Tired of trying to lose weight through just diet and exercise .. read on to discover some lifestyle tips to help your biochemistry
Today we are going to discuss fat cells and generally speaking I would presume that they are the least favourite of all your cells. (Unless you are one of those lucky ones who either embraces them or doesn’t accumulate them easily). There has been an explosion of research on our circadian rhythm and how if affects our biology so interestingly enough, natural daylight, artificial light and our sleep impacts our body weight
How would you like to learn a few tricks to help your body reduce the size and number of your fat cells? We have been sold a bit of a lie that calories in (food) and calories out (exercise) is the answer. If we eat less and exercise more those kilos will melt away. Like many things in this world this simplistic answer ignores many biological factors and it simply doesn’t work for many people especially if they have circadian mismatch and/or hormones that are out of balance.
Body weight maintenance is actually very complicated and is influenced by our circadian rhythm and various hormones. There are many simple lifestyle changes we can make to ensure our circadian rhythm and hormones are functioning optimally and work in our favour.
Firstly, what is our circadian rhythm?
It is the regulation of bodily processes through a 24-hour period. All metabolic activities in the body are affected by this rhythm which is controlled mainly by light or dark. Eating and sleeping are closely linked to this rhythm as are our hormones. By changing our exposure to light we can change our circadian rhythm and our hormones and this in turn affects our fat cells.
This diagram shows some metabolic activity changes that occur during a 24-hour period.
Since the invention of the light bulb to chronic light pollution in big cities we are changing our light environment and this has major implications for our circadian rhythm and thus our health (not just our weight).
Hormones
Secondly, what hormones are we talking about? The main players are; insulin, leptin, gherlin and cortisol.
Insulin – one of the key hormones controlling carbohydrate metabolism. Insulin is a fat cell accumulator as it takes glucose from our blood and liver and helps it enter into the cells, in excess this leads to more carbohydrates entering the cells and then the excess is stored as fat in fat cells and thus weight gain.
Insulin resistance is a condition where your cells no longer respond to insulin, it should be a priority to correct this as it makes losing weight very hard.
Leptin – when high it helps to reduce hunger and promote satiety (fullness). Leptin is higher in the morning and during daylight hours it is better to eat while leptin is high if you want to reduce weight.
Gherlin – opposite to leptin, high levels of gherlin makes us feel hungry, poor circadian rhythm and sleep increase gherlin.
Cortisol – a stress hormone, when levels are constantly high not just in the morning this leads to weight gain by increasing insulin resistance and affects sleep. Stress, blue and green light exposure at night and poor sleep are the main contributors to elevated cortisol.
Based on this knowledge here are our light-based secrets to help you shrink those fat cells
Here at Younger Secrets we are constantly researching the latest scientific studies on health, wellness, longevity, beauty and weight management so we can pass this information on to you.
Tired of trying to lose weight through just diet and exercise .. read on to discover some lifestyle tips to help your biochemistry
Today we are going to discuss fat cells and generally speaking I would presume that they are the least favourite of all your cells. (Unless you are one of those lucky ones who either embraces them or doesn’t accumulate them easily). There has been an explosion of research on our circadian rhythm and how if affects our biology so interestingly enough, natural daylight, artificial light and our sleep impacts our body weight
How would you like to learn a few tricks to help your body reduce the size and number of your fat cells? We have been sold a bit of a lie that calories in (food) and calories out (exercise) is the answer. If we eat less and exercise more those kilos will melt away. Like many things in this world this simplistic answer ignores many biological factors and it simply doesn’t work for many people especially if they have circadian mismatch and/or hormones that are out of balance.
Body weight maintenance is actually very complicated and is influenced by our circadian rhythm and various hormones. There are many simple lifestyle changes we can make to ensure our circadian rhythm and hormones are functioning optimally and work in our favour.
Firstly, what is our circadian rhythm?
It is the regulation of bodily processes through a 24-hour period. All metabolic activities in the body are affected by this rhythm which is controlled mainly by light or dark. Eating and sleeping are closely linked to this rhythm as are our hormones. By changing our exposure to light we can change our circadian rhythm and our hormones and this in turn affects our fat cells.
This diagram shows some metabolic activity changes that occur during a 24-hour period.
Since the invention of the light bulb to chronic light pollution in big cities we are changing our light environment and this has major implications for our circadian rhythm and thus our health (not just our weight).
Hormones
Secondly, what hormones are we talking about? The main players are; insulin, leptin, gherlin and cortisol.
Insulin – one of the key hormones controlling carbohydrate metabolism. Insulin is a fat cell accumulator as it takes glucose from our blood and liver and helps it enter into the cells, in excess this leads to more carbohydrates entering the cells and then the excess is stored as fat in fat cells and thus weight gain.
Insulin resistance is a condition where your cells no longer respond to insulin, it should be a priority to correct this as it makes losing weight very hard.
Leptin – when high it helps to reduce hunger and promote satiety (fullness). Leptin is higher in the morning and during daylight hours it is better to eat while leptin is high if you want to reduce weight.
Gherlin – opposite to leptin, high levels of gherlin makes us feel hungry, poor circadian rhythm and sleep increase gherlin.
Cortisol – a stress hormone, when levels are constantly high not just in the morning this leads to weight gain by increasing insulin resistance and affects sleep. Stress, blue and green light exposure at night and poor sleep are the main contributors to elevated cortisol.
Based on this knowledge here are our light-based secrets to help you shrink those fat cells
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Did you know that your gut function can affect all aspects of your health?
Over 2000 years ago Hippocrates said “All disease begins in the gut” and today it is not just Naturopaths that believe this to be true. Today modern medicine is finding more and more evidence that your gut health affects all your health. These new links include gut - brain link, gut - immune link, gut - metabolism link, gut - skin link and even a gut - eye link.
So what is happening in your gut affects your ability to lose weight, fight infections, and concentrate on your tasks and even how clear your skin is.
So when we talk about the gut and gut health what do we mean and what can go wrong?
Our digestion is the process of taking in food, breaking it down into small enough particles so we can absorb the nutrients and then eliminating what we don’t want. So for us to be able to do that we need a lot of help from specialized fluids such as acids and enzymes as well a host of bacteria that live in our gut. This process relies on a strong resilient gut lining and a healthy immune system (80% of our immune system is found in our gut).
The main things that go wrong:
So what can I do to improve my gut health?
Only eat when you are hungry
Eat slowly and mindfully
Take time to note which foods sit well with you and ones that don’t
Eat a clean diet (avoid sugary or processed foods, gluten, dairy, deep fried foods, artificial sweeteners, alcohol etc. as these can damage the gut lining and affect the gut flora)
Eat vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and seeds, bone broths, fermented foods and collagen to help repair the gut lining
Supplements to help
If you need more help ..find a Naturopath or Functional Medicine Doctor
]]>Here are our tips based on the latest research
Create a healthy lifestyle with nutrient dense food, exercise, sleep, meditation and fun of course and your body will reward you with a fit body, wellness, resilience and lots of energy