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September 23, 2021 By Dr. Todd Anderson

How to Fix a Slow Metabolism

There are 3 things to focus on when fixing a slow metabolism.

  1. Reducing Stress Hormone Production
  2. Decreasing Inflammation
  3. Addressing Blood Sugar Problems.

If you can accomplish all three, then you will more than likely be running on all cylinders.

A note on supplements: While many times symptoms will improve with supplements and are useful, I believe it is crucial to address the root issue causing the deficiencies to begin with. So, don’t just take the supplements without correcting the lifestyle issues that got you in this place to begin with.

Signs & Symptoms of A Poor Metabolism

  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Trouble Losing Weight
  • Low Thyroid Problems
  • Trouble Sleeping
  • Digestive issues – gas, bloating, indigestion, etc.
  • Craving sugar

1. Addressing Stress Hormones

Stress hormones are called such because they increase due to some stress response. That can be from emotional (family, job), chemical (low blood sugar, inflammation), or physical (pain).

Avoid rapid fluctuations in blood sugar. I always say, control what you can control. It may be difficult to control your nagging mother or stubbing your toe, but you can eat better and start down regulating stress hormones. People in this category should focus on eating 3 meals spaced 5 hours apart with no snacking in between. See more under the hypoglycemia section below.

Get your emotional baggage under control with meditation, therapy, or some low intensity exercise like yoga. Excessive exercise can drive excessive stress hormone production.

Work on resolving chronic pain issues with a good manual therapist like a chiropractor, physical therapist, or qualified professional.

Consider adding an adaptogenic herb like Ashwaganda, Tulsi, or Rhodiola. Other supplements to consider would include Magnesium, Vitamin B6 (P5P), and Zinc.

Reducing Stress Hormone Supplement Stack Here

2. Decreasing Inflammation

Inflammation will drive stress hormones as well so continue on with those recommendations below.

Inflammation is generated by the immune system. Inflammation is a natural part of regeneration, but left uncontrolled will drive degeneration. This will deplete vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients over time causing deficiencies.

Reducing Inflammatory Triggers

  • Trying an anti-inflammatory or elimination diet can be helpful. Many times just cutting the biggest offenders can have a drastic impact (sugar, dairy, gluten).
  • Use caution as you reduce problem foods! You must increase the foods that you can eat, in order to avoid worsening a potential blood sugar issue. Eat plenty of good protein and fat with each meal.

Inflammatory Accelerators

  • Reduce inflammatory “accelerators.” Things that further drive inflammation include stress hormones like cortisol, insulin, and excessive NSAID use.

Clearing Inflammation

  • Consider adding in supplements that help reduce inflammation like Turmeric, Resveratrol, and Fish Oil, Magnesium, Vitamin B6 (P5P), and Zinc also help your body make more fish oil from omega 3’s.

Inflammation Stack Here

3. Addressing Blood Sugar: Low or high, it’s a problem.

A blood sugar will manifest as too high or too low. Too high is typically from insulin resistance and too low is a condition called reactive hypoglycemia. Which one are you?

Low Blood Sugar Signs & Symptoms

  • Fasting glucose under 85
  • Meals give you energy
  • Waking up between 1-3am at night
  • Anxiety, trouble falling asleep at night
  • More prone to be underweight, but not required

High Blood Sugar Signs & Symptoms

  • Fasting blood glucose above 100
  • Meals give make you sleepy
  • Neuropathy or nerve sensation issues
  • PCOS Diagnosis
  • More prone to be overweight

Both can cause PMS issues for different reasons.

Addressing (low blood sugar) Hypoglycemia

Focus on eating either 3 meals – 5 hours apart with around 30g of protein and a third of your calories for the day in each meal. I would avoid intermittent fasting in the morning. You need to run on the food you eat and not the stress hormones you produce. Most people in this category have very low appetite in the morning and even get nausea eating breakfast. If this is you, then try a piece of fruit followed by your large meal. It will be uncomfortable at first, but after the first week you will notice that those above symptoms are improving.

