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Hi John
All of us at one time or another have been “stressed out.”
We can't avoid it--ours is an increasingly complex, high-stress world and it doesn't look like that will be changing any time soon.
Now, in addition to the obvious mental pressure and emotional effects it causes, stress also affects your body physically in MANY different ways, some of which you might not be aware of.
Let’s take a peek at how your body handles stress, how it can be detrimental to your health and most importantly, how you can fight back and stop stress from stopping YOU.
The stress hormone powerhouses
Your body’s ability to handle stress is largely controlled by two little pyramid-shaped pieces of tissue that sit comfortably right above your kidneys—otherwise known as your adrenal glands.
These little powerhouses have a BIG job because they dictate how you handle stress by secreting two important hormones—adrenaline and cortisol.
Here’s how:
When your brain senses a threatening situation, it sends an alarm through the sympathetic nervous system down to your adrenals, telling them to release adrenaline.
The adrenaline kicks into gear and prepares you for a possible “fight or flight” response by raising your blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow to your muscles, and putting sugar in your bloodstream to burn for energy.
Then cortisol gets the signal to get moving. Cortisol is adrenaline’s partner and, like a traffic cop, it helps direct energy to your brain and muscles to respond to the stress.
Back in man’s earlier days this system worked like a charm because their stresses were short-term in nature. The dangers (from animals or enemies) were dealt with immediately, then the early men and women could return to their regular daily activity (and their bodies could easily recover).
Their adrenaline would subside pretty quickly and hence their blood pressure and heart rate would calm down. The cortisol would stick around for a while and make them hungry, so they could eat and replace any glucose they used up in the emergency.
The shift from tigers to life as we know it
Life is very different now—we’re no longer running for our lives from animals or rival tribes. Our stresses are more mental in nature, like working long hours, unsatisfying jobs, financial problems, school workloads and deadlines, relationship problems, demanding schedules, etc.
But the problem is your body don’t know the difference between physical and mental stress!
So it reacts the same way regardless of what kind of stress you have.
Note that it also doesn’t matter whether the stress is positive (such as working hard on an exciting project or striving for a promotion) or negative (going through a job loss or a loved one’s serious illness).
And when your stress is chronic and ongoing and you’re spending days, weeks and months with tension and anxiety, your body is getting a consistent barrage of adrenaline and cortisol.
The health prices of that can run the gamut, my friend and include:
- Low thyroid function (because high levels of
adrenal hormones trigger thyroid hormones and eventually your thyroid can
become exhausted)
- Elevated blood sugar and type 2 diabetes
- Lowered immune function
- Repeated infections
- Chronic fatigue
- High blood pressure
- Obesity (due to overeating caused by
repeated cortisol secretion)
Plus chronic stress can also lead to the inflammation of the stomach known as gastritis.
Lastly, stress is also linked to IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and can worsen attacks of Crohn’s and colitis!
The stress/adrenal quiz
Here is a little quiz you can take to see if chronic stress and adrenal burnout might be affecting you.
Answer yes or no to each question then tally up your yes responses:
Do you have:
1) Low stamina for stress/easy irritability?
2) Moodiness after eating carbs like pasta and bread?
3) Hypoglycemia attacks?
4) Chronic infections?
5) Low blood pressure, fainting or feeling of dizziness when standing up quickly?
6) Chronic allergy or sensitivity to things in the environment?
7) Arthritis?
8) Insomnia, wound up at night or poor sleep?
9) Cravings for sweets?
10) Very poor resistance to respiratory infections (get them easily and they last a long time)?
11) Dry unhealthy skin?
12) Hard time recuperating from jet lag?
13) Anxiety and/or depression?
14) Premature signs of aging like gray hair or wrinkles?
If you answered “yes” to 4 or more of those questions, it may behoove you to have your adrenals tested to see if adrenal hormone supplementation may be necessary.
But note that even if you get treated for low adrenal hormone levels, it’s crucial that you also address the underlying problem—chronic stress—and the other ways it can be taking a toll on your body!
Here are some surefire strategies for managing stress in your life and counteracting its physical effects.
1- Stress removal
This is numero uno.
The easiest way to fight back at stress is to diffuse it or remove it!
There are many ways to help diffuse stress: Meditation, exercise, yoga, counseling, deep breathing, prayer and seminars, to name a few.
Also taking up a hobby or getting a pet have both been shown to reduce stress in various studies.
You also might have to remove sources of stress in your life.
