How To Know If Stress Is Changing Your Body

How To Know If Stress Is Changing Your Body
A very good friend of mine who is pregnant recently came over to my house looking very distressed. It seems gestational diabetes runs in her family, so her doctor had been watching her glucose levels closely. Everything had been fine, but then her glucose had spiked at one visit, then came back down on her most recent test. She and her doctor were trying to figure out why her glucose jumped (and more importantly how to prevent it from happening again), and all my friend could think of was that she was very stressed that particular day. "Could stress have caused my blood sugar spike?" she asked me. My answer: Absolutely. As a matter of fact, stress can cause a whole slew of physical effects in your body that you might not even be aware of. Here's why that is so -- the physical effects of stress are caused by the effective work of these two "Stress Players": Stress Player #1- The stress hormones When your nervous system picks up signs of emotional or mental distress, it signals for the release of stress hormones (including adrenaline and cortisol). These hormones put your body in "fight or flight" mode, and this is a reflection of our biological programming. You see, back in our caveman days our stresses were more physical in nature (fighting off saber-toothed tigers or rival tribes), so our bodies needed to generate quick energy as soon as stress occurred. As a result, when stress hormones were released, our caveman bodies made stored glucose available for energy by dumping it into the bloodstream. Although most of our stresses are now more emotional or mental in nature, our bodies still react the same way. That's why my friend's glucose level was high that particular day--all her body knew was that she was stressed and it was doing what it was programmed to do. Chronic, long-term stress can be especially harmful. Chronic, continuous stress over time causes repeated infusions of stress hormones in your system. That can eventually lead to conditions like headaches, high blood pressure and digestive disorders (like IBS).   Stress Player #2- Chemical messengers When under stress, your body releases special chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters speed to different areas of your body and cause various chemical and physical reactions. That's why your heart rate increases when you're scared or you get shaky or a stomach ache when you're nervous.   Stress and the gut and then some Stress hormones and neurotransmitters also affect your gut flora, where between 70%-80% of your immune system resides. For example, strains of the harmful bacteria E. coli grow faster in an environment that contains the stress hormones adrenaline or norepinephrine (noradrenaline). In addition, some scientists believe that when we're stressed, our nervous system "talks" to our gut microbes, telling certain (harmful) ones to multiply and other (beneficial) ones to limit their growth. Having a greater concentration of harmful bacteria in your intestines makes you more susceptible to bacterial infections and viruses of all types. This happens for two reasons: 1- You now don't have enough beneficial bacteria to fight off the dangerous pathogens you ingest. 2- The harmful bacteria have eaten away at your gut wall and made it porous, so dangerous toxins can now seep out and travel all through your body, making you ill (also known as leaky gut). Plus, having more harmful bacteria in the gut also affects your immune system's regulatory T cells. That means your immune system will be less effective, leading to increased inflammation (and pain) all over your body. And heaven help you if you do get sick and take antibiotics. While they will certainly help kill your infection, they'll also cause the bacterial imbalance in your gut to even further out of whack... ...which means that you're likely to get sick AGAIN very soon.   Help your body naturally fight stress Stress can strike anyone at any time. Although classic stress-filled events include the holidays, a death in the family, college exams, loss of a job, financial difficulties or relationship problems, stresses can pop up unexpectedly for anyone. So it's essential to keep your gut flora balanced every day, all year long, to counteract the effects of stress and keep you feeling good 24/7. Luckily, it's very easy to do with these 2 steps: 1) Supplement with a high-quality probiotic Like Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula. Super Shield contains 13 strains of the world's most potent, effective beneficial bacteria found in the human digestive tract. These good guys line the walls of your intestines like an army, ready to fight off dangerous invaders. They compete with the harmful bacteria for territory on your gut wall, crowding the bad guys and starving them. They also help strengthen the gut wall, so toxins are less likely to leak out and cause illness. Plus, Super Shield helps make your digestion more efficient... which can mean less gas, bloating, heartburn and other digestive troubles.   2) Support your healthy microbes with a proper diet Nothing can undo a strong population of beneficial gut bacteria faster and easier than a diet loaded with processed or fast food, refined carbs and hard to digest meals. Harmful bacteria nourish themselves on foods like these and multiply lightning fast--eventually crowding out the good guys and leaving you FAR more susceptible to illness. In the Great Taste No Pain system, I explain ALL the health dangers of the typical modern diet, show you how to structure delicious meals that help nourish the friendly microbes in your gut, and even give you 112 of my most prized recipes.  Believe me, you'll see there's nothing bland or boring about eating for great health once you taste my recipes! And here's even better news: Once you begin to enjoy the taste of real foods, you'll likely lose your taste for the fast, processed junk and refined carbs--they just won't appeal to you as much anymore. Not only is that good news for your gut microbes, but it will likely mean you'll drop excess pounds without even TRYING! Talk about a nice bonus! The bottom line The bottom line is this -- stress is everywhere in our world and it's not going away any time soon. Sooner or later stress WILL end up affecting you and your health... It's not a matter of if, but when. But with the winning team of Super Shield and Great Taste No Pain you can help encourage a strong intestinal flora balance and a feeling-good YOU, 365 days a year. To your health, Sherry Brescia PS: We're now on Facebook! Like us here: - https://www.facebook.com/GreatTasteNoPain.HolisticBlendsInc Sherry, This is a quick story about your Super Shield probiotics: My husband is skeptical about all the products online including Super Shield probiotics. He always suggests saving money and buying a local probiotic now offered at the local pharmacies. Well, our daughter had a serious sinus infection that she needed a strong antibiotic for. Her doctor suggested taking your Super Shield probiotic 2 hours after she took her antibiotic. She forgot and suffered with diarrhea for a couple days. After she finally used it as it was suggested she had no more problems. Proof enough for me! She was very happy and I now always keep them in the house. Thanks. Sandy *******************  Years of junk foods, meats, alcohol and soda drinking results in a decrease in your body's ability to produce digestive enzymes. This can result in daily painful gas, bloating, heartburn and constipation no matter how otherwise healthy your diet is! Digestizol Max can help turn that around for you fast. Its effective blend of 14 plant-derived enzymes and soothing herbs will help carry out the job of digestion and keep you feeling great! Learn more about Digestizol Max here. ====   Got low energy? Brain fog? CRS disease? You just may be low in in just one vitamin. One out of four people are. Read more about this deficiency and how you can help turn that around FAST. ====   Want the best probiotic on the market today? Then learn why Super Shield outshines all the rest here.  ====  A medical-grade fish oil like VitalMega-3 can help fight high cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as keep your joints feeling good, reducing chronic inflammation. Learn more about VitalMega-3 and all the great things it can do for you here. ====   Gluten has been linked to hundreds of health problems, including autoimmune diseases. If you are gluten sensitive or have an autoimmune disease, see what avoiding gluten can do for you.  Great Taste No Gluten will make gluten avoidance easy, while giving you 160 of the world's best gluten-free recipes to make you love every bite of your gluten-free life. Learn more about Great Taste No Gluten here. Want case studies?  Here are a few THOUSAND health turnarounds for you to marvel at. 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. Want to read past articles? Here they are. * Forward this email to the people you care about the most! 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