Tag Archives: stress

Stress isn’t in your head, it’s in your nervous system

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How to Survive the Holidays Stress Free!

Happy Monday and happy December everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed last months topics all about auto-immunity and the immune system in general.

This month since it tis the season, we will going over various ways to help increase your body’s armor to keep the stress down.  We know the holidays are a happy time where families and loved ones come together, but it can also be a time of increased stress, trying to get things done, finances, family drama, traveling, ect.

We will also be prepping to do a start of the year 21 day cleanse to begin the year off on a great start!
(More to come about that topic in next week’s post about nutrition and traveling).


Step 1.

To start off the month, it’s important to prep the body for the holiday season.  Knowing that there will be extra stress, making sure your nervous system is at its best is key #1.

For a start, it has been shown in research that chiropractic adjustments boost the immune system. 

What happens with increased stress?  Your immune system goes down.  That’s why college students always experience getting sick after finals or on their breaks.  Once the adrenaline wears off, the effects kick in.

January is also the month of resolutions and goals (hopefully you have goals all year:)), but regardless, maybe a certain goal is saying: you’d like to workout more or eat better, you have to make sure your body can handle it. 

Just like how you would prep your notes for a presentation, or making a meal plan.  You need some sort of preparation for the body.

The prep phase so to speak.  In order to prep, you need to make sure your pain levels are down, and your brain and nervous system are communicating with one another.  When you do this, it makes less stress on the body, so that when those periods of increased stress come, your body can handle it and not go completely off course.

Cranial work in general is an amazing tool we have to help with the stress response. 

In research done specifically using cranial work for anxiety, depression and sleep, a study in 2011 testing over 100 patients,  found that using cranial based osteopathy (which i do) showed improvements in anxiety, increase in physical function, significant improvement in sleep function.  This is great!  A main reason in this study was improving sleep, and overall physical function.

When you are able to move pain free, and sleep (deep and rested), your body can heal and isn’t burdened by the littlest of things that come it’s way.

Which brings me to this point.  If you are in chronic pain, or aren’t sleeping, or you are already stressed, it is literally like typing into the computer all the keys at the same time.  Your brain can’t handle it.  Any little disruption, even a little stress can throw you off at that point.

So our goal with the cranial care is to create that optimal environment for the brain, to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, and make sure the network of nerves are effectively communicating. 

It’s also important to note that stress isn’t always in your HEAD, but in your NERVOUS system. 
Have you ever been told when you’re stressed to stop and just relax? That it’s all in your head? It would be nice if it were that simple. But it’s not.
“Physiology research shows that the stress response memory lives in your nervous system. Take for example exposure to a stressful event. One in which you felt helpless, hopeless, and lacked control. In this case your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is engaged. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling unconscious bodily actions like breathing. To be more specific, it was the sympathetic branch (fight or flight) of the ANS that kicked in while you were strained. In addition, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of the midbrain began firing. In which a signal from your hypothalamus sends a hormonal message to your pituitary gland that stimulates to your adrenal glands.

To activate this fight or flight response, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are released from your adrenal glands. They help our body suddenly mobilize to flee danger. According to Peter A. Levine, trauma expert in the field of psychotherapy, trauma occurs when this biological process is overwhelmed and a person is unable to release and process the stressful event. It is possible to avoid a traumatic response by discharging the energy generated. For example, shaking, crying, and screaming can allow the individual to physically process the stress.

However, if the stress response is not processed, it remains in the tissues of the body. When a subsequent stressful event that does not pose a serious threat occurs, the traumatic memory is recalled. A large amount of stress hormones are released. Blood rushes to extremities, pupils dilate, muscle tone increases presenting as tension, breathing rate increases, the heartbeats faster, and sweating occurs. Hence, the nervous system responds as if this small incident is life threatening.

This biological response is clearly beyond the ability to rationally control. You can’t think your way out of it. Chronic stress leads to dissociation or immobility, a state of sympathetic charge and hormonal release, which is health damaging. The brainstem (the primitive part of the brain) governs emotional experience and biological response. When the brainstem is activated by fight or flight, it trumps the more developed front of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. It is therefore not possible to be in the primitive state of fight or flight and also to think rationally and critically (as the prefrontal cortex would have us do).

