade B maple syrup
½ tsp stevia (English Toffee and Vanilla Crème flavors can be used also)
1 tblsp vanilla extract
10 drops of YLTG orange oil
2 drops of YLTG Abundance oil
Instructions:
– Grease two 9” round pans with butter or coconut oil.
– In a small bowl mix the coconut flour, coco powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside
– In a large bowl add the 10 eggs. Whisk lightly to break the yolks. Add the grapeseed oil, maple syrup, stevia, vanilla, orange oil, and Abundance oil. Blend with hand mixer until thoroughly combined. Make sure the maple syrup is mixed in, because it is heavy it has a tendancy to settle at the bottom.
– Immediately add the dry mixture to the eggs. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth and even.
– Bake at 325 for 30 to 40 minutes. Half way through, rotate the cake pan 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Check with a tester to ensure batter is completely cooked. Cake will be spongy and firm.
– Remove from oven and place in a well ventilated area. Cake will pull away from edges and be easy to remove when completely cool in the pans.
THE SIMPLE & SINFUL FROSTING:
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life makes allergen free)
¾ cup of grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup
¼ tsp of stevia
2 tblsp of vanilla
Pinch of Redmond RealSalt
10 to 15 drops YLTG Abundance oil (15 drops is strong, but yummy!)
Instructions:
– In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and add grapeseed oil. Do not allow to boil or “cook”.
– Turn off heat and wisk in maple syrup, stevia, vanilla, salt, and Abundance oil.
– Place pan in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to cool. Do not allow to cool solid, it will not fluff up and be spreadable.
– Remove frosting from freezer when cool. Mix with hand blender to add air. This will increase volume and make it easy to spread.
– Place about 1/3 of the frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Spread to the edges. Place the top layer over the bottom. Spread on the remainder of frosting.
Enjoy!!!
Super yummy with ice cream. We recommend Breyer’s Natural chocolate or vanilla – it’s not full of man made junk. Or, Turtle Mountain’s coconut ice cream!
