Stress is now a common fixture in our hectic, busy lives. Small amounts of stress that are easily resolved can be beneficial in motivating and helping us achieve our goals. Although chronic or long-term stress affects each of us differently, it ultimately affects the whole body in a negative way and may contribute to many health complaints.

Is your health being affected by stress?

Do you often feel anxious, worried, depressed, irritable, exhausted, overloaded or forgetful?

Do you suffer from stiff or sore muscles or joints, tension headaches, high blood pressure, frequent colds or the flu?

Or do you have irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, an increase or loss of appetite, or worsening of an existing illness or condition?

If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, your body may be overburdened by stress.

Fight or Flight: Your Response to Stress

Thousands of years ago, we may have been faced with the threat of a sabre tooth tiger and our immediate response to this was one of two reactions: to attack or run away. This is now known as the fight or flight response. Once this stress response is triggered, chemical messengers called adrenaline, cortisol and noradrenaline are produced by the adrenal glands and brain. These messengers increase blood flow to the essential organs such as the heart, lungs, brain and muscles to help us fight or run away. Digestive function slows down as this is less important in survival mode. Cortisol also increases the amount of sugar released into the blood to provide energy for our muscles to attack or run. In the past, stress was short-lived and once the stress was over, these chemical messengers shortly returned to normal.

Where’s the Off Switch?

Over time our bodies have not changed this biological response to stress. Although the sabre tooth tigers are long gone, the physical threat to our lives and limbs has been replaced with the modern day stress of long work hours, financial worries, traffic jams and family issues.

So what happens if this stress response does not turn off because of our non-stop busy lifestyles?
Ongoing stress that does not resolve may result in chronic stress, which can be the underlying cause of many health conditions.

Chronic stress can impact body systems such as the cardiovascular system by contributing to high blood pressure. It can also take its toll on your nervous system leading to exhaustion, headaches and insomnia. Your digestive and immune systems can also be weakened by stress, making you more susceptible to irritable bowel syndrome, frequent colds and the flu.

Herbs and Nutrients for De-stressing

Go from ‘dis-stressed’ to ‘de-stressed’ with the help of herbs and nutrients:

• Rhodiola and withania are herbs which enhance the body’s response to stress. Rhodiola has been shown to reduce both physical and mental fatigue during times of stress.
• The herbs, passionflower, zizyphus and magnolia have been traditionally used for reducing stress, anxiety and nervous tension.
• St John’s wort is well-known for supporting healthy mood and protecting against the effects of stress.
• Magnesium, glutamine and B vitamins are used in abundance during times of stress, when the body’s requirement for these key nutrients is increased. Magnesium assists in muscle relaxation and calms the nervous system.

5 Top Stress Busting Tips:

Lessen your stress load by practising the following stress busting strategies:

1. Rest and Relaxation: Relaxation techniques such as tai chi, yoga, and meditation can help you to control stress and improve physical and mental well-being.
2. Think Positive: A good attitude and positive outlook is fundamental for de-stressing. Thinking positively will help you get through a stressful period with greater enthusiasm and drive.
3. Exercise: Exercise is a brilliant form of stress relief, as it conditions the body and mind, and encourages the release of endorphins, which help you feel good.
4. Indulge Yourself: Enjoy a well-deserved massage or some other blissful treatment – perhaps soak in a bath with relaxing aromatherapy oils such as lavender, ylang ylang, chamomile
or geranium.
5. Eat Healthy Foods: For a healthy mind and body, eat a diet abundant in fresh, brightly coloured fruits and vegetables. Consume protein with meals and snacks, and enjoy foods
high in essential fatty acids such as oily fish, nuts and seeds. Minimise your intake of caffeine, energy drinks, sugar, alcohol and processed foods as these will contribute to fatigue in the
long-term.

Stress Less for Good Health and Wellness

Although the stress of modern life is inescapable, it is important to remember that we can easily manage our response to stress with the help of dietary and lifestyle changes and some key
natural medicines. Supporting a healthy stress response will allow you to feel more energised, resilient and ready to tackle life, so you can maintain the state of health and wellness that
you deserve

Men who drink a sugar-sweetened beverage a day have a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease than men who avoid sugary drinks, U.S. researchers say.

The study found men who drank a 12-ounce, sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease. However, less frequent consumption — twice weekly and twice monthly — didn’t carry the same risk.

The findings held even after controlling for other risk factors, including smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease, said Dr. Frank B. Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston who was the study’s lead author.

This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health, Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption.

Hu and his colleagues arrive at their findings, published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, after studying 42,883 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Beginning in January 1986 and every two years until December 2008, the men — mostly white, ages 40-75 and employed in the health profession — answered questionnaires about diet and other health habits. The study participants also provided a blood sample midway through the survey. Follow-up was 22 years later.

Filling your plate with colorful fruits and veggies doesn’t just make your plate look pretty – it also provides antioxidants and other health-enhancing vitamins and minerals. We get different nutrients from different foods, so eating a variety of produce in different colors is one of the easiest ways to ensure we’re getting a full range of nutrients. In fact, one quick way to determine whether you’re eating a balanced meal is to check your plate for at least three different hues. Here, 10 bright ideas for loading up on foods that fight cancer, boost vision, and improve your health in other ways.

Red: Beets

A crimson tint indicates that a fruit or vegetable may promote a healthy heart, boost vision and immunity, and cut down on cancer risks. Beets are a prime example of the healing power of the color red. Their hue comes from betacyanins, a substance linked to fighting cancer in laboratory mice. The vegetable also contains nitrate, which may lower your blood pressure and can halt dementia in older adults by improving blood flow to the brain.

