It’s been over a month now since I’ve had a cup of coffee — and I haven’t had a single craving. Moreover, I’m feeling happier, with more energy, and the quality of my sleep has vastly improved. Best of all, I don’t need coffee anymore.

This is nothing short of a miracle for me. I’m the biggest coffee addict who ever lived! I’ve been drinking coffee since I was 16 years old. I’ve tried to quit coffee many times throughout the years, but I could never make it stick.

Why? Because caffeine is a highly addictive drug.

I know some of you guys are not going to like this article. I get complaints and protestations whenever I post on Facebook or Twitter about this. People really like their coffee.

I understand. I’m just sharing my experience with you. (And you might want to consider that it is possible that the reason you are getting so worked up about it is you could possibly have an addiction to caffeine. Just a possibility!)

Coffee Cravings and Nutritional Deficiencies

Kristen at Food Renegade wrote a good post recently about coffee, Should You Drink Coffee? This post is a response to that. (You should read her post instead of mine if you want to keep drinking coffee. ) I agree with Sally Fallon Morell of the Weston A. Price Foundation — coffee should be avoided.

The main problem with coffee is that we use it as a drug to provide chemicals to the brain. These chemicals are normally provided from food. Coffee not only suppresses the appetite, but it also damages our ability to produce those chemicals.

Coffee and Feel-good Brain Chemicals

The presence of caffeine in the blood stimulates the release of the catecholamines, adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and noradrenaline. If you are low in these catecholamines, you lack the brain chemistry you need for energy and alertness. Taking a drug like caffeine is an easy fix.

But with any easy fix, there is always a price to pay. Caffeine is overly stimulating to the adrenal glands, as are white sugar, white flour, too little sleep, and any other kind of stress on the body. When the adrenal glands are stressed for too long, they don’t function like they used to. This is called adrenal exhaustion.

Coffee: A Vicious Cyle

Here’s the rub about coffee. Epinephrine is produced by the adrenal glands from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. When you eat protein-rich foods that contain amino acids, your body naturally produces these catecholamines and other brain chemicals that make you feel energetic and focused and ready to get to work. If you take the coffee shortcut to get your quick fix of catecholamines, at the same time you’re exhausting your adrenals — the very organs you need to help you produce more catecholamines.

The other bad thing about coffee is it is a natural appetite suppressant. I always thought I just wasn’t a breakfast person. I have been skipping breakfast since I was in my teens.

A few days into quitting coffee, I noticed that I was really hungry in the morning. I was craving eggs and bacon and toast.

It turns out that caffeine is a strong appetite suppressant. So if you think you’re not hungry, it could be the drug you take before you eat. Here’s what’s scary about that: hunger is our body’s way of telling us it needs nutrients. If we take a drug that interferes with that, we’re depriving our body of what it needs to function. And the cycle continues.

Adrenal Fatigue

If you’re wondering if you have adrenal fatigue, answer the following questions (from adrenalfatigue.org):

Are you tired for no reason?
Do you have trouble getting up in the morning?
Do you need coffee, colas, salty or sweet snacks to keep going?
Do you feel run down and stressed?
Do you crave salty or sweet snacks?
Do you struggle to keep up with life’s daily demands?
Do you have trouble bouncing back from stress or illness?
Do you feel like you’re not having fun anymore?
Do you have a decreased sex drive?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue. (Read more about adrenal fatigue on adrenalfatigue.org.)

Adrenal Fatigue and Melasma

I realized a couple years ago that my adrenal fatigue (caused by years of overwork, not enough sleep, drinking coffee, Diet Coke, and smoking) was the root cause of my melasma. Melasma, also called the “pregnancy mask,” is a condition where you get ugly dark patches on your face.

I remember one day when I was in my mid-thirties, my mother looked at me and said, “Is that a mustache?” I was horrified. I knew what she was talking about. I had tried to wax and bleach it to no avail. It wasn’t hair — it was a dark patch on my upper lip. I tried everything but nothing would lighten it and makeup wouldn’t cover it.

The melasma continued to spread on my face. I had dark patches on my forehead as well. It looked a lot like this:

Yuck, right?!

If this is not reason enough to quit drinking coffee, I don’t know what is.

