NaturalAnxietyTherapy.com Wishes You a Happy & Healthy New Year!
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My last post was on blood sugar balancing, and all upcoming posts in January 2010 as well. Cooking and eating is a passion of mine, I love it! But it was what I put on my fork was the main reason I became so unhealthy that I became incapacitated by anxiety and panic. Sure, I ate organic foods, but I ate the wrong foods in the wrong portions!
Eating for balanced blood sugar is healthy for anyone, not just people who have hypoglycemia or diabetes. Blood sugar swings are very hard on the body because it takes enormous resources to maintain normal levels. It’s hard on the liver, adrenals, and pancreas. The damage from the days of eating too many carbs was evident when my liver enzyme levels were high and adrenal tests were all over the map. On top of that, I was 55 pounds overweight.
That brings me to New Years resolutions. Yes, we want to get rid of anxiety and other nasty mental ickies. Plus, what is one of the most popular of resolutions? WEIGHT LOSS! Weight loss is a wonder side effect of eating a diet that balances blood sugar. I melted off the extra 55 pounds, got rid of anxiety & panic attacks, my brain fog lifted, and have dramatically increased energy levels.
So, if you’re thinking “Bah on blood sugar, mine is fine and I don’t need to worry about what I eat!”, then reflect on the previous paragraph. Oh, did I tell ya that balancing blood sugar is fabulous for your heart, hormones, and immune system? Yeppers, it is.
Have a Happy 2010 and remember … have fun, be well, and visit often.
Help Anxiety, Balance Blood Sugar
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!
Insulin Resistance Help – Recipe Substitutions
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So how can someone swap out ingredients in a recipe to help lessen blood sugar impact for those of us with hypoglycemia, diabetes, and/or insulin resistance? There are ways, trust me! Life without goodies is no life at all, right?
First, why is it so important to eat foods with minimal impact on the blood sugar even if you’re not diabetic, hypoglycemic, or insulin resistant? Because severe blood sugar swings contribute to adrenal fatigue, one of the major underlying causes of panic attacks, anxiety, depression, and other stuff like that. Also, it just plain makes you fat!
1. To reduce sugar in a recipe, I will take the amount called for and half it. Then I add in stevia to kick it up to the sweetness level I want. 1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon of stevia. 1 tablespoon of sugar = 1/4 teaspoon of stevia. 1 teaspoon of sugar = a pinch or 1/16 teaspoon of stevia. A little goes a long way with this stuff! Too much stevia will give a funky aftertaste. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar. I will use 1/2 cup of sugar and supplement with 1/2 teaspoon of stevia.
2. Use coconut, nut, or bean flour. When I bake, I especially use recipes that call for almond flour and coconut flour. You cannot use a traditional recipe and swap out for these. Because they do not contain gluten and are very fibrous – special accomodations need to be made. Because of food allergy awareness, there have been many books written on these flours that are excellent. I have a few listed in the My Favorite Stuff section.
3. I do not use rice, soy, corn, or potato flours. One reason is I’m reactive to corn, soy, and potato. As for the rice, it’s very high glycemic. For me, it spikes and crashes my blood sugar too radically. Which stinks because it makes for good gluten-free pasta and cookies! Boo hoo.
4. You might be thinking, what about agave? It’s being touted as a super sweetener that is low glycemic and perfect for people with blood sugar issues. I used to think that too, until it gave me big problems. I was having severe swings from the 200’s down to 60’s. Because agave is pure fructose, it is not a friend to our insulin receptors or liver. If the key words “agave dangers” are searched on the web, much interesting mind fodder can be found. I miss it dearly and it tastes wonderful. The day I cut out agave I was in mourning, but all I know is when I cut out the agave and my blood sugars were much more regulated.
5. Maple syrup and honey? Maple syrup is relatively low on the glycemic index (low 50’s). It can be used in recipes in place of sugar, the only problem is it’s strong and distinctive taste! Honey is over 80 in the glycemic – it’s not too far behind sugar. Lesser amounts can be used instead of sugar because it’s sweeter. But, the best honey is raw and if it’s heated the health giving enzymes are killed.
6. There are other sugars that can be used also that I have experimented with. I do not know enough about them to share my experiences. Oh, except yacon syrup. It’s very glow glycemic but it tastes like minerals! It compares to molasses. If anyone has used this, I’d love to hear from you! Other sugars you can research are xylitol, sucanat, brown rice syrup, date sugar, chicory sugar, and palm sugar. That will keep you busy for a while!
Experiment and have fun with these suggestions. Remember, everything in moderation. Not only will you help anxiety, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance – you’ll just plain feel better when your blood sugar is balanced. Plus if you need to, you might be able to cinch in your belt a few notches!
Great Recipe Site for Food Allergies – Elana Amsterdam
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Looking for GLUTEN FREE recipes that taste good? Elana Amsterdam’s blog is outta sight! She has recipes that range from meat preparation to after dinner treats. It’s heaven for anyone who has gluten related food allergies.
I made the chocolate cake made with coconut flour. Oh my goodness! This cake was so moist and flavor rich. I even brought it over to my parents for dessert and they loved it; they aren’t even gluten avoiders! I used turbinado sugar instead of agave in the batter at same ratios and it came out great. In the frosting I used raw honey instead of agave and it was out of sight.
Her book The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook just arrived at my home a few days ago. I found her blog when looking for gluten free goodies and noticed Elana had a fantastic looking book. Then, I realized I ordered it and it was already on it’s way. At least I’m consistent! The woman is pure genius when it comes to creating recipes that are so delicious that even the most discriminating gluten eater will love. You can find it listed HERE with a few other recipe books that I just LOVE!
Because some of the recipes are higher in sugar, I will be blogging about how to do substitutions to things are still SWEET but without the blood sugar impact. Hypoglycemics still want a little sweetness in their life. Don’t we?
Anxiety Therapy for The Holidays
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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:
- Sleep. Be sure to rest 8 hours every night. No staying up late to finish baking cookies or wrapping presents!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
