My Commitment to My Adrenals: No Fatigue, Just Sleep!
When I work with people with fatigue symptoms, related to thyroid and adrenal overload, I talk about several key things:
- Whole foods, fresh diet, high in raw foods
- Proper hydration
- Omega 3 fat balance
- Getting off allergenic and inflammatory foods, including gluten, dairy, and sugar.
- Fresh air and sunshine
- Exercise
- Restoring their adrenal reserve and enhancing detoxification via sleep.
I model the first 6 beautifully. I am committed to being as healthy and vibrant as I can be so that I can be a role model to others.
So why is number 7 so ###!!## hard for me?
I did really well on my sleep commitment the first week of my 30 day challenge.
My adrenals loved me for it, and I warded off a bout with adrenal fatigue by giving myself what I needed.
So why can’t I make a firm and lasting commitment?
I’m backsliding. I won’t even say how late it was when my head finally hit the pillow.
There’s still lots to do…there always will be. Yet I am off to meet my pillow and keep my commitment to me.
I made no commitments today and I kept none. What a deal. Tomorrow is a new day.
I did make myself a quart of green juice to start the day. It was lovely. I also did a great job on my omega 3′s today. The subject is on my mind, as balancing the immune system was the topic of the week for Balance My Body.
I noticed dark circles under my eyes…not good for a fatigue expert to look tired. Not good for someone who prides herself in looking much younger and having the body of a 20 something year-old to notice signs of aging.
Commitments for Sunday, and the rest of the week.
- I will get outside and exercise
- I will make at least 16 ounces of green juice and 32 ounces of smoothie
- I will get my omega 3′s again
- I will eat consciously and with gratitude
- I will…can I say it and mean it…I will…..I will…..go to bed by 11PM…at least Sunday
Please hold me to it. Write me and ask me what time I went to bed. I can’t lie.
Post below and be bold enough to check in and make sure I am doing what I committed to. Sleep is vital for health. Food is great, exercise is great, greens are great…but they will only take me so far if I keep burning the candle at both ends.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Sleeeeeeeeeeeep!
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: adrenal exhaustion, Adrenal Fatigue, adrenal gland, chronic fatigue, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, Exercise, Exhaustion, fatigue, fatigue symptoms, fun, green juice, green smoothie, green smoothie. detoxification programs, liver detoxification, Raw Foods, sleep
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Fatigue Treatment, Gluten Free Diet, Gluten Free recipes, Omega 3 Fats, Sleep for Vibrant Health, Vibrant Health
Committing to Your Health: Day 8 of the 30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge
Wow. This commitment thing is really working for me. Even though I haven’t been 100%, I’ve been close and making commitments keeps the sleep issue in my awareness. I made a conscious decision to stay up late to finish my work for a call on Saturday. I could have chosen to go to bed at midnight and gotten up early in the AM to finish, but I know myself too well to even begin to think I’d be ready for that. I think better late at night than early in the AM. Maybe next month I’ll be ready to sleep from 10 til 4, but not yet.
One of my readers, Joz, sent me this very interesting article on sleep, that I thought I’d share.
TWO HOURS OF GOOD SLEEP BEFORE TWELVE O’CLOCK IS WORTH MORE THAN FOUR HOURS AFTER TWELVE O’CLOCK , excerpted from Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz
10 PM to 2 AM . This is a crucial period of time during which most of the body’s energy is used for CLEANSING, REBUILDING AND REJUVENATING the body. The liver receives most of the energy and conducts an astonishing range of activities. These include the supply of vital nutrients to all parts of the body, breaking down of noxious substances and keeping the blood clean. In addition, the liver cells produce bile at this time, which is needed to digest food, particularly fats, during the following day. Another important function of the liver during this time is to synthesize proteins, which serve as the main building blocks of cells, hormones and blood constituents.
The liver requires all the energy it can get to fulfill these and many other responsibilities. This can only happen sufficiently if you SLEEP between the hours of 10 and 2. If you use up the nighttime energy for eating or for mental and physical activities, the liver is left with too little energy to do its extremely vital work. The kidneys also need energy during this time period to filter the blood plasma, and keep the body fluids balanced and blood pressure normal.
Although the brain makes up merely 2 % of our body mass, it normally contains more than 25 % of the body’s entire BLOOD SUPPLY.
However, during this phase, 10PM to 2AM, much of the blood moves from the back of the brain to the liver, to give it what it needs for purification tasks. If you are mentally or physically active at this time, the liver doesn’t receive enough blood to work with, so it can’t cleanse the blood sufficiently.
