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Reality of Sugar Addiction + How to Kick the Habit


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Everyone looks for a sweet fix now and then, but are you really addicted to sugar? Here’s how to tell if your sweet tooth is a real problem, and how to quit for good.

Sugar is addictive, fattening, inflammatory, and void of nutrients. However, we overlook sugar’s poorest qualities because it seems harmless, and for the most part, is socially acceptable.

Yet sugar addiction is a legitimate problem and can wreck havoc on your health. So, how do we know when it’s too much?

Is Sugar Really “Addictive”?

While referring to sugar as “addictive” is controversial, research shows that sugar does have an addictive response in the brain.This is because sugar influences dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is part of the reward loop in the brain. When you eat sugar, you feel good, which makes you want to eat even more.

As the pattern continues for you to get those feel-good hits, the brain begins to release lower levels of dopamine because it assumes you’re going to continue getting the steady stream of supplementation.

The problem for many people who’ve come to rely on sugar as their dopamine booster is that “moderation” isn’t possible, and so, like many other addiction rehab programs, it does need to be an “all or nothing” approach.

This is where quitting sugar begins to feel nearly as hard as quitting smoking or other forms of addictive substances. When you quit, the dopamine hit from your sugar intake isn’t there, but the brain can’t make more dopamine fast enough.

As a result, you feel down, perhaps even depressed and fatigued, and your brain begins to send out cravings for sugar because it is well-acquainted with the fact that sugar has been your dopamine booster.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that sugar is good for you – there are far better ways to maintain healthy dopamine levels. Still, handling the cravings when you quit sugar becomes a battle of will. As a sugar detox coach, I’ve seen people succumb to their cravings over and over, only to have a much harder time trying to quit the next time.

An even bigger problem with sugar is that it’s basically 100 percent socially acceptable – and when you do try to quit, people think you’re crazy. “Why aren’t you eating sugar?” “Sweets aren’t that bad for you!” “Just eat it in moderation!”

The problem for many people who’ve come to rely on sugar as their dopamine booster is that “moderation” isn’t possible, and so, like many other addiction rehab programs, it does need to be an “all or nothing” approach.

The Damaging Effects of Sugar

The detrimental effects of sugar are well-proven by research. Sugar has been proven to be problematic for:

This list is far from exhaustive. Sugar has the potential to damage every system in the body, down to the cellular level.

7 Signs You Might Have a Sugar Problem

For some, sugar can be eaten in moderation when rounded out with a healthy intake of vegetables, protein, and healthy fats. If you eat a significant amount of vegetables, say, 10 cups per day, a small amount of sugar once in a while will barely make a dent in your overall health, unless you have prevailing or chronic health issues.

But if you barely eat any vegetables, and you eat a diet high in carbohydrates already, then any amount of sugar you add is not in moderation to the rest of your macronutrient intake.

When people say that they eat sugar “in moderation”, they often mean in moderation of itself. Instead of having four sodas a day like they used to, they cut back and have only two instead.

When you’re reducing sugar intake, you also have to boost the things that counter the negative effects it has, like eating more vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids.

So how do you know if you have a sugar problem, and if you need to eat it in moderation or not at all?

You may need to quit sugar completely for a significant amount of time if one or more of the following is true:

You have sugar every single day and start to have cravings/withdrawal feelings within a few hours of missing a typical sugary treat.

You turn to sugar-filled sweets to handle stress.

You think about sugar all the time.

You get immediate headaches if you’re a few hours late in having a typical sugary treat.

You eat sugar daily, but get less than 2 cups of vegetables per day.

You are overweight and eat a high-carb diet.

You have thyroid or other hormone problems and rely on a daily “sugar hit” to ward off depression or sadness, usually in the evenings.

If you can relate to any of the above statements or scenarios, then you may need to make some dramatic changes to alter your dependence on sugar.

3 Steps to Beat a Sugar Addiction

When it comes to quitting sugar, it can feel like an impossible battle. But there are ways to set yourself up for success and to minimize feelings of withdrawal.

1. Eat your nutrients first.

Before you quit sugar cold turkey, you need to boost the nutrients in your diet that will help to support a balanced gut, which will help to minimize sugar cravings and feelings of withdrawal.

While some cravings are produced from the brain’s reliance on sugar for dopamine, other cravings are derived from gut microbes that rely on sugar to survive. In the gut, there is a complex balance of good-to-bad bacteria, and the bad guys rely heavily on sugar, junk foods, and processed carbs.

When you cut these out, the gut bacteria send out strong cravings because it’s literally do-or-die for them. When you understand that cravings are produced as a physiological response within your body – and not only from an emotional need or dependence on it – it becomes easier to mentally fight them.

To pre-support your body’s liberation from sugar, boost fermented foods and add in gut-healing and nourishing items like collagen, bone broth, and plenty of vegetables.

Omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in salmon and sardines, are also essential for combating inflammation. Do this for at least a week before you plan to quit sugar.

2. Incorporate dopamine-boosting activities into your routine.

While your brain might be accustomed to getting regular boosts of dopamine from your sweet tooth, there are many other ways to get a healthier fix.

Try one or more of these natural ways increase dopamine levels:

  • Increase your protein intake and eat more of it throughout the day, including for breakfast
  • Walk (or do another aerobic exercise) for 10-20 minutes daily
  • Listen to music, play an instrument, or otherwise engage the right-brained creative center of your brain
  • Get natural sunlight and outdoor exposure regularly

3. Quit cold turkey.

After you’ve boosted the nutrients and habits that you need to replace your sugar-dopamine connection, it’s time to quit for good. For someone who’s truly addicted to sugar, weaning off too slowly will rarely work.

When you’re quitting sugar, you need to quit all forms, and that even includes natural forms of sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar, and in most cases, regular use of stevia.

Even though stevia doesn’t impact blood sugar, for true sugar addicts, stevia can perpetuate the dependence because it still tells the brain it’s getting a sugar hit.

While you don’t have to quit forever, three to six weeks is needed to break the daily reliance on sugar. As they say, it takes 21 days to create a habit, so you need to be completely free from it for at least that long.

 But if you have serious sugar dependence issues or health problems you want to address, longer or even permanent sugar removal is a better approach. Once you’ve removed the initial supply from your life, cravings will go away.

If you find that you’re having trouble sticking to a no-sugar plan, find someone to be your accountability partner, or seek professional nutritional support.

Watch this video – How to Break Sugar Addiction: 7 Steps to Help You Stop Eating Sugar

Written by Aimee McNew

Author Bio:

Aimee McNew is a Certified Nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, thyroid problems, infertility, and digestive wellness. She ate her way back to health using a Paleo diet, lost 80 pounds, and had a healthy baby after numerous miscarriages. She focuses on simple nutrition practices that promote long-lasting results.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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How Excess Sugar May Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Are Alzheimer’s and sugar linked somehow? Read on to find out how excess sugar may increase your risk of dementia.

Even if you’re actively trying to decrease your sugar consumption, beware — conventional food companies quietly add sugar to nearly every food, making it hard to buy even a jar of tomato sauce without added sweetness.

At the same time, Alzheimer’s rates have been skyrocketing along with obesity and the underlying metabolic syndrome. This may seem like a coincidence, but data suggests there could be a link between excess sugar and Alzheimer’s disease . Since Alzheimer’s is the third leading cause of death in the United States, this is a very alarming issue.

Dr Perlmutter, author of the best-selling book Grain Brain, suggests there are a wide variety of neurological issues attributing to the standard Western diet. Additionally, Harvard University’s Dr. Emily Deans suggests new evidence pointing to correlations between the standard Western diet and smaller brain size.

While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a small UCLA study recently revealed how partial memory loss could be reversed. How did researchers do this? By following a Paleo-like template. This landmark study and its supporting data continues to notion that a high-carb/ high-sugar diet may not be good for a a person’s mental health.

And without mental health, what kind of health can we really have?

How Does Alzheimer’s Happen?

One in ten people over age the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s—and those numbers are increasing. As the baby boomers age (the first generation with a high sugar diet for most of their life) the more Alzheimer’s disease grows. From a science perspective, Alzheimer’s is typically seen via problems with memory, judgment, and thinking.

Memory loss and dementia increases with Alzheimer’s and is a result of your brain malfunctioning. While there are some medications to help with symptoms, there is no cure. Genetics play a large factor in Alzheimer’s, but it seems that epigenetics (i.e. your diet and lifestyle) also play a major part in the disease development.

Mechanistically, plaques and tangles appear in the brain and lead to problematic buildups. Scientists are still debating what exactly causes Alzheimer’s, but there are a few different hypotheses.

One of the first guesses was the cholinergic hypothesis, which suggests that the disease was caused by a reduced synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Unfortunately, drugs designed to target this area have not been very successful. Others suggest that mechanisms of cholinergic effects result in large buildup of amyloid, which may lead to an “inflamed brain.”

