Healthy Highlights October 2024
With the time change this weekend and shorter days ahead, I've found myself leaning into the cozy autumn season now more than I ever have.
To be honest, the change of season used to make me so anxious, especially since I would typically suffer from a touch of seasonal depression... but this year I am committed to making sure I do everything in my power to keep my cells happy!
Seasonal depression like symptoms can be linked to the unnatural increase in sugar and reflective blood sugar instability, as our cells expect less energy from food as the hours of energy from the sun are shorter and movement is lower in the winter. So, one thing I am going to continue into the winter months is eating seasonally available foods as much as possible.
Keep reading this month's Healthy Highlights for more on staying bright through the cooler months, friend!
Healthy Highlights
Habit
Morning sunlight before screens
In the podcast I'm sharing this month, something that really stood out to me was the importance of seeing the sunrise and delaying screen usage. That early morning light actually helps our bodies produce serotonin which is recycled into melatonin later that night! Talk about a simple habit that goes a LONG way, especially if you are struggling with energy, anxiety or sleep. This is a habit I've heard a lot about, but I am not a morning person per se, so I have not seen many sunrises in my life! The benefits have finally convinced me that seeing the morning sunrise is a worthwhile reason to get out of bed.
Recipe
Viral Chuck Roast by Olivia Adriance
Nothing hits the spot quite like a chuck roast in the cooler months. As the season slows, so should our cooking! This recipe pairs perfectly with the available seasonal vegetables like cooked cabbage, potatoes or winter squash. I've been loving Olivia's recipes and seasonal recipe inspiration—it's so important to make cooking at home and healthy food exciting! I use Pinterest and Instagram to gather recipe inspo and usually add in 1-2 more involved cooking recipes each week while keeping the rest of the days simple.
Functional Lab Marker
This is a powerful predictor of blood sugar issues, especially when paired with fasting glucose. You see, fasting glucose is a common test, but it does not show the full picture of insulin resistance, which is what ultimately leads to conditions like PCOS, diabetes, Alzheimer's, etc. Blood sugar instability is commonly linked with fatigue, mood disorders and sleep issues. Optimally, fasting glucose will be below 85 mg/dL... but we have to look at how much insulin is maintaining that level. A higher amount of insulin to maintain that blood glucose level signals insulin resistance and that your cells are already becoming desensitized to insulin. Ideally, fasting insulin will be between 2 and 5 pmol/L, with concerns increasing at a level above 10 pmol/L. Your doctor is probably not going to run this test unless you explicitly ask for it, even if you have been diagnosed with diabetes, so you must advocate for yourself or run it out of pocket! It is a very cheap test to add on to a blood draw, and when you work with me directly, I can add it to a panel for you. If you do find that you have elevated levels of insulin (above 10 pmol/L) then it's best to try using a CGM to see how different food pairings and stress are affecting your blood sugar.
Self Care
My Circadian App (created by Sarah Kleiner from the podcast below!)
This app makes it so easy to track the times available in your location to get vitamin D. I've been using the free version and it is so helpful to see the time cut offs for available vitamin D so that I can time my daily walks to get the most benefit. In the cooler months, I tend to go for a walk around 1-2pm when it's warmer and the sun is out. Heading into the shortest days of the year, all I can think about is how badly I want to maintain the vitamin D levels I got up during summer! I've struggled with low vitamin D and I prefer sunlight over supplementation, although I do low dose supplement especially in the winter. (This is my favorite because it's easy to dose relative to my sunlight exposure for the day!)
Podcast
A transformative conversation on how we can use light to our advantage and heal our bodies. I learned so much from this episode, clearly I've mentioned it a few times in this newsletter! In all seriousness, I particularly gained insight on topics I had never even heard about! Anyone struggling with a metabolic issue like blood sugar instability, energy production, or fatigue, should give this a listen. You never know what little habit might make a huge shift for your health.
Book
I recently shared about how I live in tune with my cycle, and much of the foundation I have built I learned from this book. In Woman Code, Vitti shares details of how women's brains actually change during the course of the month and ways to harness the power of those shifts! I particularly enjoyed the cycle syncing foods guide in this book. At the beginning of my health journey, it was motivating to know that nutrients in certain foods could support my hormones throughout my cycle. I still incorporate the habits that I learned from this book!
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