Various surveys estimate that stress contributes to 80% of major illnesses
such as cardiovascular disease, digestive diseases (ulcers, ulcerative colitis, mental
disorders, injury, nervous system and sense-organ disease, musculoskeletal disease,
cancer, endocrine and metabolic disease, skin disorders, and infectious ailments of all
kinds.
When severe stress strikes, a number of things happen:
* Your body's ability to digest food is interrupted;
thus, it is more difficult to get important nutrients.
* Your immunity is reduced because stress seduces the
efficacy of your Tcells, which help fight infection.
* Blood hormones trigger the secretion of adrenaline,
which triggers a rise in blood pressure. This increases blood flow to the brain and
muscles and stimulates the liver to convert glycogen (stored sugar) into glucose. Proteins
from the thymus and lymph glands are converted to sugar for instant energy. The body also
looks for extra minerals and fats.
If your stress is of short duration, your body is able
to deal with and recover from these changes. However, if stress is an everyday affair for
you, the body continually experiences these changes, and, if your diet is not what it
should be, your storage of nutrients may run low and damage may take place. This is
perhaps what you feel as stress; the body crying for nutrients. You are irritable, can't
sleep, and can't eat. Ensuring that your body has the proper nutrients can help prevent
physical deterioration due to stress and make you feel better.
Nervous System