If you notice getting hungry before lunch, then re-evaluate your breakfast. It probably wasn’t enough for the day. I always encourage patients to focus on fat intake as it will maintain stable blood sugar much better than carbohydrates like oatmeal.

Addressing Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance occurs when the cell becomes sick of being bombarded with insulin constantly. Like the little boy who cried wolf and the town’s people stop listening to him over time. This will cause your blood glucose to rise over time as less will be pushed into the cell. You need to silence the boy long enough for the town people to trust him again. Type 2 diabetes gets diagnosed when the blood glucose builds up and goes over 100.

Stop filling the cell up with glucose Easy – stop eating sugar! Eat low glycemic carbs and focus on proper fat and protein intake.

Empty the cell of glucose

To improve insulin sensitivity exercise. This will begin to deplete the stores of glucose which will create a demand for more glucose. This is what makes the cell more responsive to insulin. Start with half of something you think you can do. If you can walk 3 miles, then start with 1.5 everyday. High intensity exercises are even better if you are physically able to.

Supplements

  • Supplements like berberine, lipoic acid, and chromium are also helpful to improve insulin issues.

Insulin Resistance Supplement Stack Here

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Dr. Todd Anderson
Dr. Todd Anderson
Owner | Author at Dr. Todd Anderson
Dr. Anderson has vast experience aiding patients to reach higher levels of internal and external health performance.
Dr. Todd Anderson
Latest posts by Dr. Todd Anderson (see all)
  • Piecing Together Painful Psoriasis - January 20, 2022
  • HOW TO: Actually Address LOW Testosterone - December 28, 2021
  • How to Fix a Slow Metabolism - September 23, 2021