The work is then to re-train the body. These are tools to deactivate the sympathetic response and activate the opposing parasympathetic response, called the rest and digest mechanism. The goal is to feel safe. To regulate breathing, slow the heartbeat, and circulate blood back to the vital organs.

The next time someone suggests it’s all in your head, you will have a different response. ”
-Melody Walford.

Re-training the body through calming certain nerves down or reflexes or while stimulating others like the parasympathetic nerves in the brain is key here.

We need to clear the stress out of the nervous system first!! This will prep the body to be able to handle things that come up!

Next week we will talk about food stress, if you’re traveling in the winter and exercise to keep you on track.

Also, if you have any FLEX or HSA spending you need to use before the end of the year Dr. Hamel accepts it as form of payment!

Let’s get the prep phase started so you can really enjoy this holiday season and not feel like you need to revamp your whole life in January.

If you’ve been holding your palms on your temples all too often, you might be coming up short on certain nutrients. Research suggests that folic acid deficiency can suppress the production of S-adenosylmethionine, a naturally occurring compound that helps produce serotonin and dopamine. Compounded with the fact that when you’re chronically stressed, your brain begins to produce excess stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and fewer neurotransmitters associated with relaxation and happiness, like dopamine and serotonin, you’ve got a problem. Luckily, scientists believe that improving folic acid status can help reinstate happy hormone levels. To reap the benefits, whip up a three-cup spinach salad and you’ll reach nearly half of the daily recommended intake of folate for both men and women. For more sources of folate, try beans, chickpeas, lentils, asparagus, avocado, or broccoli.

Even if you have the MTHFR gene, getting FOLATE from your food is the best way!!  Folic acid supplementation is the synthetic form and can be toxic if you have any of those mutations.

 

 

That is all for now,

 

Have a happy and healthy week!

 

 

Dr. Hamel

Stress it’s what’s for dinner.   What is STRESSING out your digestion?

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Happy Monday Everyone!  This month has been topics all about digestion.. Have you enjoyed it?  We’ve gone over the gut/brain axis, stomach dysfunction, diet, infections,  toxins, the gallbladder and much more!  Well, what’s left you say?

Well, we would miss a part of the picture if we didn’t look at the emotional systems effect in our digestion.  As well as another “stressor” that inhibits digestion.

All of the healing arts’ schools recognize the importance of emotions in health, and health care practitioners (regardless if they are body-oriented or mind-oriented), deal – expertly or not – with patients’ emotions and realize the consequences of aberrant emotional stress.

In chiropractic, we are taught that “subluxations” or areas within the spine or cranial system that aren’t moving correctly create nervous system dysfunction.  We are taught these subluxations are caused by either: Thoughts, Trauma or Toxins.

We all know that stress can affect us in many ways.  Make us tired, worn out, body pains, hair fall out, hormones disrupted.  But what about digestion?

Well.. Have you ever heard of the phrase I got “butterflies in my stomach” when I was nervous?

I’m sure we all have at some point.

That is because the emotion of anxiety, is held in the stomach.

“Emotions are based on minute proteins in the body called Information Substances (IS). These IS are comprised of neuropeptides, hormones and other specialized information molecules that permeate the entire body, including our DNA.

This dynamic has been scientifically validated in research. Chiropractors know first hand about physiology influencing emotion via many examples of PMS sufferers. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years has embraced a mind/body model. It is only in the west that man (via Descartes) semantically split the organism into a mind and a body. This philosophical construct held up for nearly 300 years before being discarded (at least in most neuroscientific circles) in the 1980s.”

There is also the principle of emotions correlating with what are called meridians in the body. This is a 1,500 to 4,000-year-old principle. It is an acupuncture theory, known as the Five Element Law that has been clinically validated for over 1,500 years, linking specific emotions to specific meridians. An example is the link between ‘Anger’ and the Liver meridian.

