CHRONIC STRESS LEVELS AND TYPE 2 DIABETES

Do you have chronic stress? Are you always stressed out to the max? Everyone has stress from time to time and we are all subject to a natural phenomenon called "Flight or Fight" syndrome.  That is when your body prepares itself for a sudden stressful event such as "Fighting the bear" or "Running away from the bear". That type of stress is normal and your body's Relaxation Response should kick in and return your body's functions to normal following a stressful event. Chronic stress is what happens when your body does not return to normal. CORTISOL has been called the stress hormone and it is what your body kicks out in response to the FIGHT or FLIGHT syndrome. Our bodies were not meant to run into several bears (so to speak) one after another, after another all day long and all week long and then interfere with sleep patterns of rest etc.

Cortisol when behaving normal and as GOD intended is a GOOD THING:

• Provides a quick burst of energy for survival reasons (I.E.(fight or run away from the bear)
• Regulation of blood pressure
• Insulin release for blood sugar maintenance
• Immune function
• Inflammatory response

HIGHER and prolonged levels of Cortisol  in the bloodstream such as in CHRONIC STRESS have negative effects on the body:

• Impaired cognitive performance 
• Suppressed thyroid function
• Decreased bone density
• Blood sugar imbalance such as hyperglycemia
• Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, including slower wound healing and other health consequences (Type 2 Diabetes)
• Decrease in muscle tissue
• Increased abdominal fat (increased risk of heart attack, strokes and metabolic syndrome)
• Higher levels of LDL (Bad cholesterol)
• Lower levels of HDL (Good cholesterol)

NOT very many of us are fighting or running away from bears these days, however your body doesn't know the difference between REAL bears in the wilderness and the bears that you face every day. Fighting heavy traffic to and from work, the kids are driving me crazy, the phones do not stop ringing. how am I supposed to pay my bills?, gas prices keep going up, heating fuel prices are through the roof, your doctor just diagnosed you with __________? (fill in the blank), they are going to foreclose on my mortgage, I lost my job, broken relationships, etc.

What can you do about it?

Exercise (run, walk, play racquet ball, ride your bike, do some jump roping, do squats with dumb bells, do pushups, go hiking.......DO something every day
Eat oatmeal for breakfast - oatmeal boosts the brain's level of serotonin which is a chemical that helps CALM the brain
Eat an apple a day
Eat an orange a day (provides vitamin C, & helps reduce stress hormones and strengthens immune system)
Eat spinach, soybeans and almonds & cooked salmon - provides magnesium to regulate cortisol levels
Get plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids (walnuts, flax seed oil, krill oil, tuna fish etc.) regulates cortisol and adrenaline levels / SEE previous post on OMEGA XL / rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids
DRINK black tea and NOT coffee - coffee increases cortisol levels
EAT pistachios to lower adrenaline spikes and blood pressure
EAT avocados and bananas - contain potassium to lower blood pressure
EAT and make green smoothies with celery, apples, baby spinach to lower blood pressure
EAT almonds for vitamin E and B vitamins - helps body become more resilient to stress
TAKE a B-complex vitamin every day, along with a good multi-vitamin and special diabetic supplements (SEE MY POST of supplements)
LOOK into St. John's Wart and Valerian Root to lower blood pressure and stress levels (CHECK with your doctor first and do the research on possible interactions with drugs or insulin)
READ a good book (This months choice, When the game is over,  "It All Goes Back In The Box" by John Ortberg / IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU VIEW LIFE

READ the scriptures daily - In them You will FIND Eternal Life

Get involved in something BIGGER than yourself
DO some volunteer work - make a difference in someone else's life
Lastly, try not to sweat the small stuff and in the end, it is all small stuff

Enjoy the 4th of July. God Bless you, Dan

A Promise of Healing

Isaiah 53:4-5


Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are whole.

John 5:39 NKJV

New King James Version

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.