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August 2020

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE

2 Understanding Your Body’s Circadian Rhythm

3 Vaccinations, Produce of the Month: Raspberries

4 The Skinny on Plant-Based Fats

5 Breaking a Sweat

6 EAP Update: 3x3 = Less Stressed Me

7 The Impact of Stress on Hormone Function

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Understanding Your Body’s Circadian Rhythm

Are you a night owl or a morning lark? If you find that you feel tired or energized at certain times of the day, your body’s circadian rhythm may be the reason. Your circadian rhythm is your body’s 24-hour internal clock that is controlled by both internal and external factors.

• Internally, the pineal gland, located on the midline of brain in the hypothalamus near the back of the skull, is a key player in influencing your circadian rhythm. In addition to regulating the body’s temperature, the pineal gland releases a hormone called melatonin that has a sleep producing effect and regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

• External factors, especially light and temperature will also affect your rhythm. When it is dark outside it signals your body to release melatonin to help us fall asleep and lower our body’s temperature. When it is light outside your body gets the signal to shut off melatonin production to help you feel more awake. Other external factors that may affect your circadian rhythm include stress and the time of day you eat or exercise.

Getting adequate and restful sleep is critical to physical, mental, and emotional health. Adopting sleep habits that enhance your body’s natural internal clock rather than inhibit it can help make a difference in your health and how you feel each day.

Avoid eating late at night or drinking caffeine after 5 pm. Make a point to turn off electronics about an hour before bed and avoid falling asleep to a television light (or the glow of a phone or tablet). These activities will work against your circadian rhythm, making it harder for you to sleep well, even if you seem to fall asleep easily. Dimming the lights in your house when the sun sets and keeping your bedroom cool, between 60-68°F, can also help your body ease until a restful sleep.

Try to get outside and go for a walk in the morning, the light will send a signal to your body that it Is time to start the day and help you feel more awake. If you are tired at a certain time of the day, such as a mid-afternoon slump, get up and move, take a walk in the sunshine or in an area with bright lights. Have a healthy snack to wake your body up a little.

Don’t assume that if you’ve been a night owl, you will always be a night owl. Our circadian rhythm can change as we age or as we adapt to new daily routines. Maintain good sleep habits, and your body will work with you to get the sleep you need.

1 National Sleep Foundation 2 National Institute of General Medical Sciences 3 Brown G. M. (1994). Light, melatonin and the sleep-wake cycle. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN, 19(5), 345–353.

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Produce of the Month

Raspberries

Tangy, sweet, and full of flavor, raspberries are a delicate delight that can add great flavor to many recipes.

The Basics: Try to buy your raspberries no more than two days before using. Raspberries have a hollow center, but the fruit should be firm and have a deep red, purple, or bluish color to them. Raspberries are easily crushed and should not be packaged or stored in too small a container. Do not wash before storing in the refrigerator. When ready to use, gently wash and pat dry just prior to serving or cooking. Raspberries should not be left out for an extended length of time. Raspberries also freeze well. Freeze washed and dried raspberries in a single layer on a baking sheet and then package them together after they are frozen.

Try This: Raspberries make a simple, healthy snack and are great served with yogurt, chia seed pudding, oatmeal, or whole grain toast with cream cheese. Try making homemade popsicles to satisfy your sweet tooth. In a blender, combine 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup of raspberries, ½ a ripe banana and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and blend until creamy. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 8 hours.

The Facts: One cup of raspberries contains

about 64 calories and over 8 grams of fiber.

Raspberries are loaded with antioxidants

and are high in manganese, vitamin C, A, B,

folic acid, iron and is a good source of folate

and omega 3 fatty acids.

Vaccinations

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, created to raise awareness about vaccines and their benefits. It’s important to educate yourself fully about what vaccinations are recommended, possible side effects, and the effectiveness. It's also important to know the possible dangers of common childhood disease which can include deafness, infections, pneumonia, seizures, and possibly death. In addition, these common diseases can cause serious problems for those who are pregnant, including miscarriage, birth defects, and preterm labor. Talk with your doctor about which vaccines are recommended for you and your family.

How do vaccines work?

