MariaC, Author at Your body ~ Your brain ~ Your diet

The Health Benefits of Skipping Breakfast

June 25, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Awakening cortisol response, growth hormone, Intermittent fasting, ketones

There is a reason why most people have little or no appetite on waking: the human body clock and the production of cortisol. Cortisol is an adrenal hormone produced cyclically: levels start to rise between 3 am and 6 am, and within thirty to forty minutes after waking, most people experience a two- to three-fold surge in circulating levels. In what is termed the ‘awakening cortisol response,’ cortisol mobilizes glucose and promotes gluconeogenesis, the manufacture of glucose from fat and protein.

Feed Your Brain

Do You Have leaky Brain Syndrome?

June 7, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Alzheimer's, Blood-brain barrier, Depression, gluten, inflammation, leaky gut, Parkinson's

Your brain is like a powerful command centre, surrounded by a wall to prevent enemy elements from breaching security. Damage to the wall undermines the strength of the command centre. The blood brain barrier is that wall. If compromised, the brain is left vulnerable to assault and subsequent mental health problems

Feed Your Brain

Why You Crave Junk Food

May 18, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Brain reward system, cortisol, Cravings, dopamine, ghrelin, leptin, serotonin, vagus nerve

Feeding potato chips to rats makes them want more, even when they are already full. Humans are remarkably similar. Open that bag and you know how it will end. Even so, go easy on yourself; you’re not weak, you’re normal. Your brain is responding the way it is programmed to respond. The trick is to short-circuit the system — the brain’s reward system.

Feed Your Brain

How Exercise Changes Your Brain and Your Mood

February 1, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC BDNF, bipolar, dementia, Depression, schizophrenia

Beyond the runner’s high lies a biochemical process that is part of the brain’s growth and repair system. Central to that process is a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF protects existing brain cells from damage. It strengthens the synapses (a synapse is the structure between nerves, through which messages are transmitted), and helps form new synapses. BDNF is also involved in a process called neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells.

Feed Your Brain

Why Giving Up Sugar Is So Good For Your Mental Health

January 7, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Depression, diabetes, dysglycemia, glycemic index, Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, schizophrenia

Sugar makes you fat, which is bad enough. But can it really make you depressed? Clinically depressed, even? The evidence is compelling, and it’s a journey that starts with a mild blood sugar imbalance and can end with serious mental illness. Each step of that journey is fuelled by sugar, or more specifically, glucose.

Feed Your Brain

How Stress Makes You Overeat — And How to Stop it

December 23, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC cortisol, dopamine, ghrelin, HPA axis, leptin, mesolimbic dopamine pathway, reward centre, stress

Stress is bad for your mental health. It’s not great for your heart or immune health, either. Furthermore — and just to rub salt into your wounds — it can also make you fat. But the consequences of stress are not inevitable: once you understand what’s going on, you can fight back.

General health

Covid-19 and Vitamin D: What to do While You Wait for the Vaccine

November 16, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC covid-19, Vitamin D3

Vitamin D can’t stop you from getting infected, but it can mitigate the severity of symptoms, and help get you through the winter. Vitamin D is safe and inexpensive. For that reason, scientists now take the view that by taking it, there is nothing to lose, and potentially much to gain. There are some remarkable similarities between those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19 symptoms, and those most likely to experience vitamin D deficiency.

Weight loss

Three Effective Ways to Control Your Hunger Hormones

October 26, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC CCK, ghrelin, ketogenic, leptin, PYY

What makes you want to eat? However complex your motivations may seem, the hunger game is essentially a game of hormones. Don’t turn it into a power struggle — you can learn how to trigger or suppress the hormones involved in the desire to eat, and stay in control of your appetite.

Digestive health

Could Parasites be the Cause of Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

October 18, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC Blastocystis hominis, comprehensive parasitology, Endolimax nana, Irritable bowel syndrome, metronidazole

If you have irritable bowel syndrome, you are familiar with the misery of abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhoea, and/or constipation. It just so happens that these are also common symptoms of a gut parasite infection. If your symptoms have not responded to standard IBS treatment, taking a simple test may be the first step on the road to recovery.

Weight loss

The Curious Case of the Man Who Ate Nothing For Over a Year

September 29, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC autophagy, Fasting, ghrelin, gluconeogenesis, Intermittent fasting, ketosis

In June 1965, a 27-year-old Scottish man weighing 456lb (207kg) decided to stop eating until he reached his desired weight of 180lb (82kg). Angus Barbieri ate nothing whatsoever for 382 days, achieved his goal, and lived to tell the tale.