The most plausible theory describes Alzheimer’s deriving from the amyloid precursor protein binding to a death receptor 6 (DR6) — often found in the affected brain areas.

How Does Sugar Factor In?

So, how does sugar play a role in brain disease? For one, the pathways of diabetes development seem to affect how Alzheimer’s will occur. It also tells us that too much sugar leads to diabetes and is a major red flag.

Some scientific experts believe that burning too much glucose may cause disruption in your brain. This is also why approaches like the UCLA Alzheimer’s study, where a lower-sugar diet was consumed, seem to work—at least so far.

In fact, Alzheimer’s disease was named “type 3 diabetes” because your brain can produce insulin, as well. The catch? Your brain cells need this insulin to survive. And if disruption occurs, your brain cells are at risk.

What Does The Evidence Say?

A 2013 study in The New England Journal Of Medicine found that higher glucose levels may be a risk factor for dementia—even among people without diabetes. Thus, you would never know you were at risk for Alzheimer’s. Additionally, other studies confirm that insulin resistance links to significantly lower cerebral glucose metabolism.

Another red flag is the fact that diabetics lose gray matter more than those who do not suffer from diabetes. Why is this important? This loss of gray matter is a contributing cause of Alzheimer’s.

And if we refer back to Dr. Emily Dean’s article, we will see that there is now evidence that a Western diet is linked to a smaller hippocampus—one of the areas in your brain most affected by Alzheimer’s. Things aren’t looking good for a high-sugar diet here.

Another study from 2013 claims that obesity, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s sum up the overall situation by suggesting that: “the incidence of type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically over the last decades mainly due to Western lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise and high calorie diets”.

Similar studies suggest that Alzheimer’s is related to sugar and concludes that: “High-sugar diets are thought to promote weight gain and insulin resistance predisposing to type 2 diabetes.

To aggravate this scenario, it has been consistently shown that type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and both disorders share similar demographic profiles, risk factors, and clinical and biochemical features (e.g. insulin resistance).”

The risk for Alzheimer’s increases with diets rich in sugar. Remember—just because your don’t have diabetes, doesn’t mean you’re not at risk for Alzheimer’s. In fact, one of the best preventative measures for developing Alzheimer’s is switching to a low-sugar Paleo approach.

Watch this video – Understanding sugar’s effect on the brain, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and diabetes

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of reasons to avoid sugar. However, the neurological risk seems to be the best reason. Since we still don’t completely understand Alzheimer’s disease, it makes sense to take every precaution to avoid the disease.

Industries and politics cause big problems when companies like Coca-Cola spend big money on ads convincing us to consume large amounts of sugar.

If it becomes well-known that sugar can cause brain damage, the economic implications are obvious. Whether you are genetically at risk for Alzheimer’s or not, you should take precautions to avoid developing it. Cutting out the sugar should be step one.

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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Here are the 3 Steps to Stop Your Cravings


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

3 Steps to Stopping Cravings in Their Tracks

Chocolate, bread, pizza, candy…

What was once a favorite treat or a prized meal is now off-limits. Cravings are inevitable.

If you’re one of those rare people who crave carrot sticks, there’s no problem. But for most folks, dealing with cravings is a huge part of life, whether you eat Paleo or not.

I’m going to break down the science behind cravings so we can get some answers.

I’ll give you one spoiler up front – if someone tells you that you just need more willpower, they’re barking up the wrong tree.

We All Crave the Same Foods (More or Less)

When you get hungry, you crave food, but this is different from having a craving.

A craving is defined as a desire for a specific food or selection of foods, but not just food in general.

Even though we are all unique in ways, we’re also scarily the same in other ways.

When large groups of people are studied, their most common cravings are always the same.

Here’s a great infographic that breaks down the common cravings:

What do you notice?

People crave foods that taste good (are highly palatable). Chocolate, salty snacks, foods with additives like MSG, and pizza are all loved by a large majority of the population.

There’s a common myth that people crave foods with nutrients (vitamins and minerals) that they need. The human body is smart, but not that smart. Other than a rare condition called Pica, cravings have nothing to do with wanting specific nutrient . Otherwise, people would crave nutritious foods like spinach much more.

The 3 True Underlying Causes of Most Cravings

Part of the reason there is a lot of muddled results from studies about cravings is because they can be caused by so many different things.

I’ve gone through the most comprehensive studies I could find, and it turns out there are 3 factors that seem to be the most important (by far).

Cause #1: Emotion

I don’t think it’s a shock to anyone when I say that humans, despite valiant efforts by some, are not logical creatures.

We try to make good decisions, and often succeed, but those emotional choices we make often lead to bad decisions. This isn’t limited to just eating choices, either.

Getting back to the topic at hand, many studies have revealed that emotions play a key part in when we start to crave for foods.

Cravings have been linked to:

  • Boredom
  • Anxiety
  • Stress
  • Sadness
  • Guilt

Important note: Emotions vary widely from person to person. Boredom causes cravings in some, but not in others. There are even some people who experience strong cravings when happy.

Why do Emotions Cause Cravings?


The most promising theory so far appears to be reward-based stress eating. The theory is based on the importance of cortisol and other appetite-regulating hormones.

When people get stressed, they release opioids, which are chemicals that relieve pain. It turns out that eating highly palatable foods can also release opioids, which is essentially a reward of eating certain foods. Studies have shown that many cravers feel better after eating what they craved.

It follows, then, that when we experience a negative emotional state, like stress or boredom, we might try to feel better by trying to produce more opioids through eating. It’s possible that the body initiates the craving on its own, or even that they are developed over time as a habit.

Do All Emotions Cause the Same Cravings – No!

Why do we give in to some cravings, but not others?

One of the most interesting findings I came across was that the higher the stress or negative mood, the more likely a person is to give into those cravings, possibly even bingeing.

Cause #2: Restriction

Do you like being told what to do?

If someone tells me not to do something, I almost always do it (I’ve also been told I have the maturity level of a child).

While you might not be as stubborn as I am (or maybe you are), the majority of people have an instinct to be free – to make their own choices.

Many studies have looked at the effects of dieting on cravings. Most dieters change what they eat by cutting out “bad foods” like chocolate and junk foods. This can lead to a “boring” and repetitive diet.

This restriction has been shown to increase craving frequency and intensit. One study found that under monotony (a very restrictive diet), cravings quadrupled.

The Pink Elephant Craving

When I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, do you think of a pink elephant? This classic example illustrates the second problem with cutting foods out of your diet. The less you can have something, the more you crave it.

One study took 129 women and split them into 3 groups: one that was dieting, one that was watching their weight, and one that was not dieting at all as a control group.

The picture below shows the cravings of the 3 groups during the study:

Among the 3 groups, dieters experienced the most cravings (about twice as much as non-dieters).

Special Case: Fasting (This Surprised Me)

So if cutting back on food a little increases cravings, fasting must skyrocket them, right?

Upon closer inspection, fasting is a different beast altogether. Instead of cutting out specific foods, you’re cutting out all foods for a set amount of time. And while you might expect some increase in cravings, fasting actually causes a decrease in cravings. You might want to learn more about intermittent fasting if you’re having trouble with cravings.

Cause #3: Habits (and Triggers)

Ever trained a pet to do a trick by offering a treat? Over time, your pet will automatically do the trick as the reward enforces the behavior. This is an example of classical conditioning.

Humans can also be conditioned:

  • Did your homework? Have a cookie.
  • Ate your vegetables? Have dessert.
  • Want to watch T.V.? Eat your cereal first.

The specifics don’t matter, but just know that people tend to associate foods with events if they occur enough. Note that this can be related to emotions as well (e.g. going through a breakup? Drown your sorrows in ice cream).

Do You Know Your Triggers?

Charles Duhigg, one of the most famous authors on habits, coined the “habit cycle” that is pictured below:

All habits have 3 components: A cue (some call it a trigger), a routine, and a reward.

When we talk about food cravings, the routine is eating, and the reward is the pleasant taste and good feelings. So that leaves the trigger component.

There are a near-infinite amount of triggers in real life, but here are the most common that lead to cravings (and acting on them):

  • Thinking about a certain food (the more vivid, the stronger the craving)
  • Smelling or seeing foods
  • Emotional states (as discussed earlier)
  • Events (e.g. dessert after dinner)
  • Habits can be unlearned, but it is tough.

Ladies, You’re at a Disadvantage…

I can’t say I can relate, but it’s been conclusively shown that women have to deal with some pretty crazy hormone changes during menstruation and pregnancy. These changes cause not only intense cravings, but often some weirdly specific ones as well .

Perhaps one of PaleoHack’s awesome women writers can tackle this specific topic in more depth at some point.

