The following is exerpt from the book. Chapter seven-Stress Management

THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON YOUR BODY

Stress is a general response of the body to change. It can have both positive and negative effects,depending on the amount of stress and the perceived control we have of the stressor (change). Your personal stress level depends on many factors, including your personality, your general outlook on life, your problem-solving abilities, and your social support system.

For example, some people do well under “stress” because they get more work done, especially when they are on a deadline. This positive benefit can occur because of the increased energy your body produces to help you meet this new change. Getting married and having a baby are usually positive changes for most people, but are still stressors because they involve change.

However, when a stressor becomes chronic, more intense, or if we perceive we have less control over it, it can become a negative. This type of stress may lead to many different medical conditions.

The initial physiologic response to stress is a surge in cortisol and adrenaline. This is not harmful. In fact, it is protective because it allows you to prepare. But frequent, prolonged surges of the cortisol response can lead to many health problems. Prolonged cortisol response causes high cortisol levels which lead to:

• Elevated blood sugar (glucose), which over time can increase your risk for diabetes. High levels of glucose can increase cholesterol production, which further increases our risk for heart disease.
• Higher insulin levels due to the increased blood sugar. Insulin is the hormone that puts blood sugar into your muscles. As we learned in the nutrition spoke (Chapter Three), elevated levels of insulin cause us to increase body fat, especially in the midsection. The heavier your midsection is, the greater your resistance to insulin, which then further increases weight gain. Extra body fat also increases our risk for heart disease and slows down the release of growth hormone, the master hormone that helps us stay young.
• Increased blood pressure. High blood pressure over time increases your risk for heart disease.

Exerpt from Ultimate Nutrition:The Fuel for Life

For Women

CoQ10
(the shortened form of Coenzyme Q 10) is important for your body’s ability to produce energy at any age. Use 100 mg daily. If you are training for an endurance sport such as a marathon or have a chronic disease, use 300 mg/day because your body needs to produce more energy to keep up with your extra workouts and/or disease process.

Multivitamins
must have about 5000 units of Vitamin A (to help with vision and skin renewal), calcium(1000 mg), magnesium (500 mg), trace amounts of selenium (for bone health), Vitamin E and C (good antioxidants, but you don’t need to overdo), and Vitamin B complex (for nerve health, mental health, and skin and hair health; especially important for vegetarians). I favor using a multivitamin mostly because our hectic lives mean we don’t always take care of ourselves as well as we should or our diet can vary.

Vitamin D
is an important supplement for preventing osteoporosis and heart disease for women ofall ages. You can use Vitamin D3 as well as spend fifteen to twenty minutes in the sun. Take about 1000 units of Vitamin D3 to maintain optimal levels.