How to heal yourself by healing your adrenals.

Fighting Adrenal Fatigue with Microgreens – A Local Serial Entrepreneur’s inside look at managing burnout while running multiple start-up companies

Plus how we use our business, local food, healthy habits and mindfulness to keep our immune system, and energy levels on lock all year long.

It’s not Easy staying healthy when you run one company let alone a mini s-corp with a couple start-ups underway…

So How do my Husband and I stay healthy all year long running our youth sports company Boom Sports with over 200 kids every month, operating our new micro farm, Mile High Micro Greens, that distributes to over 40 restaurants and residents in Colorado while also managing a 35 acre tiny house permaculture project/nursery Boom Perma Gardens aka @theboomstead working on my second children’s book, and writing a new ebook and creating a soon to be webinar and workshops on how to grow food. Plus go hiking with our dog, throw Pizza Parties at Our Denver Urban Boomstead as much as we can and Fixie Ride around Downtown on top of all that biz!

Short Answer: We just Fucking Do It!

But Honestly, Sometimes I don’t know how we do it either. But we also know that the only way we are going to get all the shit done that we need to get done is that we have to be healthy and energized all the time and that takes mindfulness in your health. And when I say “health”, I mean total mind, body and spirit wellness. You have to make sure you are meeting all 3 needs in order to stay at your peak and not deal with Burnout.

The first step do being a successful Entrepreneur and not burning out is conquering your Todo list everyday and not let your to do list conquer you.

Entrepreneur Tip: It’s is impossible to get everything done on your to do list! So Time Block and know your Daily Top 3 must dos in Business, Self and Home.

Example To Do Lists of My Top 3 tasks for a day in business, self, and home: (Sometimes I list way more than 3 things in each category but I try to be mindful of what is the most important item I need to check off on my todo list each day)

Business Top 3: Work on Bookkeeping, Write a Blog, Go pick Up soil, Coach Kiddos, Follow ups…

Self Top 3: Gratitude Scan, Yoga and Meditate, Walk Dogs, Enjoy a Bike Ride, Take a bath, help your neighbor…

Home Top 3: Clean Up Kitchen, Return Amazon Items, Store run for laundry soap and butter, Laundry, wash the dogs, clean car….

Try to get your top 3 done every day but no sweat if you don’t just make sure the others get moved up the list and completed because it gets very easy to put off washing the dog, cleaning out your car and keeping your house clean but if you stay organized, so does the rest of your life. And What happens on the weeks we feel a little tired or the days that just keep running into each other and the To do list just never seems to end? Sometimes this is where it might be important to know a little bit about our body and how it likes to operate.

So Let’s talk about Adrenal Fatigue. What is it? And how does it affect our lives? At this point Adrenal Fatigue is kind of becoming kind of a buzz word that is getting tossed around. It is very unlikely that you have full-blow adrenal fatigue syndrome; however, studies show that over 70% of people say they are experiencing some type of burnout but believe they could still maintain their current level of work. This doesn’t make sense. How can we think we can maintain this work load if we are all experiencing signs of overworked adrenals? Here are a few signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue: brain fog, tired, inability to lose weight and/or tendency to gain weight, less accurate memory, emotional, irritable, digestive problems, low self-esteem, low sex drive, crave fatty and salty foods, experience digestive problems, weakness/dizziness, pain in the neck or back, suppressed immune system along with a laundry list of health issues that accompany overworking your adrenals. It is because we are all living in a constant high-stress environment causing us to always be running and operating in a sympathetic state when we should all be wanting our bodies to be using our parasympathetic system the majority of time which normalizes cortisol and allows us to live in a calm stress free state. (Sometimes called the rest and digest system, the parasympathetic system conserves energy as it slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles in the gastrointestinal tract)

Nowadays, we are all overusing and always operating using our Sympathetic Nervous System, increasing and depleting Cortisol production and the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine causing the “fight or flight” physical response in humans. When we are in this high stress flight or fight response the majority of the time, we make it impossible to relax, think clearly recover and lose weight.

