Usually associated with the physical and mental side-effects of a busy lifestyle, stress is rampant during times such as this. For many people a bad economy is at the root of money worries, leading to high anxiety. During periods of stress, the body generates chemicals called cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. High levels of these hormones can  raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and make you sweat more. In addition to this, too much cortisol circulating in the body can lead to weight gain. Excessive amounts of cortisol releases fat and sugar into your bloodstream and even prevents the immune system from functioning properly.

So how do you recognize when your stress level may be too high?

Symptoms

• Feeling excessive guilt when you’re relaxing, and not always staying busy
• Having trouble getting to sleep
• Finding it hard to concentrate
• Experiencing an unusually high level of sensitivity
• Tension in your body
• Indigestion, loss of appetite or eating purely for comfort

Management

Making some simple lifestyle changes should help ease many of the symptoms associated with stress. If however, you are experiencing stress or anxiety that is a real cause for concern, you should always talk to your doctor.

• Take things one step at a time. It’s ok to say no when demands are too high.
• Talk to someone who is positive and will offer you useful advice.
• Let out your frustration in a healthy way. Try shouting out load, screaming or even hitting a pillow!
• Use relaxation techniques such as yoga to help calm your body and mind.
• Become physically active. Exercise releases endorphins into your blood stream, giving you a feeling of happiness and improved sense of well-being.
• Take time out from your usual daily routine. Socialize with friends or take time to be at one with yourself.

Why do we need to control it?

It’s simple. Excess cortisol is secreted during times of physical or psychological stress which can alter the normal pattern of cortisol release. When hormones are imbalanced, often due to stress, lack of exercise or a poor diet, a person can experience symptoms such as depression, mood swings, low libido and fatigue.

Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and helps maintain blood sugar levels which may cause an increase in appetite and cravings for high-carb, high-fat foods. Not surprisingly therefore, high levels of cortisol can also contribute to weight gain and even affect where you put on weight. Studies show that stress and elevated cortisol levels actually cause an increase in visceral fat  in the abdominal area, the worst place to store excess fat. There is a strong correlation between abdominal fat and cardiovascular disease.

Lifestyle changes to control cortisol

Sleep is a very important component of any healthy lifestyle. Making sure you get an adequate amount of sleep each night can help keep hormone levels in an ideal range. According to nutrition4health.org, the key to a rejuvenating sleep  is having a normal cortisol rhythm during the day that leads up to a restful nights sleep. In other words, the two go hand in hand.

Although caffeine can function as an effective way to boost metabolism, making sure you don’t exceed 400mg each day is important where cortisol is concerned.

Vitamin C is thought to be a stress buster that can have a positive impact on the hormone cortisol. Psychology Today declares that vitamin C helps reduce the physical and psychological impact of stress. “In one study German researchers subjected 120 people to a sure-fire stressor….Half of those studied were given 1,000 mg of vitamin C. Such signs of stress as elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol and high blood pressure were significantly greater in those who did not get the vitamin supplement. Those who got vitamin C reported that they felt less stressed when they got the vitamin,” reports Psychology Today.

Refrain from drinking alcohol. High levels of intoxication could stimulate cortisol release. A study titled  Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found that long-term chronic drinking produces an increase in cortisol both during intoxication and withdrawal.

To keep cortisol levels balanced or as the experts call it, in a homeostatic state, relaxation techniques can be very beneficial. Everything from Yoga, to listening to music, to exercising regularly can have a positive effect on the body’s response to stress.

In the February 2006 edition of the American Journal of Public Health, it was reported that taking sufficient amounts of Vitamin D could lower cancer risk by as much as 50 percent.

Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine, says, “I would challenge anyone to find an area or nutrient or any factor that has such consistent anti-cancer benefits as vitamin D.”

In areas such as Canada with a sun-starved  latitude, it may be a wise to invest in a vitamin D producing home tanning bed. I would strongly recommend that anyone struggling with health issues be tested for vitamin D levels. It can easily be tested during a routine blood test (25-hydroxyvitamin D), but unfortunately it rarely is. If you’re not well and your doctor is not testing you for vitamin D, it may be wise to force the issue or find a doctor who is more proactive.

Serum 25-D levels should be between 50 to 80 ng/ml. This is optimal for both cancer prevention and to support healthy immune system function.

