Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Cortisol is Making You Dumber

This is a follow up to my previous post (see below).

In addition to causing glucose levels to rise and growing your waist line, cortisol also destroys your memory! That’s right, excess cortisol damages your mind. Long-term exposure has been shown to cause neurons to shrivel – destroying neuronal connections and the memories that were stored in those connections.

So what happens if you have elevated cortisol levels for extended periods of time? A disease called Cushing's Syndrome perfectly illustrates the effects of long-term cortisol exposure. Cushing's Syndrome is a disease caused by a tumor which abnormally elevates cortisol levels.

Studies done on patients with Cushing's Syndrome have shown that the levels of cortisol are directly proportional to the loss of neurons! So more cortisol = Fewer neurons. These patients are also characterized by abdominal weight gain.

Reduce your stress - laugh! Here is a link to an interesting article talking about how laughter really is the best medicine. Laughter helps to lower cortisol levels, boost your immune system, and lower blood pressure.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Stress Connection

Cortisol Molecule
Ever wondered how stress causes weight gain?

Stress creates elevated levels of cortisol, a hormone which is part of the fight-or-flight response, an important part of survival. Because of its role as a "survival" hormone, its physical manifestations include things that increase an organism's chances of survival in dangerous situations. These include:
  • Suppression of the immune system - When you're worried about surviving the next few minutes, your body doesn't care about you getting the flu in a few days.
  • An increase in blood sugar concentrations - Cortisol causes the liver to make more glucose and it also blocks insulin receptors at tissues and organs not essential to survival. When you're trying to survive, you don't care if your bladder has enough glucose.
  • Protein is converted to glycogen - When fleeing a potentially dangerous situation, you need readily available supplies of energy. Glycogen satisfies this criteria, but you're robbing your protein stores to create even more glucose.
  • Your body stores fat - Extreme fasting causes an increase in cortisol, which, paradoxically increases the amount of fat your body stores. The reason? Your body is afraid it isn't going to have enough energy in the future, so it creates more fat, a very efficient way to store and receive energy.
End result: your cells become insulin resistant, your blood becomes awash in glucose and you put on weight.

We rarely have situations where we need to flee from lions or other predators, situations that the fight-or-flight response was created to handle. But, our modern, fast-paced and stressful culture keeps this response active at low levels for days on end. This contributes to poor health, including obesity. And obesity isn't the only negative effect. In my next post, I'll discuss how stress is making you dumber.

Meditate, do yoga, play with your grandchildren, listen to calming music - find what relaxes you and try to set aside time as often as possible to do those things!

Monday, April 19, 2010

New book time...

Here is a book that you should add to your reading list. It will literally revolutionize your life. The title is Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain and the author is Dr. John J. Ratey.

I know I won't do the book justice with a simple synopsis but you need to know that the evidence it mounting/overwhelming on the benefits of exercise and your mind (think mood, stress, and interestingly learning). Our CEO, Stewart Hughes, had recommended this book about a year ago. I didn't take notice (mainly because I had a number of other books I was reading at the time) until my wife started reading it and telling me some of the really cool things she was learning from this book. Thank goodness I listened my wife. I have rekindled my love for exercise and am making it a point to get out and be more active in some way each day. You can too!

Random post


This post has nothing to do with nutrition or Unicity. I am fascinated with these photos from the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. Amazing! The earth is an amazing creature.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Beware of the dangers of stressful eating...

So you have submitted your taxes (Hurray!) and now can breathe a sigh of relief. In stressful moments or shortly following stressful moments, we often turn to foods that are high in fat or sugar or both to gain a sense of relief.

Recent research suggests we may be doing more damage than good. In a study published in Nature Neuroscience, a research group at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, examined the effects of high caloric foods on dopamine signaling in rats. The premise of their research lies in the observation that obese individuals continue to eat food even after obtaining the calories needed for their energy needs. To paraphrase their question, "What is the mechanism that drives people to continues in a compulsive behavior?" They looked for inspiration in one area that shares a similar behavior pattern, drug addiction.

So - this group took a group of rats implanted an electrode in their brains and trained the rats to reward themselves via an electrical stimulation in response to their eating habits. They then divided the rats into three groups based on the amount of time they were exposed to the high fat chow (no access, restricted access and extended access). The rats that had the most access to the high fat chow quickly gained weight. The restricted access group tended to be heavier but not enough to be considered statistically significant. What was interesting was that has the rats in the extended access group got heavier, the brain stimulation reward (BSR - the training via electrical stimulation) threshold got higher - meaning they needed to eat more to reward themselves.

Further examination of the feeding behaviors among the three groups was illuminating. The groups who had access to the high fat chow shifted their preference of food by eating more calories from the high fat food. The restricted group shifted 67% of their caloric intake to the high fat food and the extended access group ate 95% of their calories from the high fat food. The results show that the rats tried to eat as much of the high fat food as possible, a pattern of eating known as binge eating.

Another results showed that as the rats got heavier, the density of the D2R (membrane dopamine receptors - these are receptors responsible for binding the neurotransmitter dopamine and signaling a reward response) decreased. This resulted in more high fat chow needing to be consumed in order to trigger the same reward response.

