Listen to your body

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Don't ignore the signs.

We so often take our health for granted, and only notice how much we take it for granted once it starts to go.

The good news is that our body is great at signalling when there is something amiss. The problems arise when we ignore the signals.

Below are some "symptoms" we need to pay attention to as we age, to ensure we don’t set ourselves up for serious problems (ie - a chronic illness, autoimmune disease, cancer, etc) down the road.

The dreaded belly fat

Obviously we realize that belly fat isn't ideal, but we need to be aware of the TYPE of belly fat we have.

Fat that is accumulated in the lower body (pear shape) is subcutaneous fat, whereas fat around the belly is considered visceral fat. Generally speaking, subcutaneous fat you can pinch; visceral (belly) fat… not so much. It can be seen and measured, but not pinched. I clarify this because many women will experience a little bit of extra belly fat leading up to and during menopause – and that’s normal (ie – as long as it can be pinched ;-).

Visceral fat, on the other hand, is not normal. It can actually be thought of as an organ unto itself because it acts like an organ, secreting unwanted hormones and other substances that can profoundly affect our health - and not in a positive way.

The best way to deal with visceral fat is (hold your breath!)… diet and exercise.

With diet, start to focus on:

  • Portion sizes - using smaller plates and bowls always helps with this

  • Snacking habits – both how often you snack as well as what you snack on make a difference. Our digestive system needs a break (you should be able to go at least three hours without food) in order to work effectively. Suggestions include:

    • Avoid any snacking after dinner – ideally, you want a minimum of 12 hours between when you finish eating during the evening and when you have your first bite the next day. This includes any drink other than herbal tea or water

    • Try to always have a vegetable and protein/healthy fat on hand as a “go to” snack (instead of the sugary snack or simple carb that will spike your blood sugar and start you on a blood sugar roller coaster which only enhances the visceral fat)

      • try to avoid protein bars (or anything similar)

    • Put a sticky note on the fridge saying, “Are you truly hungry, or just bored?” Then have a glass of water or herbal tea instead ;-)

  • Food choices – very simply, emphasize complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruit, whole grains), proteins and healthy fats; get rid of processed foods; and minimize sugar intake and simple carbs (white bread, muffins, bagels, crackers, too much pasta, etc).

  • Drink more water

For exercise, it's suggested that moderate to intense physical exercise at least 30 min/day will help towards scaling back the visceral fat. I know this is a "big ask" for many people, especially those who are quite sedentary. Ease into it, and do your best. Any sort of movement is better than no movement at all.

Joint pain, body aches, eczema, hives, rashes, face blotching, bloating, headaches, brain fog, allergies, anxiety...

Don’t ignore these! They are clear signals that inflammation is lurking somewhere in your body - an ongoing irritant that your immune system keeps reacting to. If the irritants aren’t dealt with, it results in the body being flooded with inflammatory defence cells and hormones, causing inflammation that can manifest itself as any of the symptoms listed above.

This irritation could be any number of the following:

  • Sugar (highly inflammatory)

  • A food allergy (wheat and dairy are at the top of the list, followed by soy, eggs and corn)

  • Certain fruits

  • Histamine rich foods – fermented beverages, fermented foods, dairy products

  • Environmental factors – mold (a big one), chemicals we put on our body, air we breathe

  • Stress

Regarding food, one method is to try an elimination diet. This involves either eliminating everything that potentially could be inflammatory for 2-3 weeks, and then slowly introducing foods back in individually (this one is tough). Another option is to delete one food group at a time for 2-3 weeks and see if there is any difference. Both take time, but are worth the effort. The inflammation is not going to go away on its own. It will just get worse. Note that often it's one of your favourite foods that is causing the problem :(

Another option is to get tested for sensitivities and allergies thru your doctor, naturopath or a functional doctor. If you go the route of a naturopath or functional doctor, you can also access many more blood tests (see "Know your numbers" below) that aren't available through the government funded channels.

Regarding stress, read this for some ideas on what you might want to consider.

To help narrow things down, remember what Hippocrates so eloquently said 2500 years ago - that "all disease begins in the gut". That pretty much stands today. Even stress impacts our gut function. So always start there.

Bone health

A silent and stealth issue...

Unfortunately, unless you have a history of broken bones (or have had a break where the bone seemed to break quite easily relative to the impact), the signs/signals of osteoporosis are really non-existent. But it needs to be addressed, especially because there are no symptoms. Bone health is critical, and we need to be on top of this as we age. One big reason is because our reproductive hormones decrease dramatically during menopause, and estrogen is key for bone health.