So, we know there’s a connection between emotions and different organs, but what causes dysfunction in these systems?
We know that stress in itself isn’t always BAD.  It is vital for us to have healthy levels of stress to survive. Humans are conditioned — sometimes by one event (this is termed a one-time trial). While conditioning is normal under most situations, so is the physiological counterpart of the fading away or elimination of a conditioned response (called ‘extinction’).
Simply, sometimes normal extinction does not take place, and chronic abnormal dysfunction starts to occur.You see, we talked about the mind/gut connection on our first topic.  We talked about how the GUT actually has the MOST serotonin production in our body.  So we know we have to heal our gut to heal our mind.  But emotional stress when chronic over time, can also shut down our digestion. 

For instance, chronic stress starts to alkalize our stomach acid, which means more bugs get through our stomach, and more digestion problems.  Also food won’t be properly broken down, so inflammation in the digestive tract can also occur.

In an unhealthy organism,  emotions can cause psychosomatic and somatopsychic problems. This is not a ‘mental’ condition, but rather a whole mind/body relational problem.

So emotional stress is REAL, and can cause REAL dysfunction.  Sometimes we don’t always know what we are stressed or blocked about, and other times we do.  

I like using NET (neuro emotional technique) in my office to narrow down what that stressor might be that might be affecting the body function. It uses neuro-mechanisms of manual muscle testing (the type of muscle testing used is akin to, but not the same as, Applied Kinesiology as developed by George Goodheart), emotions, acupuncture meridian system, reflex points, principles of traditional physiology (such as conditioning), case history taking and chiropractic adjustments to the spine.

From my experience, all the coping mechanisms for stress in the world don’t compare to the power that NET can help a patient overcome. 99% of our thoughts are subconscious, so knowing what those are through this technique is so helpful to narrow down. But, here are some other tips:

  • Essential oils are always great tools to use when feelings of stress arise, or to protect against stressful environments.  I only recommend high quality for this effect like those from DoTerra which have been thoroughly researched.
  • Some use exercise as a stress relief, which is great, just don’t overdue it!  Meaning don’t make it a stress, but use it as a health tool.  You don’t need to work out super hardcore three hours a day.  Trust me.
  • Stabilizing your diet with higher fats and lower carbs and normalizing hormones will make stress responses easier.  Usually when we are stressed we either don’t eat or eat the WRONG things for our body.  Simplify your life by not buying things that will tempt you, and meal plan for the week to take the stress out of it.  Sometimes getting meal prep services are OKAY and needed.
  • Get out in nature
  • Let go of things that don’t serve you.
  • Try to focus on one thing at a time.  Multitasking doesn’t work, and can make things more stressful.  The most successful people out there focus on one big thing at a time.

Other digestion Stressors.

Last month we talked about EMF’s or electromagnetic frequencies.
Here is a recap:

“EMF’s stand for Electromagnetic Frequencies.  EMF’s describe the energy that is coming out from an electromagnetic source. “Electromagnetic radiation can be beneficial, harmless or extremely dangerous to humans, depending on the source, level of radiation, and duration of exposure.There are both natural and man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation. The sun, for instance, is an intense source of natural radiation that can have both positive and negative effects on living things. The sun also produces both visible and invisible electromagnetic streams.Ultraviolet rays from the sun are invisible and cause sunburn and skin cancer if overexposure occurs.
A rainbow, however, is a visible and harmless part of the electromagnetic effect caused by the sun, as human eyes detect the visible wavelengths of light as different colors.”

Man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation include X-rays, Radio waves and microwaves.

“The power contained in electromagnetic radiation can be both helpful and destructive to humans. Overexposure to radiation, whether in an acute dose or a slow, continual intake, can quickly lead to illness and even a painful death. However, as electromagnetic radiation is also a natural part of the human environment, exposure to some radiation is unavoidable.

Every year there are more cell phone towers, Wi-Fi networks, “Smart” meters, and solar panel inverters. Soon California will mandate all new homes must have solar power, which means more EMF. Beyond this, there are millions of 5G antennas coming to your region, as part of the most powerful wireless network ever built.”