Everyone is born with an immune system that sees germs as something to fight. The body produces antibodies to fight the germs, virus, or bacteria (also known as “antigens”). Once the antigens have been destroyed, the cells that helped produce antibodies remain. These cells - memory cells - remember the original antigen and can fight it again, this creates immunity. Vaccines contain killed or weakened antigens of common diseases. They cause the body to create the antibodies needed to fight antigens, but they are not strong enough for the body to respond with the disease symptoms, though occasionally mild symptoms may be present. In this way the vaccine creates immunity without actually producing the illness.

For more information and a schedule recommended vaccines by age visit CDC.gov.

More on vaccine safety on page 5

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Fat has been welcomed back as a good thing in

the American diet. The American Heart

Association states fat is crucial to our health.

Healthy fats provide our cells with energy,

supports cell growth, protect organs, keep us

warm, regulate hormone production, and are

necessary for absorbing certain key nutrients.

You may have heard that plant-based fats are a

healthier option compared to saturated fats from

meat, dairy, and other animal products.

Understanding the different types of plant-based

fats can help you make the best food choices for

your health.

Monounsaturated Fats

• Omega-9 comes from olives, olive oil, avocado, avocado oil, sesame oil and nuts such as almonds, peanuts,

pecans, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts. Studies show omega-9 fatty acids can help

lower inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity in diabetics, and help lower LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated Fats

• Omega-3 can be found in walnuts, flaxseed, chia seed, pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, kidney beans, edamame, and certain fish such as salmon. Omega-3 is a heart healthy, anti-inflammatory fat. Eating foods with omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and lower incidence of type 2 diabetes.

• Omega-6 can be found in most vegetable and seed oils including safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, canola

mayonnaise, and cottonseed oil. Even though omega-6 is a plant-based fat and are an important source of

energy for our body, research shows that eating too much of these oils is linked to increased inflammation,

raising the risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and arthritis. In fact, a study published by the

National Institutes of Health identified the overconsumption of omega-6 as indicative of the Western diet and

believed that it is the cause of a number of chronic diseases.

• Our bodies prefer a 4:1 ratio or less of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids to help reduce bodily inflammation.

Certain therapeutic diets for certain conditions recommend a 2:1 omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

While omega -3, -6 and -9 fats are all essential for your health, it is important to get the right balance of all three. Choose

foods high in omega-3s and omega 9s as healthy sources of fat while limiting omega-6 oils and saturated fats in your

diet. Getting enough healthy fats and watching out for the bad can help support a healthy metabolism, immunity, heart

health, as well as brain and joint health. For tailored nutrition advice contact a licensed nutritionist or dietitian.

The Skinny on Plant-Based Fats

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Vaccinations Continued from page 3

How do I know vaccinations are safe?

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the “safety, efficacy, purity and potency” of all drugs, including vaccines. Vaccines take, on average, a little over 10 years to go from development to your doctor’s office. The regulations don’t end there.

• The Vaccine Safety Datalink project (established in 1990) gathers statistical information on vaccine safety and monitors side effects.

• The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network (established in 2001) receives and reviews vaccine safety questions, conducts research and is also studying the role of genetics in vaccine safety.

• As each vaccine batch is created, samples are given to the FDA for testing before they are distributed to the medical community.

• In 2011, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices published new information about timing, precautions and administering vaccines. Their guidelines also include vaccine administration for special situations.

Approximately 90% of all vaccine side effects are mild and a recent study showed that serious allergic reactions to vaccines are extremely rare: 1.3 people in every million. That is .0000013%! Of that, about half were under the age of 5. No one under the age of 4 were identified as experiencing anaphylaxis, the most serious allergic reaction. Those who have underlying health conditions that affect immunity may not be good candidates for vaccinations. Herd immunity should protect those who cannot be vaccinated, but only if those who are good candidates for vaccines choose to get vaccinated. Discuss any concerns thoroughly with your family doctor.

Breaking a Sweat If you’ve worked out lately, then you know that exercise can help you work up a sweat! Sweating is a healthy response to exercise and most of us don’t realize that when we sweat it is good for us!

• When your body heats up, your nervous system kicks in to help regulate a healthy body temperature. Your brain sends a signal for your sweat glands to release sweat helping you to stay cool while exercising.

• Sweat can improve your complexion by increasing your circulation and helping your skin detox naturally. Make sure to shower after a sweat session to help wash away dirt and bacteria that can lead to acne.

• A few studies suggest sweating may help support your body’s natural detox process after finding that participants’ sweat contained certain chemicals such as BPA and PCB in addition to heavy metals including mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium.

