The Conventional Wisdom

We have been told that weight gain occurs when a person consumes more calories that he/she burns through metabolism and activities. In order to lose weight, energy expenditure needs to be greater than energy intake. We got fat because we overeat – simple math.

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When “Energy In = Energy Out” Doesn’t Seem to Hold…

Yeah, this may sound a little woowoo at first glance, but try it on for size. You cannot bring about change if you are thinking and behaving the same way as your "old self". You need to think and behave differently, change what you believe in and how you interact with the world, in order to bring about the physical changes that you want.

For us ladies, staying emotionally balanced is always more challenging during “that time of the month”. The hormonal fluctuations that we experience during our periods can be particularly challenging for some.

Vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and GLA have been shown to alleviate PMS. For some kinds of PMS, hormonal changes disturb blood sugar control and bring on sugar and stimulant cravings, as well as symptoms of tiredness and irritation. In this case, eliminating sugar and stimulants from the diet, as well as eating complex carbohydrates and fruits in small quantities and often, can often help relieve the symptoms.

Food and mood has a very definitive connection, and the good news is, there is a lot you can do to elevate your mood just by changing a few of your dietary habits.

#1. Eat regularly: Food is fuel; skip a meal and you'll feel tired and cranky. Don't get yourself into a state of hypoglycemia  - which is the #1 trigger for mood issues.

#2. Don’t skimp on carbs: Carbohydrates have long been demonized, but your body needs carbs to produce serotonin—a feel-good brain chemical that elevates mood, suppresses appetite, and has a calming effect.

The third nutritionally-related trigger to mood issues is Neurotransmitter Dysfunction.

What does that mean?

Our brain depends on neurotransmitters to transmit signals. Neurotransmitters are made of amino acids, which come from protein in our food. Brain is protein dependent, it needs amino acid, which makes up protein, to manufactures these neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters that regulate mood also regulate our appetite. When we become deficient in our neurotransmitters, we start craving carbs and sugars. The more deficient, the more cravings we have for bad carbs such as refined sugar and processed carbohydrates.

Ever been turned into a monster by mood swings? When you have mood swings, do you feel out of control and can't get a handle on your emotions? That is not just a mental thing - there are some physiological components to mood issues and you can take control of them by understanding how intrinsically food and mood are connected.

The second trigger of mood swings that I want to talk about is food intolerance. (Read about the first trigger here)

Gluten intolerance can trigger mood swings, depression and anxiety.

Ever been turned into a monster by mood swings? When you have mood swings, do you feel out of control and can't get a handle on your emotions? That is not just a mental thing - there are some physiological components to mood issues and you can take control of them by understanding how intrinsically food and mood are connected.

The first trigger of mood swings that I want to talk about is hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia – a fancy name for low blood sugar level. Hypoglycemia occurs when:

Detoxification is a process during which you normalize the body’s natural ability to process and excrete toxins that are stored in our fat, while you temporarily reduce the amount of incoming toxins.

There are a lot of detox protocols, facts and myths out there. If you jump into detox without prior experience (meaning that you probably have a high toxic load and will release a high level of toxins) or proper supervisions, it can backfire: 

We have recently covered the various symptoms that environmental toxins can cause, and really got people thinking - that's scary... are we doomed?

Good news is, although we cannot move ourselves into a bubble and isolate ourselves from the rest of the world (and the chemicals), there are quite a few simple things that you can do right away to reduce your exposure to environmental toxins so that you can start improving your health right away.

Reducing your toxic exposure can lead to a lot of health benefits, including:

I took this original recipe and made a few tweaks for a less sugary, more berry, less fat version.

Ingredients