How I Cured My Melasma

When I started eating a traditional food Weston A. Price diet 2 1/2 years ago, I started researching melasma and what could cause it. Of course, very few people talk about hormones or adrenal fatigue and how they relate to melasma. Most articles I found online blame the birth control pill or sun exposure.

It occurred to me that melasma has the same root as melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that helps you relax and go to sleep. Melanin, or skin pigment, has the same root. This couldn’t be a coincidence! If you look up hyperpigmentation on Wikipedia, you will read:

Addison’s disease and other sources of adrenal insufficiency, in which hormones that stimulate melanin synthesis, such as melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), are frequently elevated.

I am very happy to report that since I changed my diet 2 1/2 years ago and started eating more nourishing foods, my melasma has disappeared. It’s 95% gone. No more mustache, thank God!

I only recently quit coffee, though, so I bet that will help with the other 5%.

How to Quit Coffee

I want to thank Elizabeth Walling of The Nourished Life blog for the review she wrote on Julia Ross’ book, The Mood Cure. I had read the book and had even tried the amino acid supplementation as Juila Ross suggests, but it hadn’t worked for me to quit coffee. I guess I hadn’t tried the right one, though.

Then Elizabeth tweeted one day something about how she had taken DLPA (Phenylalaline) to help her quit coffee. Just 1,000 milligrams in the morning and another 1,000 at lunchtime.

I gave it a shot. Guess what, folks? I was able to quit coffee without a single withdrawal symptom. No headaches, no fatigue, no suffering. And no cravings. I really don’t even want coffee anymore. (By the way, I’m not saying this will necessarily work for you. According to Julia Ross, different amino acid combinations work for different people. Please read her book, The Mood Cure.))

Julia Ross

I’m so inspired by all of this that I flew up to Marin County, California yesterday, to attend a lecture this weekend with Julia Ross, expert on amino acids and author of The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure. I just can’t get enough of her books so I wanted to come and hear her speak for two full days.

I promise to blog about it. Gotta go get some eggs before the first session starts!

Photo credits: Pillowhead Designs on Flickr and WebMD

I never was a big coffee drinker. And then I went to college. While I didn’t down 10 cups a day (like some of my friends!), I did start drinking a cup or two every afternoon just to “keep going.” Then I married a man who appreciates a really good cup of joe. He started making me coffee, and suddenly I loved coffee. Again, I don’t think it ever became a true addiction, but it certainly did become a routine part of my day-to-day life.

I’ve never really given it up, although I only have a few cups a week now. If it had more proven, deleterious effects on my health, I’d probably stop altogether. But the truth is, the research on coffee is quite mixed. Some studies are downright positive in their findings.

Want to know whether or not coffee is good for you? So did I.

The Health Benefits of Coffee

From time to time, I’d read about or hear of some way in which coffee is actually *good* for us. Obviously, straight coffee is fairly good at helping flush out your liver. That’s why people drink it when they have a hangover, or why people on detox diets use coffee enemas. But even that benefit seemed minimal when you consider that Starbucks and McDonald’s make their money selling you ramped-up coffee full of sugary syrups, artificial flavors, and non-dairy creamer. Drinking coffee in this “usual way” surely negated these supposed benefits, right?

So, I had to ask myself: What hard science is out there supporting coffee? You might just be surprised. I found numerous studies indicating that coffee consumption confers a lot of health benefits:

• a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Parkinson’s (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• a reduced risk of developing gallstones (source)
• a reduced risk of developing Diabetes Type II (source)
• a reduced risk of Gout (source)

It’s also a well-known laxative (which has come in handy during my three pregnancies!).

The Health Risks of Coffee

If it’s so wonderfully good for you, why do organizations like the Weston A. Price Foundation recommend we don’t drink it?

First, coffee irritates and damages the lining of the gastro-intestinal organs. (source) You remember how important the Gut is for good health? How most of our immune and nervous systems are at home in our guts? Given that, it’s easy to see how drinking coffee counteracts all that cultivating of healthy gut linings and intestinal flora that we Real Foodies are supposed to be doing while eating our yogurt, naturally-fermented sauerkraut & pickle relish, or drinking our kombucha, naturally-fermented lemonade, or nourishing bone broth.

Next, coffee has been shown to have adverse effects on the adrenal glands. (Sources: 1, 2) Over stimulation of the adrenals, of course, can lead to adrenal fatigue.