Filed Under: Hormones, Thyroid Tagged With: Fatigue, hormones, thyroid

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Desiree Daniels
Desiree Daniels
2022-12-31
If you want a medical professional who will take you seriously and actually listen to you, Todd is your guy. I met Todd briefly through work before he moved, but he recently reached out to help me long distance after seeing a Facebook post of mine about some health issues I had been having. Up until working with Todd, doctors gave me the run around and I felt they truly were not listening to me as a patient. I was told my inflammation marker was high and I was told I was insulin resistant, but not much was done to help me with either of those issues. I am beyond thankful that Todd reached out and has been helping me. I am finally able to get back to the things I was doing before my body went crazy on me. Todd is so friendly, kind, compassionate, and he treats you with respect. Todd is the best and I highly recommend him to anybody!
Family Deonnei
Family Deonnei
2022-12-30
I went from a healthy 35 year old who just had a baby. The C. Shot was released, so to protect my little ones I opted to get it, I was healthy and never had an issue with a shot before… That day and for the next year and a half my health started deteriorating, and fast. I saw many doctors, many tests and even a brain scan. They could not find anything wrong with me everything came back “normal” (per their standards). After seeing Dr. Todd, whom I can never even express how thankful I am for him. I am sitting here writing this in tears of how grateful I am. After a year an a half of suffering and thinking my body was just done (and me having two small little ones I needed to be here for, I felt helpless). After seeing him he gave me such hope, reassurance, and support, he took so much time to just listen, truly listen to everything that was wrong with me. Dr Todds passion for wanting to fix it all and heal my mind, body and soul, gave me the light I needed in the very dark spot I was in at the time. For my husband to have to found him and just send him a message to see if there was anything he could do for me, his response was “yes he has seen cases like mine before and tho we are all different he knew he could help”. I was in his office within that week, he listened to ALL of my issues and in amazement I was feeling more like myself in 3 days. Three days! After all the suffering, all the doctors all the medical bills, all the countless hours of no sleep, all the time spent thinking this is how I have to live for the rest of my life and feeling helpless and thinking my body won’t be able to do this much longer. To anyone looking for an answer to their health, who wants to heal, or to improve their health or has something going on in their body that you or a doctor just can’t figure out… I hope you take my message as a sign to even just message him, have a consult, don’t want for things to “get better” or truly worse. I waited 6 months after we found him because of others close mindedness. And I regret it, because of how I feel today (amazing) and the fact that I continued to get worse in that 6 months. If I had only gone in sooner. So take me as a cautionary tale, don’t wait. I never write reviews, but I feel like I am writing this for a reason, someone needed this message for themselves and to you, you can feel yourself and healthy again. You are not alone. Dr Todd can help and I can not wait for your review that will change the next persons life. M. Deonnei
William Schuler
William Schuler
2022-12-21
Dr. Todd is on a different level when it comes to health and wellness. This is not your typical doctor where you are prescribed a medication after sitting in a waiting room for hours waiting to be seen. He actually spends time with you and figures out what is going on in a natural and holistic way instead of tagging you with a diagnosis and giving you some generic one size fits all treatment. My treatment felt very individualized and afterwards I felt confident in my return to health and more educated on what was causing my symptoms and why. I am grateful to have Dr. Todd to go to, he's extremely knowledgeable and never fails to figure out what's going on with me.
Joel Miller
Joel Miller
2022-10-24
Dr. Todd is the best of the best! If you're looking for a doc that will take the time to listen, do the hard work to figure out what is going on, and be diligent in helping you resolve your health problems, you need to make an appointment with Dr. Todd - TODAY! You can thank me later...
rae Borg
rae Borg
2022-09-27
Dr.todd is very knowledgeable with natural remedies and understanding of health conditions. I was on rxs more than half my life, over 50 meds and started taking what he recommended and felt relief in first day for my insomnia and restless leg syndrome. I am so happy to be getting off rxs with all the side affects and lean toward more natural cures that actually cure me and not just make me suffer more with all the side affects!! Thx
Sita Hoffman
Sita Hoffman
2022-07-13
Genuinely grateful I found Dr. Anderson; with his help and some dedication, I am feeling healthy and vibrant again, back to my old self! Thank you!!
Christina Magnuson
Christina Magnuson
2022-05-23
I am just starting to work with Dr. Todd and already I am so impressed with his knowledge and professionalism. He is so caring and responsive. I know I have a bit of a journey ahead of me to get back to my optimal health and I am so glad Dr. Todd is with me on my journey!
Alicia Lang
Alicia Lang
2022-04-28
I started going to Dr. Anderson to fix my chronic fatigue and joint pain. I had been dealing with both for over 7 years and had gone to many, many PCPs with absolutely no changes. With Dr. Anderson, the joint pain and fatigue were gone within a few weeks and we have continued to work on other issues and I am impressed at each visit with actual resolutions of my issues. All for less than it would cost to attempt to meet my deductible. Honestly, if you have any issues you have given up on, go see Dr. Anderson. He is a great listener and I always feel at ease in his office.
Systems Health Care
Systems Health Care
2022-04-20
Dr. Anderson is one of the most knowledgeable natural health care physicians I've had the opportunity to teach. He's constantly learning, staying up-to-date on health and fitness advancements, and most importantly, he's just one of the nicest guy you'll come across. He'll get to the source of your health problem and teach you ways to improve your nutrition, fitness, and overall lifestyle.

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About Dr. Todd Anderson

The purpose of this site is to educate and break down the rhetoric of mainstream thought prohibiting the progress of health through functional nutrition and chiropractic. He is a chiropractor currently located in Elk River, Minnesota.

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Disclaimer: Dr. Todd Anderson is a licensed Chiropractic Physician and Applied Kinesiologist in the state of Minnesota. Information on this website is provided for general educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute (i) medical advice or counseling, (ii) the practice of medicine including psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy or the provision of health care diagnosis or treatment, (iii) the creation of a physician patient or clinical relationship, or (iv) an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any third party product or service by the Sponsor or any of the Sponsor's affiliates, agents, employees, consultants or service providers. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly.

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