Mobile phone radiation.

Mobile phone radiation refers to radiation in the form of electromagnetic waves that is emitted from mobile phones. This type of radiation takes the form of radio waves that are near the microwave range. When we think of harmful radiation, things like X-rays or gamma rays usually come to mind, but these types of radiation are different from cell phone radiation. These are ionizing radiations and exposure to these are very harmful. Since cell phone radiation is non-ionizing, it is generally seen as being harmless in the short term.However long term exposure to this radiation also is proved to be very dangerous. Profound research has been made worldwide and it has been concluded by many that long term exposure to mobile phone radiation can lead to many chronic diseases like cancer.”

EMFs also have a big role in our digestion:
 Microbiome Disruption– Just as all cells—including those in our body, are electrical, the organisms in our microbiome are electrical, too. There is evidence to show that our microbiome is harmed by EMF.

These hidden dangers are becoming more and more of a problem more individuals.  Because we are getting sicker because of the frequencies allowing our systems to be dys-regulated and thus, infections enter.

Limit your exposure as much as possible!  More tips included here:

EMF’s, the hidden adrenal suppressors… and tips for exercise for adrenal fatigue.

 

 

 
Nuts, including almonds, cashews, and walnuts contain zinc, a mineral that plays a big role in modulating the way the brain and body respond to stress. They’re also a good source of stress-busting magnesium!  (Dark chocolate >72% is also high in magnesium, you’re welcome)

  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 cups organic basil Leaves tightly packed ( Or 1 drop of Doterra Basil EO).
  • 1 cup organic cashews (soaked overnight or at least 4 hours, and drained)*
  • 1/4 tsp. Himalayan salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice OR 1 drop Doterra lemon EO
  • 1/3 cup Olive Oil (or more, depending on the consistency you want)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Put garlic in Vitamix or food processor and pulse until chopped.
  2. Next add basil, and pulse again until it is broken down into small pieces.
  3. Add cashews, lemon and salt/pepper, and process on low (1-2 on a Vitamix) so that the cashews are broken into tiny pieces, but still maintain a little texture. If using cashews that haven’t been soaked, you may want to process on a higher level to get a creamier consistency.
  4. Finally, with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until completely combined.
  5. Spoon into an airtight container.
  6. Can be used on pasta, as a dip, or in salad.

* You can add raw parmesan cheese as well if you want.  1/4 C.

How clenching, brain and nervous system stress deplete your adrenals

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Happy Monday Everyone!  I how you are surviving the heat!  We continue on this week on the topic of the Adrenal Glands.  Last week we went over a little anatomy of the glands which set the stage for how they function.  We will continue on the rest of this month about what actually stresses them out in the first place that makes them go haywire.  Today we will talk about more mechanical problems from the brain and nervous system, next week will be nutrition/genetics/infections/heavy metals and lastly will be emotional stress and exercise.

Last week we talked about how hormones are cyclic, meaning they are regulated and released through cycles.  We always want to stay in balance, and releasing hormones when needed is a way be stay in balance through feedback loops.


(Not my image)

The brain sends a signal, then down the line the adrenal glands secrete the hormones.  But what if the signal from the brain is improper?

Meaning, the brain isn’t working at it’s best and so the adrenal glands aren’t working the best.

What causes the brain to stop working it’s best?

Well, if we look at where the brain is actually located, we see many layers of protection.  There’s a few layers surrounding the brain, a sac like membrane that covers it, then we have the skull bones.  That membrane doesn’t stop at the head though, it continues down the spinal cord into the tailbone where it ends.

(not my image)

The Arrow that says “Sella Turcica” is basically a little saddle that your pituitary gland sits in that attaches to the hypothalamus.

Any torsion in this saddle causes pressure on the glands.  What can cause torsion?  Well for little ones this is birth trauma.  Whether a normal birth or through interventions..
What does adrenal stress look like in a little one?

