THE SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE, MEANINGFUL, WELL-DESIGNED LIFE /
THE F Ê T E / LIF E PROJECT NO.
39
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STORY / DR LIBBY WEAVER
I S MY M E TA B O L I S M R E A L LY S LOW I N G D OW N? For many people, when they notice their clothes are getting tighter, their initial response is a vow to rein things in – to go on a diet or go for a run. After all, the advice to ‘eat less and exercise more' is something that is ingrained in so many of us from a young age. Yet this age-old advice often fails us and
The thyroid gland is a little butterfly-
A R E S T R E S S H O R M O N E S I N V O LV E D ?
we can be left wondering whether there
shaped gland that sits in your throat area.
Rushing around at a frantic pace has
is something wrong with us or if we should
It is an endocrine (hormone-producing)
become the norm, whether we have two
just put it down to a slowing metabolism.
gland that manufactures two thyroid
or two hundred things on our to-do list,
So what’s really going on here? Essentially,
hormones… triiodothyronine (T3)
and stress hormones are produced in
the calorie equation (calories in versus
and thyroxine (T4). Thyroid hormones
response to this perception of pressure
calories burned) fails to consider a
are responsible for controlling the basic
and urgency. For the entirety of human history, adrenaline, our short-term stress
whole host of factors that impact our
activity of each cell in the body and
metabolic rate. So what does impact
they play an enormous role in your
hormone, has communicated to every cell
on our metabolic rate and what can
metabolic rate as well as body
in the body that our life is in danger, as
we do about it?
temperature regulation.
this is what was true historically (think a
A RESTRICTIVE DIET
There are a number of nutrients essential
Many people, women especially, have been dieting (restricting!) for years, decades even. Yet we tend to forget that when we’re restricting calories, we may also be inadvertently restricting the essential nutrients that drive the biochemical processes in our body – the very nutrients that drive cellular metabolism and maintain proper functioning of our body systems. Not to mention that our body doesn’t understand the difference between us intentionally curbing our intake of food and there being a situation in which food has become scarce. Your body therefore believes it is doing you an enormous favour by slowing down your metabolic rate, as this will give you a better chance of surviving a food shortage. Really think about this… a restrictive dieting approach
to optimal levels of thyroid hormones. These include iodine, iron and selenium. Most soils are typically a poor source of iodine, which means that soil-grown food
tiger chasing you). This type of stress was usually over quite quickly, so adrenaline production would only amp up for a short period of time. Since to our body, stress pretty much
tends to be low in this important mineral
becomes a situation of life or death, the
too. Key food sources of iodine tend to be
production of stress hormones can also
those from the sea and include seaweed,
have a flow on impact on many of our
seafood and iodised salt, so it’s a good idea
other body systems. For example, our
to check that the salt you buy contains
digestion is compromised because blood
iodine. Foods that contain iron include red
flow is diverted to our arms and legs to
meat, eggs, green leafy vegetables and
get us ready to fight or flee and our sex
legumes. Iron deficiency is very common
hormones can be tipped out of their
among women of menstruation age,
delicate balance – your body doesn’t want
however it’s important to have your iron
you to bring a baby into a potentially
levels tested before starting an iron
dangerous world so it downregulates
supplement, as too much iron is also problematic. The easiest way to obtain your daily selenium requirement is to consume two to six Brazil nuts each day.
fertility. It’s pretty powerful stuff, isn’t it? Nowadays, most of our stress comes from concerns about our finances, our relationships, our health, of getting caught
is a form of stress to the body. Your body’s
While iodine, iron and selenium are
natural response is to adapt to this stress
essential to thyroid function and overall
important meeting, or managing our
as best it can and downregulating thyroid
health, it’s important to be aware that
overflowing email inbox. If we perceive that these stressors are ever-present, stress
in morning traffic and being late to an
function – a mechanism that impacts your
consuming higher amounts of these won’t
metabolic rate – is just one of the ways
be beneficial for all thyroid problems. For
hormone production will be relentless.
through which it does this.
example, the thyroid gland is susceptible
And this leads us to produce cortisol,
COULD IT BE YOUR THYROID?
If you’re experiencing ‘unexplained' weight gain in addition to other symptoms such
to autoimmune diseases, so increasing
our chronic stress hormone. Cortisol is a
iodine intake will not necessarily be the
catabolic hormone, which means it can
answer to thyroid problems that are the
break down muscle tissue. If chronic stress
result of an autoimmune process, rather
leads to a loss of muscle mass this will
as deep fatigue, dry skin, often feeling cold, than an iodine deficiency. The road in to menstrual problems/infertility, brain fog your underactive thyroid will be the road and a tendency to constipation, you may
be suffering the effects of an underactive thyroid.
you must take out, so if you suspect any
slow our metabolic rate and body fat can start to creep on even if we haven’t changed our eating and moving habits.
thyroid issues, visit your doctor to discuss having your thyroid hormone (and perhaps also antibody) levels tested.
ISSUE NO. 26 / FETEPRESS.COM.AU
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health / W E L L - B E I N G
TOP TIPS FOR STOP DIETING AND START NOURISHING WHEN FOCUSED ON EATING FOR WEIGHT LOSS OR WEIGHT M A N A G E M E N T, W E ’ R E G E N E R A L LY FOCUSED ON TAKING A RESTRICTIVE APPROACH TO OUR DIET AND THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR US TO MISS SO MUCH OF WHAT WE NEED FROM
One of the most effective ways to
Embrace some kind of resistance training.
minimise stress hormone production
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to
RATHER THAN BASING YOUR FOOD
is diaphragmatic breathing, so breath-
go to the gym. Pilates is a great form of
CHOICES ON THEIR CALORIE
focused practices such as meditation,
resistance training and yoga uses your
tai chi, Stillness Through Movement and
own body weight as resistance. Above all,
restorative yoga can be highly beneficial.
don’t avoid movement – look for more
If these don’t appeal, simply take 20 long,
opportunities to move throughout
slow breaths at regular intervals across
your day.
each day, that move your belly out and in, rather than short, shallow breaths that move your chest.
