Stress Inflames You in More Ways than You Realize!
Stress is a major killer in our high paced society. It has been said that 80% of "diagnosed disease" is directly due to the physiologic affects of stress. These effects of chronic stress cause changes in many major systems in the body. These changes manifest as such things as elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced sex drive, increased anxiety, sleep disturbances, and reduced ability to concentrate and focus on a task. The effects even cause alterations in digestion and stomach acid production, and systemic inflammation.
Inflammation in the body is one of the biggest killers that many patients deal with daily. Think about any condition that you have either been diagnosed with or have heard about on one of the myriad pharmaceutical commercials on television. Choose anyone that ends in the suffix "itis", and you're are dealing with inflammation. As a matter of fact, if you think about any one of these terms that you may have heard mentioned the first part of the diagnosis it simply informs you of the body part being affected by the inflammation. For example, one of the most common diagnosis that you hear bantered about every day is "arthritis". So, let's dissect the term. You have the "itis" part already. That simply means inflammation. The suffix "arthro" is simply the Latin term for joint. Therefor, you have inflammation in a joint. "Colitis" means that you have inflammation in the colon, or large bowel, and so on.
And just where does all this inflammation come from you may be wondering? Well, I must begin that explanation by stating that there are multiple causes for systemic (full body) inflammation. However, aside from a poor diet, and a deficiency in good healthy anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fats, STRESS is a major contributor to the problem. That's right the big S causes inflammation, and according to a recently published study stress early in life causes inflammatory changes in the body later in life.
This study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrates that chronic stress during the formative childhood years causes many problems later in life. I can't state it any better than the authors of the study, so let me show you what they said; "Exposure to adverse experiences, stress, and violence during childhood and adolescence is associated with elevated risk of physical and mental health problems in adulthood,1 many of which have inflammatory origins. Inflammation could constitute one of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the biological embedding of childhood stress, indicating an association between exposure to early-life adversity and adverse health outcomes in later life."
The moral of this story is to remember the "THINK RIGHT" component of our Health and Wellness paradigm. For those of you who are not sure what I mean look at the "Think Right" chapter of my book, or join us for my 2020 "Stress is Killing You Seminar".
Destressing is critical to your overall Health and Wellness. Please take the steps to reduce stress in your life so that you can live a longer healthier one.