I know doctors won’t be happy when I suggest this, but push to get a bone density test while in your mid 50s. Right now, 60 is the recommended age for women to get this, but 60 is almost too late. If you have issues, you want to know sooner rather than later. I have two friends in their 50's who were blindsided by their osteoporosis diagnosis.

Things to consider:

  • Do you have a family history of osteoporosis? If yes, get checked sooner rather than later.

  • Are you actively doing weight bearing exercise, such as walking, running, tennis, etc?

  • Do you do resistance training (ie – weights)?

  • Do you take a vitamin D supplement?

  • Do you know how much calcium you are getting a day? What about magnesium?

All of the above are very important for bone health. As an aside, try to avoid calcium supplements if you can, and get it through food. Or, if necessary, get your calcium through a bone formula. Straight calcium supplements can sometimes do more harm than good.

Magnesium can also be attained through many food sources, but is also very safe to take as a supplement, if necessary.

Mouth health

I know. It sounds weird. But I can't stress enough the importance of a healthy mouth. Your mouth mirrors what's happening in your body, and vice versa. Our mouths have their own microbiome (called the oral microbiome). Similar to our gut microbiome, if it's out of balance, with bad bacteria dominating (or, as biologic dentist, Gerry Curatola states in the Mouth-Body Connection, "If the bacteria is behaving badly..."), it can negatively impact the rest of our body. Signs of an imbalance include:

  • Chronic bad breath

  • Off-white plaque film on your teeth in the morning

  • Bleeding gums

  • Frequent tooth decay

What can lead to this? Two of the top culprits are:

  • A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, which produces acid that eats away at the enamel and causes tooth decay; and

  • Stress, which causes a decrease in salivary flow - saliva is the "lifeblood" of the mouth, essential for keeping our oral immune system strong and the continuous remineralization of our teeth.

Finally... Sleep

The signs are pretty obvious when it comes to lack of sleep. I’ve written about sleep a couple of times (referenced below), but a quick reminder never hurts.

We all know how critical sleep is, but many of us still accept the status quo (ie – we have poor sleeps and assume this is just the way it is). I can not stress enough how important it is to work on sleep if you aren’t getting enough. Check out this blog to see what the repercussions can be and why it needs to be taken seriously.

A few basic reminders:

  • Try to get the early morning sun in your eyes (from outside, not through a window) within the first hour after sunrise. This helps reset our circadian rhythm. Don’t wear glasses if you don't have to, and obviously don’t look straight at the sun.

  • Try to also get the sun later in the day, within the hour prior to sunset (for the same reason as above)

  • Maintain a regular sleep schedule – turn off your light at approximately the same time every evening and get up at approximately the same time every morning

  • Avoid blue light in the evening two hours before bed – specifically from cell phones and computers. If necessary, wear orange/red blue light blocking glasses.

  • Don’t have anything to eat 2-3 hours prior to bed

Check out this blog for further tips

Know your numbers

One of the first things you can do if there are certain things happening in/on your body that don't seem "normal", is to get your blood tests done. Get all the standard ones (complete blood count, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc), but also include:

  • B12

  • Vitamin D - unfortunately we have to pay extra for this but it's important to know

  • Ferritin / iron

  • TSH plus T3 and T4 (if they will do them for you) - T3 and T4 specifically if you struggle with weight, lack energy, are cold all the time, have joint pain (see here for more symptoms of an underactive thyroid / hypothyroidism)

  • CRP test - this stands for C Reactive Protein, which increases when inflammation is present in your body (although I'm not sure all doctors will do this. But it never hurts to ask)

  • Ask for anything else that relates to how you are feeling

Net net - ask for as many tests as you can get – the more information the better. It also gives you a baseline to work with.

Don't take the path of least resistance

Our body is truly incredible. It does everything in its power to maintain balance. And when things are out of balance, it tries hard to let us know.

Where things tend to fall apart is when we bury our heads in the sand and "hope" what we are experiencing goes away. News flash! These things don't just "go away" on their own. And believe me, it's much better to catch things early than waiting until the problem is much bigger.

We need to stop taking our health for granted. All I ask is that you start listening to your body. And if things aren't quite right, take steps to find out what is going on.

Thanks for reading.

gillian xx

PS - if you need help navigating anything to do with nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, stress management or ways to incorporate more movement into your life, reach out for a free 30 minute Discovery call. I'd love to chat.