Paleo and Cravings

By definition, eating a Paleo diet will involve a lot of restriction. While there are no relevant studies concerning Paleo and cravings, I think it’s logical to say that this factor alone most likely results in extra cravings. This makes the final section of this article even more important.

How to Handle Your Cravings

You understand that cravings are highly personal things, right?

Because of that, I can’t give you a blanket solution. What I can do, however, is give you a variety of solutions for different problems that cause cravings, and you can pick and choose which ones you think will help.

Option 1: Restricting Foods? Change Your Perspective

I believe this is the most important thing that anyone trying to eat better can do.

Restricting foods is a good thing, as long as it doesn’t cause you to crave excessively and end up bingeing, which is bad for your mental and physical health.

But instead of thinking of it as: “I can’t eat bread anymore,” think of it as “I can eat bread, but I’m choosing not to in order to be healthier.”

And that’s a very simplistic example, but you can start with that and tailor it to your own personal situation.

To make it even more effective, instead of saying something general like “…to be healthier,” think of it in terms of the benefits you’ll receive. For example:

…to have more energy

…to lose weight and feel more confident

…to be sick less often

etc.

If you have extreme issues with negative thinking and cravings, you may want to seek professional help from a therapist. There have been great results shown from using cognitive behavioral modification techniques to reduce cravings.

Option 2: Diet Change? Wait it Out

If you are new to Paleo and are coming from a drastically different diet, you are going to have more cravings than normal. It’s unavoidable, in many ways comparable to withdrawal that addicts face when trying to quit.

However, the bright side is that the cravings will subside in time. One particularly interesting study showed that cravings decrease over time as you adjust to a new diet, and low-carbohydrate (like Paleo can be) diets are easier to get used to.

Option 3: Break or Hijack a Bad Habit

If you know that your cravings are a result of bad habits, you have no other choice but to try and break them, one at a time.

You can either try to break them altogether, or try to replace the “routine” (food being eaten) with a different one, which is often easier.

Long story short, to hijack a habit when you crave a certain food, replace it with a healthy alternative. Each time you do this, a little bit of the craving will be transferred to that new food, until the habit is completely reformed.

Option 4: Compromise/Find a Paleo-Friendly Alternative

Chocolate is the most common craving by far, but does it need to be eliminated from your diet?

There’s definitely a grey area when it comes to cocoa, but most Paleo practitioners are fine with including some in their diet as long as it has no other questionable ingredients.

If you are craving chocolate, have a square or two of dark chocolate (the darker the better). This can eliminate the craving before it gets out of hand and causes you to eat too much.

Many people who eat Paleo think it’s a “boring” diet, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a ton of awesome Paleo recipes that you can experiment with and many Paleo snacks to help fight cravings. Yes it’s more work than ordering a pizza, but think about why you started eating Paleo in the first place – the benefits are worth a little effort.

Option 5: Exercise or Distraction

What do you do when you are exposed to a trigger and can’t stop thinking of a food?

One option is exercise. A fairly recent study showed that participants had a much lower craving response after exercising. Even a quick 5-minute workout can help keep those cravings at bay.

Another option is to distract your mind. While you can’t simply tell your brain to stop thinking about a food, you can get it to think about other things. One study showed that after doing an activity that engaged one of the senses (sight, smell, hearing), the intensity of a craving decreased (see the graph below) 

You could go around smelling other things, or go watch a video. As the graph shows, audio distraction works, but not nearly as well as visual or smelling distraction.

Watch this video – 9 Strategies to Stop Overeating

Summing It Up – Cravings in a Nutshell

Experiencing some cravings is normal, as is giving in to them every once in awhile. Don’t feel bad or beat yourself up if you do give in, just keep trying.

If you think you have an issue with cravings, follow this 3-step procedure:

  • Write down any cravings you have, as well as when, where, and environmental factors when they occur.
  • After a few weeks, analyze your cravings and try to identify the causes of your cravings. See if they fall under one or more of the causes in this article.
  • Select appropriate solutions from above and implement them. Track your progress.

If you do those 3 things, you should see marked improvement in the frequency and intensity of your cravings. This will help you achieve the Paleo diet that you’ve been trying to eat.

Written by Dale Cudmore

Author Bio:

Dale is a nutrition writer, chemical engineer & professional soccer player who sees the results of proper nutrition every day in training and games. Connect with him at DaleCudmore.com

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Posted on

Here are the 7 Ways Stress Wrecks Your Thyroid


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Hypothyroidism is a common disorder, and, like many diseases is becoming increasingly prevalent in the 21st Century. In fact, one in eight women will suffer from hypothyroidism at some point in their lifetime, and men who are overweight are also at high risk.

A sluggish thyroid can often be undetected at first, but if it is not addressed, over time it can lead to a number of health problems, such as heart problems, depression, nerve pain in the limbs, infertility and an enlarged thyroid gland or goiter.

While there are many causes for thyroid dysfunction, stress is one of the main reasons why thyroid function slows and hypothyroidism takes root. Your adrenal glands that sit atop your kidneys are responsible for pumping out your stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) when you’re busy, constantly on the go, or working late nights. A sluggish thyroid can lead to heart problems, depression, nerve pain in the limbs, and infertility.

Your adrenals are connected to you via the HPA-axis or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, a dynamic and complex system that governs the body’s homeostasis and reaction to stress. The research is clear that stress slows the function of your hypothalamus – the master hormone conductor of the brain – and your pituitary, which is responsible for controlling thyroid function. 

Stress isn’t just the inability to cope or being too busy. If you suffer from digestive problems (e.g. gas, bloating, etc.), chronic inflammation, poor blood sugar control, poor immunity or autoimmune conditions, these are all “stressors” that impact your adrenal glands and ultimately your thyroid function. 

If we dig a little deeper, we also find that stress inhibits your thyroid gland’s ability to convert the inactive T4 thyroid hormone into the active T3 hormone in the body. 

Poor conversion of T4 to the active T3 leads sluggish thyroid function and increased likelihood of hypothyroid symptoms, such as cold hands and feet, weight gain, fatigue, and less frequent bowel movements or constipation.

Is your diet, exercise or lifestyle placing you at risk of hypothyroidism?

Let’s take a closer look at seven common ways stress negatively impacts your thyroid.

1. You’re Too Busy

In today’s 24/7 society, we are constantly on the go and busier than ever before. Stress is not simply the inability to cope, it’s also how “busy” you are throughout the day. While technology and connectivity can provide you with incredible tools to be more productive, it can also leave your brain and body stuck in “stimulation” overload.

(Read: 9 Ways to Beat Chronic Stress)

If you wake up early, hit the gym or prep your kids for school (or both!), are under pressure at work, eat lunch on the run and work late, or rush home to get dinner on the go, it’s easy to see how life has become a 18-hour sprint, every single day.

This leads to constant activation of the body’s “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system, your adrenal glands and the production of stress hormones (e.g. adrenaline and cortisol), which takes its toll on the health of your thyroid. Sometimes, slowing down is the best thing you can do for your health.

2. You’re Too Caffeinated

This is a common theme for many people: you wake up tired, you need a boost of energy and you reach for a morning cup of coffee. While coffee has a vast array of health benefits, you can get too much of a good thing.

When life gets busy and your body is in sympathetic overdrive, you naturally crave caffeine (and sugar) to keep yourself going. One cup a day can quickly lead to two, three or four, and all of a sudden you’re having multiple cups in the afternoon to make it through your hectic day, evening workout or to have enough energy for your family or friends.

(Read: 11 Healthy Alternatives To Coffee)

Too much caffeine lingering in your system leads to poorer sleep quality at night. Remember, the half-life of caffeine (the time it takes to reduce by one half the original value) is about six hours, meaning your 3 p.m. cup of coffee (approx. 200mg of caffeine) will leave you with 100mg in your bloodstream at 9 p.m. and still 50mg at 3:00 in the morning!

While that’s great if you’re hitting the dance floor, it’s not great for deep sleep or the health of your thyroid. Ultimately this leads to more morning fatigue, more coffee, and the cycle continues. Cut off coffee at lunch time to support deep, rejuvenating sleep.

3. You Don’t Sleep Long Enough

You’ve likely heard the old saying “you’re burning the candle at both ends,” which effectively means you’re not resting enough to adequately recover from your busy days. Sleep is the most effective tool you have to “rebuild” the candle you’re burning at both ends during the day. The only problem is, you’re likely not getting enough.

(Read: The Best and Worst Sleeping Positions)

The average person now survives on 6.5 hours of sleep per night, about one and half hours less sleep than our grandparents had two generations ago. 

Over the course of a year, that is 500 hours less sleep than you should be getting (no wonder you’re tired!). The average person gets 6.5 hours of sleep per night, about one and half hours less sleep than our grandparents had two generations ago.

If you don’t sleep enough or fail to adequately recover, stress hormone levels increase and thyroid function beings to slow. Aim to get to bed by 11:00 p.m. most nights of the week to upgrade recovery and support a healthy thyroid.

