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Toronto Personal Trainer: The Effects of Stress
By admin | August 7, 2008
When we discuss stress, it can be easily classified as a “Disease of the Modern World”. A disease is defined as an “impairment of the normal state or functioning of the body as a whole or of any of its parts” Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2005. Stress, as a disease, impairs out biomechanical functions by increasing our nutrient needs, increasing excretion and altering the use of certain nutrients leading to a lack in daily energy. Stress also produces high levels of cortisol that has multiple destructive effects on the body from blood clotting to insulin resistance. Some studies show that stress can actually shorten your life. Scientists demonstrated a correlation between perceived stress and objective stress on cellular aging. The premature aging study (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online November 29, 2004) compared the relative lengths of telomeres (a chromosomal cap the shortening of which is related to the aging process), telomerase and oxidative stress in women giving care to children with chronic illness and a control group of women caring for healthy children. The women who experienced more stress in their lives (by having an ailing child) had shortened telomeres, lower telomerase activity and greater oxidative stress then the less-stressed women. The changes in the stressed women indicated accelerated aging and likely increase risk of age-related diseases.
If we needed yet another reason to try to relax, these studies indicate that stress can seriously damage your body. So next time you feel stress building take a moment to focus inward and concentrate on your breathing. A simple form of meditation to combat stress is to inhale and exhale to a steady five counts. As you feel more relaxed, increase the length of the exhale. This simple exercise relaxes your body and mind while lowering the heart rate.
Check back for part two of this post on STRESS AND NUTRITION.
Topics: Healthy Tips |