Posted by Horton Tatarian, research biochemist, on 11th May 2015
How Stress Causes Disease, Part 1
Stress is a pressure or force, which can take many forms. In all of its forms, stress can initiate or advance every health disorder known to science.
When feeling stressed, you sense a mental or emotional strain or pressure. However, psychological stress is just one of many types of stress. For example, engineers deal with mechanical stress on bridges, ships, and buildings. In a similar way, dentists and orthopedic surgeons deal with biomechanical stress.
Bones break when a force applied to them is beyond their strength. Structural weakness is often the underlying cause of a bone fracture. However, even healthy bones fracture from massive impacts.
Likewise, overwhelming stress injures or destroys your cells, the living units that compose your body tissues. Chronic stress increases your levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine. This alone promotes obesity and the many degenerative diseases. However, nutritional deficiency, insufficient or excessive exercise, chemically and genetically modified foods, medications, vaccinations, chronic infections, and toxic chemicals also stress your cells.
How do your cells experience stress? Oxidative Stress is the leading type of stress that your cells encounter as they deal with the many types of stress that surround you. Just as your bones carry your weight as you go about your daily activities, your cells handle oxidative stress as part of their normal functions.
However, just as inadequate structure weakens bones, reduced antioxidant reserves impairs cells. Likewise, just as massive pressure can break healthy bones, excessive oxidative stress can damage or kill healthy cells. In either case, oxidative damage or cell death occurs when oxidative stress exceeds your cell's antioxidant reserves.
Damaged or dying cells lead to tissue and organ failure. This occurs in every degenerative disease. Oxidative damage injures or kills the cells that form your brain, heart, liver, or any other part of your body while your antioxidant reserves are low.
Strengthen your body’s antioxidant reserves by taking appropriate action.
Check your vitamins for potentially harmful formulation errors. For example, if your vitamins include vitamin C plus either copper, iron or manganese, it can form free radicals and CAUSE oxidative stress.
While vitamin supplements are commonly consumed, the scientific evidence for their health beneficial effects in inconclusive. In fact, even harmful effects have been reported. - Mutagenesis. 2012 Jul;27(4):511-7.
Most companies sell dietary supplements primarily for profit, without sufficient knowledge about formulation or quality. Fortunately, others satisfy the high standards of research biochemists and knowledgeable professionals.
Eat right, exercise, and avoid toxins. Also take the best dietary supplements for you. Contact us when you need help with your selections.
Next: How Stress Causes Disease Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
About Horton Tatarian
I’m a biochemist who examines scientific findings on health and disease. My degree in biochemistry is from U.C. Berkeley. UCLA School of Medicine granted an M.D. degree in 1974. Since then, independent research prepared me to advise clients on natural ways of self-care.