Healthy and Happy 2025

Perhaps one of the most important things I have learned in my twenty-five years of clinical experience is what a huge impact stress has on physical and mental health. While stress hormones are protective by alerting us in times of danger, prolonged periods of high stress hinders our ability to heal, repair, detoxify, and more. To promote better healing, it is crucial to prioritize stress reduction and support our bodies’ coping abilities. Here are some useful guidelines to reduce the frequency and intensity of stress response for a healthier 2025.

1. Bioavailability is key. When we talk about bioavailability, that applies to both macronutrients and micronutrients.  For macronutrients – carbohydrates, fats and proteins – it’s important to choose the best forms for optimal bioavailability.  For example, animal sourced proteins are more bioavailable and more easily assimilated than their plant based counterparts. With regards to micronutrients – minerals, vitamins and other phytonutrients – animal sources and cooked plant sources are generally going to be easier on digestion than an abundance of raw vegetables.  Always make the best dietary choices you can by eating foods you know you digest well.  As your digestive system becomes more resilient, you should be able to introduce a wider variety of foods. Start by making small changes to see how well your body tolerates and take notice of any effects that arise from consuming foods you are not accustomed to eating on a regular basis.

Blood sugar roller coaster2. Balance your blood sugar.  Waiting too long to eat (like fasting) or not eating foods in balance (like eating only carbohydrates, or only fat) will trigger a stress response and you will see a rise in cortisol. At the beginning, you may find you need to eat small amounts of food quite frequently.  As your system gets stronger, you should be able to reduce the frequency of eating to 2-3 meals/day, depending on other individual factors like age, gender, activity level, and stress levels.  A good rule of thumb is to always pair something animal based with something plant based.  Symptoms of low blood sugar include: nausea, headache, anxiety, change in body temperature, inability to focus, irritability and fatigue, to name a few.  If you are concerned about high levels of blood sugar, like in type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, be sure to eat foods containing protein, fat and fibre before eating carbohydrate, and choose simpler carbohydrates like fruit, honey, maple syrup over denser carbohydrate sources like potatoes, rice or grains.

3. Eat within 30-60 minutes of waking. At only 2% of bodyweight, your brain consumes 20% of your energy.  The brain’s high metabolic rate is relatively constant, even during sleep.  On waking, your energy reserves (glycogen) have been depleted.  The absence of calorie intake in the morning is perceived as a stressor, and will trigger a stress response.  If you are not hungry on waking, that usually means you are already in a high cortisol/adrenaline state (stress hormones) which are suppressing your hunger signals.  Eating in the morning consistently will lead to increased energy, greater sense of calm, fewer cravings and food desires/binges later in the day.  If you are not used to eating in the morning, I recommend you start with small amounts of fruit paired with a protein to start your day (like an apple with some cheese/milk/latte, berries with yogurt, or orange juice with collagen powder).

4. Eat all the macros, in balance. When it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, I understand how appealing the idea is of “just going keto or low carb or intermittent fasting”.  These diet extremes, while they may “work” in the short term, they compromise the health of your metabolism in the long run.

Balanced meals

By definition, macronutrients are a type of food (e.g. fat, protein, carbohydrate) required in large amounts in the diet.  The reality is that your body needs all three of the macronutrients available to it, including carbohydrates.  You need carbohydrates for energy, protein for structure and repair and fats for hormone synthesis and satiety. Without a source of any of these food types, your body will adjust by making it.  However, this comes at a cost – not only will it trigger a spike in cortisol, it will also, in the long term, suppress your metabolism (as the lack of available nutrients is perceived as famine at the biochemical level).

5. Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach. Coffee is a powerful food – not only does it have a remarkable effect on stimulating the metabolism, it can also be a good dietary source of magnesium and some B vitamins.  However, when consumed on an empty stomach, it will cause your cortisol to spike.

 If you know that coffee gives you the jitters, you can try consuming it with food and some milk/cream in it to slow down the absorption of caffeine.  If you add sugar to it, or have it after a serving of fruit, the sugars will also prevent a surge of stress hormones to be released into your bloodstream.  Drink coffee alongside, not instead of, real food – protein and carbohydrate.  You can add it in the form of milk/cream, and/or collagen powder, and/or sugar.  Or if you prefer it black, have it with other foods containing protein, sugar and fat.

6. A raw apple – carrot 🥕🥕🥕 a day will keep the doctor away.

 “One vegetable has a special place in a diet to balance the hormones, and that is the raw carrot. It is so nearly indigestible that, when it is well chewed or grated, it helps to stimulate the intestine and reduce the reabsorption of estrogen and the absorption of bacterial toxins. In these effects on the bowel, which improve hormonal balance, a carrot salad resembles antibiotic therapy, except that the carrot salad can be used every day for years without harmful side-effects. Many people find that daily use of the raw carrot eliminates their PMS, headaches, or allergies. The use of oil and vinegar as dressing intensifies the bowel-cleansing effect of the salad. Coconut oil is more germicidal and thyroid promoting than olive oil, but a mixture of coconut and olive oil improves the flavor. Lime juice. salt, cheese and meats can be used to vary the flavor.”

– Dr. Ray Peat

Many of you already know about the value in adding in raw carrots to your daily routine.  If you don’t already, eating raw carrots daily will improve your intestinal motility (to help with sluggish metabolism), improve elimination and support better hormone balance by reducing the estrogen burden in the large intestine.

Let’s make 2025 the year that we abandon highly restrictive food habits in favour of abundance and harnessing the power of proper nutrition to heal our bodies and minds.