Happy Monday All,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend
In today’s post I wanted to share a post about stress
Is stress the cause of all your health problems?
Stress is often the root cause of many peoples health problems and in our modern world it’s everywhere.
The thing with stress is that it shows up in many different ways but our body simply deals with stress in the same way. It’s the compounding chronic effect that flips us from function to dis-function and ease to dis-ease.
1 – Physical Stress
It’s pretty much agreed that movement and exercise are good forms of stress (eustress). Exercise benefits include increase metabolism, reduce risk of disease, improved mood, heart health, strengthening of muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and bones. However TOO MUCH exercise can be a huge problem. Drawbacks such as decreased metabolic rate, decreased muscle and suppressed immune systems are all common with over-exercises.
How much is too much?
I always say you can train as hard as you can recover. If like an athlete you have access to a daily sports massage, cryogenic chambers, infrared saunas, acupuncture, an on-hand physio and plenty of time for sleep and rest then maybe you could train for a few hours everyday.
For most people who have full time jobs, are pretty stressed and time poor, 3-4 hours a week works pretty well.
2 – Chemical Stress
Our bodies are full of chemicals – naturally produced chemicals that are essential for health.
When our bodies are working as they are supposed to be, they produce a number of chemical reactions that regulate hormones such as cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and melatonin. It’s chemical reactions that convert sunlight to vitamin D and the food we eat are made up of organic chemicals – vitamins, enzymes, proteins and fats that we need to survive.
The problem is we now live in a world where we are bombarded with synthetic chemicals, synthetic vitamins, minerals, pesticides, herbicides and certain fertilizers.
3 – Electromagnetic Stress
Sunlight is an amazing electromagnetic stress that gives life to us, plants, flowers and the planet.
Over-exposure to electromagnetic stress such as too much sunlight resulting in burning is a problem. Most people know that constantly sticking your face in the medical x-rays is probably not a good idea. The most ignored electromagnetic stress comes in the form of low level pollution emitted by electronic devices such as computers, phones, microwaves, TV’s, electric blankets and so on. Although we seem to need all of these to function in our modern world they do cause all sorts of problems with our hormonal balance and autonomic systems
4 – Mental and Emotional Stress
When people talk about stress this is the form that is typically referred to. We can have good mental/emotional stress such as overcoming adversity, goal setting and goal getting and flooding our minds with positive thoughts.
The bad what many refer to as ‘stinking thinking’ or ‘shut the duck up’ are forms of worry, frustration, anger and feelings of the negative. Working to exhaustion, staying in unhealthy relationships, holding grudges and getting upset are all going to make you unhealthy.
5 – Nutritional Stress
Eating the right types of food, in the right amounts at the right times are just as critical as being able to digest and assimilate the nutrients from these foods.
Eating too much, too little and the wrong kinds of food are all forms of nutritional stress. Consuming foods with large amounts of toxins from pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, colourings, thickeners, emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners can all be very stressful for the body. Buy organic when possible.
So there you have it. Stress comes in many forms but as mentioned above, the body deals with it in the same way so, take one day at a time and do your best to eliminate as many stress factors in your life as you can for a healthier you.
Paul “Cool as a cucumber” and Krystie “deep breathing” Miller
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