They are constantly in fight or flight mode.  Aren’t happy eating or after eating.  Don’t like to be put down, colicy, maybe have improper digestion and are constipated or not sleeping more than a few hours. They look tense all the time and are easily woken.  Also might react to foods. These are basic survival responses, but they aren’t normal to be on 100% of the time.

Simply alleviating the pressure from the brain through craniopathy work (taking pressure off the brain by moving the bones into their proper place)  can calm the baby down, normalize the signal and stop them from continually thinking they are in danger.

What else causes torsion?
Well, once we are grown, we grow into those torsion patterns unless they are addressed.  Our teeth then grow into torsion patterns, and the rest of the body follows.
An increase of torsion can either begin from the top down or the bottom up or both. 

Since everything is connected, the twisting nature from either end when not addressed, causes an increase of stress to the body.  It’s not in the environment to really do its best work.  This is especially true when not only is there head trauma from birth, but actual trauma to the head itself.  This is a lot of inflammation to the head and those glands, and they won’t function normally.

Individuals who have head injuries (whiplash, concussion, fell on head, ect.) will usually say they are tired more often, don’t sleep as well, or there digestion and hormones are irregular.  These are warning signs!  Hello, brain here, not working great, help me out!

But you don’t have to had direct head trauma either.
You can really just have a lot of torsion in the head just from birth, that causes your teeth to grow in such a way that causes even more stress to the head.

You see your bite matters too.  We aren’t born with teeth, so the way that they grow in and make contact with each other, affects everything down the line.

Clenching is a really common sign that there is head tension.  We definitely clench more under more emotional stress, but just straight clenching alone is a sign of head inflammation.  The more you clench the more inflammation it inflicts and the more your adrenal glands will feel the wrath, so to speak.

So head trauma, improper bite and clenching can all cause adrenal stress.

But nervous system stress can really come from ANY stress on the nervous system.  Because after all it is all connected.  The nervous system is not superman.  It can’t do everything all the time when stress is still put on its system.

So really check out the whole spine and HEAD will ensure proper nervous system health, making sure the mechanics of the joints are working well.
Happy nervous system = happy brain and glands = happy adrenal glands:)

Remember it’s a feedback loop as well, so the more chronic stress to this gland the more the cycle continues until the adrenals then become fully depleted.  Or on the opposite end they just aren’t being stimulated as well. Side not, Glucocorticosteroid drugs deplete the hypothalamus pituitary signal and over time can cause more damage than help.

Taking brain inflammation off is HUGE for any condition.  You’d be surprised how much the body can heal on its own when the brain is working at it’s best.  This is why I always talking about healing the nervous system as #1 to any protocol!

Adrenals, Adrenals, Adrenals

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Hello August!  I certainly can’t believe it’s August already!  But a new month means a fresh new topic!  Hope you all enjoyed last month’s topics around fertility.  If you missed it, or know someone that might benefit, please SHARE them!

This month we will be diving into the all important Adrenal Glands.  We will start this week with what are they and what is their job, and will continue the rest of the month talking about what depletes them:  Brain inflammation (clenching, cranial tension, spine and nervous system), nutritional deficiencies and imbalances ( including infections, hormones, toxins, heavy metals, genetics and more), Chronic STRESS and EMF or electro magnetic frequencies.

WHAT ARE THE ADRENALS???

I’m SO glad you asked:)

The adrenal glands are little but powerful glands that sit on top of your kidneys.


(not my image)

These glands produce hormones which are in a class called “steroid hormones”.

Steroid hormones are a family of hormones made directly from Cholesterol!

The specific steroid hormones that are produced from the adrenal glands are cortisol and aldosterone.

WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THESE HORMONES! In fact, cortisol is so important we’d die without it in a matter of three days!
These hormones govern stress handling systems, growth, mood and metabolism and impact almost every cell and every organ in the body!  

But …. It all STARTS with….. CHOLESTEROL!!
This important FAT is manufactured in the liver AND intestines.
It is produced based on need. 
The benefits of cholesterol have been misunderstood for so many years, but as we know now with the ketogenic craze, that fats are so amazing for us and needed for adequate hormone production.

