Hormone Balance Part 2: Proteins, Carbs and Fats

In the first article, reviews the role hormones and diet play in a person’s life and on their weight and energy level, and the link between diet and hormonal health. Hormones influence mood, what we think, how we feel, and what we do. They have an impact on weight gain, mental health and a myriad of other things. Some of the consequences of hormone imbalance include:

• Depression
• Weight gain
• Anxiety
• Low energy
• Reduced sex drive
• Thinning hair
• Infertility

In this second article, reviews the effect glucagon has on insulin and how it can contribute to health. Insulin helps the body turn sugar into energy. It also turns unused sugar into fat and stores it away for later. Thousands of years ago, the human race depended on these fat stores to survive through harsh winters. Fortunately, today we don’t need those fat stores to survive. Unfortunately, if the body doesn’t need the fat to live through winter, it simply keeps accumulating.

While insulin stores fat for later, the hormone glucagon does the opposite: it tells the body to use the fat stores for energy. Though glucagon is a counterbalance to insulin, they are partners in the bloodstream, working together to provide a balance of what the body needs, which is healthy levels of sugar and fat since they are both essential for energy.

Fats Behaving Like Proteins

Exercise and foods high in protein help the body release stored fat to be used as energy. The first article in this series explains how omega-3 fatty acid acts similarly to protein. Eating a diet high in omega fatty acids discourages the excessive consumption of carbohydrates and has the ability to stabilize blood sugar. Omega-3 also enhances the production of glucagon.

Healthy fats do more than help manage insulin and glucagon. They are also necessary for eicosanoids, which are hormones that only live for mere seconds. Because they exist for so short a time, they are incredibly difficult to study, so little is known about eicosanoids, but scientists believe they are essential to human biology. In fact, some scientists and researchers believe these fleeting hormones control almost everything in the body, including weight management and health benefits. Getting the right balance of these hormones is affected by diet, especially fat consumption. A diet high in fat produces “good” eicosanoids, while a diet high in carbohydrates produces “bad” ones.

Remarkable Omegas

The body stores fat. But not the good kind. That is why it is necessary to eat healthy fats, also called omegas, every single day. Omegas are power foods necessary for weight control. They:

• Help with appetite satisfaction long-term, which is linked to not overeating or overindulging
• Regulate the metabolic process
• Assist the reproductive, cardiovascular, immune, and central nervous system
• Promote health
• Regulate the loss of water
• Enhance skin’s smoothness
• Create an anti-inflammatory response

Foods like nuts, fatty fish, and seeds are rich in omega fats. But if you are like most people, eating these on a daily basis is hard. That’s okay though, because high-quality Omega supplements, like ASEA VIA Omega, contain all the good fats the body needs, and getting the right balance of the good things in the diet is essential for a good mood, a healthy weight, and overall health.

That is why it is time to take control of your health, even if it is by doing something as simple as adding an omega 3 supplement. Diet is important for more than looking good, and taking control of your diet will give you the time and energy needed to be your healthiest.

The Healthful Nurse