Before we go any further lets define adrenals and why they are important to keep healthy so your body can properly regulate cortisol and other important hormones like adrenaline and dopamine response involved in your fight/flight response. Adrenals are small glands located on top of each kidney that apart of our endocrine system and hormone regulation. They produce hormones that we cannot live without, including, aldosterone, cortisol and other important sex hormones. Aldosterone helps regulate your salt and water levels. Cortisol helps you respond to stress, and helps regulate your bodies metabolism. And Proper regulation of sex hormones is important for a maintaining energy levels and various bodily functions not just your reproductive organs and sex drive.

Ultimately, if your adrenals are overworked you are either experiencing too much cortisol and you could be holding on to excess weight and too little cortisol and your body might have trouble gaining weight.

Cortisol is anti-inflammatory but if you are hyper-cortisol or hypo-cortisol you might feel tired when you wake up or wide awake in the middle of the night that is why it is very important to make sure you are doing what you can to keep your adrenals healthy.

As we can see, with adrenal gland disorders, your glands either make too much or not enough hormones. When we live in a high stress world it is important that we understand this key component to regulating our hormone production and secretion from our adrenals in order to stay healthy and not suffer from burnout and fatigue.

So How do we keep our Adrenals healthy and not overworking?

8 things you can start doing daily to boost your Adrenal health:

• Learn How To Check Out and Know When you need to Take a Break (A short walk, morning gratitude scan (what you appreciate, appreciates, so wake up every morning and be grateful from your head to to your toes and everything in between), get grounded and walk barefoot, take a nap, meditate for 15 minutes – they each have their own unique benefits but all things will help you move back into a parasympathetic state and allow your cortisol production to go back to its proper levels. Cortisol is not the enemy to much or too little cortisol is what is over working your adrenals.
• Stop and Smell the Roses. Seriously essential oils and flower essences are a great way to help adrenal function. Walk through your garden, run your hands through the Sage, Mints and Lemon Balms and help activate your parasympathetic system. And remember Lavender is not the only calming oil, there are so many essential oils to help calm your nervous system try Cedarwood, frankincense, Peru balsam and vetiver.
• 1 hour+ of Self Care everyday! I always want to do more but 40 minutes of yoga and 15 minutes of meditation is always on my list as a way to maintain my over-all health. I also like to do HIITs a couple times of week, spend as much time in nature as possible like go on a jog or walk with my dog, ride my fixie around town, snowboard in the winter, bee-keep, do permaculture projects, Hike 14ers, when you live in Colorado there is really no excuses, but anywhere you live you should be able to do something active and healthy for yourself everyday that makes you happy, feel alive and either calm your self down or at least get your heart pumping in a way that promotes vitality.

• Eat Whole, Organic foods / Grow your Own Food and/or Eat Local. Support your local farmer. More on this below.
• Cut and Eliminate as much Processed Sugars as you can (Sorry party animals and cookie monsters this means alcohol, beers, wine and your late night snacks too!) and Eat more healthy Fats, like avocado or coconut oil, grass-fed butter and/or ghee! We start our day off with intermittent fasting at least a 13 hour fast and on the days we don’t fast, we boost our coffee and fight our sugar cravings with a delicious Grass-Fed, Coconut Oil “Bullet proof” high fat coffee. I also like to add Laird turmeric creamer and vanilla stevia drops for added flavor and antioxidant benefits.
• Add adaptogenic herbs and supplements into your life. We will talk about the adaptogenic properties of Microgreens below but there are several products on the market that are made directly for helping heal and regulate your adrenals.
• Wear blue light blockers after 4pm and make sure you get a good night sleep. Good bed, nice sheets, implementing red lights, and keeping your phone out of your bedroom helps boost melatonin and lower cortisol production at night. Plus try to not use it an hour before bed and an hour after you wake to help keep you healthy, focused, and optimize your health, life and routine
• Be Grateful for your life and your adrenals. When put in a room full of people and their problems statistic shows that you will always reach back for your problems over others. So own your life be grateful for everything even the shitty parts you don’t quite understand.

Now the most important thing you can do for your energy levels and overall health is start eating good whole local food and we recommend Microgreens THE NEW SUPERFOOD on the block and here’s why:

Every plant goes through the microgreen stage but it is at this stage where all the nutrients are stored. All seeds are capable of growing its plant’s first leaves also called cotyledon leaves and first true leaf without the use of fertilizers all it needs is a little water, sun and growing medium and you can grow your self some microgreens without even realizing just how impactful they will be on your life once they are added to your diet.

