Are you fatigued and feel like you just don't have enough energy? Do you have trouble sleeping even though you feel tired?  Maybe you feel you have lost your sex drive?  Or maybe you crave sweets or caffeine?

These are all symptoms of adrenal fatigue.  I know all these symptoms ups close and personal because adrenal fatigue is one of my health issues.

  

Here is a short video about my own experience with adrenal fatigue. 

  

Restore Your Adrenals

   

What are your adrenals? They are those cute little glands that sit on top of you kidneys. What happens is every time you stress your body your adrenals put out hormones to deal with the stress.  Hormones like adrenalin and cortisol.

  

Cortisol raises your blood sugar.  When you eat sugar it raises your cortisol. When you are stressed your blood sugar goes up.  It is a vicious cycle.  

  

Cortisol depletes you of the happy brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. 

  

 If you are constantly under stress your adrenals get overworked and eventually they stop doing their job effectively. The chemistry of your body gets out of balance creating those symptoms I mentioned above.  

 

When our adrenal glands are fatigued we crave sugary foods due to exhaustion or we crave salty foods in order to stimulate the nervous system into action to help balance the kidneys.  

  

The Nourishing Foods Cleanse - Spring Renewal  focuses on restoring your overworked adrenals and supporting one of the most important organs of detoxification, your kidneys.  You will feel leaner, lighter and more energized in just 5 days.  You can check out all the details and sign up here.  If you have more questions click on the FAQ.    

Spring Renewal
April 15-19 Monday-Friday 

In this cleanse you will be eating foods and herbs which cleanse your body and balance your blood sugar to help restore your adrenals.  

Recently I realized I was not chewing my food completely.  I was just not paying enough attention. When I started focusing on my chewing I realized OMG I was swallowing much of my food after just a few bites. It was still chunky. 

 I have known for a long time how important it is to chew but somehow it got away from me, it happens.   So I am here today inspired to put my attention on the practice of chewing in myself and hopefully in you too.    

When I teach nutrition to my clients I often say it is not just what you eat but how our body absorbs the nutrients from our food.  It doesn't  help to be eating a diet full of vegetables, lean animal protein and low glycemic grains if our organs are not able to process the nutrients and get them to the cells that need them.

Digestion is one of the essential jobs of the human body. It's a series of consecutive actions where the success of each level is considerably dependent on the completion of the previous level. While some of the initial steps involved in digestion are chemical, one of the first is mechanical. This is chewing.

The journey of food absorption starts in the mouth.  

 

Chewing will help you lose weight.

 

The longer you take to chew your

 food, the longer it will take to finish a meal.  As you eat, a message is sent to the brain to indicate that you    are getting full. If you

 chew too fast and plow through a meal, you may be done with your food, but the brain still thinks you are hungry. When this occurs, you are more likely to continue to eat and consume more food than you really need.  You may even get over full which I find so uncomfortable.

Chewing wakes up your digestive system

 

Chewing helps break down your food and signals hormones, enzymes and gastric juices to initiate the process of digestion.  Your taste buds detect the chemicals that make up the food you are eating - such as carbohydrate, protein, fat - so that the appropriate enzymes are produced and secreted throughout your digestive system.In addition, you also have more time to chemically alert the rest of your digestive system to start its engines

 

Chewing allows food longer exposure to saliva

 

By increasing the surface area of the food your saliva comes into contact with, your body digests and absorbs the nutrients better. 

 

Not only is your food broken down into smaller and smaller bits by your teeth, but your saliva produces enzymes that further disassemble your food's molecules.  

 

Saliva Breaks Down Carbohydrates  Your saliva contains an enzyme called amylase that begins the process of breaking down carbohydrates, turning them into simple sugars making it easier for your body to complete the process in the small intestines with enzymes provided by the pancreas.

 

Saliva Begins the Process of Breaking Down Fat   Your saliva also contains an enzyme, lingual lipase to begin the process of breaking down fat even before it reaches your intestines. It is one of the key components that makes the digestion of fat possible. If fat is not broken down thoroughly and is left unprocessed, it can lead to digestive problems.   

 

Chewing thoroughly can eliminate bloating, gas and abdominal pain

Saliva also contains softening agents to allow the food to be molded into a ball (called a bolus) for swallowing.   Well-chewed food glides easily through the esophagus and into the stomach. Dried and un-chewed food has a more stilted journey through the entire digestive and metabolic process.  If you don't chew your food thoroughly it takes much longer for it to pass through your system creating gas and bloating.  Food may be left partially unprocessed, and digestion is not complete. This undigested food causes an increase in bacteria in the intestines, which may cause a variety of symptoms.

Chewing increases your pleasure and satisfaction

Not chewing well prevents a person from really tasting the food, which may lead to not feeling satisfied with the meal.  Meal time can be a time to relax and enjoy the pleasure of good food.  Notice how the taste of your food changes in your mouth as you chew.  Taking the time to chew each bite thoroughly, is not only good for the body, but can help feed the soul.

Chewing is a cheap and easy way to increase the health and efficacy of the digestive system and benefit overall health. Think about what else you might accomplish by freeing up the energy of the digestive system. What about rebuilding cells so you look and feel younger and more vibrant?

My goal this month is to bring some attention to my chewing, I hope you will join me.

 

Tips for better Chewing 

• Learning to chew well involves the tongue. The tongue has the important role of keeping the food in your mouth.
• The tongue will have to change the well-practiced art of  the chunky swallow, I'll take 7-10 days of counting 40-50 chews for each bite.
• If the task feels daunting, try this for only one meal of the day.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to savor and chew even those meals that are eaten on the run,
• After several weeks, I'm hoping this chewing will become habit. I plan to tune in to the feel of the fully chewed food in my mouth and how I feel after these meals.  I hope you will too. 

 As always there is a beautiful, delicious recipe.  Enjoy the recipe part of my weekly newsletter to you. Let me know how it comes out for you.  

 

Even though a smoothie is already "chewed" you still want to keep it in your mouth "chewing" it.  This will start the digestion process by getting it mixed with your saliva and wake up the rest of your digestive system.  

What makes this so powerful...

Hemp and chia seeds give us Omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, calcium and complete protein. Maca is an adaptogen, great for supporting the adrenals. Berries are high in antioxidants, Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and fresh enzymes.  The romaine has vitamin C, A, K and folate.

 

2 servings

 

8 oz frozen wild blueberries

2 Tb chia seeds soaked in 1 cup water for 30 minutes (or overnight)

2 Tb hemp seeds

2 tsp maca powder

8-10 romaine leaves 

1 cup almond milk

¼ tsp vanilla

Pinch of stevia

 

Put all ingredients into a blender.  Blend until smooth. 

 

You can have half for breakfast and refrigerate the rest for later in the day as a snack.