High Stress Levels Can Make you Sick
Learning to thrive on stress and high Cortisol levels isn’t easy. Being much More than just a problem of metabolism and food intake. Recent studies show that stress and weight gain are linked together and cause a negative response that can lead to increased fat storage.
Stressful situations affect our overall health in many ways. Unfortunately none of them affect our well-being on a positive level. Many Medical health specialists claim, as normal human experience would confirm, that stress and depression can have negative effects on our physical health. Furthermore, in the long run, people under high stress can develop eating disorders and sleep disturbances. These serious health conditions could also lead to decreased physical energy, chronic pain, and sexual dysfunction.
Physical illnesses are almost always present whenever we are under high stressful conditions. Even our body’s internal processes respond to these conditions we face. During stressful situations, the adrenal glands inside the body release a substance called “Cortisol”. Cortisol is a natural steroid hormone that science experts refer to as the “stress hormone.” It is known as the“stress hormone” because large amounts of this substance are released whenever we feel stressed out or out of control emotionally. It is an important hormone in the human body because it is involved in proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, controls our of immune system functions, and inflammatory response.
Hormone Cortisol and Weight Gain
In general, cortisol is present in our bodies at peak levels in the morning and lowest in the evening. Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects like quick bursts of energy, improved immunity, heightened memory function, and lower sensitivity to pain. In addition, moderate doses of cortisol helps maintain homeostasis in the body.
Homeostasis is the property of living organisms that regulates its internal environment. Also to maintain a stable and constant state in terms of body temperature, acidity, and nutrient balance has to occur. Many Health experts express that this process is critical for survival and good health. With minimal or no thought at all, people maintain and restore homeostasis all the time. For example, people drink if they are thirsty, wear a sweater when it is cold, or take a rest after an intense physical activity. All these actions contribute to ones state of homeostasis. Furthermore, dilemmas occur when the body’s cells fail to communicate properly, and cause breakdown in homeostasis. This disturbance can lead to poor health and later into serious health conditions.
Adrenal Fatigue – Stress Hormones – Body Fat from Stress
Sustained and prolonged levels of cortisol, however, may lead to many harmful effects. Such as high cholesterol, suppression of the immune system, adrenal fatigue and faster aging process. Prolonged stress may lead to imbalance of cortisol in the body which causes disturbance in the components of the digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other major systems.
Medical specialists conclude that such imbalances can lead to several illness like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to these harmful effects, high levels of cortisol may lead to weight gain and adrenal fatigue. When people become overwhelmed, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol that release sugar in the blood which will then leads to additional weight gain. This takes a direct hit to the Adrenal Glands. Studies add that people who secrete higher levels of cortisol as a reaction to stress tend to eat more foods high in carbohydrates. To keep cortisol levels under control, the body’s relaxation response is activated during stressful situations.
Control your Stressful Situation in Easy Steps
Cortisol production varies from person to person. We are biologically designed to react differently to different forms and intensities of stress. There are many kinds of medication and weight loss supplements out in the market that are designed to reduce our high levels of cortisol in the body. In the same way that there are best weight loss programs that can help you combat emotional and stress-related eating. However, it is important to understand that certain illnesses are caused by too much stress. Keeping our lives as stress-free as possible and by practicing stress management techniques, living life would not be so hard as it seems.
Coping with stress is important so that you avoid more serious health problems down the road. Make sure that you attempt to handle stress as soon as it rears its head.
