Stress is a
relatively new concept that people are talking about and still very few people really
understand that concept. It is defined in the dictionary as a "pressure, force,
strain; a state of physical or mental tension including it, or affecting something."
Although this does not help in understanding the concept very much, it is important to
understand the concept so that people can avoid it as much as they can and try to minimize
the harmful effect of stress. The body is constantly subjected to stress and the harmful
effects that the stress produces. Stress occurs in many forms. The four major forms which
concerns us are:
 |
chemical stress |
|
emotional stress |
|
physical trauma |
|
infection related stress |
Each
of these stresses can come from many sources. Most of these have appeared as a primary
threat in our environment. For example, one of the most common stress is chemical stress
and it can come from pesticides, insecticides, polluted air and water, heavy metals such
as mercury or lead, asbestos and artificial food additives.
There are many reasons why people need to be concerned about stress and
its effects on health . They can include stress and related immunity and premature
degeneration. There are many health problems related to diminished immune systems
including allergies and susceptibility to different diseases such as fungus and yeast
infections. With the premature degeneration the stress will cause an acceleration in the
aging and the break down of tissues. Henceforth, understanding and compensating for the
stress will help the immune system and enhance the ability to achieve health and stay
well.
In understanding stress and the harmful effect on the body we can see
that many of the sources of stress comes directly from the many modern technologies as
well as by subjecting our body to unnatural life styles. Nevertheless, many of the
physical results of different forms of stress is the same. These unnecessary, and
avoidable, results are cellular damage caused by highly unstable molecules called free
radicals.
Because of the highly unstable nature of the "free radicals",
they can be extremely toxic and are a primary result of stress that undermine the immune
system and threaten health. Ironically, the body's immune system produces these highly
toxic free radicals in minute amounts because they are essential for the immune system to
remove a virus or bacteria. It is only when high concentration of free radicals are
present, or when the level of free radicals overwhelm the body's ability to remove them,
does a threat to health occur. Maintaining the balance between free radical activity and
antioxidant enzyme supply is one of the important functions of the body.
It is in the cell where free radicals are created and do the most
damage. In the case of the immune system, this random circulation of the free radicals
(molecules with an unpaired electron which is seeking to bind with any and everything)
cause communication break down between the immune system cells and the body, thus
weakening or wiping out some of their signals. Simply put excess amounts of the free
radicals create chemical reactions at the wrong place at the wrong time causing havoc with
the cellular environment. In doing so, the excess amounts of the free radicals cause break
down of the immune systems (i.e. allergic reaction or auto immune reaction). You may ask
then, why would there be excesses amounts of these free radicals created. It would be
easier to consider the fact that the factors related to release of excess amount of the
free radicals are mostly originated from modern advancements in our society such as
chemical preservatives in the food or the polluted air and water. Then it is simple to see
why so many individuals can not over come the threats posed by germs, viruses or abnormal
cell growth (like cancer). Again, stress (of all types) and the resultant free radicals
are a primary cause in weakening of the immune system and accelerated degenerative
process.
As we have discussed earlier, the different forms of stress exerts a
common free radical insult on many of the vital cellular processes. Thus, when the body
has lost the abilities to produce enough enzymes to neutralize the excess amounts of these
free radicals it would be beneficial to supplement the diet with antioxidant formulas such
as Super Oxy Green to help in neutralizing them. In some studies, researchers have found
that ingesting SOD have resulted in over 80% of the arthritic conditions having improved
in joint mobility.
|