Although I recommend having your serum levels tested, signs of vitamin D deficiency are:  weakness, tired legs, muscle pains, lowered immunity, fatigue, frequent infections and depression.

When sunlight is sparse and immunity is down, it is prudent to supplement. The best form of vitamin D is D-3 or cholecalciferol.

The D-2 synthetic version is often added to ‘fortify’ foods but falls way short of the effectiveness of D3, which is the form your body converts from the sun. Most multivitamins only have small amounts of D-2 and also include vitamin A, which can counteract many of D3′s benefits.

Here is a list of the best healthy food sources of vitamin D

• Milk (Vitamin D usually added)
• Salmon
• Mackerel
• Sardines
• Cod liver oil (great source)
• Sun-dried mushrooms

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored in fat cells.  In people who are overweight or obese, there are more fat cells to absorb the vitamin D.  Therefore, there is less vitamin D available to be utilized by important organs like the intestines and kidneys.

It’s becoming more and more evident that the benefits of vitamin D far outweigh any risk of skin cancer caused by the sun. In the scientific journal Cancer (3/02), it was reported that there is a strong inverse relationship in regards to cancer and sunlight, meaning the less sunlight, the more prevalent the cancer rate, especially breast, colon and ovarian cancers.

Sunscreens with an SPF of around 8 or more will block the UV rays that generate vitamin D. Nearly all fatal forms of skin cancer related to sun exposure are cases of frequent abuse and overexposure. The

A majority of us now spend close to 90% of our lives indoors and have been led to believe that sun is bad for us, which isn’t true.  The fact is, like your garden, it is a giver of life… and vitamin D.

For more information on the facts and benefits of vitamin D, visit www.vitamindcouncil.org

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was entitled…Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and fat mass loss in female very low-calcium consumers: potential link with a calcium-specific appetite control.

The researchers found that the women who had consumed 600 mg or less of elemental calcium per day did not show significant fat loss, but the women who took 1,200 mg of calcium daily showed a significant decrease in body weight, fat mass, and spontaneous dietary lipid (fat) intake. Meaning, not only did it positively influence body composition but the dietary fat intake also went down, which possibly means that the brain may not be craving as much fat.

Daily recommendations are follows:

Women 25 to 50 years: should take: 1000 mg. During pregnancy and lactation 1200 to 1500 mg.

Women over 50 years: with supplementary estrogen replacement, 1000 mg. Women over 50 years, without supplementary estrogen replacement should take 1500 mg.

Women over 65 years: 1500 mg

Be sure to take a magnesium supplement as well, as it’s nearly pandemic decreased in most male and female Americans. Calcium to magnesium should be at a 2:1 ratio, although this element was not included in this study.

In essence here’s what’s important…

If you are female and are low in calcium and vitamin D, your body may be struggling with mobilizing fat for energy. In the study, the women who were calcium deficient really didn’t lose much weight, only 2.2 pounds. But the women who were very low in calcium and supplemented  lost 13.2 pounds. That’s SIX TIMES the weight loss.

Natures gifts are abundantly present if you seek to use them.

I can make a very strong case that filtered water and detoxification through cleansing can make a big impact on your overall health. If you’re trying to flush waste out of your body, it only makes sense that you drink water that doesn’t have waste in it!

Years ago people died due to things like cholera and typhoid which contaminated our water supplies. Now with the advancements of ‘medicine’ our municipal drinking water is cleansed of most germs — but not drugs. The Associated Press learned, during a five-month investigation, that millions of Americans are drinking water that’s tested positive for minute concentrations of pharmaceuticals.

If you haven’t heard, not too long ago, a whole slew of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsant meds, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — were found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. More than 300,000 people suffer from renal failure each year and undergo kidney dialysis and then wait for a kidney transplant.

If you don’t think you can afford a water filtration system check out the costs of kidney dialysis… over $1 Billion per year in the U.S.

It may cost patients as much as $30K per month… do the math for the co-pay. The kidneys are pretty small organs by weight, but they receive a huge amount – about 20% – of the blood pumped by the heart each minute. Every day, your kidneys process and cleanse about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products.  Be mindful of your ‘machine.’ Love and nurture it and it will, by nature, take care of you.