4. You Check Too Many Emails At Bedtime

We live in an age where watching television on your laptop and checking emails are the norm at bedtime. While this may seem convenient, your brain and body have evolved over millions of years without the stimulation of blue light and Wi-Fi in the evening and the negative repercussions on deep sleep and rejuvenation are significant.

Research shows that exposure to blue light from screens too close to bedtime leads to poorer quality of sleep, impacting recovery and ultimately thyroid health. Turn off your your Wi-Fi devices and steer clear of TV and laptop screens 30-60 minutes before bed to support sleep.

5. You Crave Too Many Simple Carbs

What is the natural response to high stress levels? You guessed it, strong cravings for sugar and simple carbs. Whether it’s high-glycemic cereals or fruit-laden smoothies in the morning, midday snack bars or afternoon treats, constant and regular sugar cravings are a clear red flag your body is stressed, and it’s likely impacting your thyroid health.

Hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, or blood sugar highs or lows, deeply impact stress hormones and ultimately thyroid function. Even if you’re a “healthy” eater, you might find on closer inspection that you regularly use sugars throughout the day: maple syrup or honey at breakfast, sweetener in your coffee, constant fruit snacks throughout the day, and nibbling on chocolate before bed. Curb your sugar cravings with snacks with high protein and fat content, like grass-fed jerky and nuts, plain yogurt or an herbal tea before bed.

6. You Drink Too Much Alcohol

After a busy day, long week, or intense project at work many people find it relaxing to unwind with an evening drink. Alcohol is classified as a nervine, or substance that helps to relax the nervous system. While this can support recovery from stress, the key is the dose. A glass of wine might help take the edge off, but if you finish the bottle, your nervous system takes a serious hit. Try cutting out alcohol full stop for 4 weeks, or if you’re an avid drinker, reduce your intake by 50%.

It’s not just the extra calories that are a problem; alcohol also inhibits deep sleep. Your evening glass of wine might turn into two or three and eventually lead to poorer sleep and morning fatigue.

This raises stress hormone levels and cravings for more sugar and caffeine, both significant stressors on your adrenals. This is a classic cycle that exacerbates stress hormones and leads to sluggish thyroid function. Cut out alcohol full stop for 4 weeks, or if you’re an avid drinker, reduce your intake by 50%.

7. You Exercise Too Much

For many people, adding more movement to their day –walking, strength training, yoga – is a great way to relieve stress and improve resiliency. If you suffer from sluggish thyroid function, you may struggle with weight gain and then desire to add more exercise to shed those pounds.

However, if you’re already an avid exerciser, you probably don’t need more exercise, you need more efficient exercise. In general, reducing the workout time and increasing the workout intensity are important principles for those struggling with slow thyroid function.

The problem starts when you add more training volume (i.e., more training days doing the same type of training), in an attempt to lose weight, rather than ramping up training intensity. High volume training at the same intensity can dramatically raise stress hormone levels and doesn’t provide the right stimulus to improve fitness or body composition.

If you’re already a runner, more 5k runs during the week is not the answer. In general, reducing the workout time and increasing the workout intensity are important principles for those struggling with slow thyroid function.

Get the right amount of stress, and you build a resilient body, strong metabolism and healthy thyroid function. However, excess stress is a major contributor to sluggish thyroid function.

The hustle and bustle of modern living, fewer hours of sleep, excess sugar and caffeine consumption and too much pounding the pavement on the training front are all common stressors that can easily overtax your adrenals and ultimately your thyroid.

By creating an environment for rest, recovery and improved resiliency, you can maintain your productivity in today’s fast-paced world without sacrificing the health of your thyroid.

Watch this video – How Stress Causes Hypothyroidism | Thyroid & Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome | Samyuktha Diaries

Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND is a Naturopathic Doctor, Strength Coach, Author, Speaker, and Blogger practicing in Toronto, Canada. He believes that diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors have the most profound impact on your overall health and performance. Marc is the author of The Paleo Project – A 21st Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, & Living Longer and currently serves as the Sports Nutrition Lead for Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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The Truth behind Sugar Addiction and Is It a Drug


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

The sweet taste of sugar tends to evoke nostalgic cravings for our favorite beverages, pastries and manufactured concoctions. But is sugar addiction a real thing?

But how detrimental can sugar’s effects truly be? It has become socially accepted as a “harmless” way to have fun.

However, when sugar binges turn into daily habits, we suddenly have health problems. The current obesity pandemic is only one element of why sugar is killing our health.

Let’s look at the many biological effects occurring when we ingest too much sugar:

The Truth behind Sugar Addiction

Classifying sugar as a drug becomes controversial because sugar is not acutely toxic. Instead, it’s safe to argue that sugar is chronically toxic. While some people consume large amounts of sugar day after day, they become deeply entrenched in the addiction of sugar. These same people will likely suffer from metabolic syndrome – becoming a bigger problem than obesity.

It’s important to differentiate between metabolic syndrome and obesity for people who don’t appear overweight. People possessing great genetics and active lifestyles can consume larger amounts of sugar. This is why some people claim they’re thin on the outside and fat on the inside (aka T.O.F.I). However, what may be fine for some people can be deadly for most.

Metabolic syndrome won’t be noticeable by just looking at the person externally. And, since some subcutaneous fat is actually somewhat beneficial, it is vital that a DEXA scan be performed. This measures the real killer, visceral fat, and is known as one of the best predictors of potential disease.

This also goes along with a test called HbA1c, which will measure your average blood sugar over the past 3-4 months. It’s important for a variety of reasons, including finding certain risks linked to dementia.

How Sugar Addiction Affects People with Diabetes

Now that we’ve covered metabolic syndrome, let’s look at sugar’s relationship to another worldwide problem: diabetes. Using data from 175 countries, a study showed that a 150 calorie increase in sugar availability (about 1 can of soda) was associated with increased diabetes risk factors.

This is one reason why eliminating soda is better for your health. Other studies have shown that intense sweetness is more rewarding than cocaine.

Research professionals have shown that food addictions are similar to drug addictions. This differs from behavioral addictions, like gambling, since food and sugar addictions affect neurochemical changes.

The more sugar you eat, the more downregulated your dopamine receptors become. Besides this scary adaptation, there are other neuronal changes including:

  • Changes in opioid receptor binding
  • Enkephalin mRNA expression
  • Dopamine and acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens

Basically, the more sugar you eat, the more ways your brain changes for the worse.

Sugar Addiction vs. Drug Withdrawals 

Of course, we musn’t forget the withdrawal effects of sugar.  We’re all aware of ensuing “sugar cravings” once you decide to go low carb, but the pronounced hangover-like effect largely comes from fluctuating insulin levels.

There are obvious reasons why sugar is terrible for your health. It contains no essential nutrients and will lead to cavities, when consumed in excess. On top of that, fructose, which is half of high fructose corn syrup and half of table sugar (sucrose), is largely processed entirely by your liver.

This occurs via the GLUT5 transporter. Since the rest of your body doesn’t use fructose for energy (unlike glucose) too much sugar can be bad for your liver. We see this in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As stated in the name, it’s possible to achieve a similar version of this condition by drinking too much alcohol.

Can Consuming Alcohol be Preferable Over Sugar Addiction?

In moderation, yes. Alcohol is largely self-limiting. Meaning, you can only drink so much due to its disinhibiting effects. However, your brain won’t process fructose like it does alcohol. Your body doesn’t self-limit the amount of sugar you can consume.

So is Sugar Really a Drug?

While it may not be as strong as cocaine when it comes to withdrawal symptoms or the accompanying high, it certainly has addictive and detrimental effects. But is this only when consumed in excess?

New guidelines, outlined in London, call for sugar guidelines to be revised to just 14g of added sugar per day. This, in actuality, is what the guidelines should have been all along. It is only because organizations (which are largely controlled and influenced by food companies) have been extremely lax on reigning in our sugar consumption.

Meanwhile, we have seen everyone in the world get fat and sick as a result. Obesity rates are up worldwide, and we consume more sugar than ever before in human history. We continue to consume excess sugar, despite its link to heart disease deaths. It’s almost as if we can’t stop.

How Artificial Sugar Could Be Making You Gain Weight

Something more troubling is that “diet” sweeteners have been scientifically shown to lead to weight gain. This means that if you replace sugar with artificial versions, not only do you not lose weight, or even maintain your weight, but in fact you gain weight.

The thinking and reasoning behind this is varied. Though you aren’t consuming sugar, these artificial versions are hundreds of times sweeter than the real thing. This means that your brain is still stimulated – leading to cravings and possibly even a slight insulin response.

However, there are definitely differences in how artificial sweeteners affect your brain when compared with sugar. As researchers state, “… on the functional level, sucrose ingestion, compared to saccharin ingestion, was associated with greater activation of the higher gustatory areas such as the insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and amygdala.”

