How Stress Affects Your Health: What Can You Do to Mitigate it?

What is stress?

Stress is a very broad and often misunderstood concept. In simple terms we feel stress when we ‘perceive’ that life’s demands exceed our ability to meet or adapt to these pressures. Keep in mind that stress is not an inevitable cause of disease, but rather a controllable cause of disease. Chronic stress, sometimes caused toxic stress, refers to strong, frequent or prolonged activation of the body’s stress management systems.

But to be able to control our stress and stressors in our life and environment we must first understand what they are.

What are Stressors?

Stressors are events or situations – internal or external- that require our body systems to adapt and respond in order to maintain balance. When a stressor, regardless of its origin, is unrelenting, the body may lose its ability to adapt and its defence mechanisms, specifically the adrenal glands, become exhausted. Exhausted defense systems are incapable of protecting the body making us more susceptible to disease.

Many stressors are commonly recognized including mental, emotional, physical demand, pain or illness and financial stress. Other common everyday stressors often not identified include chemicals in our food and environment, electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs), poor dietary habits, ultra-processed foods, and lack of exercise. Even if we don’t recognize or immediately feel the effects of these hidden stressors, they all have an impact.

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The Importance of the Adrenal glands

You cannot live without your adrenal hormones and how well you live- your quality of life- depends a great deal on how well the adrenal glands function.

Adrenal dysregulation is one of the most prevalent conditions of our time and yet it is rarely diagnosed in Western medicine. Unfortunately, the milder forms of hypo or hyperadrenia are often missed or misdiagnosed. The narrow parameters of lab tests miss the earlier stages the pre-clinical stage, and people suffer needlessly with adrenal fatigue for years.

These glands are vital for maintaining physiological homeostasis by secreting stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. When this equilibrium is upset, either by chronic stress, environmental factors or pathological situations, it can result in the overproduction or underproduction of these hormones.

Excess cortisol for example is frequently associated with chronic stress, increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulting in oxidative damage by destroying lipids, proteins, and DNA. Oxidative stress, occurs when the body’s antioxidant defence systems cannot neutralize ROS. The increased ROS contributes to inflammation, the underlying cause of most chronic mental and physical disease.  Oxidative stress, resulting from dysregulation in the secretion of adrenal hormones, represents a major concern in human health.

Stress is a big part of most people’s lives today and each individual feels the effects differently. In the earlier stages of adrenal compromise symptoms may include: digestive problems, anger, irritability, mood swings, poor memory, fatigue, blood pressure irregularity, decreased immunity, allergies, asthma, and hormonal imbalances.

In addition, oxidative stress has been associated with inflammatory conditions including diabetes, arthritis, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Chronic stress also increases the risk for mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, insomnia and attention deficit disorder.

The later stages of adrenal compromise cause Cushing’s syndrome or Addison’s disease, which are life threatening and require long term medical treatments.

Your gut microbes may influence how you handle stress. Exposure to stress increases inflammation as previously mentioned, and alters the permeability of the gut microbiome commonly referred to ‘leaky gut’ allowing pathogens and toxins into bloodstream, thus increasing the inflammatory reaction. Due to the gut-brain connection, this increased inflammation increases the risk for mental health disorders.

Research has demonstrated the brain and gut are in constant communication and changes in the microbiome are linked to mental and physical health and there are distinct biological signatures in the microbiomes of people who are highly resilient in the face of stressful events.

Adaptogens and Antioxidants for Adrenal Support

Antioxidants: Vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids (lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin beta-carotene), selenium, zinc, coenzyme Q10, grapeseed extract, and resveratrol, are an example of powerful antioxidants that are essential for scavenging free radicals and lowering oxidative stress thereby mitigating the adverse effects of oxidative stress due to imbalances in adrenal hormones.

Adaptogens

The term ‘adaptogen’ is a category of plants that improve the response to stress. They have many properties but the most important is their ‘normalizing’ effect. Regardless of the condition they help the body maintain homeostasis which is a constant internal state necessary for health and life itself.

Some of the common health enhancing properties of adaptogens include: Improving blood sugar metabolism; supports immune and hormonal systems; protect cells from oxidative damage; increasing stamina and endurance; supports mental function; and strengths the nervous system. 

Examples of powerful adaptogens include: ashwaganda Siberian ginseng, rhodiola, astragalus, and schisandra.

There are combined adaptogen herbal formulas such as AdrenaSense containing important adaptogens that help prevent and treat stress induced conditions.

Probiotics are not antioxidants or adaptogens but are an important support to help prevent the negative effects of stress because of the gut-brain connection.

Considering the amount of stress most people experience on a regular basis, it is very important to support the adrenal glands on a regular basis and on a daily basis while experiencing more stressful situations. 

For more information talk with the knowledgeable staff at the Vitamin Shop.