Chaz Milles asked:




Quite often people think that bad habits that are responsible for bad food cravings craving, or that the person has poor will power. That is really not the case! The food cravings have biological reasons and to beat the food craving we must understand these underlying reasons.

Reasons for food craving

Whenever we are exhausted or we feel depressed we have low blood sugar condition and the body signals brain that it needs something to pep-it-up. This results in a craving for sugar or carbohydrates. One of the causes for this behavior is Serotonin, our basic feel-good hormone. The conditions of low level of Serotonin and low level of blood-sugar go hand-in-hand. That is why whenever there is less of Serotonin; we feel a craving for sweet food such as chocolates to make up for the shortage of sugar in blood.

Unfortunately, sugar or carbohydrates release only a short burst of serotonin; when that burst dies down, the craving returns. This leads us into a spiral.

Another reason is Adrenal Fatigue. When you feel stressed out or feel run own, when you have not had a restful sleep or you are feeling very tired for no specific reason, you are suffering from adrenal fatigue. In very severe cases the condition is called adrenal exhaustion. In the modern world this health disorder is quite common, but unfortunately it is very rarely appreciated as such.

In case of Adrenal Fatigue also the body sends a signal to the brain for a pick-me-up and that is your craving for sugar or carbohydrate snacks, or may be, coffee during the day; at night you may look for alcohol or carbohydrates. All of this only makes the problem worse.

It is also seen that persons, who keep themselves on a low fat, low carbohydrate diet on a long time or have been taking appetite suppressants, do have food craving; it is because they have become at least partially insulin resistant without realizing this condition. In the normal course blood sugar level of the body is maintained stable by the action of insulin; insulin signals the cells of the body to absorb glucose from the bloodstream when necessary. Because of their insulin resistant condition, the cells do not respond to the signal and cannot mop up glucose they need. This results in a distress signal to the brain asking for more carbohydrates or sugar. The body thus receives excess calories which are deposited as fat and the person starts gaining weight in spite of eating less.

Beating the craving

If you appreciate the basic reasons for the craving, then beating the food craving can be done. It may take a little time but it can be done. To break food cravings, the body needs real healthy foods, additional nutritional supplements (of pharmaceutical-grade) at times; this and moderate exercise can help curb cravings. This process may take some time, but it will succeed.

gerry geneva

Marisa Robinson asked:




School aged kids are back to school and fall is here for most of us. What can we do as Parents, Early Childhood Educators and Home Care Providers?

Get the children in to a “school” like routine. This will help our children learn routine, and help to better equip them when they start grade school.

If you work at a day care chances are the center has a routine to work for them including scheduling for breaks, lunch breaks, etc. If you are at home or looking for a change to the daily schedule, here is a sample idea.

Sample Schedule:

Morning

6:30-8:30 Parent drop off, free play, clean up (7:15-*bathroom routine)

8:30-9:00 Snack, clean-up, books and puzzles

9:00-10:00 Outside free play, and games

10:00-10:15 *Bathroom Routine

10:15-11:15 Circle time, Art, Sensory, Dramatic Play, Science, Blocks, etc, Clean up

11:15-11:30 Wash-up/*bathroom and sit for lunch

11:30-12:15 Lunch time, wash-up

Afternoon

12:15-2:15 Nap time and/or quiet time activities

2:15-3:30 Wake-up, *bathroom routine, clean up quiet activities, snack

3:30-4:30 Outside free play

4:30-5:30 free play, parent pick up

* These bathroom routines are set up throughout the day for all children to go to the bathroom to avoid so many children having to go at different times all throughout the day, of course though, if any child had to go to the bathroom in between those times they would be given the time to go.

This schedule can be changed to what seems easiest for you and your group that is in your setting, but the main point here is that when these routines and schedules are followed closely everyday, children become familiar with routines and structure and will thus have an easier time when entering grade school.

Even if you are a parent at home with only your own children, scheduling your day is a great thing to do with your children as it will benefit them in the same way.

Fun Food Tasting Ideas:

With fall approaching, some wonderful foods to talk about and taste are:

Apples (cut up and served with different dips with snack)

Apple Cider (Let the children experience it warm and cold)

Maple Syrup (take a class trip to see how it’s made, can have waffles and syrup for a snack, or try maple syrup cookies for a treat)

Pumpkin/seeds (as a circle activity, cut top off and seed pumpkin, wash and roast seeds to show children the process, allow children to handle pulp as a unique sensory experience)

Sweet Potatoes (can try at lunch)

Cranberries (can try in cookies or plain)

Squash (can try at lunch)

Chili (great warm lunch idea with homemade biscuits)

Biscuits (can be made as a cooking activity and served with lunch)

Creamy Soups (great lunch idea with side of garlic bread or sandwiches)

*For some great fall recipes using these foods be sure to visit our websites under the Healthy Snacks section.

adrenal fatigue

Michael Porteous asked:




People all over the modern world are crying out “Why Am I Tired All The Time!” as they shuffle around life like zombies constantly trapped in a state of fatigue and lethargy which can be very hard to break as if is often unknown what started it in the first place. The answers are not all that hard to see in a broad perspective but the devil is in the detail as the saying goes so let’s look at both.

Overview: Bad diet lowers energy levels.
Detail: This is true for the most part; if we eat junk with little nutritional value our bodies lack what they need to run well. The problem is that sometimes we may think we are eating healthy but we are in fact not. Body types need different foods and sometimes we just miss certain vitamins that can lead to imbalances in the body letting in sickness and affecting our sleep and other parts of the complex machine that is our bodies. What is also bad is some people binge on bad food then hit a patch eating healthy out of guilt then fall back to eating junk. Consistency is more important than binges of guilt inspired nutrition.

Overview: Lack of exercise leads to fatigue.
Detail: It is entirely true that if you do not exercise your body does not become fit and cannot regulate energy levels well. Lack of muscle and cardio fitness makes small tasks more tiring that you thought gradually sapping your energy over time. The immune system is also weakened by lack of exercise letting in sickness just like a bad diet can which further tires us as our body expends energy to fight viruses and so forth. Again many people go on guilt induced exercise and overdo it which does not help in the long term. Remember when exercising that consistency in effort is more important that spending more effort at random times.

Overview: Lack of sleep causes tiredness.
Detail: The first thing people often blame when saying “Why Am I Tired All The Time” is that they do not get enough sleep, and other are bewildered because they seem to get enough sleep and still be tired. While fatigue is a combination of factors no where is the devil more in the detail than with sleep. Sleeping is a complex thing with cycles of times, sleep windows and what is worse is that it is often vastly different from person to person making good regular sleep something you need to work at to find your limits and understand your body’s requests and needs.

adrenal fatigue