Blog - Inner Connected Wellness

Need a Vagus Nerve Tune-Up?

Life is coming at you fast and furious! You want to feel strong but you’re just too tired to start anything new. You know you should eat better – but there’s no time to cook. You try to stay hydrated; you didn’t even remember lunch, let alone a water bottle. Your conscience nags you about exercising. Sheesh, getting out of bed is a work-out!

But darling, you can find pleasure in toning your vagus nerve, and the very act of doing so will diminish some of your stress and begin to change you physically. With enough practice, you may find your stamina improves.

The vagus nerve is the master mind of the anti-stress network in the body. It stretches from the brain to the intestines, affecting the heart and lungs, the liver and kidneys, stomach and spleen. When it is toned, people have more balanced blood sugars, are less susceptible to depression, are more able to concentrate and remember, have more fulfilling relationships, and are less likely to be plagued by inflammation in the body.

The more toned your vagus nerve, the more quickly you can recover from a situation that puts you into “fight, flight, or freeze.” Although some of us are born with less tone than others, engaging in just one uncomplicated activity each day can strengthen that tone.

Here are a dozen of my favorites ways to do so:

Humming or singing
Laughing
Meditating
Deep breathing
Washing my face in cold water
Praying
Taking Probiotics
Thinking positive thoughts
Serving others
Getting a massage
Expressing gratitude
Aromatherapy

Dr. Arielle Schwartz, psychologist, explains that like Goldilocks, “we recognize we are ‘too hot’ when we feel keyed up, anxious, irritable, or panicky. We are too ‘too cold’ when we are shut down, depressed, or feeling hopeless. Sometimes we alternate between the two which is like driving with one foot on the gas and one on the brakes. Practices that regulate the vagus nerve are aimed towards either relaxing or re-energizing ourselves depending upon what is needed to feel ‘just right.’”

No matter how poorly you feel, you are never too out of balance to engage your vagus nerve.

in Lifestyle

My Top Ten Vegetable Side Dishes

Sweet Brussels Sprouts: Cut off stem ends and slice into “coins.” Sautee in coconut oil with apple slices just until bright green and tender. Add a drizzle of maple syrup, a pat of butter, a dash of salt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Optional: Top with dried cranberries.
Roasted Roots: Cube a variety of root vegetables: parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, sweet potato/yam, beets, carrots. Toss with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme, marjoram, oregano, and rosemary. Bake at 450 degrees until tender, 20-30 minutes, stirring partway through. Just before serving, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.
Orange Broccoli: Steam broccoli. Meanwhile, mix equal parts honey, butter, and orange juice concentrate. Pour over cooked broccoli. Salt lightly.
Herbed Squash: In a baking dish, layer thin slices of peeled winter squash with onion and little dollops of butter. Sprinkle each layer with a mixture of salt, pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram and garlic. Top with bread crumbs and bake, covered, for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Italian Zucchini: Stir-fry zucchini slices in olive oil with minced garlic, oregano and basil until bright green and tender. Toss in some sun-dried tomatoes and serve.
Holiday Green Beans: While fresh green beans are simmering in water, caramelize some sliced onions by cooking them in butter over very low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. When beans are nearly soft, fry some bacon until crispy. Remove bacons strips, drain beans, then add beans to the bacon grease and fry on medium high heat until lightly browned. Combine beans, bacon, and onions to serve.
Thai Greens: Sautee minced garlic, grated fresh ginger root, and lemon grass slices in coconut oil until fragrant. Add baby greens and cook just until wilted. Pour some coconut milk over them along with a dash of fish sauce.
Fancy Cauliflower: Steam cauliflower florets until tender. While still hot, toss with butter, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese, paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
Gingered Carrots: Grate a pound of carrots. Add 1” of grated fresh ginger, 2 Tb. Whey (the clear liquid from yogurt with active cultures) and ½ tsp. salt. Press in a quart mason jar until liquid oozes up over the carrot. Screw lid on tightly and set on the counter for 2-3 days. Then refrigerate and use on salads.
Italian Eggplant: Prick eggplant with a fork and put in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes until soft. Cool and remove skin. Toss cumin seeds into heated coconut oil. As soon as seeds darken, add onion and sautee until onion becomes transparent. Stir in crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, grated fresh ginger, a bit of coriander powder and a pinch of turmeric powder. Simmer to marry flavors. Mash or cube eggplant and add to mixture. May be eaten with rice or naan.

in Food & Cooking

Fat Burner vs. Sugar Burner

Do you feel either wired or tired after eating?
Do you need to snack between meals to keep your energy up?
Do you hit a wall during work-outs?
Does your energy fluctuate dramatically during the day, often leaving you flat?
Do you experience strong food cravings?

If you answered yes to any number of these, chances are your body is primarily using glucose rather than fatty acids for fuel.

A fat burner feels no rise or slump in energy after meals, can go long hours without food – even fasting with ease intermittently – and has sustained endurance during prolonged workouts. Further, a fat-burner has level energy from sun-up to sun-down and does not experience compelling food cravings.

Not only does being a sugar-burner make you feel miserable, it also damages your health. Here’s a brief physiology lesson. Every cell produces energy to carry on life. The process of converting fuel to energy is called the Krebs cycle. Acetyl coenzyme A is a necessary molecule for the Krebs cycle. The breakdown of glucose to form pyruvate is one way to make this molecule, but it can also be created if fatty acids go through a process called beta oxidation.

You don’t need to remember that. The important point is that the body’s preferred pathway is beta oxidation because it requires one less step and produces 33% more energy.

So if the body wants to burn fats, why are you burning sugars??? Because the fats aren’t accessible! Enter insulin. This is a masterfully-designed hormone that performs its labor well, which is to carry glucose to various parts of the body – the brain for immediate use, the liver for conversion to glycogen, the muscles for quick bursts of energy, and to adipose (fat) tissue for long-term storage.

When you eat a meal that is roughly 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat and 1/3 carbohydrate calorically, the sugars from the carbohydrates will enter the bloodstream at a nominal rate, and you will be able to utilize them as they are made available. But if you double the amount of carbohydrates, and halve the protein and fat content, sugars surge into the bloodstream.

Humans were never designed for such high loads of glucose, which wreak havoc if blood levels remain chronically high. There is a sudden emergency to lower blood sugar. The body can’t possibly use all that glucose at once for energy, so it releases a deluge of insulin to compensate. Insulin whisks the glucose into storage and prohibits fat stores from being mobilized. Your cells are left to burn only glucose.

One solution to the sugar burner metabolism is to adjust your ratios of carbs, fats and proteins. The next time your body sends a signal in the form of a craving that it needs energy, feed it something that will counter an insulin spike and initiate a fat burn.

in Education