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ENERGY IN YOUR DIET

by drmays | May 3, 2024 | Chronic Fatigue, Diabetes, Fitness, Nutrition, Weight Loss

ENERGY

in your DIET

Understanding Energy In Your Diet

I have had this article for quite some time and thought it would be appropriate to add to the site: According to the energy balance equation, your body gains energy when you intake more energy through your diet than you expend through physical activity. That’s why the main point of most diets is to limit your energy intake through counting carbs or calories.

It seems like a few years ago all of the diets were about counting calories and now they’re all about limiting carbohydrates. But you should you limit carbs or calories? And, if they’re both units of energy what’s the difference? This article will discuss the difference between carbs and calories, how they impact your diet, and how or why you should watch them.

Calories Are Energy, Right? Yes.

To set the record straight, carbs and calories are not both units of energy. We’ll start with calories and talk about carbohydrates in a little bit.

Calories are the units of energy, not carbs. A single calorie is the amount of energy that it takes to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. This is a very small amount of energy, so when you read the nutrition label on your food, what they call “Calories” (with an upper-case C) is actually the number of kilocalories (that is, one thousand lower-case c calories). That doesn’t mean that the food companies are trying to lie to you and get you to eat more calories.

They do it because it would be tedious and useless to try to count actual lower-case c calories. Don’t worry about keeping track of whether we’re talking about calories or kilocalories in this article though. Because we’re talking about calories as a unit of energy, it doesn’t really matter which scale we’re talking about, as long as you understand what calories are and why they’re important.

Carbs Are Energy,

Right? NO!

As mentioned above, the carbohydrate is not a unit of energy like the calorie is. The carbohydrate is a class of nutrient, along with proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are all called “energy-yielding nutrients” because the body can break them all down to release calories.

Of the energy yielding nutrients, proteins and carbohydrates both release one 4 calories per gram, while fat releases nine calories per gram.

So Why Are Carbs So Special?

You might be wondering, if fat contains more than twice the calories per gram, why do all of these diets have us watching carbs? And that’s a good question.

The first reason is that the average person has much more carbohydrates than fat in their diet. We tend to think of carbohydrates as coming from grains, like pastas and breads. These are sources of carbohydrates, but carbohydrates also come from sugars. Grains are a source of complex carbs, which your body breaks down over time. Sugars are a source of simple carbs that your body doesn’t have to break down.

Sugars are naturally occurring in sources like fruits, but they’re also added to just about everything. If you put a store-bought sauce on your pasta, you’re putting carbs on carbs.

If you put jam or jelly on your bread, you’re putting carbs on carbs. And don’t even get us started on sources like soda and junk food.

When you eat whole grains, you’re not just getting carbs. You’re getting fiber, vitamins and minerals. All of these nutrients can also be found in other foods that don’t have as many calories, like vegetables, which often have no carbs at all.

Fat, on the other hand is far scarcer in our diet and its benefits cannot be found elsewhere. We usually don’t think of fat as being good for us, but it’s in every cell of our bodies, and is very important to the nervous system. While some fats are better than others and you should be careful about how much you get of each kind, carbs are simply more expendable in our diets.

Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand the difference between carbs and calories, as well as why most diets these days have you counting carbs. Remember, however, that a balanced diet and plenty of exercise is better for you than a diet that tries to eliminate fats or carbs or calories and promises a quick solution.

– Dr. Clifton Mays | Director

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

We’ve put together a FREE 10 Day E-Course to better sleep, and we’ve also included access to our E-Book – SIREN’S SLEEP SOLUTION. Just click the link and you’ll be given access right away!

GET THE INFORMATION HERE

We believe

Our Clinic is committed to helping people just like you who have been suffering with health issues and haven’t been helped with the traditional healthcare model. Find out how we can help you.

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Importance Of Sleep

by drmays | Apr 7, 2024 | Chronic Fatigue, Fitness, Nutrition, Sleep

SLEEP

your body’s HEALING SYSTEM

Mom was right! Sleep is a very important part of your health and healing. A good nights sleep can not only effect your ability to function during the day, but also can effect how your body functions as it attempts to battle the stresses presented every day.

