Dr. Tracy McAlvanah's Wellness Blog

It seems almost everyone has insomnia these days, including, possibly, you. People either can’t fall asleep, they wake up after a few hours of sleep and can’t go back asleep, or they aren’t able to sleep deeply. The reasons for insomnia vary from person to person, but it’s typically not due to a sleeping pill deficiency. Instead, the reasons behind insomnia or poor sleep can be startlingly straightforward, although addressing them may take some diet and lifestyle changes. In this article I’ll go over often overlooked issues that cause insomnia and poor sleep. Don’t assume a powerful sleeping pill is your only answer. Look at the underlying causes first and address those. Five things that can cause insomnia Low blood sugar. Do you wake up at 3 or 4 a.m., racked with anxiety and unable to fall back asleep? That could be caused by a blood sugar crash, which raises stress hormones (hence the anxious wake up). Eating small but frequent meals, never skipping meals, and avoid sugary an...

Notice how easy it is to hang on to anger, shame, guilt, worry, and other negative emotions? Are these emotions so horribly delectable you just can’t let go? You’re not alone. However, you could be worsening your health by giving in. Scientists have discovered negative emotions have an  addictive  quality that trigger the reward centers in the brain. In other words, you feel like you’re rewarding yourself when you succumb to negative emotions. Worry activates areas of the brain that trick you into feeling soothed. Pride and its shadow twins of shame and guilt are the most powerful triggers of the brain’s reward centers. On some twisted level, these yucky emotions feel good. As with many addictions, negative emotions are fine in moderation (and even  beneficial  , but toxic when indulged in  regularly   They raise stress and inflammation, our two biggest foes when battling autoimmune disease and chronic illness. Four scientific tips to boost happiness ...

Does a demanding schedule prevent you from cooking healthy? Are you that overworked parent who’s too tired to feed your family well? Busy lifestyles can send our eating habits down the drain, with our health and nutrition following right behind it. Many common  health issues  can arise as a result. The solution? Batch cooking! Batch cooking is preparing multiple meals at once and storing them for later consumption. It’s an organized system to plan, create, and utilize meals, saving you an incredible amount of time, energy and effort. In two- to three-hour sessions twice a week, you can prepare an entire week’s worth of meals for a family and simply pull them from the fridge or freezer. It takes some organization and planning, but the payoff is well worth it. People report reducing 20 to 30 hours of cooking and cleanup per week down to four or five! When you come home from a busy day at work, or you just don’t have the pizzazz to make a meal for hungry kids, batch cooking c...

McDonald’s  is closing 700 stores this year due to poor performance. Although it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 32,000 stores worldwide, flagging sales and closing stores are a sign of changing times — customers are opting for healthier food, such as that served by Chipotle and gourmet burger chains. In response to falling sales,  McDonald’s  is investigating dumping antibiotic-laced chicken and rBST (hormone) milks, adding sirloin burgers, and even introducing  kale  smoothies and salads. Although we still have a long way to go as a nation, consumer habits point to an increasing consciousness of healthier eating. No doubt many of the 36 percent of Americans who are obese would rather not be, and are cutting back on fast food consumption as a result. New technology helping Americans live healthier Health experts also point to the increased use of smart phone apps and the rising popularity of health tracking  technology   such as...

The adrenal glands are two walnut-sized glands that sit atop the kidneys and that can make the different between being bouncy and energetic or run down and burned out. This is because they release stress hormones and the hormone cortisol, which, among other things, gives us energy. Unfortunately, the adrenal glands are under siege by our stressed-out modern lives. In addition to stress, blood sugar swings, gut infections, food intolerances, chronic viruses, environmental toxins, and autoimmune conditions tax the adrenal glands. The body interprets all of these as threats, causing the adrenal glands to pump out stress hormones to raise blood sugar to meet the demands of the stress. What should be an occasional mechanism is a daily thing for most. Symptoms of adrenal stress include fatigue, weak immunity, allergies, low blood sugar, being groggy in the mornings, crashing in the afternoon, sleep problems, and more. Adrenal imbalances are one the most common health problems we see in ...