So, even though your brain is complex, the end result of unavoidable weight gain … is still the same.

What Does This Mean for Most Americans?

It means that people need to start cutting out sweet-tasting foods on a large scale if they hope to maintain a healthy weight.

Foods with minimal sugar generally contain more nutrients, but will also keep you feeling full.  This is one of many reasons why a Paleo approach is so sensible and successful. You are eliminating foods which provoke an unhealthy psychological response and an unhealthy physiologic response.

Think of it like ending a bad relationship.

Since your body adjusts and adapts to what you’re eating, enzymatic changes and neurologic changes are two positive effects of cutting out sugar. The less you eat, the less you crave it.

Watch this video – What sugar is really doing to your body – Why sugar is poison! – Overcome Sugar addiction

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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7 Diabetes Warning Signs + 3 Ways to Reverse Symptoms


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

7 Warning Signs of Diabetes & 3 Ways to Reverse Symptoms

Worried you might have diabetes? Here are a few quick ways to tell and what you can do to reverse those symptoms.

If you have diabetes, your pancreas either doesn’t produce enough insulin (type 1) or doesn’t use the insulin efficiently (pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes). As a result, your body can’t sufficiently move the energy you get from food out of your bloodstream and into your cells, which means that your blood sugars are higher than they should be.

Early detection and treatment are crucial for limiting the risk of long-term complications, so it’s important to be able to recognize the signs of diabetes as soon as they occur.

One of the problems with identifying the symptoms of diabetes is that, in many cases, it’s synonymous with simply feeling “under the weather.” In fact, indicators can be so subtle that they often go unnoticed entirely.

Since symptoms can develop over several years, they can also become so normal to you that you don’t even see it as a symptom anymore, but rather a part of everyday life.

One of the most common misconceptions about diabetes is that it’s a disease that mainly affects older overweight people who eat too much sugar. The truth is that you can develop diabetes despite being young and healthy.

Other factors, such as genetics, also play a significant part. Although the prevalence is higher in people older than 45, the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among children, teens, and young adults are on the rise.

7 Common Symptoms of Diabetes

There are seven common symptoms of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

1. Frequent Urination

When you have diabetes, your blood sugar levels rise above normal levels. This makes your kidneys work harder to filter out the excess sugar, which your body disposes of through frequent urination.

Fascinating side note: The ancient Egyptians diagnosed diabetes by seeing if ants would be attracted to the “sugary” pee of the person they suspected had diabetes.

2. Excessive Thirst

If you feel like you could gulp down a large bottle of water every few minutes, it could be a sign of diabetes.

Increased thirst goes hand-in-hand with frequent urination. As your kidneys work to rid the body of the sugar in your bloodstream, you urinate more, which can make you dehydrated and cause excessive thirst.

3. Constant Hunger

Since you’re peeing out a lot of the nutrition you’re taking in from food, your body isn’t getting the fuel you need, and you’ll feel hungry. You might even notice that you can eat huge amounts of food and still maintain your current weight.

4. Extreme Fatigue

Untreated diabetes can leave you feeling utterly fatigued. Despite eating and drinking more, your body is both dehydrated and starved for energy. Plus, having constantly high blood sugars can leave you feeling cranky and “off.”

5. Blurred Vision

When blood sugars run high, liquid is pulled from the tissues, including the eyes, which can lead to blurry vision, so be sure to see a doctor if you experience any occasional blurry vision. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, be aware of changes in your eyesight and get frequent eye exams. Ignoring these symptoms can lead to potential long-term complications like vision loss or blindness.

6. Slowed Healing and Frequent Infections

Those with untreated diabetes might notice that cuts and bruises take longer to heal. Vaginal and bladder infections are also common, especially among women. While more research needs to be done on why exactly infections are more common, the theory is that the high levels of blood sugar impair the body’s natural healing process.

7. Tingling or Numbness in Hands and Feet

Nerve damage is another common complication of untreated diabetes. The damage to the nerves is caused by elevated blood sugar levels often combined with elevated triglycerides (fat) levels in the bloodstream.

Damage might express itself as a tingling, numbness or burning sensation in the hands and feet in what’s known as peripheral neuropathy.

3 Things to Do NOW if You Think You Have Diabetes

If you’re familiar with the above symptoms and suspect you might have diabetes, take action immediately. If caught early enough, pre-diabetes can be prevented from developing into type 2 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes can still be put into remission.

1. Get a Correct Diagnosis

Schedule an appointment with your doctor so you can get tested and discuss treatment options. You don’t need to see a specialist; your general practitioner should be able to provide an initial assessment. After your diagnosis, regular visits to an endocrinologist is highly recommended.

To help prevent a misdiagnosis, you can request a few specific tests to help your doctor make the right call:

Blood glucose test – Will reveal what your blood sugar is when the blood is drawn.

A1C test – Shows your average blood sugar level for the last 2-3 months.

C-peptide test – Uncovers how well your body makes insulin.

2. Exercise Daily

Once you know what you’re dealing with, the next step is to start exercising and, if you need to, lose some weight. Losing as little as 7% of your body weight and moving 30 minutes a day has shown to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by a whopping 58%. This guide to losing weight with diabetes can help get you started.

You should also consider adding resistance training to your weekly routine. Resistance training can increase insulin sensitivity significantly, and most people will see a reduction in glucose levels in the first few hours after exercise and up to 36 hours later.

See also: How Resistance Training Affects Your Blood Sugar).

Resistance training or other types of exercise characterized by shorter intense bursts of activity followed by rest (this method is defined as anaerobic exercise) is effective at increasing your insulin sensitivity and can help to consistently lower your blood sugar.

If you exercise regularly, the effect of anaerobic exercise overlaps from one workout to the next and you essentially achieve a permanent increase in insulin sensitivity.

3. Reassess Your Diet

It’s a good idea to take a closer look at your diet and assess whether you need to make adjustments. There is no such thing as a special one-size-fits-all “diabetic diet”, but it’s recommended that people living with diabetes start limiting saturated and trans fats, salt and sugar, and focusing on a diet rich in lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and fruit.

While all types of food will affect blood sugar levels to some degree, carbohydrates will have the largest impact. That doesn’t mean that you need to cut carbohydrates from your diet. Instead, choose low to medium-glycemic carbohydrates over refined carbohydrates. Healthy carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes and apples, won’t spike your blood sugar.

Watch this video – How to REVERSE or CURE diabetes TODAY WITHOUT GIVING UP ALL YOU LIKE?

The Bottom Line

Please know that being diagnosed with diabetes isn’t a death sentence. You can live a long, happy, and healthy life with diabetes, but it’s important to take it seriously and make the needed changes to prevent short-term discomfort and long-term complications.

Written by Christel Oerum

Author Bio:

Christel is a Los Angeles based diabetes coach, certified personal trainer, and diabetes advocate. She has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1997 and at an early stage decided that it wasn’t going to slow her down. Her motto is “There is Nothing You Can’t do With Diabetes”. She writes about how to be Fit With Diabetes on diabetesstrong.com. She also coaches people with diabetes from across the globe, online and in person, and supports them in meeting their health and fitness goals.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Posted on

Here are the 9 Ways to Naturally Relieve Insomnia


Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Are you one of the millions Americans taking sleeping pills to get you through a full night’s sleep?

Or maybe you fall into the 48% of Americans who report occasional insomnia, or the 22% who report insomnia nightly? Here are simple, easy ways to help you beat insomnia without medication.

There are many conditions that contribute to insomnia and poor sleep patterns, such as depression, anxiety, arthritis, an overactive thyroid, stress, and even taking certain medications (including some over-the-counter meds).

And although it may be easy to take medicine, that doesn’t necessarily solve the issue or mean that you have access to the medication due to insurance-related reasons.

As you age, you are more likely to become a sleeping pill popper, and at least 1/3 of Americans report that they are getting less than seven hours of sleep a night. 

Though there are many reasons for this, a reduction in melatonin (an important hormone in regulating your wake and sleep cycle) production with age is a predominant one.

Using drugs to help you to sleep can be dangerous when used incorrectly, and doesn’t always solve the underlying issues in chronic insomnia cases. 

Addressing these hidden factors will take more than medicine. It could mean you need to change your lifestyle habits or make changes to your environment.

Insomnia can take a toll on your health over time, so it’s important to be proactive about making changes to your habits if you know that you are capable of doing so.

 Why? Because insomnia can put you at higher risk for depression and serious illnesses (like heart disease), and makes you more likely to have an accident (at work, home, or while driving) due to exhaustion.

What defines healthy sleep, or sleep health? As it turns out, this is something that has not been as widely defined.