Most of us understant that our body goes through different cycles and our sleep cycle is one of the very important cycles that helps us stay alert and aware. If we are not getting the proper amount of sleep during our nights, we can be setting ourselves up for problems in the future.

But people often ask –

HOW MUCH SLEEP IS ENOUGH?

I would love to give you a hard and fast rule that we can all follow, and for many years, the standard answer is 8 hours of sleep is the magic number. But over time and through research studies the answer has become….

IT DEPENDS…

Each person is different and for many people, 8 hours is the optimal amount of time that they need to sleep to achieve maximum benefit from the sleep cycle, but there are people who are able to function at optimal levels with only 5 hours of sleep per day.

And there may be a reason that people are able to maintain an optimal level of recovery with only 5 hours of sleep per night.

Let me explain.

WHY IS

that ENOUGH?

As we touched on earlier, the body goes through cycles and a normal sleep cycle can occur within a 5 hour time period. There are 3 primary phases of sleep, Stage 1 is getting to sleep which is when we go from awake to a sleep state. We then transition to Stage 2 or Light Sleeping and there are 2 primary stages to light sleep. We then transition to Stage 3 or Deep Sleep. This is the time our body goes in to a repair mode and we see significant changes in brain and body chemistry. As we progress through this stage, we move into Stage 4 or REM sleep. This is our dream state. Again we see significant changes in body and brain chemistry. These stages continue to cycle as we sleep and we are able to go through several stages throughout our nightime sleep routine.

The more we study sleep and it’s patterns, the more we see that deep sleep and REM sleep are important for the body to function properly. If we are deprived of these levels of sleep for any significant period of time, we start to see breakdown in body function and as it progresses we see issues with mental clairity and focus. There are countless studies showing how sleep deprevation affects a persons ability to function in society.

That means that not only is it important to get the proper amount of sleep, but to make sure that we are progressing through the normal cycles of sleep. This is another reason why people who go through 8-12 hours of sleep still feel exhausted or tired. This is often seen when people are not going through the deep and REM cycles of sleep. So it’s iimportant to make sure you are getting the proper sleep for your specific needs.

If you are tired and hurting, then it’s time to make sure that sleep is not part of the problem. If you don’t know why you’re not healing, it may be time to discuss you sleep with your doctor.

– Dr. Clifton Mays | Director

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

We’ve put together a FREE 10 Day E-Course to better sleep, and we’ve also included access to our E-Book – SIREN’S SLEEP SOLUTION. Just click the link and you’ll be given access right away!

GET THE INFORMATION HERE

We believe

Our Clinic is committed to helping people just like you who have been suffering with health issues and haven’t been helped with the traditional healthcare model. Find out how we can help you.

Contact Us



3755 Admiral Dr. #106, High Point, NC 27265



support@drmayswellness.com

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(336) 887-9460

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ABOUT US

Diabetes – Managing Your Sugar

by drmays | Mar 23, 2024 | Diabetes, Nutrition, Weight Loss

DIABETES

and it’s, MANAGEMENT?

Every day, in the United States, more than 2000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed. Type II diabetes, the most prevalent form of diabetes worldwide, often shows few or even no symptoms!

After eating, food is broken down into what is known as glucose, a sugar carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Using a hormone known as insulin, made in the pancreas, cells process glucose into energy.

Because cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly in the body of a person with type II diabetes, they have problems converting food into energy. Eventually, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin for the body’s needs. The amount of glucose in the body increases, and the cells are starved of energy.

BUT

the body needs SUGAR…

This starvation of the cells, paired with the high blood glucose level can damage nerves and blood vessels. This leads to complications such as kidney disease, nerve problems, blindness, and heart ailments.

There are a lot of factors that can help to attribute to diabetes cases – lifestyle, environment, heredity – and those who are at risk should be screened regularly to prevent diabetes. Those that are already diagnosed with diabetes should aim to keep their glucose level under control.

But how do you know if you have type II diabetes? After all, it has few symptoms, often no symptoms in some patients. However, if you notice an increased thirst or hunger, a change in weight, or blurred vision, getting tested for type II diabetes is necessary, as only your doctor will be able to help you find the treatment steps necessary to being able to manage your life with diabetes.