The last result I'll discuss was with a fresh group of trained no access, restricted access and extended access group of rats. These rats were then granted equal access to the high fat chow. However, half of each group was exposed to a light cue and then "punished" via an electric foot shock, while the other half was left alone. The light cue seemed to have no effect in deterring the groups from their behaviors. However, when combined with the foot shock, the no access group and the restricted access group significantly reduced their caloric intake from the high fat chow. The extended access, overweight group was resistant to both the light cue AND the foot shock. They ate right through their punishment. WOW!

Now there are more results from this study that show some strong evidence for food being a trigger for additive behavior. In particular, foods that are high in fat, high in sugar and salt - foods that are deemed "palatable". In times of stress we need to ask the question - why am I eating this food? Am I hungry? Am I trying to divert my attention from a particular traumatic event? Ask these honest questions. If you are hungry - eat an apple. Decide prior to the event what you will eat and when you will eat it. A great way to relieve stress is by exercising - go for walk. Get on your bike but DON"T BINGE EAT. Keep to your eating schedule. Maintaining a regular eating schedule will help in your moments of crisis because you have already committed to the schedule. We would love to hear how you deal with stress. Post your comments or send us an email at science@unicity.net

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Nature's Stress Reliever

"Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
-- modified from Edward Stanley (1826-1893) from The Conduct of Life

Facial expression of fear from Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.


Since this month is stress month I thought I'd elaborate more on what stress can do to your body and what Mother Nature has given us to combat this nefarious affliction.

First, what it does:

When we’re under stress, the ‘fight or flight’ response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of cortisol and other stress hormones. Our body assumes we are in danger and either fights for its life or runs in the opposite direction. We experience a burst of energy, shifts in metabolism and blood flow, along with other changes. If you remain in this state for a prolonged period (chronic stress) your health is at risk. Aside from a host of other dangers, chronic stress can cause weight gain.

So, you ask, what do I do?

Simple. You move. That's right. Mother Nature gave us legs to combat stress.

Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates said that the mind and body were connected, and that to effectively treat a disorder, you must first treat the heart; which at the time was believed to be the center of emotion. Recent science has discovered a hormone called atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) produced by the heart that helps put the brakes on the body’s stress response. This hormone is secreted by heart muscle when we exercise and helps lower stress by modulating the fight-or-flight response caused by the hypothalamus and other parts of the brain. And yes, more is better. As our heart rate increases, so does ANP production and stress levels are subsequently reduced.

So the answer is simple, but maybe execution is the problem. Feeling lackluster? Need motivation? Energy? Focus? Bios Life E contains Chi-Oka Matcha, a special blend of antioxidants and premium matcha green tea to provide you with the energy, motivation, and focus you need to change your life!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Is being stressed keeping you from losing weight?

In the US, April has been designated National Stress Awareness Month. Healthcare professionals and trained counselors will celebrate Stress Awareness Day on April 16th - the day after taxes are due (How appropriate!).

While the term stress generally has a negative connotation that need not be the case. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to demanding situations in our lives. These demands vary from person to person but can include things like job loss, death, injury, hectic schedules, job performance and so forth. When your mind perceives this so-called "demanding situation" it triggers the fight or flight mechanism. Once that threat or situation has been removed the body returns to normal. The problem with arises when the mind is constantly perceiving the stress triggers and keeping the body at high alert. Constant stress or chronic stress is related to a number of different ailments including hypertension, increased risk for stroke, increased risk for cardiovascular disease and heart attacks, sexual impotency and weight gain.

This last issue can create a nasty downward spiral. A stressed person secretes a hormone called cortisol. One of the negative side effects of cortisol is fat accumulation. A small amount of weight gain after a stressful period leads to further stress and depression and so on. So the question arises - what can I do to control my stress and in particular my eating habits when I am stressed?

There is one pretty simple rule - establish three regular meals a day, four hours apart and stick to it. In general, people eat more when they are stressed and they have irregular meal patterns. A recent study showed a strong correlation with irregular meal patterns and insulin resistance and increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Eating a different number of meals each day appears to not allow your body to establish proper hormonal signaling (e.g. insulin, ghrelin, and leptin). Your body doesn't know how to regulate itself if it doesn't know when the next meal is coming. Set the pattern of three meals every four hours and don't eat after dinner and stick to it.

We have a product that will help you establish this pattern, Bios Life Slim. Slim should be a daily part of your routine. Everyone needs more fiber in your diet. Nearly every registered dietician will recommend including fiber with your meals. Slim slows down the absorption of glucose in the gut, delays gastric empyting, reduced your insulin levels and improves your cholesterol. Slim is what will make the difference in staying true to three meals a day, four hours apart and not eating after dinner.

Now - it helps to recognize when you are stressed. Take this survey provided by the Mayo Clinic to assess your stress. Learn what sets off your stress triggers. Ask yourself if you are eating because you are hungry or because you are stressed. Make sure that you are getting enough sleep (more on this in tomorrow's post). Develop a strategy to deal with stress that should include relaxation techniques and exercise and don't forget Slim and three meals a day four hours apart and no eating after dinner!