Raise your hand if you don’t have any stress in your life. Stress becomes a problem when we don’t handle it correct.
What is stress?
There are outside stressors like financial worries, driving to and from work, and inside stressors like candida overgrowth or parasites. What happens when we are under stress? Fear and anger builds up, we have trouble sleeping and need our coffee in the morning to get going. Over time we notice that we have trouble fighting off a simple cold and it takes weeks to get well. Sweets are out best friend. We experience diarrhea and / or constipation, have food sensitivities all of a sudden.
Adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol is being released by the adrenals; this increases the heart rate and more blood is being pumped through the body, digestion slows down, blood sugar is being elevated for energy, respiration rate increased. This is called a Fight or Flight reaction.
If the stressor is not removed the adrenals will pump out cortisol in elevated levels all the time which weakens the adrenals in the long run. We just notice that we don’t have the energy anymore or suddenly in the afternoon we run out of energy, need a nap or just can’t keep up anymore with the demands in our lives. Most people who experience this kind of energy loss reach for some kind of stimulants like coffee, soda, pills, alcohol, chocolate, nicotine, etc. We all know that those measures are only masking the problem and in the meantime it grows worse without us noticing it.
Cortisol is important to increase blood sugar levels. During stressful times cortisol helps to raise the blood sugar level in our body, to provide energy for the cells. Rising blood sugar levels increases insulin levels and the up and down of blood sugar levels causes insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Cortisol is an Anti-inflammatory agent. For example, in the case of a trauma, cortisol is being releases to reduce the swelling like in arthritis. Elevated cortisol suppresses the immune system, especially in the gut lining. This causes the person to be susceptible to illness like viruses and bacterial infections. Since cortisol has so many functions in our body, it is important to support the adrenals.
Solutions by identifying and removing underlying causes of stress
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- Sleep! Is so important, getting good quality sleep as well as 8 hours of sleep will help to repair your adrenals.
- Healthy food, no junk food, no sugar will allow for adrenal repair.
- Exercise is important, but how much is enough or healthy for you? It depends on the severity of the adrenal dysfunction. If you can recover fast after exercising you reached the level of intensity that your body can handle.
- Removing and reducing ElectroMagnetic Frequency exposure.
- Drinking clean water
Supplements? Which ones? It all depends on the person
(consult your physician prior to making health changing decisions)
Eleuthero prolongs the half-live of cortisol. Talk to your physician before experimenting with any supplement.
The information provided on this website is not meant to substitute professional medical advice. Consult your health care provider in regard to supplementation, especially if you are on any kind of medication.