Digestive Wellness Clinic

Stress

What is stress ? What are the symptoms of unhealthy stress levels ? The 3 stages of stress - how is your body reacting ? The effects of long term stress The impact of stress on life at home and at work Can changing one's diet really help ? Recommended tests The value of nutritional supplements

Stress is our body's natural reaction to situations and circumstances, and in some shape or form, it confronts us most days - be it at work or at home. Although we normally regard stress as a bad thing, it can actually be healthy and promote effective responses to the trials and challenges of everyday life.
However, it's the way we manage our stress levels which determine whether or not it will affect our long term health, quite apart from our happiness and that of those around us. If being stressed becomes the way we feel most of the time, the chances are that it is doing us no good at all.

The signs that our stress levels have become unhealthy can show up in both our mental and physical condition, as well as the way we interact with the world around us. Just as pain is a sign that something is doing us damage, so stress is a signal that we need take note of. It can manifest itself to us in a number of ways, including the following:-

• Fatigue, chronic fatigue, constantly fluctuating energy levels
• Poor sleep patterns
• Headaches and poor concentration
• Crying and/or a feeling of not being able to cope
• Mood swings
• Feelings of alarm, frustration and/or apathy,depression
• Loss of appetite or increased appetite and cravings, loss of sex drive
• Increased consumption of alcohol

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The hormones produced by the body which make us feel stressed are secreted by the Adrenal glands. These respond in a progressive way depending on the level of perceived threat or pressure, and the length of time it is felt. There are 3 stages of stress:-
Alarm stage - initial response to a perceived threat when adrenaline (short-term stress hormone) is produced to equip us for "fight" or "flight".
Adaptation or resistance stage - our adrenal glands become overworked and produce cortisol and DHEA (long term stress hormones) to enable the body to keep going in response to prolonged threat or pressure.
Exhaustion stage - our adrenal glands can no longer cope and are no longer able to produce enough cortisol or DHEA.

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Prolonged stress seriously disrupts the body's hormonal system, disturbing its natural balance and affecting all body systems. Common problems include:-

• Blood sugar imbalance - low or high blood sugar is common as glucose is released into the bloodstream in response to the adrenal glands struggling to cope with demands placed upon it.
• Digestion shuts down which can trigger symptoms such as, bloating, indigestion, abdominal pain or discomfort, constipation and/or diarrhoea.
• Poor liver function, resulting in higher levels of toxins in the blood stream.
• Development of allergies and/or food intolerances, as well as other inflammatory conditions.
• Increased susceptibility to illness as a result of a weakened immune system.
• Irregular menstrual patterns, PMS, sexual dysfunction and/or infertility - as a result of stress hormones over-riding the action of sex hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

These can combine to create "burn-out" where the individual becomes seriously ill and can't tolerate any stress. His/her ability to deal with day to day situations, either at work or at home, may be severely prejudiced. At this stage, only with rest and support will the adrenal glands recover and hormone production return to normal. This can often take some time.

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If not managed, stress can not only be damaging to one's health and happiness. It may impact seriously on one's ability to be effective at work, as well as maintain happy, caring relationships with family and friends. Ultimately, left untreated, stress can contribute to a wide range of bad consequences such as job loss, and family break-up as well as cause illness and profound unhappiness.

It is unrealistic, however, for most of us to imagine a normal life without stress. As mentioned above, moderate levels of stress are essential for optimum performance as well as for survival in life threatening situations. What is important is that we take action wherever possible to avoid stressful situations or encounters and to manage our reactions when they can't be avoided. Meditation and regular aerobic exercise are also extremely helpful.

Finally, making changes to one's diet really can help.

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Appropriate changes to one's diet and lifestyle, supported by nutritional supplementation, really can help to reduce the impact of long term stress on the body. Regular meals, consisting of a nutrient-dense diet (ideally 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks per day), which support blood sugar and give sustained energy are recommended. These should include:-

• Complex carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables and avoidance of refined processed foods and sugars
• Oily fish, nuts and seeds
• Good quality protein with every meal or snack
• 2 litres of pure filtered or bottled water per day
• Limit intake of tea, coffee, and other stimulants, such as alcohol and chocolate
• Elimination of causes of dietary stress, such as foods to which one is intolerant

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There are a number of scientific tests now available which are really useful in measuring accurately the body's reactions to stress, and in diagnosing other conditions which may be contributing to the problems. These include:-

• Comprehensive Adrenal Stress Index - a saliva test that measures levels of cortisol and DHEA over a 24 hour period, and the ratios between them. It can also measure levels of secretory IgA (the body's main reaction against infection).
• Thryoid or Urine T3/4 - this measures for low levels of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and T3, which are good indicators of prolonged stress.
• Intestinal Permeability - this measures the degree of "leakiness" of the gut wall. A "leaky gut" allows the passage of partially digested foods and/or toxins to pass straight through into the blood stream. There is no single cause, but stress is a common contributing factor.
• Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis - this analyses levels of good and bad bacteria in the gut, as well as possible yeast overgrowth which is especially common in individuals with a history of antibiotics and/or a high sugar diet.
• Food intolerances - this establishes any intolerance to food which will further burden the immune system and the liver's ability to detoxify optimally.

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Once tests have given clear guidance as to the specific impact that stress has had on your body, there are numerous supplement strategies which can have a huge positive effect on your route to recovery.

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