Stress!!!! How does it affect me?

Have you ever wondered what stress actually manifests itself to be? What the side affects of high stress might be?

Everyone has situations in their life that causes stress. It may be work, kids, family, friends, or just lack of time. But how do our bodies react to these stressors.

When your body encounters stress over extended periods of time it causes your body to release increased amounts of; Cortisol, Growth Hormone, and Norepinephrine. Inorder to understand what long term effects of stress are we need to know what the long term effects of these increased levels are.

Cortisol: Is a hormone that is secreted by our adrenal glands. Evidence is showing that increased levels of cortsol counteracts the effectiveness of insulin, which result in hyperglycemia, increases stomach acid production, increased water retention, decreased immune function, decreased bone formation which increases the likelyhood of developing osteoprorsis, and finally if levels remain excessively high for to long of a time period damage to the hippocampus in your brain is possible causing a decrease in your ability to learn.

When cortisol, growth hormone, and norepinephrine are increased over long peroids of time there is evidence suggesting that different medical conditions may occur including Metabolic sydrome, Depression, Hypertension, and ADHD.

Does it seem like these conditions seem to be on the rise in our country? Maybe its time for people to make a change in thier lifestyles so that we will have less stress and be better able to coupe with the stresses that we do have.

Best of wishes to everyone on living a healthier and happier life.

Sugar Addiction

The average american consumes 88 grams a day of sugar. This comes to a total of 71 lbs of sugar per year. With each passing year there is more a more sugar being added to our processed foods.

The American Heart Association has advised that we consume no more than 16 lbs of sugar a year for women and 29lbs for men. They have found that sugar is the most likely cause of the growing epidemic of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated triglyceride levels. Moderation in life tends to be the key to having a healthy balanced life.

If you would like to decrease your sugar intake the number one thing you can do is stop eating processed foods(which is the number one place we pick up our extra sugar). I know this is difficult for most people so if you must eat processed foods the best way is to read the ingredients label. Now you most likely wont see the word sugar anywhere on this label. This is because sugar has many names that better define the types of sugar it is. So look for these words instead: Dextrose, Maltose, Sucrose, Fructose, Glucose, Lactose, or the most popular High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  If any of these are in the top 4 ingredients on the label you should look for a healthier alternative.

By decreasing your intake of sugars in your diet you will not only be decreasing your risk or those diseases listed earlier. You will most likely find that your energy levels will increase due to your metabolism functioning properly.

I wish you all a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.

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