Stress is one of the biggest problems we see in our office. It can cause all kinds of problems including insomnia, weight gain, irritability and even brain damage. Stress puts your whole body into crisis mode, which may be fine when you’re handling a crisis, but it does long-term damage when stress becomes a way of life.
One of the most important things you can do to combat stress is to eat right and take the correct supplements. Avoiding excess caffeine, highly processed foods, and sugar while feeding your body high quality nutrients gives your system the fuel it needs to handle stress. Adding supplements such as Adrenacalm, Neurochondria, Adaptocrine, and others also helps. If you want something please ask! A simple consultation can help determine which supplements are good and which might burn you out.
Exercise also acts as a great counter-balance to stress. Getting your heart-rate up and firing up the energy system in your body to burn off some of the cortisol and other stress compounds really helps. Our bodies were meant to move, and cortisol is part of the fight or flight response. If your body can’t get rid of the excess cortisol, it just hangs around causing all sorts of disruption to your system. We’re seeing unprecedented levels of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and brain damage in the modern world. Much of this can be attributed to our diet and lifestyle changes, but more so to the stress with which so many of us live. Because of the amount of damage it can do to the body, stress may be the greatest health hazard of the modern era.
If you’re feeling extra stressed, Dr. John is offering a stress workshop in May. He’ll explain how stress really affects the body and answer questions about how you can reduce the effects on your system. Make sure you ask for details!