Stressed Out? Try Natural Relief

By Joseph McCaffrey, MD, FACS

What if you knew that poisonous chemicals were slowly accumulating in your body? Only tiny amounts at a time, but steadily and gradually accumulating to a level that eventually exposed you to illness. Would you want to stop that accumulation and reverse what had already occurred?

Of course you would.

Most likely this is in fact happening to you. Only the source isn't some external form of pollution -- it's your body's own stress response constantly being triggered.

Stress is a fact of our every day life. One definition is anything that requires a response and adaptation on our part. In today's world, we respond all the time -- we have to. Things change quickly and information comes at us from all directions.

Over time, chronic stress shifts our internal chemical balance. For example, people under chronic stress have higher levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) and lower levels of DHEA (the "youth hormone"). These changes severely impair your well-being and vitality.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to defuse the situation and restore balance.

The Basics
First of all, a healthy lifestyle goes a long way toward creating stress hardiness. Eating a healthy diet, exercising well and getting rest all help minimize the effects of daily stress.

Diaphragmatic Breathing
One helpful thing you can do in the moment of stress is breathe. Really breathe. Since we have to breathe to live, you'd think we'd all be pretty good at it. The fact is, most of us breathe poorly.

We draw air into our lungs by expanding the volume of our chests. We do this by moving our rib cage and moving our diaphragm. The diaphragm moves much more air, yet most people mainly use their rib motion to breathe.

Under stress it gets even worse -- breathing becomes tense and shallow.

To break the stress cycle, you can take a deep breath from the diaphragm. In a sense, it gives your body an "all clear" message. But to do it properly, you need to learn to use your diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a thin (about ¼-inch) layer of muscle separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. At rest, it's like an upside-down bowl. When it contracts, it flattens, pushing down toward the abdomen.

If you use your diaphragm, your stomach should expand as you breathe in. Babies naturally breathe this way. The rest of us have to practice a bit.

You can check if you are breathing properly from the diaphragm by lying down and resting your hand on your stomach. Take a deep breath. Your hand should move up. If it doesn't, play with your breathing until you find how to move your hand up. When you do, you've just used your diaphragm.

A good practice is to consciously take 10 slow deep breaths, using both your diaphragm and rib cage, several times a day. If you feel yourself becoming tense, use deep breathing to break the cycle.

If it appeals to you, you can also imagine yourself breathing in relaxation and breathing out tension.

Meditation
The science is in -- meditation neutralizes stress. Dr. Herbert Benson did the first serious research on the physiology of people meditating. He described his findings in his book The Relaxation Response and several books since. The relaxation response is the physiologic opposite of the stress response.

Further research has only confirmed the value of meditation. For example, dynamic brain scans demonstrate differences in brain function between people who meditate regularly and those who don't.

Even though most people have heard of the benefits of meditation by now, they don't do it. One reason often given for not meditating is that they don't want to buy into a belief system. You don't have to. While meditation can be done as part of a spiritual practice, it can be done simply for the physiology it induces.

Another reason given is lack of time. Some programs do call for 20-45 minutes twice a day, and that is a lot of time. However, much shorter periods, even 5 minutes, yield benefits. If you can't find 5 minutes to sit quietly and slow your racing mind just a bit, that's all the more proof you need to make time to do it. You better aim for 20 minutes.

Lots of resources are available to learn meditation. One site I like because it is very low key and not at all intimidating is http://www.learningmeditation.com/. (disable link) It gives good general instructions and has several free meditations available.

Positive Emotion
One the most efficient ways to defuse stress while it's happening is to use positive emotion. In the January 18, 2008 issue of Total Health Breakthroughs, I described a technique to help you think better under stress. What I didn't mention in that article is that this simple technique prevents the physical effects of stress from accumulating.

An advantage of this technique over meditation is that you can do it in the moment you're feeling stressed -- stuck in traffic, having an interesting "discussion" with a co-worker, etc. You don't have to wait to be alone to quiet your mind.

Supplements
I don't recommend supplements specifically for stress relief. I think it's more effective to focus on the basics -- a healthy lifestyle and the techniques mentioned above.

However, one supplement you might consider is phosphatidylserine. It contains a group of chemicals called phospholipids that are important components of cell membranes. Studies show measurable benefit and improved response to stress in people supplementing with phosphatidylserine.^1-2 It seems to work by blunting the usual increase in stress hormones. The dose used in one study showing effectiveness was 400 mg a day.

