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Blog Posts Tagged cravings | Sheila Meyer

cravings

What Your Salty Cravings May Be Trying to Tell You


Have you ever wondered why you're suddenly overwhelmed by a craving for salty snacks? It's not just about your taste buds wanting a snack. These urges might be your body's way of signaling more than just a taste preference—they could be closely linked to the health of your adrenal glands. These small but mighty glands play a crucial role in regulating stress through hormone production, and an imbalance could be at the root of your savory cravings. 

  • A tendency to be a night person
  • Hair loss
  • Having difficulty falling asleep
  • Waking up in the middle of the night with difficulty falling back asleep
  • You’re a slow starter in the morning
  • Feeling keyed up and having trouble calming down
  • Low blood pressure
  • Headaches after exercising
  • Clenching or grinding your teeth
  • Chronic low- or middle-back pain
  • Difficulty maintaining chiropractic adjustments
  • Craving salty foods
  • Perspiring easily
  • Chronic fatigue or getting drowsy often
  • Afternoon yawning
  • Afternoon headache
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Seasonal or chronic allergies
  • Pain on the medial (inner) side of the knee or knees
  • Needing to wear sunglasses
  • Dizziness when you stand up
  • Difficulty losing weight
  • Gaining weight around the waistline
  • Getting upset or angry easily
What's Behind the Salt Cravings?
When your body, adrenal glands, aren't producing enough aldosterone—a hormone that plays a key role in maintaining the right balance of minerals, water, and electrolytes—it tries to compensate by producing more of it. Aldosterone is like the body's mineral manager, especially for sodium and potassium. It helps your kidneys keep more sodium in your body while getting rid of potassium.

Why does this matter? Well, with more sodium retained, your body holds onto water, which can lead to an increase in blood pressure and make you feel bloated. This is your body's attempt to keep things in balance when aldosterone levels are off.

Aldosterone works closely with other hormones in what's known as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. This system kicks into gear when your blood pressure or volume is low, signaling the body to hold onto sodium to bring things back into balance.

However, when there’s too little aldosterone (hypoaldosteronism), the opposite happens. Your blood pressure might drop, and you’ll find yourself craving salt. This craving is your body’s way of trying to correct the imbalance, telling you it needs more sodium.

The Connection Between Salt and Stress
Interestingly, a study found that higher levels of sodium intake could actually reduce stress. Lab rats given more salt had lower stress responses than those with less salt. They produced fewer stress hormones, had lower heart rates under stress, and returned to resting levels more quickly. This suggests that salt can suppress stress hormones and boost levels of oxytocin, the body's natural stress-reliever.

Recognizing Low Aldosterone
Adrenal support is essential because of aldosterone's significant role in managing blood pressure and electrolyte balance. With low aldosterone, symptoms might include low blood pressure, a fast heartbeat, and feeling drained of energy. Since a drop in aldosterone leads to low blood sodium and high potassium, your body craves salt as a signal that it needs more sodium to help balance things out.

So, next time you find yourself reaching for something salty, consider it might be more than just a snack craving. It could be your body’s way of asking for a little help in maintaining its delicate balance of minerals and hormones. And contrary to the common advice of reducing salt intake, if you're dealing with adrenal insufficiency, bumping up your sodium intake might just be what your body needs to feel better. Using a good celtic sea salt will provide a good balance of minerals. 

Seeking more natural ways to support your adrenal health and maintain a balanced lifestyle? Discover the power of essential oils and targeted wellness products that can provide the support your body needs. Let's harness the natural potential to help manage your energy levels, sustain your body's balance of minerals and hormones, and embrace a more vibrant, energized life. Connect with me today to explore a holistic approach to your wellness. Your journey to adrenal support starts here.

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My Freedom Journey

 
People, including doctors, thought we were crazy...all in our heads.  After all, how could normal, every day household and personal product smells affect your ability to function, to cause you to be incoherent and feel shaky inside, to have an emotional break-down?  Inside we were dying.  Outside we appeared normal. 
Fragrances were, and are, part of every day, normal life.....candles, laundry, cleaning, perfumes.  Everyone and their neighbor used them.  For us, we either had to isolate ourselves or suffer the following day or two with a toxic hangover.  Isolation is never a good option, especially with children.  During the summer it was impossible to go outside without inhaling someone's laundry or the recent lawn product application.  My husband was so bad one summer that he could eat constantly and, yet, still lose weight.  Every month I would get a sinus infection and/or chest congestion. 
Then came the food sensitivities and autoimmune disorders.  How could food cause my ears to be red and hot, my cheeks to flush, and cause my entire body to break out multiple times in a horrendous, red, itchy, inflamed rash only to burn when scratched and ooze yellow, sticky fluid?  Imagine, every day having gauze pads over the majority of your body under your clothes and hoping the rash doesn't drain so much that it soaks through your clothes.  It would take months to disappear.  People said "just get a cortisone/steroid shot" for relief.  They could not understand why that was not my choice
By discovering and eliminating my many triggers, finding a new, non-toxic way to support my immune system, my liver, and my thyroid, I have not had a major skin breakout for about 3 yrs and have been able to manage my autoimmune disorders without the use of standard medication. 
I finally found a way to acquire "Freedom from Toxins", "Freedom to Achieve Wellness", and "Freedom to Choose". 


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