And finally, coffee as a beverage has only been around for 600 years, and wasn’t really widespread until the last century. (source) While that’s somewhat traditional and certainly not what I would call “industrialized” (particularly if you’re drinking *good* shade-grown, fair-traded coffee grown according to traditional principles), it’s still relatively new on the human dietary scene and should give us pause.

So, Should You Drink Coffee?

If you’re suffering from any gastrointestinal problems (IBS, gluten intolerance, etc.), the answer is definitely no. If you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue and trying to recover, the answer is definitely no. If, however, you’re like me and in good health, then I don’t think a cup every now and then will hurt you.

Personally, I’ve been cutting back on my coffee and experimenting with a few alternatives. The first is a tea Ann Marie raved about a while back called Dandy Blend which is based on dandelion root. I really like the flavor of dandelion root tea, and this blends it with chicory and a few other herbs to produce a non-stimulating coffee substitute. The second is something a friend recommended that comes “flavored” like many of those gourmet coffee blends (think: vanilla nut, almond amaretto, hazelnut, and mocha). It’s an organic herbal coffee substitute called Teecino, and it brews up just like coffee in your french press. On top of that, the various flavors are all created naturally. Their ingredient list is very forthcoming, including many organic fruits, nuts, carob pods, and more.

How about you? Where have you drawn the line for coffee in your household? And more importantly, why?

ETA: I wrote this in the comments below, and I thought it may benefit those readers who skip over the comments. I think it’s safe to say that coffee is NOT a health food, even if it may actually confer the benefits that the studies claim it does. That’s because coffee’s not particularly nutrient-dense, and you can get those same positive health effects from other foods which actually are nutrient-dense. Furthermore, if you are using coffee for energy, it’s because your body is nutrient starved. So why not actually feed it the nutrient-dense foods it wants, instead of pumping it full of caffeine to keep going?

(photo by mumbaiphotographer)

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. Is Kombucha Safe When Pregnant or Nursing?
2. Vitamin D Creates Lower Risk Pregnancies
3. Are You Nutrient Starved?

Deciding whether or not to use sunscreen, or which sunscreen to use, is a hot topic among the health conscious community these days. After all, most varieties are full of toxic chemicals, so why would you want to use sunscreen liberally on your skin? To address this, many “all-natural” alternatives have sprung up on the market. Consumers can still use sunscreen without feeling guilty!

Or can they?

Should You Use Sunscreen?

It’s been drilled into us from childhood: “You better use sunscreen or you’ll get a terrible burn, get skin cancer, and die!” With such a significant push to use sunscreen coming from doctors, parents, teachers, and even peers, it’s truly amazing that anyone would question whether or not it’s safe to use sunscreen, particularly the “all-natural” products.

But I do.

Why? First and foremost, it has to do with Vitamin D. Vitamin D is synthesized in your skin when the skin is exposed sunlight, and the vast majority of us are deficient in Vitamin D. What does that matter? Well, insufficient levels of vitamin D can result in all kinds of maladies, including osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, birth complications, depression, low libido, and (shockingly!) even cancer!

What’s that? Vitamin D helps prevent cancer? Yet, when you use sunscreen, you block your skin’s ability to synthesize Vitamin D. So, does it follow that if you use sunscreen, you’re increasing your risk of cancer?

It has been known for several years that sun exposure might have a beneficial effect on certain cancers. A 1999 publication of the National Institute of Health (NIH) entitled Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the United States revealed that among caucasians in the United States, cancer mortality for several prominent cancers, including cancer of the breast, prostate and colon, shows a striking latitudinal gradient. Specifically, people living in northern states have much higher rates of these cancers than those residing in the southern states.

The reason for this? Northern states get a whole lot less sunshine than southern states.

