A diet of stress: the trash of modern life

Despite our best efforts, life can be stressful, unpredictable, and messy. Nevertheless, this is where we can learn our greatest lessons.

In this case, the lesson lies in the revelation that acquiring chronic age-related disease is not solely about the vitamin-deficient American diet of processed food, a disconnect from nature, environmental toxins, EMF’s and genes.

In modern society, chronic stress is overwhelmingly linked with the development of cancer. Cancer.gov states, “Psychological stress describes what people feel when they’re under mental, physical, or emotional pressure. Although it’s normal to experience some psychological stress, people who experience high levels of psychological stress repeatedly over a long period of time may develop mental or physical health problems.”  Sciencedaily.com adds: “Stress wreaks havoc on the mind and body. Researchers discovered chronic psychological stress is associated with the body losing its ability to regulate inflammation.”

Carnegie Mellon University adds.  “Under stress, immune system cells are unable to respond to hormonal control, and consequently, produce levels of inflammation that promote disease, Because inflammation plays a role in many diseases such as cardiovascular, asthma and autoimmune disorders, this model suggests why stress impacts them as well. Knowing this is important for identifying which diseases may be influenced by stress and for preventing disease in chronically stressed people.”

Simplepsychology.org and the NIH both explain, “When we're stressed, the immune system's ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections. The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system (e.g. lowers the number of lymphocytes).

The immune system is the body’s department of defense against invading bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Your organs, tissues, cells and cell products that all work together to fight harmful substances and protect you from getting sick. Stress can affect your immune system in two ways: By creating chronic inflammation that harms tissues and suppressing immune cells needed to fight infection. The immune system’s ability to regulate inflammation predicts who will develop a cold, but more importantly it provides an explanation of how stress can promote disease.

Those grappling with cancer and their caregivers may find the physical, emotional, and social effects of the disease overwhelmingly stressful. Those who numb their stress with smoking, drinking alcohol, over-eating, pharma or street drugs and are sedentary, may have a poorer quality of life after cancer treatment due to weakened immunity.

Due to the Standard American Diet (SAD) of processed foods, brain food vitamin deficiency is widespread. Anti-anxiety vitamins A, C, B-complex, B-12, D-3, E, magnesium, and omega-3 can be supportive for the seat of our emotions when sourced from plant food and trustworthy food-based supplements.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation claim stress triggers master cancer genes. According to the research, ATF3 is the master gene that affects the response of cancer cells to the changes in the body. When a person experiences stress, ATF3 is triggered and stimulates the growth and spread of cancer cells within the local region or to other parts of the temple.

When stressed, choose plant-foods that fortify the immune system, lighten dark moods, relieve tension, and give stress the bum’s rush. Earth’s foods that feed your head are dark leafy greens, fermented foods, blueberries, flax and chia, walnuts, real turkey breast or wild-caught salmon rich in omega-3.  Lavender and lemon balm soothe stress too.
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Chill out and avoid scary TV news, violent, bloody movies, negative, energy-sucking people, stop taking things personally, accept what you cannot control, explore relaxation methods, meditation, ancient breathing techniques, exercise, or spend time in ear-splitting silence 30 minutes daily. And of course, if all else fails, seek family and community support, counseling or group talk therapy and you’ll exhibit lower levels of depression, anxiety, and symptoms.

It’s difficult staying grounded in today’s world. To cope effectively, we must accept stress is part of life, limit our exposure to it, and choose each morning to be positive, happy and focus on life through the lens of the present moment. When you’re healthy, you’re happy. Genes may load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.