It seems the times when we most need to support ourselves with healthy habits is when we are most apt to fall off the wagon.  It can happen during major life changes or stressors, such as a move, the end of a relationship, or change in job status. Although the desire to comfort ourselves with sweets, junk foods, and too many days off from the gym are powerful, in the long run slacking off just adds to the stress. Instead of beating yourself up (which just causes even more stress), honor the fact that you’re in a tough spot and take small measures to slowly work your way back into a healthy diet and lifestyle. Once you see how even the smallest changes transform into more energy and peace of mind it will motivate you to increasingly expand what you include in your healthy habits routine. With that in mind, here are some gentle and easy steps to keep you from getting sucked into the abyss of destructive habits during stressful times. Go for a walk. Have you stopped workin...

Managing a chronic illness and improving your health can require some drastic lifestyle changes. Although most people report feeling and functioning better on such a protocol, some obsess over the minutiae, spend days on the internet hunting for answers that don’t seem to exist, and worry constantly about their health and whether they’re “following the rules.” The end result? A heap of health-sabotaging stress. For those prone to anxiety, type A behavior,  eating disorders   or wanting to do everything right, a change in diet and lifestyle habits can feel like an endless pop quiz you can never get an “A” on. Additionally, some people have very complex illnesses no one can figure out, so they must hunt down solutions themselves, yet they risk getting bogged down in conflicting information, their own lack of knowledge about basic physiology, or a problem that science simply has not yet solved. Although strictness is vital in some areas –- a person with gluten sensitivity or a...

Do you always feel tired in the afternoon, wake up groggy, or feel flattened by exercise? You might suffer from a common condition called  adrenal fatigue , in which the body can’t respond properly to life’s stresses. Some other signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue include: Overwhelming fatigue Insomnia, especially between 2 and 4 a.m. The afternoon ‘blahs’ Cravings for salt, sugar or stimulants, especially in the afternoon Lightheadedness upon standing Chronic low blood pressure Irritability and jitters when hungry Thankfully, certain lifestyle habits are highly effective in helping restore your energy and healthy adrenal function. 8 lifestyle habits to manage adrenal fatigue Below are eight lifestyle habits that can go a long way in supporting adrenal health and preventing burnout: 1. Sleep. Regular, plentiful  sleep  is one of the best supporters of adrenal health. Even if you experience midnight insomnia or trouble falling asleep, it’s possible to cr...

Congratulations, you’ve gone gluten free to improve your health! Perhaps you have  celiac disease , or  non-celiac gluten sensitivity , both of which require avoidance of gluten for optimal health. You know to avoid wheat, barley, rye, triticale, einkorn, farro, kamut, spelt, farina, emmer, durum, and semolina, plus most oats because they are commonly cross-contaminated with gluten grains in the field or factory. That pretty much sums it up, right? Well, not quite. Gluten can actually reside as a  hidden component  in many common food ingredients, which can make food shopping, restaurants, travel, and potlucks a risky business. In this article, we’ll offer some guidelines for successfully navigating this tricky terrain. Navigating Food Labels Manufacturers are not presently required to identify gluten as an ingredient on labels. Just because a product doesn’t list a gluten grain, doesn’t mean it’s gluten-free. Your greatest tool in determining what is safe to e...

Anyone with diabetes knows it’s important to manage insulin levels. Functional medicine offers unique tools to manage insulin and blood sugar -- including diet, exercise, stress management, detoxification, and maximizing essential nutrients. To understand how all these tools apply, it’s helpful to know how insulin works. Insulin and Blood Sugar: A Balancing Act Insulin helps keep glucose (sugar) levels in the bloodstream within normal range. When you eat, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, our primary energy source. When glucose enters the bloodstream, the pancreas responds by producing insulin, which enables glucose to enter the body’s tissues. Excess glucose is stored in the liver; when needed to sustain blood sugar between meals, the liver releases sugar and the pancreas responds with more insulin to help it enter cells. This balancing act keeps the amount of sugar in the bloodstream stable. When the pancreas secretes little or no insulin (type I diabetes), when your b...

