Blog — insulin

Proper digestion is important so that we extract the nutrients from our food. Poor digestion is a main cause of unbalanced hormones. When we eat, a lot of hormones are activated. We need to slow down and chew our food to a paste to allow our digestive system to work well. It is important to space our meals out so our digestive system isn’t working overtime, and it gets a chance to rest. It helps to fast for at least 12 hours at night between your last meal of one day, and your first meal of the next.  Going on an...

  Insulin is critical in how the body uses and stores energy. It is produced in the pancreas along with glucagon and these two hormones regulate blood sugar. It helps drive the glucose into our liver, muscles and fat cells. Some of this glucose is used for immediate energy needs and some is stored in the liver for future needs. Insulin is released when we eat and there is a rise in blood sugar (glucose). Glucagon helps us access stored fuel several hours after a meal so our blood sugar doesn’t drop and cause us to get tired. This process...

Are you a snacker? If we are constantly eating we are keeping our insulin levels elevated which can lead to insulin resistance and possibly type 2 diabetes. Insulin is critical in how the body uses and stores energy. If not working properly, we can feel fatigued and store excess fat. There is a natural rhythm with insulin and glucagon. When we eat, insulin levels are elevated, slowly falling the next few hours after a meal. When insulin levels get low, glucagon rises and helps our body access stored fuel for our energy needs until our next meal. Constantly eating upsets...

It is quite common for people on a weight loss program to lose weight at the start of their program, then have their weight loss come screeching to a halt. This is where they plateau, which is a very frustrating and discouraging place for people to be. Eating less calories, exercising more, nothing seems to help. Why does this happen? The answer is hormones. Obesity is a dysfunction in hormones. Your hormones orchestrate functions in your body. They can make you a fat storing machine or a fat burning machine, a tired, unmotivated person or an energetic, driven person. A...

Leptin is an extremely important hormone because it has an impact on other hormones including insulin, thyroid, adrenal, pancreatic and sex hormones. Leptin restores our fat reserves when we eat. It acts as a fuel gage to let us know when to stop consuming food. When we have too much leptin our receptors get worn and the wrong signal is communicated to the brain telling us we need more fuel, when we actually have plenty of reserves. This miscommunication leads to our metabolism slowing down to preserve energy as well as overeating and excess fat storage. If you have excess...