Just adding 2 – 3 cups to your diet each day and you will be adding 4 to 40 x more nutrients compared to if you were eating the full grown mature plant.

For instance, Cilantro has 3x the beta-coretene and cabbage micros has 40x the vitamin E levels. Some micros are jammed pack with protein like Pea shoots, Sunflower, Onion and Mizuna are all 20-30% protein. Another amazing thing about pea shoots is they have 7x the vitamin C of blueberries and 8x the folic acid as bean sprouts. Arugula is super high in vitamin A, B, C and E along with minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. I don’t want to bore you with any more random facts about microgreens.

What you need to know is that they are loaded with 1000s of antioxidants, more than 60 trace minerals and tons of polyphenols to help fight off environmental toxins. Some research is showing that micros are not only higher in polyphenols but contain a larger range of flavonoids and polyphenols as well. Flavonoids, Polyphenols and phytochemical are important to have in your diet to help fight regenerative diseases, fight oxidative stress and free radical damage and give you the energy boost you need.

When it comes to adrenal health all microgreens will help boost your adrenal function and endocrine system. They are jammed back with Vitamin C and B vitamins which are important in cortisol production and maintaining adrenal health. They are phytoestrogenic meaning they mimic estrogens role in the body and they play a critical part in rebalancing, regenerating and restoring hormone production such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone of the adrenal glands, thyroid, and the rest of the endocrine system.

Microgreens are also a source for Elevated Biotics which are undiscovered microorganisms that can live in your gut even years after ingesting them. These microorganisms are found atop the organic produce you might find in farmers markets, on small patio gardens, in wild blueberries and mushrooms and in orchards. These elevated biotics have been attributed to maintaining gut health which is important in the production of B12. Microgreens also help regulate blood glucose levels which is important for anyone suffering from type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and in fending off cancer cells which thrive in a high sugar acidic environment.

Microgreens are also adaptogenic not only because of the active compounds within but also because of their ability to thrive in a multitude of environments. Whether in a thermostat regulated grow room, in a window sill, or outside (weather permitting of course) these microgreens will adapt to its routine, environment and surroundings in order to grow. These powerful qualities transfer to us when we eat them.

Being the baby greens that they are microgreens are easy to digest because they are almost “pre-digested” by the sprouting process, which deactivates enzyme inhibitors, changing carbohydrates into simple sugars and proteins into free amino acids and peptides. These “pre-digested” plants are rich in active enzymes that help enhance the body’s own internal enzyme activity. The delicate cells walls of microgreens makes it easier to digest and assimilate all these vital nutrients for your body to use.

If you haven’t figure it out by now Microgreens are really really good for you. But they are only good for you if you consume them in large amounts. Microgreens are more than a garnish and you should really be eating them with everything in large quantities to receive the full benefits in energy, health and wellness. Please send us a message on instagram @milehighmicrogreens.info or email us directly on our website to connect and order you some nutrient dense adrenal boosting micros today! If you are not located within our 30 mile delivery range in Colorado we will help you find your local microgreens farmer today!!

Besides eating the best local food around here are a few helpful books and podcasts that have change my life and opened up my perspective on women’s health and well-being. These books will help upgrade your life as a woman and help you take back your health when it comes to Mind, Body, and Spirit. Along with improve your sex drive and understanding your fertility and moon phases as a woman.

• Stress Less , Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher
• Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms by Kate Northrup
• Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski, PhD
• Becoming Super Woman: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Go from Burnout to Balance by Nicole Lapin

Bonus information for optimizing your entrepreneur health and business goals. These Podcasts listed below will help you get through hard times and help you tackle your day to day: There are soo many good podcasts but each episode these podcasts put out will help you reach your health and entrepreneur goals as a woman. A few of these episodes might talk about adrenal fatigue but mainly I recommend these podcasts for the aspiring Entrepreneur who needs some awesome tips, tricks and an inside perspective across different industries.

• Meathead Hippie hosted by Emily Schromm
• Almost 30 hosted by KristaWilliams & Lindsey Simcik
• The Goal Digger hosted by Jenna Kutcher
• Entrepreneurs on Fire by John Lee Dumas
• The 5 am Miracle with Jeff Sanders

Keep Booming Health and Life with Local Microgreens Y’all!

@Traconanda

Sources:
https://hippocratesinst.org/sprouts-the-living-super-food https://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/sprouts-microgreens