You may have heard of the importance of an alkaline diet. It can help reduce acidity in the body and prevent bone demineralization, kidney stones, back pain , muscle wasting, hypertension, stroke, cancer, asthma and exercise-induced asthma. The foods you eat profoundly affect how acidic or alkaline you are, and thus your health. Let’s begin with some chemistry… pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline something is. On a scale of 0 to 14, a pH of 0 is totally acidic, 14 is totally alkaline, and 7 is neutral. Blood is slightly alkaline at between 7.35 and 7.45. The kidneys and respiratory system tightly control blood pH with little room for variation. Your stomach is very acidic at 3.5 or below. This acidity is necessary to break down food and protect you from harmful bacteria and other organisms. Your urine pH changes depending on what you eat. The nutrients in food have either an acidic or alkaline effect on the blood. Fish, meat, cheese, eggs, legumes and grains are considered aci...

Are you considering going on a special diet, such as the autoimmune Paleo diet, the leaky gut diet, the SCD diet, or the GAPS diet? The thought of a major diet change can bring feelings of uncertainty and questions such as, “Can I handle this? What do I eat for breakfast?” Food powerfully impacts our emotions, and dietary changes can really “rock the boat” in daily life. However, by thinking ahead and employing some simple strategies you can ensure a successful transition and hence better health. In this article I suggest some surefire ways to help set yourself up for success on your new diet. Plan ahead and do your research The most important step is to plan ahead. Why are you changing your diet? Do you understand the potential health benefits? Knowing this will help you move forward with commitment and confidence. Find reputable, current resources through your health care practitioner, at the library, or online. Even an hour of self-education will help you feel more empowered. ...

Anyone concerned with health and wellness has heard about the gluten-free diet. Eliminating gluten is critical for those who have  celiac disease  or  non-celiac gluten sensitivity . What many gluten-free newcomers don’t realize is that many common gluten-free foods contain ingredients that just promote a different set of health problems. In this article we’ll discuss how to avoid this common pitfall so you can transition more easily to a healthy gluten-free diet. The hidden risk in going gluten-free Many people rely on packaged and prepared foods for the bulk of their diet, such as breads, pastas, crackers, sauces, and mixes. The tendency when going gluten-free is to replace those items with gluten-free versions of the same products. When you look at the label for packaged gluten-free products, however, you will see ingredients such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, and potato starch, plus a load of unhealthy fats. Though free of gluten, these  highly...

With the cost of health care, health insurance, deductibles, and copays going through the roof, getting sick has become financially hazardous. Although we can’t fully control our fate, we can sway the odds in our favor so that we need the health care system as little as possible—more than  75 percent of health care costs  are devoted to chronic conditions, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) boils down the sorry state of American health and the burden on our health care system into some startling statistics: Chronic diseases cause 7 in 10 deaths each year in the United States. Almost half of all adults live with at least one chronic illness, significantly limiting daily activities in some. The numbers of youth with a chronic health condition has more than tripled since the 1960s. Less than a quarter of Americans eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. More than one-th...

Managing your autoimmune condition—Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, type 1 diabetes, alopecia, vitiligo, psoriasis, etc.—can be tricky enough. Traveling takes autoimmune management to a new level as you must attend to not only your diet, environment, energy expenditure, and sleep, but also the added stressors traveling poses. Managing an autoimmune condition doesn’t mean you have to avoid travel. It’s just a matter of planning ahead and being more conscious of your self-care. By mastering some basics you can relax and enjoy your trip and quickly return to your routine at home without a long recovery period. Below are some tips to help you keep your autoimmune condition under control while traveling. Plan where and what you’re going to eat. Foundational to autoimmune management is the  autoimmune diet , also known as the leaky gut diet. This diet, which is free of common immune triggers, is great for keeping your autoimmune condition under control, but without advance planning it ca...

Are you one of those people who wishes the work day started 11 a.m. so you can go to bed late and sleep in? Staying up late keeps you caught up with David Letterman but puts you at odds with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. Humans aren’t designed much differently than other animals when it comes to sleeping and waking—our internal clocks are set to the rising and setting of the sun. This cycle is called the  circadian rhythm  and it affects more than when we wake up and go to bed. The circadian rhythm plays a role in hormone function, mood, immunity, and brain function. One way scientists have learned about the importance of the circadian rhythm is by studying the health of night shift workers, who have a higher risk of health disorders because of their disordered circadian rhythm. Studies show  early risers  tend to be slimmer, happier, and healthier. Research also shows they earn better grades in college, are more organized and proactive in life, more physi...