Stress ... More Complicated than We Think!
Stress and stress management are growing concerns in today's work force. It decreases work productivity, affects our health, distracts us from work, increases absenteeism and most of all, it affects the company's bottom line.
Managing stress has dealt mostly with telling people to take the time to smell the roses, exercise, deep breathing, meditation, visualization, etc. But, what exactly is stress? Our body was designed to handle stress – acute, short-term stress – NOT constant prolonged stress.
Stress is more than a mental or emotional problem. It is typically described as any type of mental stimulus that triggers worry and fear. It's that 'fight or flight' mode that we've heard about - running from the proverbial saber tooth tiger. This signals our body, specifically our adrenal glands, to produce stress hormones… adrenaline, cortisol and epinephrine. This is the real or root of the problem – our body is constantly producing more stress hormones, which have a direct effect on our ability to lose weight, cravings, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure and cholesterol, PMS, hot flashes, insomnia and the list goes on.
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Unfortunately, people who want to reduce stress, overlook two types of stress that have an overwhelming effect on our health and productivity. These two problem areas contribute to the cumulative load we place on our adrenal glands, causing them to over-produce stress hormones.
1. Blood sugar - When we skip meals – our blood sugar drops. Low blood sugar is not only associated with cravings and lightheadedness, but it affects mental function, including concentration and our ability to think clearly. Low blood sugar is typically a result of missed meals, or poor dietary choices, which trigger our adrenal glands to produce more of our stress hormones to raise our blood sugar. Eating processed, refined, junk foods will throw our blood sugar out of balance and triggers that additional demand for more of our stress hormones. Do that long enough it eventually leads to adrenal depletion or exhaustion. They simply cannot keep producing enough adrenaline and cortisol to keep up with the demand.
2. Digestive difficulties - The second culprit, which is often overlooked, is bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn and other irritable bowel problems. Digestive difficulties are a huge problem! Antacids and other digestive products are in the top 5 sellers for prescription and OTC drugs!
Digestive problems cause irritation and inflammation in your stomach… This triggers your adrenal glands to produce additional cortisol, which works as a powerful anti-inflammatory, needed to reduce the inflammation in your stomach. The result is even more stress is put on your body, which further depletes those adrenal glands!
This can be enough to completely throw your hormones, immune system, cardiovascular and brain messengers out of balance.
Stress is cumulative….
Stress is cumulative! It doesn't matter if your stress is mental, emotional, blood sugar related, or a result of poor digestion. All of these things overwork your adrenal glands. If this continues, the more likely it is that you will suffer from adrenal exhaustion and fatigue. This is becoming more common and has become a major cause for many of our health problems.
Some simple solutions for managing stress…
* Don't skip or miss meals.
* Stay away from refined, processed, junk foods and snacks.
* Eat protein and good fats with each meal.
* Take your time to eat and digest your foods…Eating on the run is a 'NO, NO'.
* Add digestive enzymes if you struggle with digestive problems.
* Also look at hidden food allergies and food combining.
These are the first simple steps you can take to reduce the load of stress on your body. Next time I'll go into more detail about how blood sugar controls your mental concentration, blood pressure, cholesterol and hormonal imbalances.
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Dr. Len Lopez is the author of "To Burn or Not to Burn, Fat is the Question" and hosts the radio show "Action Steps for Health. He is a nutrition and fitness expert and speaks extensively on how to "treat the cause – not the symptoms. To learn more about health and healing take the "online health quizzes" or sign up to receive his weekly health journal Health Tips with Dr. Len.