As early as 1990 it was proposed that vitamin D, which is synthesized in the skin upon exposure to UV light, might be the agent that accounts for these geographical patterns. (Garland et al. 1990) Less exposure to sunshine means less production of vitamin D. It is known that calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D3, has multiple cellular affects that could confer protection against cancer. The ability to convert the precursor to vitamin D to the active form of D3 (calcitriol) is greatly reduced at northern latitudes, and populations living far from the equator are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency during the winter months. (Tangpricha et al. 2002)

Even more significant may be the observation that patients with malignant melanoma exhibit low levels of vitamin D3 in their blood, and that others have a problem with the receptor for vitamin D. (Hutchinson et al. 2000; Green et al. 1983) The incidence of melanoma of the skin on sites of the body intermittently exposed to sunlight is reduced among outdoor workers compared with indoor workers. (Elwood et al. 1985)

All of this points to a protective role for vitamin D against cancer in general, and melanoma in particular. But the final nail in the coffin of the “sunlight causes melanoma” hypothesis is this:

A comprehensive review of research studies from 1966 through 2003 failed to show any association between melanoma and sunscreen use! (Dennis et al. 2003)

Say what? Sunscreen doesn’t prevent skin cancer, that’s what.

(source)

But, you ask, can’t you get Vitamin D from your food? Is it really necessary to expose your skin to the sun’s harmful UV rays to get sufficient levels of Vitamin D?

Well, let’s think about that for a moment. Vitamin D is only present in large amounts in certain kinds of seafood, and the highest sources for Vitamin D in food are anglerfish liver, cow’s blood, and fermented cod liver oil. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been eating large amounts of anglerfish liver or cow’s blood recently.

Next, I would like to question whether the sun’s UV rays are actually all that “harmful.” UVB, for example, is responsible for interacting with the cholesterol in our skin to produce Vitamin D. Sounds super beneficial to me! And while it’s true that excessive exposure to UVA rays can cause sunburns or premature “aging,” even those effects can be mitigated by a proper diet.

Let me tell you a story.

It’s my own story. I am fair-skinned, and I grew up knowing that a sunburn was just a half hour away if I didn’t use sunscreen. It has always been true. True, at least, until I changed my diet to Real Foods: only eating wild/pastured/grass-fed animals, drinking raw milk from grass-fed cows, and switching to healthier, more traditional fats. I even started taking daily doses of fermented cod liver oil.

Then I noticed a change. I’d go out in the sun, get flushed pink, and be certain that a bad burn would soon follow. It never did. Instead, the pink flush would calmly turn into a light tan.

How can food do this? How can it help prevent sunburns?

Well, remember how UVB interacts with the cholesterol and fats in your skin’s cells to help create Vitamin D? I’m no scientist, but this seems like a worthy hypothesis to test: If that balance of fats in your skin is off, then does it follow that the sun’s UV rays will interact differently with your skin’s cells?

One of the primary benefits of switching to a diet of Real Foods is that you also return to a much more traditional balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats. In traditional cultures, that ratio was anywhere between 1:1 and 3:1, and studies have shown that when it goes above 4:1 we start to experience negative consequences to our health. Thanks to corn-based industrialized agriculture and food products (corn has an Omega 6:3 ratio of 46:1), the average American is eating a ratio between 17:1 and 30:1!

And, according to a study published in The American Health Foundation Journal:

Epidemiological, experimental, and mechanistic data implicate omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as stimulator’s and long-chain omega-3 PUFAs as inhibitors of development and progression of a range of human cancers, including melanoma.

(source)

In other words, a diet based on Real Food (a diet rich in Omega-3s and with considerably less Omega-6s) can help prevent a range of human cancers, including deadly skin cancers like melanoma.

To Use Sunscreen Or Not To Use Sunscreen

For myself and my family, we haven’t used sunscreen in years. We prevent sunburns by getting a diet rich in the proper fats and supplementing with extra fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) when we know we’re going to have prolonged sun exposure. (We also take extra FCLO during the winter months, when we know our sun exposure will be limited and that we need an extra good source of Vitamin D to make up for the lack of sunshine.) If we know we’ll be spending all day in the sun, we’re sure to wear hats. But that’s about it.

If you’re interested in starting to take fermented cod liver oil, check out the listings on my Resources page for some smokin’ good deals. FLCO comes in a variety of flavors and forms, including capsules for those who don’t think they could just swallow straight oil.

What about you? Do you use sunscreen? Have you experimented with taking extra fermented cod liver oil, or having a more traditional balance of fats in your diet? How’s that working out for you?

(photo by kevinomara)

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. What Are Superfoods?
2. Vitamin D Creates Lower Risk Pregnancies
3. Your Liver: Understanding The Keys To Health

I seriously hope that even if you didn’t WIN last week’s giveaway for the Norwex Superior Mop package that you’ll still buy one — particularly when you see the generous coupon that Marilyn Moll is offering to all you lucky readers!

