Your Hormones and Time Restricted Eating.
The benefits of a restricted eating window or intermittent fasting has been a buzz in the wellness world for a while now and it has scientific research supporting its ability to decrease inflammation, heal the gut, and increase cellular repair. Time restricted eating also activates what we call autophagy (The clean up crew or as I like to say those guys that take out the trash) and mTOR which is an important process for protein synthesis and proper mitochondrial function. So you can see that as a natural functional medicine practitioner it’s a therapeutic tool that I recommend to some of my patients.
RESTRICT THE EATING WINDOW CAN HELP RESET THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Balancing the Nervous System is the key to a long and healthy life. One of the ways to improve that ratio is by not eating all the time. Too much food or eating all the time is stressful for the body. It never gets a break. Eating when stressed is also stressful to the body, so is breaking a fast with carbs and fruit or waiting too long to eat! The quality of the food you eat is also important. Your body needs the right nutrients in order to function!
The idea of IF is to find the right balance between the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and the sympathetic nervous system (action and good for you stress ) so that you can optimize health, resilience and longevity.
YOUR HORMONES AND A TIME RESTRICTED EATING WINDOW
While limiting food intake for a period of time can do wonders for your health, there are some concerns regarding the effects it could have on hormonal health, especially for those with thyroid problems, adrenal fatigue or other hormone imbalances.
BLOOD SUGAR AND FAT STORAGE
Fat storing and hunger hormones: (leptin, insulin, + ghrelin)
Intermittent fasting takes center stage in its role in improving hunger, metabolism, and blood sugar affecting hormones. When patients come in with high blood sugar problems I like to recommend IF along with diet changes to increase metabolism and lower insulin resistance. Those changes will help you let go of Fat Storage and Toxins!
If you have a blood sugar problem and want to try fasting it’s key to work with your practitioner who can monitor you and slowing increase your length of fasting as your glucose stabilizes. BTW what you eat matters. Your diet needs to have a balance of nutrients for time restricted eating to be effective.
ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
Your brain and ovaries communicate through the brain-ovary axis or hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Your brain releases hormones to your ovaries to signal them to release estrogen and progesterone. If your HPG axis isn’t working well it can affect your overall health and lead to problems with fertility.
When it comes to intermittent fasting, women are usually more sensitive than men. If not done properly, IF can cause women to mess up their cycle and throw off their hormones.
Start with cutting out simple sugars and carbs and adding in more good fats and protein to your meals then fast from 7-8pm till the next morning. That will give most a 10-12 hour window. It is important to break the fast with a savory meal! You can also try 2 meals a day.. one at 10.00am and another at 7.00pm and see what works for you.
BTW you will want to make sure you take your Digestive Enzymes and have adequate HCL so you can breakdown and absorb the added proteins and the fats.
My favorites are Enzycore and Zypan from Standard process and Enzymix Pro from Apex.
ADRENAL AND CORTISOL
Cortisol is your body’s main stress hormone and is released by your adrenal glands which sit right on top of your kidneys. When your brain-adrenal (HPA) axis is thrown off it can lead to an imbalance in cortisol. This high and low rollercoaster ends up leading to adrenal fatigue. I’ve found that people with dysfunctions with their circadian rhythm don’t handle intermittent fasting well. However, trying a slow beginner intermittent fasting protocol or the introduction fasting could be ok with someone monitoring your progress.
THYROID HORMONES- T3 & T4 and ANTIBODIES
Your thyroid is queen of all hormones affecting every single cell in your body. No other hormone has that power. If your thyroid hormones are not functioning optimally, then nothing is. There are many different types of thyroid problems all of which can be affected differently by intermittent fasting. Therefore, I recommend working with someone like me who can work with your specific challenge.
HOW TO START A TIME RESTRICTED EATING WINDOW
The 8-6 window plan: One simple way to IF is to just eat between 8 am and 6pm. This allows for a long fasting period within a reasonable timeframe.
The 12-7 window plan: I personally do this plan during my workweek. This is the same as the last plan but extends the fast a couple more hours. I fill my morning with big cups of water and a coffee with Collagen Powder.
If you want to learn more about your own health case please reach out and get started. I am here to help.
Here’s how to shop for Quality proven brands that I use in my practice:
For Standard Process and Mediherb Products
1. Patient Direct Link: The link below will take you directly to the website.
https://my.standardprocess.com/Patient-Direct/patient-registration
2. You will be asked to register for an account and you will be asked for to fill in my Practitioner Code which is W8MJSC.
You will also receive a 10% discount. Yeah!!
For Apex Energetics Products
Click here
Have a Healthy Week
Dr Pia