The SATED scale is a self-reported sleep measuring tool. It is a self-reported scale that involves assessing 5 dimensions of sleep, including: Satisfaction with sleep; Alertness during waking hours; Timing of sleep; Sleep Efficiency; and Sleep Duration.

While it is easier to pop a pill after a long day at work, plus a few hours in the traffic parade, be aware that the use of drugs, especially sedatives, isn’t risk-free.

 If you suffer from restless sleep, try one of the following natural sleep remedies:

1. Put the Caffeine Down!

While it was recently confirmed that coffee consumption may lower your risk of developing diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, coffee and other caffeine consumption should be kept on a schedule.

Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently, and drinking caffeine (i.e., soda, tea, energy drinks, etc.) too close to your bedtime can affect how well you are able to get to snoozing. Stop drinking caffeine for at least 6 hours prior to bedtime to optimize your shut-eye. Consider eliminating caffeine altogether if you are very sensitive to it.

(Read: 11 Healthy Alternatives to Coffee)

2. Sweat Your Way to Sleep

If you didn’t have a good reason to get active before, let insomnia guide you to the workout that will help you put your lights out for the night. Do you have trouble sleeping at night, and often use the excuse that you are too busy to have time for exercise? Try your best to phase this kind of thinking out of your daily routine.

Aerobic physical activity is known to contribute to improvements in sleeping patterns in older adults, as well as improvements in overall mood and quality of life. 

Moderate aerobic exercise or high-intensity resistance exercise were both found to improve sleep quality at a low cost, and is an effective alternative or complementary approach to existing insomnia therapies. 

Avoid having late-night workouts, as this could get your adrenaline pumping enough to keep you awake past your bedtime. Try working out in the morning or in the afternoon.

3. Disconnect from the Electronic World

Contrary to popular belief, cell phones and other electronic devices are not supposed to be glued to your hands 24/7. Before bed, put away your electronics to maximize your chances for a healthy night’s sleep. Sure, it’s nice to surf through the Web before you drift off, but connecting with the electronic world could be costing you some Zs.

When you’re up late scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or watching TV, you’re exposing yourself to light as well as stimulating brain activity. Though you can’t expect to get sunbathing rays from an electronic screen, even a cell phone’s minimal light exposure is enough to fool your brain into thinking stay awake, the sun is up! 

To be more specific, exposing yourself to light throughout the night throws off your body’s circadian rhythm (better known as your biological clock, or the internal system that regulates wakefulness and sleepiness).Try reading a chapter or even a few pages of a book or magazine before bed instead of the latest social media scoop.

(Read: 5 Little-Known Factors Ruining Your Sleep)

4. Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is also known as essential oil therapy, and it has to do with aromas—or smells/odors. Lavender essential oil is widely known to improve sleep quality and bring about a sense of relaxation. Chamomile, marjoram, eucalyptus, and jasmine essential oils also help to relieve insomnia. 

There are a few options when it comes to how you want to administer your sleep-inducing aromas. One would be to put a few drops, or a spray, of the essential oil onto your pillow.

Another way to get the sedative effects is to put the few drops/spray onto a tissue, hold it to your nose and take 10-15 deep, concentrated breaths. You can also add 6-8 drops of your favorite essential oil to a warm bath before bedtime (try a combination of these, too!).

5. Listen to Soothing Tunes

Sometimes a little background noise can be beneficial to your sleeping patterns, since certain types of music are known to help you unwind and fall asleep faster.

We’re not talking high-energy dance music, or anything above 60 beats per minute (bpm). It’s been found that 60 bpm is about how fast your heart beats while resting, and listening to a song that is slower than this creates a sedative effect. Ideal rhythms are smooth and flowing, without any sudden changes.

Frequency of sound has a powerful effect on consciousness, and although tones may not be what we traditionally think of with music, tones of certain frequencies can help you get higher quality beauty rest with ease.

These tones go by the name of binaural beats, and they have been used since the early 1800s within the alternative medicine community to help induce relaxation, meditation and other mental states. 

Throughout the day, your brain goes through different states of consciousness which correlate with brain waves of varying frequencies. When you want to get some Zs, you ideally want to have a low brainwave frequency, which can be induced when playing two tones of different frequency.

In this case, your ears don’t get to take the credit for getting you to pass out, it’s more the work of your brain. When two different tones are played, your brain cancels one out with the other so that the frequency your body picks up is the difference of the two tones. 

Music associated with positive memories may also help to bring your mind into a relaxed and happy state (associated with your memory) which can help you to fall asleep, as well.

6. Valerian Root Supplements

There still isn’t any solid evidence pointing to what it is in this herb that is the sleep trigger, but valerian root has been used since ancient Greco-Roman times for things like headaches, nervousness, seizures, distress, and insomnia.

You can find valerian root in liquid, tea, tincture, or pill form these days, and the supplement is made from the herb’s roots and stems. 

Be sure to talk to your doctor before taking valerian root if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking other sedative medications.

7. Eat for Sleep

There are a few key nutrients found in food than can help you get rid of insomnia.  Calcium and magnesium (which should be consumed together), and foods rich in tryptophan and B vitamins will help to reduce insomnia.

Calcium helps to increase your body’s melatonin production. Calcium is your body’s most abundant mineral and is needed for many vital processes, including muscle function and nerve transmission. Foods rich in calcium include almonds, spinach, collard greens, and kale.

Pairing magnesium with calcium helps to get your body to relax by closing calcium channels of your nerve cells, consequently reducing neuronal transmission. Foods rich in magnesium include dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, avocados, and bananas.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid with many integral functions as far as insomnia is concerned. The most important products made from tryptophan are serotonin (a neurotransmitter known to help improve mood and relieve depression) and melatonin. Additionally, tryptophan is a precursor for vitamin B3, better known as niacin, which can improve sleep quality by relieving anxiety and depression. 

Foods rich in tryptophan include walnuts (which also contain melatonin), eggs, crustaceans (i.e., shrimp and lobster), and meat (i.e., beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey).

Vitamin B3 isn’t the only B vitamin that helps you sleep. In fact, B1 (thiamin), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), and B12 (cobalamin) all help to calm anxiety to improve sleep by stimulating your body’s dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, and GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid—an important neurotransmitter involved in your sleep/wake cycle).

Foods rich in B vitamins include poultry, leafy vegetables, shellfish, beef liver, and eggs.

8. Practice Gentle Yoga

There are many different types of yoga, and they are characterized by things like how long the poses are held, which poses are used, temperature of the environment in which you practice, and disciplinary focus (i.e., on the breath, or on the mind, such as with chanting). While some styles, like vinyasa or ashtanga, are more high-energy and get your blood flowing, gentle yoga is what you want to do to help you hit the hay.

Gentle yoga is much less strenuous, and its low intensity makes it ideal for beginners, seniors, and people who are disabled or injured.

Start with our 10 minute Bedtime Yoga IN BED | Relaxing Bedtime Yoga Routine here.

9. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

Disciplining yourself into good habits before bedtime means having good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene takes practice, but when you get a good routine going, falling asleep will be easier and you will sleep deeper through the night. Here are things that might be included in your sleep hygiene :

  • Keep a sleep journal/diary
  • Go to bed around the same time every night (even on days that you don’t have to go to work)
  • Make sure your sleep environment is dark, relaxing, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature (not too hot or cold)
  • Sleep in a comfortable bed, and do your best to only use your bed for sleeping and sex
  • Start to wind down 30-60 minutes before you need to get to sleep
  • Get some sunshine during the day; this helps to keep your body in a regulated awake/sleep rhythm
  • Breathing exercises
  • Stop eating and drinking a few hours before bedtime to prevent your digestive system from keeping you awake

Watch this video –Natural Sleep Remedies – Insomnia Remedies For When You Cant Sleep | Mona Vand

Bottom Line

There is no one magic solution for a good night’s sleep. The only way to figure out what works best for you to unwind is to keep trying different things until you find what works. Most importantly, give new remedies a persistent and fair trial (i.e., 1-2 weeks vs. only once or twice).

Written by Liz Lang

Author Bio:

Liz Lang is a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Southern California Institute for Research and Education in the field of Gastroenterology. Liz graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in Public Health Sciences. She has an insatiable thirst to learn how the human body works in order to keep people healthy. When Liz isn’t in the clinic, she enjoys exploring nature, yoga, and trying new things (especially food!).

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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Revealing Here the Best and Worst Sleeping Positions


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I’d like to consider myself a professional sleeper, I mean, I’ve been doing it all of my life, literally. Over the years, I have become more aware of how my sleep position affects my ability to fall asleep, stay asleep and wake rested. Though I came up with a few ideas for what works best for me, I began to wonder if these were universal or not.

What Specialists Have To Say

When you think about it, there are really only so many positions we can sleep in. We have three main sleeping positions: side, back, and stomach. However, each of these can come with endless variables, which makes things a little trickier to pin down.