One way is to set boundaries. Don't add to your stressors by saying yes to every single committee, party, event or other commitment that comes your way. Learn to say no when your plate is already full.
Job stress may be unavoidable, and if it's temporary, that's one thing. However, if you're in a job that's consistently loaded with stress and you find yourself dreading work every day or losing sleep over it, it’s time to find another job.
And if you’re in a personal relationship that is not fulfilling, positive and beneficial to you (or worse yet, is downright harmful or making you miserable), it’s time to get out.
2- Have a healthy diet that encourages good digestion
Efficient digestion is crucial for proper nutrient absorption and can help eradicate the stress-induced symptoms of gastritis and other GI problems.
And eating a wide variety of good-for-you foods helps nourish your body, fight fatigue and encourages all of your organs and glands (including your adrenals) to stay strong and efficient.
Trouble is, most of us eat lots of processed or fast foods that are anything but good for you. Plus our typical modern meals can be next to impossible for your system to properly break down.
But I can guide you and help you turn that all around FAST--and you'll love every bite.
In the Great Taste No Pain system,
- http://www.greattastenopain.com/great.asp
or if you're gluten-sensitive, Great Taste No Gluten
- http://www.greattastenogluten.com/great.asp
I explain ALL the health dangers of the typical modern diet, show you how to structure delicious meals that your body can digest much easier and help nourish you from head to toe, and even give you a book of scrumptious recipes to try.
Believe me, you'll see there's nothing bland or boring about eating for great health once you taste these recipes!
3- Balance your gut flora
Stress can cause your gut to become hypersensitive, which can contribute to the development of food allergies and intolerances.
Plus it also causes the protective mucosal lining in your intestines to become less effective at defending your body against unfriendly bacteria and dangerous pathogens.
That means that you are more susceptible to catching viruses and infections when under chronic stress--your body literally cannot fight them off as well.
Although a healthy diet can help encourage a good gut flora balance, since so many other factors (like environmental toxins, medications, lack of sleep and STRESS) can affect your gut microbes, many times diet is not enough.
That's
why supplementation with a good multi-strain formula can help SO many people.Fighting the effects of stress on your gut is yet another great reason to take Super Shield probiotic formula every day.
- http://www.bluerockholistics.com/product/pross.asp
One of Super Shield's 13 superior bacteria strains, Bifidobacteria lactis, has been shown to have high adhesion to human mucus. That means it will stick to your intestinal wall and keep it strong and protective.
In addition, Super Shield also contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus. This strain has been shown to stimulate antibody production and enhance phagocytosis, one of your body's weapons for destroying invaders.
It also helps strengthen the gut-barrier function, and can even have beneficial impact on autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and allergies!
Stress is a fact of life that we all must endure at one time or another.
And as you saw up above, it can certainly take its toll on you physically and mentally!
But when you help your body fight the inevitable stress that we all face, you are taking giant steps toward keeping your health strong no matter what stresses may come your way.
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
PPS: Val’s stomach problems are all gone!
Just wanted to get round to thanking you for your eating plan you recommended. My digestion needs seem almost nothing compared to some poor souls I read about.
But anyway I have had digestion problems for about 9 months – been taking pills etc. to try to deal with the acid in my stomach (like a simmering cauldron!) and some acid reflux and spasms in my upper gut.
Had an endoscopy – doctor couldn’t find any cause – but wanted to put me on 5 pills every day – and onto a low fibre diet (which I was not happy with as I have tried to eat fairly healthily in the past).
So anyway, I had already got your Great Taste, No Pain info and I thought I would try it, rather than taking those awful pills. Anyway I am glad to report now, after having been on it for nearly 2 months, I feel amazing!
No more acid cauldron, no more spasms and I can eat healthily – my family are so happy they are really helping me to stay on it, even when I go over for a meal, they try to do the correct food combinations.
Even if I stray a little and eat some wrong combos, as soon as I get back on I feel good again. My whole system feels as if all the inflammation has gone and I don’t feel bloated or sickly anymore.
I thank ~God for leading me to read your site – may He really bless you for all your research, and may many others be helped along the way. I have been telling those I meet in the hope to help them too.
Thanks again
Val
Haven't taken the Great Taste No Pain test drive? Why not? Get over to
- http://www.greattastenopain.com/freereports/ and feel the power of Great Taste No Pain.
Orders: 1-888-724-4366
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- http://www.greattastenopain.com/great.asp
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