To refresh your memories, let me say that this mop is super-efficient, light-weight, and very environmentally friendly (cleans with only hot water). The Norwex Mop is 100% microfiber so it’s picks up “even the smallest particles of dust and dirt, and 99.9% of the germs and bacteria on your floor by just using water.” It functions similarly to a Swiffer in that you have a flat mop head on a swivel base with a super-adjustable handle, so it’s easy to use. But the similarity ends there. Instead of using disposable pads and toxic chemicals to clean, it uses a re-usable microfiber pad that cleans with just hot water.

Ah, but you want to know who won don’t you?

The winner is Melissa Ford! Congratulations, Melissa. Please contact me within 48 hours with your complete mailing address, using the email address you’ll find on my Contact page!

Now, for the rest of us who didn’t win, Marilyn is offering FREE SHIPPING on ANY Norwex product order of more than $50!

That goes for pretty much the entire Norwex line, which includes not only the Superior Mop Package, but everything from dryer balls to some serious micro-fiber cleaning cloths that remove 99% of the bacteria from smooth surfaces.

To check out the Norwex line of products, salivate over the Superior Mop Package again, or redeem the coupon Marilyn’s offering, just click on the link below. Be sure to use the coupon code: Norwexfreeshipping when checking out to get the FREE SHIPPING!

(Note: If you can’t see the link above, it is because you have ad blocking software enabled or javascript disabled. Please disable your ad blocker or enable javascript to redeem your coupon.)

Please note that Urban Homemaker is one of my sponsors, and as such I am being compensated for hosting this giveaway. That said, you can trust that I only accept sponsors whose products I whole-heartedly endorse and believe in.

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. GIVEAWAY: The BEST Eco-Friendly Mop EVER! $107 value
2. WINNER plus $59.95 off COUPON
3. We Have A Winner — And a 10% Off Coupon

I abhor textbooks. So, you may ask, why did I write one? Mostly because there is literally nothing out there for those of us who want to teach (or learn!) the basics of Nutrition from a pointedly Real Food perspective. If you’re trying to teach your kids to love Real Food (food that is traditional, old, sustainably and ethically grown or raised, etc.), you won’t find a textbook to support your view.

I gave you a heads up a couple of months ago, and now I’m pleased to announce the arrival of the finished textbook. I’ve decided to make the e-Course available to students and teachers in the Fall, to correspond more closely with the school year. But in the meantime, I know many of you want to dive right in — maybe to prepare your exiting Seniors for college, or perhaps to prepare your own lesson plans for the coming school year, or maybe just because you have personally been longing to wrap your head around the basics of Nutrition and this seems like the ideal way to do it.

What makes this Real Food Nutrition & Health textbook unique?

• Its perspective. Inspired by the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, the work of researcher Weston A. Price, and the love wholesome, organic, sustainable, & traditional foods that you find in the Slow Food movement and farmer’s markets everywhere, this textbook has no qualms bucking the sub-par Nutrition guidelines put out by the USDA.
• Its quality. As I said earlier, I abhor textbooks. So, rather than write a traditional textbook, I’ve written what the educator Charlotte Mason would call a “Living Book.”  You might say it’s the antithesis of a typical textbook. By definition, “living books” are usually written by a single, educated author who is passionate about their material. The idea is that the best teachers are passionate, and their enthusiasm is contagious.
• Its accessibility. Written in a casual and easy-to-understand voice (my own!), this book is perfect for high school aged students and possibly even the mature middle schooler. And it covers all the basics of Nutrition!

How To Buy Real Food Nutrition & Health

The book is available for sale here. It comes in two formats. The first is a downloadable e-book (a PDF file) which will be instantly delivered to your email address for just $19.95.

The second is a 203 page coil-bound paperback printed on quality, durable paper. It will be shipped out to you within 4-7 business days and arrive in your mailbox for just $29.95 plus shipping.

Click here to buy your copy of Real Food Nutrition & Health!

Want More Details?

Easily done! I’ve got a whole page set up with the book’s specifics, including:

• a table of contents with chapter summaries,
• a complimentary review chapter of the book which you can instantly download and view as a PDF, and even
• testimonials from a select few who’ve previewed the book.