(Read: 5 Little-Known Factors Ruining Your Sleep)

Most of the specialists recommend we sleep on our side for the most comfortable position. Sleeping on our side is also supposed to decrease the probability of having interrupted sleep.

The overall consensus says that sleeping on our sides is the most beneficial for alleviating insomnia and sleep deprivation; however, there are various ways of sleeping on the side of our body. The question is, what is the most comfortable of all these varieties?

What about Personal Preference?

Let’s be real, we all have personal preferences, and sometimes our personal taste matters much more than what’s generally considered to be the best. It might take some reflection to really see why we have certain sleep preference; however, as long as you feel it’s doing you the most good, that’s all that matters.

That being said, it might be helpful to consider which particular positions do to the body best over a longer time period. Let’s start with the back sleepers.

The Back: If you prefer this particular position, be aware of your lower back over time. This position is said to possibly encourage lower back pain and possibly sleep apnea, which may lead to restlessness.

The good news is that if you prefer this position, there are a few slight adjustments you can make to improve the quality of this position so you can sleep more soundly.

For example, try putting a small, soft pillow under the knees – this will assist the normal curve of the spine.

The Stomach: If the stomach is your go-to position, know this might be the worst of all positions. The professionals don’t recommend sleeping on your stomach, as it promotes a very unnatural flex on the spine. Over time, this strain can cause your lower back and neck to hurt. There is also the possibility of wrinkling to occur on the face.

When we sleep on our face, the skin is being tugged around on the pillow and also, circulation is being cut off from the pressure of lying on the face. This might result in less blood flow to the skin and other parts of the body, causing limbs to fall asleep.

If the stomach is your go-to position, know this might be the worst of all positions.

This is why often, people who sleep on their stomachs report restlessness and frequent tossing and turning.

Here’s a tip for the stomach sleepers: use an extremely comfortable pillow or better yet, no pillow at all. This will take away the awkward and uncomfortable bend on the neck. Overall, if you are having sleep problems, it is going to be best to avoid sleeping on the stomach.

The Pros and Cons of Sleeping Positions

After researching, I found that there is really only one way of sleeping that is said to be the optimal choice, which I will share at the end. The rest of the many ways to sleep all had their pros and cons.

Let’s have a look at what these positions have to offer. Additionally, just for fun, let’s see what each hints at about your personality according to experimentation. This might help you address your own sleeping positions and make helpful adjustments. 

Fetal Sleeping Position

This is actually the most common sleeping position. Forty-one percent of participants in research were found to sleep in this way. For whatever reason, women are twice as likely to rest in this curled-up position. It was documented that these sleepers are the thoughtful on the outside, soft on the inside type of people.

Pros: This is a side sleeping position, which is said to be the most comfortable. Side sleeping is also going to decrease the chances of snoring.

Cons: The only downside about a fetal position is that it may induce a curved spine overtime, leading to potential back pain. Also, without a pillow between the legs, hip and knee pain could be an issue.

Coffin Sleeping Position

Just as the name suggest, these people sleep in a stiff, arms to the side manner just as body in a coffin. No worries, this doesn’t imply you have a dead personality. Actually, the studies suggested that these individuals are trusting, sometimes to the point of gullibility.

Pros: Sleeping on the back in coffin position is a good way to ensure a straight spine and avoid any limbs falling asleep while sleeping. Also, by lying on the back we keep any friction off the face that could cause wrinkling on the skin.

Cons: The downside to this position is a possible risk of increased snoring. On the bright side, you are less likely to have any limbs fall asleep and less likely to get wrinkles on the face. Only 15% of people sleep in this log-like position.

Yearner Sleeping Position

Close to a third of people sleep in this variety of a side position. This variety is executed with both arms out in front of the body. The yearners are thought to be open-minded but suspicious. They are firm decision-makers – sticking to their decisions once they are made.

Pros: This position is another variety of side sleeping. It offers the comfort and calm feeling of a side position. This is also a great position for pregnant women, as it offers relief from pressure on the back and the arms are up and away from resting on the stomach.

Cons: The position of the arms in this one makes them liable to fall asleep. There might be some shoulder discomfort due to overstretching through the night.

Freefalling Sleeping Position

The freefallers are the sleepers who lie on their stomachs with arms underneath or wrapped around the pillow. Only 7% of the people studied slept this way. Supposedly, freefallers are more outgoing, and strongly dislike criticism.

Pros: The bright side is you are likely to experience less mind chatter in this position.

Cons: The downside is an increase in chances of lines and wrinkles on the face.

Possibly some neck pain as well, considering there will be a strong turn to the head occurring in this position.

Starfish Sleeping Position

This position was found to be most uncommon in all of the studies done. It is where an individual lies on their back with their arms up by their head or hands behind the head, under their pillow. It is thought that these sleepers are great listeners, enjoy helping others and do not like being the center of attention.

Pros: Snoozing in this pose is great for spine and neck health, because the back is able to remain straight and free of any contortion. Though somewhat vulnerable, this is an ideal position for body composition if there was no use of a pillow.

The use of a pillow can cause neck pain; however, many people are too used to a pillow to give one up. If you’re up for it, try this position without a pillow on a comfortable bed if you have any body aches.

Cons: The downside is that along with being a good listener, these sleepers may also experience too much listening to the chatter of their own minds at night. This wide-open position encourages the possibility of snoring, as most back sleepers do.

The Best Sleep Positions

According to the research done, the most relaxing and beneficial position includes the slight bending of knees upwards, tucked toward the chest. However, keep in mind that each person is a bit different, so this position may not be perfect for everyone. This is generally true, as most everything is subjective.

(Watch: Wind Down Yoga – 12 Minute Bedtime Yoga – Yoga With Adriene)

For example, anyone with a bad back might want to consider modifying this position a bit by placing a pillow between the legs. This will alleviate any pressure on the hips and lower back.

For pregnant women, sleeping on their side with a pillow between the legs is actually highly encouraged, since lower back pain and hip tension is likely to happen during pregnancy.

Watch this video – What is the best sleeping position?

Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Nick Kowalski is a Transformational Coach, fitness model and unconditional lover. You can find more of his writing on his blog NicksFit. His mission is to inspire the transformation toward love consciousness. Follow him on Instagram for more living in love inspiration and transformational mindset motivation!

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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How to Cure Your High Blood Pressure without Side Effects?


Click HERE to Discover How You Can Maintain & Stabilize Your Blood Pressure Naturally

Cure Your High Blood Pressure without Side Effects – This “Paper Clip” Cures High Blood Pressure (this one is strange)

Sometimes the medical world is just too weird. This was demonstrated when scientists discovered how to use a specific “paper clip” to cure high blood pressure.

It works for people who have been unsuccessful with blood pressure medications, and the results are permanent.

Plus it’s very easy to implement.

Implanted in the upper thigh, this new “paper clip” device developed by ROX Medical, clips together an artery and a vein.

The implantation is quick and easy and only requires 40 minutes under local anesthetic. It’s also 100% reversible if any complications arise, and the blood pressure-lowering effects are immediate.

Plus, it seems to be a permanent solution, so you don’t have to take a daily dose of medication.

Researchers from Queen Mary University put this device to the test in a new study.

The results were a drastic drop in blood pressure. This is especially helpful for those who have been resistant to blood pressure medications or suffer side effects that make medications unsuitable.

But, there is a catch!

Almost 1/3 of those receiving the “paper clip” developed leg swelling, which called for another procedure. This shows again that all treatments via surgery or drugs come with side effects or the risk of a complication. There is no way around it.

For this reason, if you really want to cure your blood pressure without side effects, you must implement lifestyle changes instead of relying on drugs and surgery.

The simplest method I know to lower blood pressure naturally is the use of 3 easy exercises. Thousands of readers have used these exercises successfully to bring their blood pressure below 120/80, sometimes, from the very first day.

To learn more about the easy blood pressure exercises and to try them out for yourself, click here to find out how to cure your high blood pressure without side effects…

Cure Your High Blood Pressure without Side Effects – Deadly High Blood Pressure Caused By This “Safe” Med

We tend to think that over-the-counter medications (that you don’t need a prescription to obtain) are pretty safe to take.

But if you have high blood pressure, you must avoid this one type of over-the-counter medication.

Otherwise, it can skyrocket your blood pressure with serious consequences.

Flu season is in full blast, and when it hits, millions of people flock to their local pharmacy to buy over-the-counter flu meds.

For most people, these flu meds are safe to use for a short period. But for those who suffer from high blood pressure, many of those flu remedies can cause a BP spike.

And a spike in blood pressure can land you in the emergency room with a heart attack or stroke.

As if that weren’t enough, when you have the flu, your body is loaded with inflammation to fight off viruses and/or bacteria. Furthermore, this inflammation increases the risk of stroke and heart attack and raises blood pressure. So you must be doubly careful when you have the flu.