VITAL BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES.
CONTENT, A MUCH BET TER QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF IS “WILL THIS NOURISH ME?” FOCUSING ON NOURISHMENT MEANS WE’LL B E C H O O S I N G M O R E N U T R I E N TDENSE WHOLE FOODS, WHICH W I L L N AT U R A L LY L E A D U S T O
IS YOUR LIVER STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP?
R E D U C E O U R I N TA K E O F H I G H LY
Put simply, the liver is the metabolic hub
PROCESSED, LOW NUTRIENT
in the body. It is responsible for storing,
THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSCLE MASS
activating and transporting many nutrients,
Muscle mass typically accounts for around
and it is our key detoxification organ.
FOODS. REDUCE YOUR INTAKE OF 'LIVER LOADERS' THESE INCLUDE ALCOHOL,
a third of total body weight and a quarter
Detoxification is something that occurs
of your body’s metabolic activity. In
inside us all day, every day and it is
contrast, body fat usually accounts for at
essentially a transformation process –
least twenty percent of your body weight
any substance that would be harmful to
(and more for many people these days)
you if it accumulated in your body must be
MEANS REDUCING THE LOAD ON
but only five percent of metabolic activity.
changed into a less harmful form so that it
THE LIVER, WHICH IS A PLUS FOR
Your ratio of muscle to fat mass therefore
can then be excreted safely from your body.
OUR METABOLIC HEALTH.
greatly impacts your metabolic rate. This
Our liver has to deal with substances that
CONSIDER THE TYPE OF
means that if you have a higher proportion
we ingest or absorb (think pesticides,
of muscle mass, your body uses more
alcohol, caffeine, substances in highly
energy (calories) simply to sustain these
processed and refined foods and synthetic
muscles – ultimately, this can lead to less
substances in conventional skincare and
body fat being stored. Not to mention
cleaning products), as well as substances
G O I N G TO G E T T H E R E S U LT S YO U SEEK, KNOW THIS… HIGH INTENSIT Y
that our muscles have the highest
that our body makes itself (think sex
concentration of mitochondria in our
hormones such as oestrogen and
body (the heart muscle cells have the
cholesterol). The choices we make greatly
most, while the ‘visible' muscles such
influence how much work the liver has to
as your biceps, also contain high levels).
do, and therefore how efficiently it is able
Mitochondria are the powerhouses in
to do its job.
our cells that convert fuel (the energy we obtain from our food) into energy that the body can use, so the more muscle you have the greater your energyproducing capacity!
If the liver can’t keep up with the load going in, some problematic substances can be recycled back out into the blood,
CAFFEINE, TRANS FATS, REFINED SUGARS AND SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCES. MINIMISING OUR INTAKE AND EXPOSURE TO THESE
EXERCISE YOU DO I F YO U’R E S T I L L O P E R AT I N G U N D E R A B E L I E F T H AT I F YO U D O N’T W O R K HARD AND PUSH YOUR BODY TO THE EDGE OF EXHAUSTION, YOU’RE NOT
E X E R C I S E F O R LO N G D U R AT I O N S (S U C H A S C A R D I O-B A S E D E N D U R A N C E W O R KO U T S A N D L O N G D I S TA N C E R U N N I N G ) C A N H AV E A C ATA B O L I C (B R E A K I N G D O W N ) EFFECT ON OUR MUSCLES, WHICH A S YO U N O W U N D E R S TA N D F U E L O U R E N E R G Y A N D M E TA B O L I C R AT E. YO U D O N’T H AV E TO R U N YO U R S E L F R A G G E D TO G E T T H E R E S U LT S YO U
rather than undergoing all stages of
SEEK. IF YOU LOVE HIGH INTENSIT Y
detoxification so that they can be
EXERCISE AND FEEL ENERGISED BY I T, B Y A L L M E A N S G O F O R I T. B U T
Ditching restrictive diets and managing
eliminated. But the body doesn’t want
stress can help to prevent muscle
these substances to stay in the blood as
breakdown, however we also lose muscle
this is the very blood supply that is being
mass gradually as we age (from about
delivered to your vital organs. So, to
J U S T A S B E N E F I C I A L – U S U A L LY E V E N
the age of 30 onwards) unless we do
protect you, your body takes the
M O R E S O.
something to maintain or build it.
problematic substance and stores it in your body fat, away from your vital organs. This is one of the ways through which body fat can go up and up and it’s a mechanism that explains why for some people, some body fat can be extremely difficult to shift. We only have one liver – love it accordingly.
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OUR FOOD TO FUEL THOSE
FETEPRESS.COM.AU / ISSUE NO.26
K N O W T H AT E X E R C I S E S L I K E YO G A, P I L AT E S, WA L K I N G, Q I G O N G, TA I CHI AND WEIGHT TRAINING CAN BE
Dr Libby Weaver is a Nutritional Biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. Her book, W O M E N ’ S W E L L N E S S W I S D O M , is available at: DRLIBBY.COM