08/08/2018
STRESS MESS 1
We all have some level of stress, right? It may be temporary (acute), or long-term (chronic). Acute stress is usually not as problematic, provided that it is infrequent. It is your body’s natural reaction to circumstances, and can even be life-saving. Think about narrowly escaping a car accident. You feel immediate physical stress, but when the “threat,” or the stressor is gone, the reaction eventually
subsides, and all is well.
It's the chronic stress that's a major problem. You see, your body has specific stress reactions. If these stress reactions are triggered repeatedly, like every day or many times a day, that can significantly damage your health.
Stress, including the stress hormones that the body produces, can have a huge impact on your health. Cortisol, the main stress hormone, is secreted,or released from the adrenal glands with each occurrence. What you may not have known is that Cortisol contributes to weight gain, mainly around the middle - this is known as visceral fat (belly fat). Even physical stressors like exercising for too long and too harshly, can cause excess Cortisol release! (and I don't think anyone's plan is to work out and gain weight!). Now let's dive into the stress mess,
1- Increased risk of heart disease and diabetes:- Stress increases the risk for these conditions by promoting chronic inflammation, affecting the"thickness" of your blood, known as blood viscosity - as well as how well your cells respond to insulin. When your cells respond poorly to insulin,this opens the door to insulin resistance, where glucose cannot enter into the cells and begins to flood the bloodstream. This, in turn, will eventually lead to Diabetes.
2- "leaky gut " :- Now this is ONE HOT MESS! One of the first physiological processes thatis halted when you encounter stress is digestion. Everything moves more slowly, often leading to constipation and poor elimination. Continued stress can contribute to Leaky Gut Syndrome, otherwise known as "intestinal permeability." These "leaks"can then allow partially digested food,bacteria and other toxins or pathogens to be absorbed into your body.
To be continued !