These are all the things Cholesterol does:

  • Cell membrane flexibility ( it is literally in our cell membranes, so you biochemically cannot gain weight from eating saturated fats, it’s IN YOUR CELL membranes)
  • Needed for brain health
  • Important for nerve conduction
  • Needed for vitamin D conversion in the skin
  • protects against heart disease and cancer
  • supports healthy immune function
  • increases cell wall permeability
  • mother’s milk is high in cholesterol as babies need very high amounts (BABY FORMULA has NO CHOLESTEROL in it, it’s not a good source of nutrition)
  • Maintains health of intestinal wall; helps prevent leaky gut and dysbiosis
  • Component of bile which is required to process and absorb dietary fats
  • contribute to longevity
  • supports health emotional responses
  • decreases suicide risk
  • important for healthy reproduction, intelligent offspring and hormone production
It’s kind of a SUPERHERO, if you ask me.. and HEALTHY levels are crucial.  The normal range is 180-220.  This is a functional healthy range. Probably not the range your doctor gave you. Levels below this range are associated with an increase in :
-cerebrovascular accidents
-liver cancer
-lung disease
-depression and suicide (its essential in the production of serotonin)
-addictive behavior.

The best sources to get this in your diet are in animal tissues:

  • Egg yolks
  • liver
  • sardines, trout, herring, salmon and cod liver oil
  • bacon
  • butter
  • grass fed meats
Although I do work with vegetarians, I do find it’s extremely hard to balance hormones when animal tissues are not consumed.  They usually don’t get enough from plant sources and will always be chasing hormone problems. Flax seed, olive oil and coconut oil have the highest levels of saturated fats to consume.

HERE is the ADRENAL HORMONE PATHWAY.


You see how cholesterol is at the top???

Now as we go down the chart you will see one route that leads to cortisol.
Cortisol controls our Stress Response.  That is: Fight or Flight Response.  This is vital so that when a threat is upon us we can react quickly!   However, the problem remains when chronic stress continues.
When chronic stress (we will go over what chronic stress is caused by the rest of this month) continues, cortisol is constantly being pumped out.  This causes something called the Pregnenalone Steal.

This means sex hormones won’t be made efficiently because we constantly need cortisol production for the chronic stress.
Here are the effects of chronic and prolonged stress:

  • estrogen dominance
  • depressed or elevated DHEA
  • weakened immune system
  • thyroid dysfunction
  • poor sleep
  • inflammation
  • digestive disorders
  • accelerated aging
And, here are consequences of stress ( we will go over this more in the weeks to come):

  • Weakness
  • hair loss
  • nervousness
  • lowered body temperature
  • weak muscle tone
  • irritability
  • depression
  • difficulty gaining weight
  • apprehension
  • hypoglycemia
  • inability to concentrate
  • excessive hunger
  • tendency towards inflammation
  • poor memory/confusion
  • digestion dysfunction
  • feelings of frustration
  • overall feeling of ill health
  • osteoporosis
  • auto immune diseases
  • heart palpitations
  • dizziness upon standing
  • lowered resistance to infections
  • low blood pressure
  • insomnia
  • sweet/salt cravings
  • headaches.
So, as you can see… Just cortisol function is super important for many functions.

What about the second hormone the adrenals produce?  This is aldosterone.

Aldosterone’s main role is to regulate salt and water on the body, having a huge influence on blood pressure.
So, when the adrenal glands aren’t functioning properly blood pressure dys-regulation and electrolyte imbalance can also come into play.

I can tell you, almost every patient I see needs some form or another of adrenal support.  The reason because we are being attacked literally every day from every angle.  We didn’t used to have to use so many products or methods even 15-20 years ago.  This being because now more toxins are everywhere, infections, EMF’s, chemical products, foods, vaccines, crazy work schedules.  It’s often hard for our bodies and adrenal glands to keep up. The key is not to just continually keep supplementing the adrenal glands with specific nutritional supplements, but to find the culprits, which may be one or all combined.