Simple changes such as eating right, managing your weight, and keeping your blood sugar level under control may be enough. However, you doctor may prescribe diabetes-regulating medications to assist you in controlling your type II diabetes.

Diabetes is a serious issue with severe consequences if it isn’t treated properly. But if you follow your doctor’s advice and maintain both your lifestyle and blood sugar levels, you can help to prevent the more serious consequences from occurring.

– Dr. Clifton Mays | Director

We believe

Our Clinic is committed to helping people just like you who have been suffering with health issues and haven’t been helped with the traditional healthcare model. Find out how we can help you.

Contact Us



3755 Admiral Dr. #106, High Point, NC 27265



support@drmayswellness.com

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(336) 887-9460

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ABOUT US

Stress – What Is It Really?

by drmays | Mar 16, 2024 | Fitness, Hormones, Nutrition, Weight Loss

STRESS

what is it, REALLY?

In common use, the word “stress” covers a lot of ground. It carries at least three, closely related yet different meanings, depending on the context:

1. Stress sometimes means a collection of things that are happening in your life to throw you out of a “normal” state of balance or security. It constitutes those situations or conditions that pull you out of your physical, mental, and emotional comfort zones—or even threaten your survival. In formal language, these “things” are called “stressors.” Examples of stressors are worry, repetitive motions, fear in dangerous situations, job loss, strength training, the excitement of riding a roller coaster, getting a job promotion, or falling in love. Please note that the first four examples are what we usually think of as negative stress or “distress,” while the last four are normally considered to be positive stress, or “eustress.”

The important thing to remember is that when stressors touch our lives, the body cannot recognize the difference between distress and eustress. It responds in the same, automatic ways—as in #2

2. In common usage stress also means your body’s automatic reactions to your being pulled out of your physical, mental, and emotional comfort zones. This type of stress is the closest to your conscious awareness, and closest to the classical definition in Hans Seyle’s original book, Stress and Distress (Seyle was the founder of stress theory). This is the stress you can often feel. Here, your body is calling on its chemical and energy “reserves” to deal with both distress and eustress. These reactions are your body’s physiological protectors. If you have enough reserves, you’ll get along quite well. More details shortly.

AND

finally STRESS…

3. Finally, stress is sometimes taken to mean your body’s innate compensation for dealing with those situations where the reserves of #2 simply fall short. Here we’re talking about what happens to the body when the reserves of #2 are simply not enough, either because they have been depleted from earlier attempts at rebalance, or because the stress load is just to large to handle even for someone with good reserves. That’s why some call this condition overstress. Overstress can and does “build up” and lead to things such as insomnia, exhaustion, premature aging, weight gain, and many more conditions too numerous to mention. If unattended, stress buildup can seriously damage physical health, psychological well-being, and relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. When it builds enough, the result must be disease, infirmity, or even death.

In reality, death is the body’s final compensation for stress buildup. Stress has won, as it always does, because that’s nature’s way. But those with high wellness I.Q.s don’t throw in the towel early. They find that life is much too valuable to be spending years or even decades mired in illness or feeling poorly. And they know they have a choice through intelligent self-care.

So, to put these three shades of “stress” into perspective, it goes something like this: With meaning #1, you might say, “There’s a lot of stress at my workplace.” With meaning #2, “I feel stressed when I’m at work.” And with meaning #3, “I’m stressed from work and need to take a vacation so I can recuperate.” It’s good to notice these shades of common usage although they usually won’t cause too much confusion in conversation. People catch the drift.

You are the ultimate controller of how you deal with stress and it’s effects on your life. If you allow stress to become the focus – you will always have an uphill battle for control of your health and wellness. If you understand that you can control your RESPONSE to stress – you will be on your way to a healthier life.

– Dr. Clifton Mays | Director

We believe

Our Clinic is committed to helping people just like you who have been suffering with health issues and haven’t been helped with the traditional healthcare model. Find out how we can help you.

Contact Us



3755 Admiral Dr. #106, High Point, NC 27265



support@drmayswellness.com



(336) 887-9460

Links