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You’re probably well aware of the importance of vitamin C for a healthy immune system, but this vitamin has such a huge role to place in the body and not only does it help us to fight off infections, it’s also essential for healthy skin, healthy aging, and it’s also involved is helping us deal with stress. The better your levels of Vitamin C to begin with, the less you will be affected by stress, and the less vitamin C you lose after the stress is finished.

Stress isn’t just psychological, but can come in the form of physical stress, whether it’s from an illness, injury, or exercise. Long duration exercise such as running a marathon places a huge amount of stress on the body, and people who regularly train for and compete in these long distance events tend to have a higher level of oxidative stress and impaired immune function. Long distance training can be stressful on the adrenal glands as well. Vitamin C supplementation at doses of 1500mg may be worthwhile for those who are regularly exercising at high volumes.

A study looked at a group of people competing in a marathon, and divided them into three groups: One group received 1500mg of Vitamin C, the second received 500mg and the third received placebo. The groups receiving the supplement had better vitamin c levels in their blood than the placebo group after the race. The group that received the 1500mg dose of Vitamin C showed a lower level of the stress hormone cortisol and other anti-inflammatory chemicals after the race, which would suggest that the exercise induced less stress on the body than the groups with lower levels of Vitamin C.

A German study also found an impact of Vitamin C on stress levels. The researchers split 120 people into two groups, and one group received 1000mg of vitamin C.  Both groups were then subjected to stress by being asked to complete a public speaking task and some maths problems. The group receiving the vitamin C reported that they felt less stressed, but they also showed less stress in the form of lower blood pressure, and a better return of cortisol levels to normal. Their vitamin C levels were also much better after the stress was over.

So amp up the vitamin C in your diet!

You may be surprised to note that there are a few foods that have better vitamin C content than oranges!

The doses used in the studies were much higher than the 60mg recommended as our RDA, so if stress is a big issue for you then it may be worthwhile supplementing or adjusting your diet.

If stress is a problem for you, contact me to organise an appointment (now available as either skype or face to face) to get some help with stress management techniques,  herbs and diet advice to help your body cope with stress more effectively.

Works Cited:

Brody S, Preut R, Schommer K, Schürmeyer TH. A randomized controlled trial of high dose ascorbic acid for reduction of blood pressure, cortisol, and subjective responses to psychological stress. Jan 2002. Psychopharmacology. 159(3):319-24. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11862365

Peters EM, Anderson R, Nieman DC, Fickl H, Jogessar V. Vitamin C supplementation attenuates the increases in circulating cortisol, adrenaline and anti-inflammatory polypeptides following ultramarathon running. Oct 2001. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 22(7):537-43. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11590482

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Health and Wellbeing Podcast #4

It’s time for podcast number four, and in this one I talk with fellow naturopath Laura Burton about stress, neurotransmitter health, adrenal health, ways to deal with and reduce stress via diet and lifestyle techniques.

Podcast Breakdown:

4:27 What have Laura and I been up to? Laura has been busy with her Tea Club and clinic life, and I have been busy in the clinic as well. I also have the Stress Talk coming up this Saturday at Windsor.

5:50 Stress has a big impact on our everyday life and it can be difficult to recognise stress because it comes in so many different forms. Sneaky stress!

7:00 The impact of over-exercising or the wrong forms of exercise on stress and adrenal health.

8:22 Stress impacts on nervous system balance.

8:54 The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

9:24 Serotonin

 10:45 Histamine

12:52 GABA

14:14 Dopamine

14:46 Adenosine

15:26 Laura talks about diet and nutrients for neurotransmitter and mood health

17:30 Digestive health is important in neurotransmitter health because we need to be able to breakdown our foods to absorb the nutrients required for neurotransmitter production

18:22 Vitamin C and other nutrients required for neurotransmitters and adrenal health

21:28 Iron supplementation risks, haemochromatosis and anxiety

22:40 Laura sums up how a balanced diet can usually provide the variety of

22:11 Adrenal health: How norepinephrine and epinephrine work in the body, and why high cortisol can impede muscle gain from exercise. Chronic stress can suppress out immune system and reduce our ability to heal from injuries.

24:50 Adrenal fatigue symptoms we’d look for in clinic.

26:36 Saliva testing for adrenal fatigue

28:00 Diet and lifestyle ways to deal with adrenal fatigue

29:29 Hugs for relieving stress!

30:39 Meditation increases dopamine and serotonin

31:09 Mindfulness, meditation and breathing exercises.  One moment meditation video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6eFFCi12v8

35:29 Changing our mindset and ways of thinking

37:43 Gratitude practice

40:31 Our favourite stress herbs

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Health & Wellbeing Podcast #2

This is my second podcast and this time it’s all me. Today I’m talking about reasons for fatigue. Energy problems can be caused by a huge range of issues, so I wanted to discuss some of the most common ones. While it’s not a 100% conclusive list, I hope that this gives people a good place to start when they’re trying to work out why they’re so tired.

Want to subscribe to get podcasts automatically? You can do that here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/health-wellbeing-podcast/id1006574743

Podcast breakdown:

2:30 Mitochondria – The powerhouse of your cells, where energy is made. The health and quantity of our mitochrondria determine our ability to make energy, and they can they are susceptible to oxidative damage, and can be depleted by certain nutritional deficiencies.

5:22 Inflammation, particularly chronic inflammation can affect energy and cause other imbalance.

7:40 Andropause, also known as male menopause

8:16 Some tips on reducing chronic inflammation

9:14 Stress is a major cause of fatigue, usually presenting in the form of adrenal exhaustion of HPA Axis dysfunction.

11:28 Thyroid problems are another major cause of fatigue, especially hypothyroidism.

13:36 Nutritional deficiencies that can cause fatigue, Iron, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc

16:12 Certain medications can affect energy levels

16:46 Inadequate exercise can cause fatigue, but this isn’t always straightforward

18:27 The wrong diet – not enough food, too much food, or the wrong type of food for you.

20:39 Sleep. Most of us aren’t getting enough, or it can be an issue with the quality of sleep. I discuss some tips on sleep hygiene.

23:00 Sleep apnoea

23:40 Shift work

26:30 Obesity and fatigue

28:57 The importance of gut health; gut problems can cause fatigue as well.

30:00 Toxicity affects the mitochrondria- what is toxicity, where does it come from, how can you identify if you’re toxic?

31:13 What do you do if you’ve been tired for a long time and you don’t know why? Start by working out a timeline. If you can’t do this because the fatigue has been going on for such a long time then testing may be helpful. There are several different types of testing available, but you may not need to do all of them.

33:00 Some tips for reducing inflammation and improving energy through diet

34:30 Depression is a common cause of fatigue.

35:29 My favourite herbs for energy

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