13/10/2021
Like was discussed in the last post, prolonged bouts of stress can effect the body and lead to disease.
Stress can damage brain tissue leading to poor moods, memory issues, and changes in cognition. Stress also has a big impact on the immune system whereby it increases circulating immune cells, and in chronic stress, this can turn in to a state of inflammation. Chronic inflammation can then lead to diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, and mental health issues.
There is an interesting link between depression and inflammation, where normally the brain would signal the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin from the protein tryptophan to go into the brain and create happy feelings and regular sleeping patterns, but where the body is stressed and then in a state of inflammation, the tryptophan gets ‘stolen’ and then made into another product called 3-hydroxykynuernine. This product is an inflammatory compound, and can promote depression and insomnia 😴
Another interesting link, is the link between stress and gut health. In the gut, there is a lining that keeps toxins, bacteria, and larger products (like food particles) out of the rest of the system as it absorbs what it needs and removes the waste products. When there is chronic stress however, this lining becomes inflamed and ‘leaky’, making toxins, bacteria and other products available to the rest of the body. This causes issues because it causes an immune reaction and further inflammation. Also, chronic stress can alter the gut bacteria and favours the growth of ‘bad’ bacteria instead of ‘good’. This can lead to things like food intolerances, bloating, gas, and nausea 🦠
Follow on tomorrow as we talk about what practices and food we can use to help manage stress. But for now… go and take a walk.