My alcohol - poor sleep - sugar - caffeine viscous cycle, can you relate?

Feeling 'charged'
It's a year now since I 'went primal' and I've been on a gradual incline in terms of health.  I'm pleased to report that I never have any stomach pain anymore, never feel nauseous or anxious and I've been sleeping so well.  My headaches have gone, my energy is steady and lasts all day, my niggling aches pains, and plantar fasciitis have gone and well, the list is endless, but I've felt better than ever before.

I even felt really 'charged' a real connection.  Every day has endless possibilities and I feel full of enthusiasm to greet each day, it's a truly wonderful way to exist, almost, like it's meant to be. 

Would you like a drink?
Last week I had a particularly great week, just feeling great, all going well....and then I had a glass of red wine.

Now, this isn't a blog about the evils of alcohol.  Alcohol is a grey area in the Paleo/Primal world.  I reckon you should do what feels right for you.  If I am honest I definitely do better without the alcoholic stuff, but it's such a part of our culture (how lame does that sound?) and anyway I don't want to be one of 'those' people that don't drink.  Having said that my two good friends Nic and Kirsty don't drink and I don't think of them as 'those' people, so...?
 
Alcohol did me in
Alcohol was a major contributor to my gut ill health.  Gluten and Alcohol are two if not THE two main causes of leaky gut. Alcohol consumption feeds gram-negative bacteria such as E. Coli to create bacterial overgrowths of these more toxic bacteria and therefore excess endotoxin production in the gut. I ended up with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) one of the main symptoms was nausea. I used to drink lots of wine, in fact I craved it, well the bad bacteria craved it, I would drink a bottle of wine all to myself and do that 3-4 nights a week.

Moderate
These days I drink between 2-4 drinks at one time and that's two to three nights a week.  It's usually two, and it doesn't give me a hangover.  It just makes my sleep a bit poor.  I may drop off easier but I tend to wake in the night more, and have trouble getting back to sleep.  Alcohol reduces REM (Rapid Eye Movement) which is the dream state and the restorative part of sleep.

The next day I am tired  - my sleep being interrupted by the alcohol - this affects my hormone leptin (which tells me how hungry I am) and also affects my blood sugar, it's lower, so I crave sugar.  A poor night's sleep also increases cortisol levels (the stress hormone) so I'm a bit on edge all of a sudden.  I'm craving sugar so I have something, it will still be Paleo but it will be sweet, sweeter than I'd normally have.  For example, I'd start the day with pancakes instead of eggs and avocado. 

Before you know it, I'm hungry again, the high sugar brekky has increased my blood glucose, thus insulin and crash again and hello more cortisol.  It's a bit of a viscous cycle for me at the weekend, when we usually have a wine, a dessert, pancakes etc. 

I can't take deep relaxing breaths, it feels like I have a fat cat sat on my chest!  My neck, shoulders and jaw tighten and I lose that connected feeling and go back to old 'means to an end' feelings.

I just find it so interesting how you notice how much food (and drink) affects you once you have peeled back layers of inflammation, bad bacteria and are working from a place of true health. I wanted to share this with you, in case you feel the same.  So that, instead of lying in bed on a night wondering "what's wrong with me" ask "what's wrong with what I ate!". 

Remedy?
I always breath a sigh of relief on a Monday!  A whole week of no drinking!  A calmer time with husband and kids out all day and I can focus again on ME! Walking on the beach, yoga, dancing, mediating, seeing friends and 'working'.  I am usually still sugar hungry on Monday but try to avoid that last slice of chocolate cake from the weekend and stick to loads of veggies, especially leafy greens, good fats and grass fed protein.  Then before I know it, I'm back on track, aligned with all that is again! Pheweeee.....

I'd also like to add that I think the sulphites in the wine affects me, and makes me more sensitive to caffeine in my dark chocolate and coffee than usual, anyone else experienced this?

How to recover from Adrenal Fatigue

So you've wondered what is adrenal fatigue and you've ran the home tests or maybe your Naturopath has diagnosed you, OR maybe you just want to do what you can to keep your adrenals in tip top condition? I have been reading a fab book by James L Wilson called "Adrenal Fatigue - The 21st Century Stress Syndrome" and I recommend it.  I have had the copy for my library for way way to long and must return this book as there are others waiting for it, sorry if this is you.

Healing from adrenal fatigue really just involved leading a primal lifestyle - eating whole foods, avoiding foods that cause aggravation and embracing a lifestyle that involves rest, relaxation and connection.  I seriously could write you a blog that would take you three weeks to read on what to do to achieve this, but with the library fine pending I am lifting a review straight from the book by Wilson.  It's a lovely bullet pointy overview.  I hope you find it helpful. 

• Be in bed before 10pm (I call this PaleO'Clock).
• Sleep in until 9am whenever possible (yeh right).
• Look for things that make you laugh.
• Eliminate energy robbers from your life (people who drain you).
• Make your lifestyle a healing one.
• Do something pleasurable every day.
• Whenever you are not enjoying your life read this and find a way to deal with it.
• Notice one small thing every day that you are grateful for.
• Take your supplements regularly.
• Move your body and breathe deeply.
• Believe in your ability to recover.
• Use your mind as a powerful healing tool.
• Keep a journal and jot down your daily experiences.
• Eat the foods your body needs.
• Learn which foods disagree with you and eliminate them.
• Salt your food, salt your water.
• If you eat sweet things, combine them with fats.
• Combine starchy carbohydrates, protein and fat at every meal.
• Eat an abundance of whole food.
• Eat lots of coloured vegetables.
• Chew chew chew chew and chew your food.
• Take the power and responsibility of your own health into your own hands.
• Make the lifestyle changes needed to make you regain your health.
• Laugh several times a day.
• Enjoy your recovery.
• Consider taking 1,000mg of vitamin C complex with 200mg magnesium and pantothenic acid at 2pm daily to avoid the 3-4pm low.

and I would like to add:

• Focus on healing your gut as all heath starts in the gut.
• Make rest a priority, it is part of the cycle.
• Get out in nature.
• Meditate, nap or lie with your feet up for 20mins after lunch.
• Practice yoga.
• Remember "life is not an emergency".
• Take care of yourself first so that you can take care of others.
• Breathe fresh air.

Avoid these things

• Getting overtired.
• Caffeine, sugar, alcohol and white flour products.
• Coffee, even decaf.
• Staying up past 11pm (avoiding your second wind)
• Pushing yourself.
• Energy suckers.
• Being harsh or negative with yourself.
• Foods you are addicted too. (these tend to be what's making you ill).
• Foods you suspect and allergy or sensitivity to.
• Foods that make you feel worse, cloudy or pull you down.
• Never skip breakfast.
• Avoid fruit in the morning.
• Never eating starchy carbs by themselves.
• Do not eat foods that adversely affect you in anyway, no matter how good they taste or how much you crave them.

and I would like to add these to the avoid list:

• Over exercising.
• Becoming too hungry.
• Letting yourself become uncomfortable in anyway e.g. too hot, too cold, need the toilet and holding on.
• Grains. refined sugar, dairy.
• Household chemicals.
• Cosmetic chemicals.
• Fasting.

So there you go Fallsy, nothing too new really hey?  I hope you enjoyed!!