The daily little (and big) stresses of modern life can seem like "death by a thousand paper-cuts." The approach outlined here will help you avoid their toxic effects.

References

1. Benton D. Nutr Neurosci 2001;4(3):169-78.
2. Stress 2004 Jun;7(2):119-26.

[Ed. Note: Joseph F. McCaffrey, MD, FACS is a board-certified surgeon with extensive experience in alternative medicine, including certification as a HeartMath Trainer. His areas of expertise include mind-body interaction and cognitive restructuring. Dr. McCaffrey strives to help people attain their optimum level of vitality through attention to all aspects of wellness. For more information, click here.]

Healthy Aging: Does Your Target Weight Change With Age? Not Necessarily! By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS

I don't weigh what I did in high school and I'll bet you don't either. Along with the occasional senior moment and the inability to read the Moviefone listing without a magnifying glass, gaining weight seems to be an inevitable consequence of getting older -- and those who are able to avoid it have to work really hard to do so.

But is it really inevitable? And if it is, should our "target weight" be a moving target?

Not really.

You don't have to get fatter as you get older, though unfortunately that's precisely what many of us do. But it's not because of our physiology. Rather, it's a consequence of how we live. The secret to keeping weight down is pretty simple: hold on to your muscle.

When you lose muscle, you are losing your greatest ally in the fight against fat. Muscle contains little power furnaces called mitochondria where fat is burned for fuel. The less muscle you have, the fewer the fat burning furnaces you have as well. So when you lose muscle, your metabolism literally slows down.¹ The result? You burn fewer calories.

And if you burn fewer calories, you need to eat fewer calories. Sadly, that's just the opposite of what most of us do. Never was the "use it or lose it" saying more applicable than in the case of muscle. If you don't use it, it disappears. Then if you continue to eat the way you did when you were younger -- and more active with more muscle -- you're on the fast track to gaining more body fat.

But there's good news here -- for the most part, loss of muscle is not inevitable. Sure, some of the muscle we lose is a natural accompaniment of growing older, but most of what we lose is due to being more sedentary as we age. And that part is 100 percent preventable.

The scale alone is a poor way to determine how much muscle you have, which actually throws the whole idea of "target weight" into question. The number on the scale, your body weight, only tells you how much mass you have. It doesn't tell you what it's made of.

Some of the better body fat scales will give you an idea of your body fat percentage, but they're not 100 percent accurate. Weight by itself isn't a good indicator of how healthy you are. You're far better off using a combination of body composition measurement (available at many doctors' offices and health clubs), body mass index (BMI), and body weight.

While none of these alone is a perfect measurement, if all three say you're overweight -- you probably are!

The bottom line is this: hold on to your muscle as long as possible. How? By doing some strength training on a regular basis. It will not only help keep your weight down, it will keep you mobile, ambulatory, and healthy well into your double digit decades.

Reference

1. Wolfe RR American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 84, No. 3, 475-482, September 2006.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He's a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master's degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life. For more information, click here.]

Recipes: Lemon Garlic Baked Halibut By Laura LaValle, RD, LD

This simple fish entrée is a great source of lean protein and omega 3 fatty acids. In addition, halibut is a very good source of calcium, magnesium and selenium. Garlic provides the phytonutrient, allicin that has known antibacterial and anti-viral properties to help you fight infection. And allicin along with other phytonutrients in garlic have known anti-cancer properties.

Serves: 4

Time to Table: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:*

1 lb halibut filet
Juice of 1 lemon (2-1/8-inch diam.)
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper

*Use all organic ingredients when possible.

Preparation:
Crush or mince garlic. Rub fish with garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Bake at 350°F until fish is no longer pink and flakes easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about four 3 oz. servings.

Nutrition:
165 calories, 6 g total fat, 0.8 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0.9 g monounsaturated fat, 0.9 g polyunsaturated fat, 36 mg cholesterol, 62 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 0 g sugars, 24 g protein, 181 IU vitamin A, 60 mg calcium, 100 mg magnesium, 41 mcg selenium

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute). She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention. To learn more about the LaValle Metabolic Institute click here.]

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs [Issue 03-04-08] which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/

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