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3x3 = Less Stressed Me!

Did you know that when you are stressed your “fight or flight”/sympathetic

nervous system can be activated?

In addition to normal stressors, we entered unprecedented times. The past several months presented

challenges for our country, the world, for each of us in our own personal ways. A simple technique called 3x3

can help reduce stress anytime, anywhere!

When stressed our sympathetic nervous system is activated; we can experience anxiety, rapid breathing,

increased heart rate, trouble concentrating and problem solving. When our fight or fight response is activated

over and over without interruption, it can lead to high levels of anxious feelings up to and including panic

attacks.

3x3 is simple: Name an object (silently or aloud if no one will wonder what you are doing!), take a deep

breath in, hold and let it go. Name another object, take a deep breath in, hold and let it go. Name an object,

take a deep breath in, hold and let it go. You can do this as many times as needed. This engages your

prefrontal cortex and slows down the sympathetic nervous system. Putting a post-it note in a visible space to

remind you can help!

Need Help Managing Stress?

Call 1-800-747-7262 or 219-662-3730

EAP Webinar on the 3x3 Less Stressed Me and Money Myths, August 13 at Noon CST.

August 2020 by Jean Lubeckis, EAP Therapist, LMHC

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The Impact of Stress on Hormone Function A message from your Healthy U @ Work Wellness Champion:

Pamela Johnson, BS, CFMP, HHP, CHC-FMCA, RYT, PTFC

In this challenging time in our nation, self- care regarding stress is imperative. Many are not aware that uncontrolled stress is the beginning of the chain reaction than impacts the endocrine system.

The endocrine system is what transports messengers secreted within the body to control the function of energy production, maintenance of the internal environment, growth and development and reproduction.

Hormones are interconnected. They inhibit and stimulate each other to keep the system in balance. It is a dance that cannot happen naturally with a fixed amount of hormones each day. If you have had your thyroid removed or if you have type 1 diabetes or advanced type 2 diabetes, you must take a fixed amount of hormone, but if you have compromised endocrine glands that are still producing hormones, the functional medicine approach is to find the root cause of dysfunction.

Why is this important? We are accustomed to seeing abnormal lab values and treating with medication often without looking at systems as a whole. For a whole systems approach, we begin investigating the level of stress, adrenal health, thyroid health, and reproductive hormone health in that order.

Our Adrenal glands produce cortisol for many necessary functions; however, too much cortisol (caused by stress) can affect the pancreas, the thyroid and the reproductive system.

An example of this is the relationship between cortisol and thyroid function:

Cortisol is needed to sensitize thyroid receptors to thyroid hormone. Low cortisol disrupts normal signaling leading to hypothyroidism. High cortisol levels lower the conversion of T4 to T3 which also lowers thyroid function. High levels of cortisol can also lead to higher production of insulin, which can lead to metabolic syndrome.

Just like functional medicine includes a web of lifestyle factors that contribute to the root cause of dysfunction in the body, hormones have a second network of variables within the web that are also affected by lifestyle factors. This means when a hormonal system is out of balance there could be several ways the body expresses that disfunction. For example, undiagnosed or untreated adrenal stress can be the underlying cause or causes fatigue, insomnia, allergies, depression, cancer, autoimmune issues, cardiovascular issues and more.

The good news is that we can protect hormone function with detoxification, circulation and stress management. And just like basic lifestyle modification including nutrition, detoxification, sleep, movement and stress management can balance the function all systems simultaneously, hormone function also can be regulated with these interventions.

With the added stress of all that is happening in the world, it is important to prioritize self- care routines that include:

• Breathing techniques or mediation for stress, • Reduction of toxins by eliminating processed sugar and preserved food

products and endocrine disrupting products, • Addition of super foods like green leafy vegetables, heathy fats, and clean

protein • Consistent sleep schedule, and • Practice regular movement including cardiovascular, strength and flexibility.

The Franciscan Functional Medicine Lifestyle Intervention Program has been helping hundreds of people balance hormones,

reduce inflammation, lose weight, improve lab values and improve immune function. The program is available remotely to

anyone over 18. For more information, call 219-757-6625.

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4111 S. Franklin St. Michigan City, IN 46360 1-866-552-WELL (9355) www.workingwell.org

Want to Know More? Connect with Working Well for more information on wellness programs and how

they can help you reduce healthcare costs and improve employee well-being.