Real Life Wellness: How is your Physiology Functioning?
By Bill Hemmer
One of the most overlooked but important aspects of decreasing your metabolism problem is your functional physiology. This subject is swept under the table many times because most healthcare providers have a very poor understanding of this subject. But Functional Medicine practitioners have been trained to identify and understand all of the subtle changes that go on in your functional physiology and can make positive changes that you never thought were possible.
The first area of functional physiology to discuss is the importance of your thyroid gland and your adrenal glands in the control of your metabolism. These two glands are two of your major stress handling glands. When your stress becomes overwhelming, these two glands can be fatigued and in turn your metabolism begins to slow down, so you don’t totally burn these two glands out completely.
The next area of functional physiology that can lead to a metabolic slowdown is your ability to digest and absorb food. Some research states that up to 80 percent of people have some sort of digestive problem that is not being currently addressed.
If you can’t digest your food in your stomach, how are you supposed to absorb your food in your small intestine? Then how are you supposed to get rid of toxins in your colon? A Functional Medicine practitioner will identify and provide you with the tools to correct these issues and get your metabolism back on track.
Another digestive issue that is poorly understood, but extremely important for your metabolism is called a Leaky Gut Syndrome. This problem is very common but overlooked by 95 percent of mainstream physicians. Simply put, your small intestine is designed to absorb nutrients from your food after being fully broken down by the digestive process. If large amounts of undigested food make it into your small intestine, your immune system begins to attack it and creates leaks in the walls of the small intestine. This leads to an even bigger immune response throughout your body and can lead to much larger problems. One of the most common is slowing down your metabolism.
How Stressed Are You?
Picture yourself in a loin cloth and carrying a spear. You had just killed your meal for your family and feel really good about what you are taking it back to your cave. Suddenly you hear a terrible growl and you spy a huge saber-tooth tiger stalking you and just about ready to pounce on you and your kill.
Your heart races, blood pressure rises, blood is pumped to your muscles, blood sugar is released from your liver and muscles and your fight or flight response kicks into high gear. You decide to run instead of fight and you beat the tiger back to your cave and there were many other family members around, so the tiger had no choice but to leave hungry.
Then you spend the next few days recovering. You are able to take naps if you need them. Your family does the hunting and gathering for you, so you can rest. It takes you almost a full week to fully recuperate after such as ordeal.
I will finish this story next week.