Red: Cherries

Cherries may lower your risk for arthritis, heart disease and cancer by fighting inflammation, according to a  study. If you’d rather drink your nutrients, guzzle a tart cherry juice. What’s more, a 2010 study found that the beverage may help you sleep better with its high melatonin content. It may also reduce muscle damage in athletes, reports research from London.

Red: Tomato

A tomato’s rosy complexion comes from lycopene, a phytochemical that helps protect against prostate cancer. While most fruits and vegetables lose some of their antioxidants once they’re cooked, cooking tomatoes actually enhances their lycopene content. This means that even when tomatoes are out of season you can reap their health benefits through tomato paste.

Orange: Sweet Potatoes

Orange fruits and veggies get their color from beta-carotene, a potent antioxidant that’s converted to vitamin A in our bodies. The substance may protect the skin from UV rays and help prevent vision loss. Sweet potatoes are no exception. In addition to delivering nearly four times your recommended vitamin A allowance, a serving supply you with blood-pressure-friendly potassium, immunity-boosting vitamin C and slimming fiber.

Yellow: Pineapple

The tropical fruit delivers 131 percent of your daily vitamin C intake and also supplies you with bromelain, an enzyme that helps with indigestion, reduces inflammation and may prevent heart disease. Mounting research also indicates that bromelain has cancer-fighting properties.

Green: Broccoli

Emerald veggies like broccoli and bok choy support a healthy immune system. These cruciferous veggies contain a protein that helps the immune cells that line and protect the gut and skin – function properly, according to 2011 research published in Cell. Broccoli’s also a great way to get your green on because it contains relatively high levels of protein (3 grams per cup), vitamin C (135 percent of your daily value), and vitamin K (116 percent of your daily value). Phytochemicals in broccoli also exerts healthy hormonal balance in men and women.

Green: Spinach

When it comes to greens, the deeper and more intense the color, the more nutrition you’ll get. Choose kale, spinach or collard greens rather than iceberg lettuce. Popeye’s favorite will hit you with significant helpings of calcium, potassium and vitamins A and K. Not to mention, the nitrate in spinach can help muscles perform more efficiently, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Blue: Blueberries

Natural foods with a blue or purple glow contain anthocyanins, a phytonutrient known to be a superfood. “These foods decrease our risk for macular degeneration and prevent certain cancers and strokes. A higher intake of anthocyanins has also been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a 2012 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Blueberries are a superstar in their own right, serving up more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy doses of vitamins K and C, fiber and manganese.

Purple: Grapes

Grapes possess an antioxidant trump card, resveratrol. Many studies indicate that the substance may chip away at a number of different types of cancers and prevent against heart disease. These nutritious orbs may also prevent age-related blindness, according to research from California Table Grape Commission. They’ll also give you substantial amounts of vitamins K and C.

White: Banana

You may not think pale foods fit this technicolour food scheme, but white fruits and veggies can be beneficial to your health. In fact fruits with white flesh – such as bananas, apples, pears and cauliflower – may keep strokes away, according to a Dutch study published in the journal Stroke. Bananas’ concentration of B6 and potassium can also boost your mood and help your heart.

At some time, most of us have experienced what it’s like to have trouble falling asleep, to lie awake in the middle of the night, or feel sleepy and fatigued during the day.

Good, refreshing sleep is essential for health. There is no doubt that chronic insomnia is frustrating, but there is also evidence that insomnia is linked to early death and serious declines in quality of life.

Below are tips for a good nights sleep

• Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. These will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.

• Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.

• Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.

• Get Daily Exercise. Exercise for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, donʼt exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Try exercising in the morning, afternoon or early evening instead.

• Don’t Change Your Bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.

• Listen to White Noise or Relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep.

• Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. When light hits the eyes, it disrupts the circadian rhythm of the pineal gland and production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night.

• No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep.

• Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed.

• Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11PM and 1AM. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver, which then secondarily backs up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.

• Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings.

• Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.

• Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.

• Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep.

• Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep.

• Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.

• Don’t drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.

• Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep.

• Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it… 2 AM…3 AM… 4:30 AM…

• Keep Your Bed For Sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.

• Reading. This will help to relax. Donʼt read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.

• Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin.

• Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin.

• Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that Insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress.

• If you are menopausal or peri-menopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed

An article published on February 8, 2012 in Science Translational Medicine, one of the Science family of journals, reveals the discovery of a significant reduction in the growth of cancerous tumors subjected to short cycles of fasting. The regimen was found to improve the effect of chemotherapy but also worked well without drug treatment.

“A limited time of exposure to a severely restricted diet (short-term starvation or fasting) can protect yeast, mammalian cells, mice, and possibly patients from the toxic effects of oxidative and chemotherapeutic agents without causing chronic weight loss,” wrote University of Southern California professor of gerontology and biological sciences Valter D. Longo, PhD and his colleagues in their introduction to the article.

In studies with live mice, animals that had access to only water for 48 to 60 hours experienced benefits in some cases that were comparable to chemotherapy, however, the greatest benefits were observed in animals that underwent both chemotherapy and fasting. In two experiments, approximately 25 and 42 percent of fasted animals that received chemotherapy achieved long term survival, in contrast with zero chemotherapy-treated animals that consumed a normal diet.

“A way to beat cancer cells may not be to try to find drugs that kill them specifically but to confuse them by generating extreme environments, such as fasting that only normal cells can quickly respond to,” he added.