This results in the accumulation of toxic material in the blood stream. If toxins keep circulating in the blood, they will settle in the interstitial fuild (connective tissues) of organs and systems, thereby rasising acidity and damaging them, including the liver itself. High blood toxicity can and does lead to secretions of stress hormones, brain fog, and injured capillaries, arteries and heart muscles. Most heart disease is the result of a poorly performing liver that is unable to remove all toxic, noxious substances from the blood on a daily basis. If we do not give the liver the energy it needs to conduct the most basic physiological activities, we sow the seeds of illness throught the body.
For adults, the most important process of cleansing and renewal occur during the 2 hours of sleep before midnight. During this period, you enter a dreamless state of sleep where oxygen consumption decreases considerably, which results in profound rest and relaxation. The benefit to your body of this single hour of deep sleep is approximately equivalent to that derived during the three or four hours after midnight, when the oxygen consumption rises again.
Doctors at the University of California at San Diego have found that losing a few hours of sleep not only makes you feel tired, but also can affect the immune system, possibly impairing the body’s ability to fight infections.
Thanks Joz!
SO My report card for the weekend:
Saturday and Sunday fulfilled my FUN quota. I ran around the lake, visited for hours with a friend, played games with my 11 year old, had a date with my husband, spent time in the hot-tub with my husband, watched my teenage son’s learn hockey skate lesson and ate delicious raw food.
As for sleep,I made it really close to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. I was a little late Sunday because I felt driven to lie in the far infra red sauna for a half hour.
My commitments for today:
1- Green Smoothie – 2 quarts
2- weight training exercise
3- bed by 11:30 (how daring of me!) maybe even earlier
4- write a chapter in my new book
5- quality time with the kids
How about you? How was your weekend? What are you committed to today?
Let us know. Post your comments below.
Love, Health and Joy to you,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: digestion, fatigue, fun, liver detoxification, raw fods, sleep, sun
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles, Sleep for Vibrant Health
Lemon & Ginger Beverage: Natural Remedies
I just made the most delicious beverage and set it up so I can drink it whenever I want to. It may sound simple, but it was powerfully energizing and cleansing. I bought a small container of fresh squeezed lemon juice so I could quickly have lemon water when I’m in a hurry without having to squeeze lemons.
Then I had a brainstorm.
What if I pressed ginger and had a jar of ginger juice on hand too? I put about a teaspoon of each juice into 12 ounces of water and drank it. It was delicious. I stored the rest of the ginger juice in the refrigerator. Now anytime I want to, I can make a delicious beverage.
Ginger has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and is also good for helping nausea. It is often prescribed for women with morning sickness. I use it freely in my anti-inflammatory recipes, some of which I published as part of my Eat Your Way Out of Pain Homestudy class.
In addition to being a great source of Vitamin C, lemon juice is also a great antiseptic. For a sore throat, dilute lemon juice 1/2 and 1/2 with water and gargle frequently. Nature makes the best remedies, doesn’t she? Here’s a list of some ideas for using lemon medicinally, according to Jethro Kloss in the book Back to Eden.
- A slice of lemon wrapped overnight around a toe that has a corn greatly relieves the pain.
- A slice of lemon wrapped over a swollen, abscessed finger joint brings the pus to the surface and promotes healing
- A tablespoon of lemon juice one hour before each meal can be used to reduce asthma.
- The juice of the lemon in a glass of hot water one hour before breakfast every morning can be helpful for liver complaints .
- Drinking a large glass of hot water with the juice of a lemon added, while soaking the feet and calves in a deep bucket of water with mustard added can has been shown to relieve the flu.
- A teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water relieves heartburn.
- 1-2 ounces of lemon juice diluted in water, taken three times a day, one hour before meals and at bedtime has been shown to help rheumatism.
- Lemon juice diluted in water and taken as cold as possible can stop hemorrhage .
- The juice of 3-4 lemons a day will help decrease excessive menstruation.
During the 1 week Group Green Cleanse I lead, I plan to start each day with lemon-ginger water and possibly add a pinch of cayenne for a super cleansing effect.
Other ways to drink the lemon and ginger juice:
- spirulina ginger lemon water for a quick pick me up
- ginger-lemonade: sweeten with a teaspoon of agave or a pinch of stevia
- lemon gingerale: use sparkling water instead of plain water. Sweeten if desired.
- lemon-ginger green smoothie: put a handful of grapes and a few handfuls of greens in the blender and add 1 teaspoon ginger juice and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Blend and enjoy. Yum.
Do you have any other ideas? Please share them in the comment section.
If you haven’t signed up for Dr. Ritamarie’s Green Cleanse yet, it’s not too late. The early enrollment discount has been extended until midnight tonight
Tags: antiinflammatory diet, asthma, ginger, lemons, liver detoxification, natural remedies, nausea
Posted in Holistic Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods
