Circadian rhythm

Circadian rhythm (internal clock)

What is this Circadian rhythm stuff….

WELL…Circadian rhythm is your body’s internal 24 hour clock. This clock responds to light and dark stimuli. The circadian rhythm is essentially your master clock that affects your physical, mental, and behavioral changes in your body. The master clock in the body controls the production of melatonin (hormone that makes you sleepy). Melatonin is released in accordance to the amount of light that enters the eyes.

Circadian rhythms can be “out of whack” due to people working night shift, people using screen devices before bed, use of stimulants (coffee, pills, or exercise) before bed, not enough sunlight first thing in the morning, time change, pregnancy, and medications.

Lack of sleep can cause a decrease in mental performance, increase the severity of diabetes hypertension, obesity, and memory loss, and speed up the aging process. Higher events of mental illness like depression and bipolar are more prominent. When you clock is off your eating patterns can be affected.

How to reset your circadian rhythm:

·         Do not use computers, TV, cellphones before bed

·         Use soft blue or red lights as night lights

·         Exercise daily

·         Enjoy outdoor activities

·         Avoid caffeine

·         Try to keep your sleep/wake schedule the same

·         Go to bed on an empty stomach

·         Fill your mind with positive thoughts so you don’t dwell on your problems

·         A relationship with God can refresh your spirit, and promote a Sabbath day of rest

cholestrol

Well I'm back after some sort of a hiatus. I have been buys with school and work. but man I have missed you guys.

While I was gone I was present with a question that I was not sure how to answer.... cholesterol how do you get it? well I don't.... so I wanted to know why I needed cholesterol. Cholesterol is important for the reproductive hormones that women need to ovulate and make babies. WOW, I did not know that. Cholesterol is a wax like substance that is normal for cellular structure and function. The body packages cholesterol in to low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein.
LDL has higher concentration of fat to protein. LDL is considered the bad cholesterol. LDL is the type of cholesterol that is responsible for promoting heart disease. LDL is also responsible for helping to provide building blocks for cells surface membranes in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.  So they can adapt to temperature changes. cholesterol also aids in digestion by producing hormones and vitamins.  

HDL have a higher concentration of protein to fat. HDL is considered the good cholesterol. HDL scrubs away extra bad cholesterol in order to prevent heart disease.

So with all this said. it sounds to me like we need cholesterol.... my last post I said cholesterol is only derived from animals and we should not eat animals.... I stand by that statement and here is why.

Our bodies need cholesterol so much that our bodies can produce its own cholesterol. The Brain is able to produce the amount of cholesterol the body need to fulfill its needs. Yeah still no meat!

Anger

I have some thoughts and random rants… how many of you hold grudges? How many of you feel you were wronged? Most of you out there at one time or another has been angry at someone for something. Right? So what does that do to the person who made you angry? NOTHING! (usually unless you run them over with your car). The main person affected is you! YOU were wronged and now YOU are angry. If you cannot fix you then you suffer. I have always been lucky to not stay angry to long. I am going to give you some steps to help you fix you.

 

1.      Identify- identify who made you angry or who wronged you.

2.      Forgiveness- sometimes this is not possible, but if it is the process will be easier.  Talk with then let them know they hurt you but you forgive them.

3.      Refocus your anger in to kindness or compassion for that person. This is important if they are close. Usually those closest to us are the one who hurt us the most.

4.      If the wronged or hurt feelings are unforgiveable or you just cannot move on, focus your attention on someone you can have a trusting relationship with.

5.      Get up every day! Look for the positive in all things. Be grateful and show gratitude in everything you do. (Please don't post on Facebook or tell me your problems if you haven't even tried to fix them) 

Cholesterol

 

Cholesterol:

Circulation is the important to life!! What would you do without circulation? Die? Yep me too! There are 2 things that your circulation depends on 1. No plaque or cholesterol and 2. The ability to constrict and dilated your arteries.  Nitric oxide is important for the dilation.

 

1.       In order to prevent plaque buildup in the arteries, one should avoid foods high in cholesterol. Plant based foods contain no cholesterol. Did you hear that right? Let me repeat it…PLANT BASED FOODS CONTAIN NO CHOLESTEROL! That’s right none! The only foods with cholesterol are the animals or bi-products of animals with the exception of egg whites.