Click here for the whole scoop on the Real Food Nutrition & Health textbook.

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. Announcing a Real Food Nutrition & Health Course
2. Breakfast Smoothies — Real Raw Food
3. Health Benefits of Raw & Fermented Foods

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s giveaway for a Wellness Consultation with Joanna Runciman of Actual Organics! I loved how you all came back and commented about products you’d thought you’d use or enjoy — completely natural deodorants, cosmetics, aftershave, perfumes, soaps, cleaners, and more.

It’s time to announce the lucky winner!

Congratulations go to Atour. Atour, you have 48 hours to respond with your email address and phone number so that I can put you in touch with Joanna. I’m sure you can’t wait to schedule your Wellness Consultation!

For the rest of you who were left disappointed, why not check out the special offer Joanna is giving to all you Food Renegades over the next week?

(Note: If you can’t see the link above, it is because you have ad blocking software enabled or javascript disabled. Please disable your ad blocker or enable javascript to participate in the giveaway.)

Please note that Actual Organics is one of my sponsors, and as such I was compensated for hosting this giveaway. That said, you can trust that I only accept sponsors whose products I whole-heartedly endorse and believe in.

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. GIVEAWAY: Wellness Consult & Miessence Organics Samples
2. WINNER plus $59.95 off COUPON
3. WINNER of Eco-Friendly Mop Plus COUPON

Are you looking for a better night’s sleep? Do you want to improve your skin? Would you simply like more balance in your life?

This week, I’m giving away an Actual Organics Wellness Consultation with Joanna Runciman. You’ll get thirty minutes of Joanna’s time. That’s thirty minutes of empowering conversation in which Joanna will help inspire you with the ideas you need to experience a more rested, balanced, and healthier-skinned you. After the consult, Joanna will also send you a sample pack of Miessence Organics skin care products suited to your specific needs.

So, ladies, does this sound like something you’d love to try? Gentlemen, does this sound like the perfect gift for that beloved woman in your life? (And men, you may even be interested in trying it out for yourself! Among the many Miessence Organics products Joanna carries are manly luxuries such as aftershave and cologne.)

How To Enter

This contest is now over. The winner will be announced later today, on April 26th. In the meantime, please enjoy the coupon below by clicking on the link. The first step to entering the contest is to click on the link below. You’ll be taken to the Actual Organics website, where Joanna has invited you take a look around and see what sorts of products she carries that you might be interested in trying. She’s got everything from perfumes to cosmetics, skin-care products to cleaners — all of it 100% natural and organic. Then you may come back here and LEAVE A COMMENT letting us know what interested you the most. Again, you must CLICK ON THE LINK, take a look around, then LEAVE A COMMENT at this post in order to be entered in the contest.

(Note: If you can’t see the link above, it is because you have ad blocking software enabled or javascript disabled. Please disable your ad blocker or enable javascript to participate in the giveaway.)

That’s good for one entry. For additional chances to win, do any of the following:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the link. (1 extra entry)

2. Sign up for my email updates or RSS feed. Leave a comment below telling me that you signed up. You will also get an entry if you already subscribe — be sure to leave a comment! (1 extra entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include the URL to this page in your tweet. Click the TweetThis button at the bottom of the post, or you can use the following tweet: “Win an Actual Organics Wellness Consultation! (AND INCLUDE THE URL)” Leave a comment telling me that you followed & tweeted. (1 extra entry)

4. Email 5 friends about the giveaway, with a link to this page. Leave a comment below telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

5. Stumble this post and leave me a comment telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

6. Follow Joanna (@actualorganics) on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. Leave a comment here telling me that you followed her & tweeted. (1 extra entry)

7. Sign up for the Actual Organics newsletter at Joanna’s site, and leave a comment here telling me that you did so. (1 extra entry)

There are a total of 8 possible entries!

Questions? Comment below.

This contest will end Sunday, April 25th at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and will be announced on Monday, April 26th. The lucky winner will have 48 hours to contact me with his or her full name and email address.

Please note that Actual Organics is one of my sponsors, and as such I am being compensated for hosting this giveaway. That said, you can trust that I only accept sponsors whose products I whole-heartedly endorse and believe in.

Good luck, everybody!

