Paleo Cookbook For Dummies (9 page)
Read Paleo Cookbook For Dummies Online
Authors: Kellyann Petrucci
You're getting foods loaded with minerals, which is grounding and calming to your body.
Your blood sugar is more balanced, so you don't get that blood sugar dip in the middle of the night that causes your body to release hormones and disturbs sleep.
Healthy foods contain B vitamins, which are great for calming nerves and balancing the nervous system for restful sleep.
Some of the Paleo foods like eggs, turkey, nuts, fish, and some fruits contain an essential amino acid called
tryptophan
that helps promote sleep.
When eating foods with superior nutrition, your body naturally regulates hormones and signals associated with hormones that in turn help you sleep better.
If you feel you need a little help sleeping until all the structures and functions of your body regulate and heal, try Natural Calm (http://naturalvitality.com/natural-calm). It's a great natural magnesium supplement that may help you sleep a little better.
Becoming more social
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? The real definition of these terms may be different than what you have in mind. An
introvert
is someone who gets fatigued when she's around people for an extended period and often needs time away to recharge. On the other hand, an
extrovert
finds being around people exhilarating, and that recharges her in and of itself. Extroverts feel no need to have some alone time.
Is sleep really overrated?
Why should you care so much about getting good sleep? Here are the top four motivators to convince you to turn off the TV or shut down the computer and get some shut-eye:
Cancer:
Not getting enough sleep doubles your risk of breast cancer.
Weight gain:
Sleep deprivation causes you to gain weight; proper sleep causes you to lose weight. You can lose 14.3 pounds a year by getting one more hour of sleep per night.
Earlier death:
In 2004, a study in the journal
Sleep
found that women who averaged less than five hours of sleep per night had a higher death rate than those who slept seven hours.
Insulin resistance and heart disease:
When you don't get enough sleep, hormones shift, causing your appetite to change. The sugars you crave shoot your insulin up and create blood sugar problems, which cause weight gain and health issues such as insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance
causes you to convert all your carbohydrates into bad cholesterol, which can cause heart related diseases as well.
No matter where you fall on the social spectrum, one thing is for certain: Your body is healthiest when you take some time out to be a part of a community or socialize. Humans aren't designed to be alone for an extended period. Your social blueprint is wired to spend time around others, enjoying yourself. Your hunter-gatherer ancestors travelled together in bands and socialized every night by the fire. They played, sang, danced, or just shared stories (maybe about the day's kill or the berries that were foraged).
Although some time alone is definitely beneficial, be sure to actively include social time as another path to wellness. Joining a community or group of people with like-minded interests can really make a difference in your life. I make it a point to be in programs or groups with people who are writers, health care providers, or entrepreneurs because I understand that deep down, doing so is as important to my health as anything else I do.
You make be thinking, “But I'm busy enough already!” I get it, believe me. Especially when you still have young children at home. Just remember that you're better at everything else you do when you satisfy your soul's innate desire for connection!
Finding ways to eat Paleo at dinner parties
Socializing is fun, and you need to socialize to be happy, so try to work with other people's lifestyles while holding firm on your own food values. If you have the ability to ask what will be served, that's great. But in most cases, you have to just deal. You can't make a fuss about it unless the host or hostess makes a point to ask ahead whether guests have any dietary concerns â which I'm finding happens more and more these days. If you
are
asked, you shouldn't launch into some kind of Paleo scroll, like “Well, please omit grains, dairy, legumes, and, oh, no soy please.” You may be scratched off that dinner party list â permanently!
If you are asked for dietary requests, mention that baked or grilled protein with some vegetables would be really great, and that sauces can be problematic for you, so just some herbs and spices will do the trick perfectly.
What I've always done is bring my own Paleo dish to share. The host/hostess usually loves the idea of a backup dish, and the contribution opens the door to conversation about Paleo and maybe even some converts. “Paleo, what's that? Boy, this is delicious.”