A lot of MD doctors will also tell you adrenal fatigue doesn’t exist.  But it does!  Don’t be discouraged.  There are answers.

Next week we will go over nervous system and brain function and it’s role in Stress out and Helping this gland.

Stay tuned!

Childhood stress, water intake, sleep and adequate exercise

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Happy Monday!  This is the LAST week we will be talking about children (well for now).  I hope you have enjoyed this last month’s topics, and as always if you have any topics or information you’d like to know more about tips are ALWAYS welcome!  The month of April will be all about detoxing.  The different ways to do it, through body work, nutrition and other means.  In light of detoxing month, I will be holding a 30 day Oil Pulling challenge.  If you missed the facebook LIVE about this topic and what it entails, look below to find out the link to replay it.  You will need to let me know ASAP if you are interested, so we can get the oils to you in time.

As we wrap up this month, there are still a few topics we haven’t touched that are extremely important for the nutrition and health of our children.

Stress, Water Intake, Sleep and Exercise.

1. Stress:
Stress is a response to any situation or factor that creates a physical, psychological or emotional change or a combination of all.
Children LEARN how to respond to stress by that they SEE and EXPERIENCE.  (Parent’s influence is huge here)
Stressors that might seem insignificant to an adult coul have an enormous impact on a child.
Stress in children could appear as fear, anxiety, withdraw or excessive worrying about things that feel out of their control.

Examples of potential stressors:

  • Poor diet
  • school
  • competitive sports
  • insufficient basic needs
  • injury
  • neglect
  • divorce
  • inadequate sleep
  • sibling discord
  • lack of free time and play
  • illness
  • bullying
  • household financial stress
  • physical, psychological or emotional abuse
There is an ever increasing pressure for our children to perform more in school at an earlier age with:
  • A LACK of down time
  • A rise in organized competitive sports
  • Family/household pressures
  • Socio-economic stress
  • and more…
So we ask these questions..

How are children handling this?  Are we teaching them the importance of having time to “chill” and relax? What about self-care?  What about stomach upset, behavioral problems, anxiety being signs that they aren’t really handling their own stress?
Are children taking time for the important things?

  • creative play
  • reading
  • hiking; anything that is fun and relaxing for them

Stress in children is handled by the adrenal glands.  Excessive stress can result in common health issues due to the adrenal constantly being used and becoming exhausted.
When the adrenal glands need help here are some signs:

  • digestive issues
  • chronic allergies
  • asthma
  • immune system imbalance
  • weight issues
  • dysglycemia
  • ADD/ADHD
  • mood and emotional disorders
  • difficulty with sleep
  • fatigue
What do the adrenal glands do?
  • they produce a variety of hormones that help to handle all types of stress- physical, mental or emotional
  • these glands seek to keep your body functionaing in a dynamic balance amidst whatever external or internal changes or challanges you meet
  • they mobilize you for “fight or flight”
  • They control:
    • fluid balance
    • blood sugar balance
    • inflammatory and anti inflammatory response
    • immune system response and strength- lots of studies showed stressful beginnings can cause immune compromise later.
  • They produce steroid hormones appropriate for the child’s age and development
This of course can be helped with proper evaluation and nutritional support.

2. Water Intake:

The human body is about 60% water.  The brain is estimated to be between 70-80% water.  Water is in integral part of our cells, blood, digestion and waste elimination.

Here are some general rules for proper water intake in children:

  • encourage water intake OVER excess juice and milk drinking
  • sports drinks should be limited in their use, as water is the preferred drink (actual really clean water like Kangan water has all the electrolytes you need.  If you use reverse osmosis water, you will need to add back in minerals.  Also, bottled water, is big no no.  Hormone disrupters in the plastic)
  • children should drink 1/2 their body weight in oz.
  • sports activities- drink 4-6 oz of water for every 15-20 minutes of exercise.  Many people make the mistake of stopping before they are fully hydrated.
Some symptoms of too little water and possible dehydration:
  1. Fatigue
  2. headaches
  3. dry mouth/cracked lips
  4. nausea
  5. constipation
  6. muscle weakness
  7. dizziness/lightheadedness
  8. decrease in concentration
A quick note about sports drinks:
  • sports drinks don’t actually hydrate better than water, but due to the typical sweet-tart combination, there is a tendency to drink more of them.  In that way, they can help children to re-hydrate
  • juice, due to the high fructose content, reduces the rate of water absorption so cells do not hydrate very quickly
  • other drinks have a lot of additives, artificial colors, and/or high amounts of natural and unnatural sugar added to it
  • flavored stevia can be used to help kids transition to drinking more water
  • coconut water is another alternative for hydration when needed rather than sports drinks
  • here is a great alternative
    • 32 ounces fresh spring water
    • 2 tablespoons celtic sea salt or himalyan pink salt
    • juice of 3-4 limes or lemons
    • maple or stevia to sweeten
3.  Sleep:

The general guidelines is 8-10 hours. The younger the child is, the more sleep is recommended.  Pre-school children need as much as 14 hours of sleep including naps.

A swiss study gave these sleep guidelines for children:
1 year and younger= 14-15 hours
1/2 year=14-15
1 1/2 -3= 12-14
3-5 years-11-13
5-12 years= 10-11
13 and up=8.5-9.5 hours

Adequate sleep improves:

  • adrenal strength
  • strong immune system
  • proper growth and development
  • better attention and focus
  • emotional stability
Common symptoms of poor sleep include:
  • depleted adrenal function
  • frequent illnesses
  • sluggish mornings and/or sleepiness throughout the day
  • impaired attention and hyperactivity
  • impaired memory or learning
  • irritability, moodiness and temper tantrums
  • bedtime struggles
Recommendations:
  1. allow adequate time for a child to settle down before going to bed
  2. involve the child in a calming routine that works for him/her; warm baths, cup of hot tea, bedtime story, nutritious snack, oil diffuser
  3. encourage sleeping in a dark room or use a nightlight with a timer
  4. play relaxing music, use a cd player or ipod that will shut off when it’s done
  5. try diffusing essential oils like lavender before bedtime to naturally calm them down
  6. keep the routine consistent.
  7. no screens in the room, and no screen time 30 minutes before bed
4. Exercise:
Physical exercise is a bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health.
Promoting fitness in children is one the most IMPORTANT ways to encourage healthy habits that will last them a lifetime.

Regular exercise in thildren can help:

  • feel better about themselves
  • manage stress
  • maintain a healthy weight
  • build strong, health bodies
  • sleep better
  • build social skills
  • develop healthy habits for adulthood
There are differing opinions about the amount of exercise a child needs.  It seems to vary with age.  The recommendations are 60 or more minutes of physical activity per day.  Aerobic activity should make up most of the 60 minutes.

Exercise needs to include:

  1. Endurance- cardiovascular function
  2. strength- strong bones, muscles
  3. flexibility- reduces the risk of injury; stretching should be done after an activity or exercise.
Children should be encouraged to do what they enjoy!  There are benefits to all types of exercise.  It’s also important to not overwhelm children.  They need exercise, but sometimes children that are in multiple sports at the same time, it can be a source of stress.  Try to focus on the most important activities they love one at a time.

Because of electronics, we now have a huge deficit in our children and their functioning.  We could say its nature deficit disorder! A great book on this is Last Child in the Woods.

There are other things to consider with children, we now have rampant toxins everywhere which lead to many mineral deficiencies.  Limit the exposure in the home to only organic no synthetic based products.  These can be huge hormone disruptors in our children , which will be addressed next month!

OIL OF THE WEEK

Did you miss Dr. Hamel’s Video on Oil Pulling, and the Oil Pulling Challenge?  You can replay it here:
https://www.facebook.com/rachel.hamel.14/videos/10157227054147519/

The challenge begins April 2!  If you are interested let me know ASAP so I can add you to the group and you can get your oils in time to start!

That is all for now.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy week.

 

Dr Hamel