Dillicious Dip Recipe plus 7 Strategies to Reduce Belly Fat and Brain Fog

Brain fog and belly fat are complaints I hear often in my practice.  In fact, I think they are almost epidemic.

In my experience, the most common cause of both is stress.  When you experience stressful situations, your adrenal glands take action to protect you and ready you to fight or get away.

After all, in the olden days, the biggest stress you might encounter was being chased by a hungry tiger.  Your adrenal glands secrete adrenaline, a neurotransmitter that creates a high level of stimulation to your system and causes your nervous system to operate from what’s known as a sympathetic dominant state.  It also secretes a hormone called cortisol.

Adrenaline is short lived.  As soon as the perceived stress dissipates, it decreases.  Cortisol lasts a lot longer.  Some of the effects of cortisol create the phenomenon of excess belly fat and brain fog.  Cortisol causes fat to be released from storage and turned into sugar…which is a very good thing if you’re running away from a tiger.  It also causes you to become more efficient at burning fat for energy – you’re not going to be able to refuel while in pursuit by a hungry animal.

However, most modern day stressors don’t require physical exertion.  Getting stuck in traffic, financial concerns, an over demanding boss, juggling children’s activities and needs and all of our modern day stressors are all non physical.  Thus when your fat stores are released and turned into sugar, the lack of physical exertion creates an increase in your blood sugar levels, which causes extra insulin to be released.  The extra sugar then gets converted back into fat.

Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, MS, DC, CCN, DACBN, has been an integrative health care practitioner for over two decades, empowering her patients and students to overcome health challenges and lead a joyful and healthy life.

She’s a Doctor of Chiropractic with Certifications in Acupuncture, Clinical Nutrition, HeartMath® and Herbal Medicine as well as a certified raw and living foods instructor, chef, and coach.

She’s the author and co-author of several gluten-free vegan and raw foods recipe books including: Power Breakfast Ideas, Deliciously Quick Lunch and Dinner, Healthy Halloween Treats, Dessert: Making it Rich Without Oil and Dried and Gone to Heaven. She’s also the creator of many successful online courses designed to restore people to the health, energy, and vitality they need to live full and vibrant lives.

Dr. Ritamarie resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and sons. She can be reached at http://www.DrRitamarie.com.