(photo by wongck)

Liked what you read? You may find these other posts interesting:

1. WINNER & COUPON: Wellness Consult & Miessence Organics
2. GIVEAWAY: Healthy Eats Here! Restaurant Guide
3. GIVEAWAY: The BEST Eco-Friendly Mop EVER! $107 value

What are your adrenals, anyway? These tiny, triangular shaped glands sit on top of your kidneys and are responsible for creating and releasing hormones for helping you cope with stress (most notably cortisol and adrenaline).

When you’re stressed, your adrenals release adrenaline (also known as epinephrine). The adrenaline increases your heart rate, contracts blood vessels, and dilates air passage ways to quicken your fight-or-flight response. You experience this as feeling suddenly super-charged, ready for feats of muscular strength and/or quick thinking. Your body quickly burns through your immediately available energy stores, lowering your blood sugar. Your adrenals release cortisol in combination with adrenaline to increase your blood sugar and increase the liver’s stores of glycogen in order to help your body return to homeostasis.

When Your Adrenals Malfunction

If you experience prolonged, frequent, or intense emotional or physical stress and don’t have a diet which supports optimal adrenal functioning, you may experience adrenal fatigue when over-stimulation of the adrenal glands leave them unable to meet your body’s needs. Some other names for the syndrome include non-Addison’s hypoadrenia, sub-clinical hypoadrenia, hypoadrenalism, and neurasthenia.

Symptoms can include:

• excessive fatigue and exhaustion
• non-refreshing sleep (you get sufficient hours of sleep, but wake fatigued)
• overwhelmed by or unable to cope with stressors
• feeling rundown or overwhelmed
• craving salty and sweet foods
• you feel most energetic in the evening
• a feeling of not being restored after a full night’s sleep or having sleep disturbances
• low stamina, slow to recover from exercise
• slow to recover from injury, illness or stress
• difficulty concentrating, brain fog
• poor digestion
• low immune function
• food or environmental allergies
• premenstrual syndrome or difficulties that develop during menopause
• consistent low blood pressure
• extreme sensitivity to cold

How To Keep Your Adrenals Healthy

Reduce Stress.
This means saying no to the hectic pace of modern American life and practicing stress-relieving exercises like yoga, prayer, or meditation.

Get More Sleep.
Too little sleep causes your adrenals to over-produce cortisol and adrenaline just to maintain normal bodily functions. By resting whenever you’re tired, your body will recharge energy levels naturally rather than relying on your adrenals to keep you going.

Avoid Refined Sugars & Grains.
When you eat refined sugars and grains, your blood sugar levels rise quickly. This prompts your pancreas to release insulin to sharply lower your blood sugar levels. After your blood sugar drops, your adrenals are forced to release cortisol to increase your blood sugar levels back to homeostasis. By keeping your blood sugar levels at more natural, even levels, you can save your adrenals a significant amount of work and help them perform optimally.

Eat More Cholesterol.
Your body uses cholesterol to build hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Without adequate amounts of cholesterol in your diet, you’ll experience the constant fatigue common to those who can’t produce adequate levels of cortisol or adrenaline.

Eat More Saturated Fat.
A high-fat diet will ensure that your blood sugar levels stay even, keep you feeling satiated, and improve your moods. All these things will allow your adrenals to function normally, rather than constantly requiring them to put out intense bursts of hormones to correct for your erratic blood sugar levels and moods. Remember to stick to the healthy fats mentioned in this post, and you’ll do fine.

Avoid Caffeine.
The stimulants in caffeine create artificial stress on your body, prompting your adrenals to release cortisol and adrenaline to help cope. Why give your adrenals the extra work?

Eat More Salt.
A diet unnaturally low in sodium or too high in potassium can stress the adrenals. That’s because one of the hormones your adrenals secrete, aldosterone, regulates the amount of sodium and potassium in the body.

Supplement with Adrenal Glandulars.
Desiccated adrenal gland from pigs and cattle can be helpful to some people in supporting adrenal function, and replacing some missing adrenal hormones. Be sure to get a reputable brand from a reputable supplier, to ensure quality, potency and safety.

Check out the other posts in the Understanding The Keys To Health series!

One Year Ago This Week:

• Hemp Oil & Hemp Seeds: Are They Safe?
• Guest Post: Joel Salatin On Why Local Food Is More Expensive
• Creamy Mexican Cheese Dip — Without Velveeta!

(photo by kevharb)

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