The Effects of Stress
STRESS AS A NATURAL OCCURRENCE
Our bodies are designed to handle variations from diet, exercise, stress and weight. It regularly produces assorted hormones for a period of time to take care of these situations. All this is a normal cycle for the body.
STRESS & HORMONES
The challenge is when that stressor continues for a prolonged period of time. This causes the body to overproduce hormones, thus stressing the entire system, breaking down cells, tissues, and organs.
When our body undergoes a stress, the adrenal glands produce adrenaline aka epinephrine. This hormone stimulates the heart muscle, alters the rate of blood flow, and raises basal metabolic rate. This is known as the fight or flight syndrome. Epinephrine also prompts the secretion of glucagon by the pancreas, causing the release of nutrients from storage. The steroid hormone cortisol is also produced. It enhances protein degradation, which raises amino acid levels in the blood so that they become available for conversion of glucose. The two other hormones induced by stress, aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone both help to maintain blood volume.[1]
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Julie - Thank you so much for this thorough, comprehensive look at the effects of stress, and what we can do to deal with it. I know a lot of people have experienced high stress levels from the economy in the past couple of years, and when health problems have followed, the stress levels sometimes have been extreme. I especially appreciated the information on maintaining a healthy diet to combat stressful situations - it truly does make a difference. Again, thank you! Pat
Pat- Thank you for your feedback! I just had a look at your background and I commend you on all you have professionally accomplished and your courage with personal challenges. I do feel eating is such a big piece of the health puzzle and am working on ways to get this out there more. Given your background, any thoughts would be most appreciated! All the best, Julie
I just found your site and it is great. Our thoughts and our nutrition can be our best healers. Thanks so much for the great writing and insights. Courtney_182 http://www.shiftshappen-site.com
Hi Courtney- Thanks for the comment. Just had a look at your site... great name by the way... you are doing some great work! Julie