Egg whites	0
Mayonnaise	8
Tuna	26
Ice cream	29
Butter	31
Clams	57
Crabs	64
Egg	213
Chicken breast no skin	73
Pork	76
Beef	80
Chicken with skin	82
Oyster	84
Sardines	120
Shrimp	165
Beef kidney	365
Beef liver	410
Caviar	500
Beef brains	1697

Tidbit of information…. Once cholesterol is exposed to air it is oxidized, more harmful to our body than non-exposed to air. Soooo… I guess it is ok to drink cow’s milk but only if you go straight to the source before it is oxidized! Oh wait, then it is not sterile and has many germs that may not be so good for you. Guess it is still not a good idea.

 

2.       Nitric oxide-vasodilates the blood vessels, cause blood vessels to enlarge, prevents blood from sticing together, and inhibits plaque formation. High cholesterol inhibits the production of nitric oxide. Just one meal can prevent nitric oxide from forming and helping the vessels to dilate.  Arginine is a substance that helps the body to produce nitric oxide.

Nuts	1.3g
Tofu	1.3
Walnuts	2.3
Lima beans	2.4
Kidney beans	2.6
Garbanzo beans	3.6
Lentils	4.2
Soy	5.3
Pumpkin seeds	6.2

 

Nursing tidbit: vasoplegic syndrome occurs when patients are on the cardiopulmonary bypass as a result of too much nitric oxide. Methylene blue is given as an antidote. methylene binds to the nitric oxide the unbind it from the hemoglobin. This in turns allows the body to oxygenate and the vessels to constricts like they need to. It turns the urine blue/green for weeks.  

Continue my leptin

Continue with my leptin....as I try to change my diet times, I am also trying to modify my sleep times. HARD with kids fyi. So I turned to all natural melatonin. I found the spray so I can modify my dose (1-3 mg) depending on my level of readiness to go to bed. Melatonin is a hormone that occurs in the body to help start the internal clock be ready for sleep. With this newly found sleep medicine I began to research my circadian clock which is chronobiology (the study of circadian rhythms). Our circadian rhythm are not only or awake/sleep patterns but many other functions in the body that occur in patterns.

As you can see light affects your sleep cycles, so my routine of laying in bed surfing Facebook or pintreast had to be changed. This is my only me time to catch up on the latest gossip. I haven't convinced my husband on my beliefs yet so he continues to leave the t.v.on at night. Guess I might have to invest in a night cap or those goggle looking things. Short sleep durations are associated with leptin resistance and reduction. There is a lot of research on how dependent leptin levels are to you quality and quantity of sleep. I will keep you updated on my journey....

My leptin

Let me start with how this started..... I was given a school project to research leptin and how it affects obesity. Leptin is what your body releases when you eat every time you eat.

Leptin is responsible for several things,
1. It tells your body when you are full
2. It goes to your hypothalamus and binds to receptors the release hormones (to many to list).
3. It goes to the liver and tells the body what energy to store as fat and what the body can use now.

How to fix you leptin issues:

1. Avoid processed foods

2. Eat soluble fibers 

3. Exercise

4. Sleep times regular and when dark out

5. Decrease your triglycerides 

6. Eat lots of protein

http://authoritynutrition.com/leptin-101/

This a great resource to check out

When we eat as we are taught to when dieting, every 2 hours, we get leptin overload and the body doesn't know what to do with it all. There for we become leptin resistant. I just knew after this assignment I was leptin resistant. I desperately needed to get my leptin in check. I searched high and low and began modifying my diet. I watched some videos on youtube called leptin for layman (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OjdnZ-8paXw ).  I started with the times I ate. I ate with in 30 minutes of rising in the morning, then nothing but water and unsweet tea for 5 to 6 hours, then ate lunch, then again nothing 5 to 6 hours, then dinner. I tried to keep my meal times within 30 minutes to 1 hour each day. For example breakfast every day was 5-530, lunch 10-1, and dinner  5-6. I tried to eat nothing after 6pm. I tried next to keep my bed time by 9pm every night. Those of you with kids know this is sometimes not possible. I stopped worrying so much about house work and focused on me work! Stay tuned for other modifications as I continue this journey.