There are many other over-the-counter medications that raise blood pressure, such as pain killers. Energy drinks are another example. Read the warning labels carefully and consult your doctor before taking any pills or stimulating drinks.

The best prevention is to get your blood pressure under control before the flu hits you, or before you consider any type of over-the-counter medication.

However, you must use a natural method to lower your blood pressure, as traditional drugs come with numerous side effects that will hurt you in the long run.

The best natural method I know for lowering blood pressure is using three easy exercises. Thousands of readers have used these exercises to get their blood pressure under control.

Learn more about these easy blood pressure exercises and try them out for yourself, starting today to cure your high blood pressure without side effects…

Cure Your High Blood Pressure without Side Effects – Most Powerful Blood Pressure Veggie on Earth

Researchers are proving again how one incredible vegetable ends high blood pressure even more effectively than prescription medications.

And it’s not only alternative health and wellness experts or natural healers who are singing its praises.

Experts and scientists in Western medicine have joined the choir, to the dismay of pharmaceutical giants.

Researchers in the UK from Queen Mary University in London recently released the results of a study looking at the effect of beets on blood pressure.

What they found was what researchers all over the world have been saying for decades— that beets are the solution for ending high blood pressure.

The study followed two groups of participants: those who had untreated chronic hypertension (high blood pressure), and those who were taking prescription hypertension medications but were unable to reduce their blood pressure to a healthy level.

The groups were then divided again, with half the participants from each group drinking one cup of beetroot juice every day and the other half of each group drinking only a placebo.

It was no surprise that after 4 weeks of the study, the beetroot group in BOTH sets of participants (untreated and prescription-resistant) ended up with a whopping 8 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure, on average.

This was enough to completely normalize blood pressure for most of the participants in the beetroot group. The placebo group saw no change in blood pressure over the 4 weeks.

Not only did the participants wind up with healthier blood pressure, but their overall vascular health improved as well, with nearly 20% improvement in blood vessel dilation and a 10% reduction in arterial hardening. These two factors characterize atherosclerosis, a condition known to cause heart attack and stroke.

If you are convinced that beets are the way to go, be advised. The best benefit comes from juicing the raw beet, but it’s not advised to drink it straight. The study participants had a diluted mixture. Drinking it full-strength can cause pain and numbness in the throat and esophagus, as well as other problems.

The best way to prepare beetroot juice (after scrubbing everything), is to run a beet through a juicer with an apple, a couple stalks of celery, and about a cupful of baby spinach or cucumber. This is a healthy way to dilute the beet juice.

For best results, drink the juice immediately. Storing it reduces the levels of vitamins and nutrients that are responsible for the blood pressure-dropping benefits.

Watch this video to learn how to cure your high blood pressure without side effects – How to Lower Blood Pressure Quickly & Naturally, No Side Effects!

But if beets just aren’t your thing, or if you prefer an even easier and more effective way to drop your blood pressure down to normal in as little as one day with only 3 easy steps, look no further to cure your high blood pressure without side effects…

This post is from the High Blood Pressure Exercise Program. It was made by Christian Goodman Blue Heron health news that has been recognized as one of the top-quality national health information websites. 

This program will provide you the natural high blood pressure treatments, natural recipes to cook healthy meals and useful strategies to build a healthy diet with the aim to help you to maintain, stabilize and get your blood pressure down in minutes permanently and naturally.

To find out more about this program, click on Cure Your High Blood Pressure without Side Effects

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Here are 6 Exercises for Back Pain during Pregnancy


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Back pain during pregnancy is very common and it’s no surprise. You’ve got the influx of hormones that loosen certain ligaments, the weight gain in your tummy pulling your back muscles forward and downward, and your pelvic bones shifting. All of these changes in your body are a recipe for discomfort.

Just because there’s good reason for back pain during pregnancy doesn’t mean you have to suffer through it. Use these simple exercises to help you feel better and avoid unnecessary pain medications. As a bonus, these moves will also get you stronger and better prepared for labor and delivery.

These exercises are safe and gentle enough for any mom-to-be during any phase of pregnancy.

But one word of caution: If you had not been exercising before pregnancy, then start with just 1 set of each of these exercises and work your way up as you become stronger. You may be a little sore the next day if these moves are brand new to you.

You can choose to complete these exercises as a whole back strengthening and stretching circuit, or you can pick your favorites and add them to your regular workout routine.

As with all exercises, make sure you’re breathing during each movement and working slowly with control.

1. Seated Tick Tocks

How these help ease back pain: Stretching and strengthening both play key roles in reducing and/or eliminating back pain, and this move gives you both! If the pain you’re experiencing is on the sides of your back, this move should provide some immediate relief as well as help tone and strengthen those muscles to prevent future pain.

How to do this exercise: Sit in a comfortable seated position with legs crossed. As you lean over to one side with your arms extended overhead, you will be stretching one side of your back while contracting the other side.

Hold that stretch for just a moment while inhaling a deep breath, and then exhale the air out as you contract the elongated side, return through center, and stretch to the other side.

How many? 3 sets of 10 slow reps per side

2. Figure 4 Stretch

How these help ease back pain: Some back pain can be related to tightness in the hips, which then puts pressure on the surrounding nerves. This hip opener helps create more space around the hips, relieving some of that pressure. Also, by leaning slightly forward, you get a good lower back stretch.

How to do this exercise: If you have trouble balancing on one leg, try putting your butt against the wall for support. Lift one leg and place your ankle across the top of your knee. Make sure to flex the foot to protect the knee. Hold your heel with one hand and press down on your knee with the other hand.

The lower you can squat with the standing leg, the more you will feel the stretch across your back and your hip. Gently increase the depth of your squat until you feel an intense but manageable stretch. Hold and continue to breath.

How many? 3 sets of a 30-second hold per side

3. Wide Squat with Twist

How these help ease back pain: Another hip opener, but this one also incorporates a back twist which feels really good to the spine. Also, by pressing your straight arms against your knees, you create length in your spine.

How to do this exercise: Step your feet nice and wide and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Place your hands on your thighs just above your knees and keep your elbows straight.

Turn your shoulders towards one side and look over your shoulder. Only twist as much as you can without turning your belly. The straighter you keep your arms, the more you will elongate your spine, so think of length as you twist.

How many? 3 sets of a 30-second hold per side

4. Bent-Over Front Raises

How these help ease back pain: Weak back muscles that are unable to hold the weight of your growing belly are a primary cause of back pain. It can be difficult to find exercises that can strengthen your back without using weights, machines, or belly down exercises, which are contraindicated for pregnancy.

This exercise is safe for anyone at any fitness level and can be done without any equipment. The weight of your arms over your head is enough to strengthen your back but light enough to prevent injury.

How to do this exercise: Begin by hinging at the waist to form a bent-over position; your back should be parallel to the ground or slightly higher. Clasp your hands together with your pointer fingers pointed towards the ground.

Raise your arms up until they are also parallel with the ground, in line with your back. Make sure your arms are flexed all the way straight, then slowly lower back down to the starting position.

How many? 3 sets of 10 reps

5. Glute Bridges

How these help ease back pain: Weak glutes (butt muscles) are another cause of pregnancy-related back pain. When pregnant, we often spend a lot more time sitting than standing, squatting, or walking up stairs. This leads to weaker than usual glute muscles.

How to do this exercise: Begin by lying flat on the ground with your arms down by your sides. Bend your knees and plant your heels on the floor close to your butt.

Now press your heels into the floor to raise your butt up off the floor, forming a bridge shape with your body. Squeeze your butt and back muscles at the top, and then slowly lower back down to the ground.

How many? 3 sets of 15 reps

6. Child’s Pose

How this helps ease back pain: Child’s Pose is more of a stretch than an exercise, but it certainly feels great for the back and is a great way to cool down from all the strengthening work you just did. The elongation of the spine in this pose helps relieve pressure on surrounding nerves.

How to do this exercise: Start in an all-fours position and open your knees wide apart. Sit your butt back and down as low as you can go until you can relax your weight down, allowing your back to round. Stretch your arms all the way out in front of you on the floor. If this feels uncomfortable with your baby belly in the way, you can rest on bent elbows.

How many? Hold this stretch for 1-2 minutes as a cool down stretch.

By incorporating these exercises into your weekly routine you can greatly reduce or eliminate pregnancy related back pain.

Watch this video – 5 best exercises for back pain during pregnancy

Written by Jessica Gouthro

Author Bio:

Jessica is a NASM Certified and Prenatal Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and co-host of the popular YouTube show Live Lean TV. She has over 12 years of experience in fitness and nutrition coaching, and she has clients all over the world.

When she’s not shooting fitness and nutrition videos, writing workouts, creating recipes, or working with clients, she enjoys long walks on the beach, fun workouts, and spending time with her husband, dog, and baby on-the-way!

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

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