Research data shows a significant increase in the use of the health system in times of stress, such as periods of job insecurity. Stress is a major factor in many illnesses - from headaches to heart disease to immune deficiencies and digestive problems.
A major contributor to stress-induced decline in health is increased production of stress hormones and the consequent impairment of immune function. Good nutrition has a lot to offer in helping to properly manage stress and its effects..
This article focuses on the use of nutrients and plants to support the adrenal glands, promote neurotransmitter balance, improve anxiety, and support restful sleep..
The word stress derives from the Latin "stringere", which means "cause tension”. Stress has been defined, by the physician and researcher Hans Selye, as the "specific response of the body to any demand made of it." Stress can be mental, physical, environmental and emotional or a combination of several of them.
He concluded that there are 3 different phases in this process: alarm, resistance and exhaustion. He soon discovered that all toxic substances, whatever their origin, produced the same response; including cold, heat, infection, trauma, bleeding, and emotional factors, which he called stressors.
The biological response to demands (stressors) will lead to hormonal changes. If these changes are made in harmony, that is, if the responses are adequate to the stimulus, we speak of “eustress” or “good stress”, essential for the development, the functioning of the organism and the adaptation to the environment.
It is important to maintain a good general nutrition to cope with the adverse effects of stress. This includes eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods and avoiding or reducing caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and refined sugar..
A healthy diet contains the nutrients that organ systems require, but perhaps not in sufficient quantity. It is not enough to eat the right nutrients, you have to take them in the amounts that the body needs. Thus, the absorption of minimum doses of vitamins and minerals cannot provide the body with optimal health conditions..
There are a number of rationales that support the use of itsstress supplements,especially if it is chronic:
• It is necessary to meet the increased demands of nutrients for the synthesis of hormones involved in the stress reaction. Stress can be so intense that its effects cannot be offset by just a few changes in diet.
• Support the body as a whole, but especially to the adrenal glands, to avoid the harmful effects of chronic stress.
• It may be necessary to reinforce other areas of the body negatively affected by stress, such as the immune and cardiovascular systemsr. This usually requires more than dietary changes..
Fortunately, there are supplements that cover the difference between what you eat and what you eat.
needed. In combination with various relaxation techniques, exercise and even psychological support, it provides patients with the best conditions to cope with stress:
• Increasing stress tolerance.
• Reducing the chances, or the effects, of adrenal weakness or exhaustion.
• Promoting the maintenance of a better state of general health.
Several of the vitamins that are part of the B complex have qualities to reduce "nervous exhaustion", which usually appears in excessively stressed people. Also
manage to improve the most common stress symptoms, such as anxiety, irritability, tension and insomnia.
Specifically, the vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) it is usually called "anti-stress vitamin"As it is essential for the body to produce adrenal hormones. If its ingestion is insufficient to compensate for the levels of hormones consumed during stress, the production of hormones is reduced and it can even lead to an atrophy of the adrenal gland characterized by headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort. Pantothenic acid is therefore of great value in reducing the risk of adrenal exhaustion in cases of chronic stress. 1-2
Recommended dose: 1 to 2 tablets per day of complex B "50" (high potency), with the
breakfast and lunch. If required, additional pantothenic acid (500 to
1,000 mg per day, with meals).
Exposure to various types of physical and emotional stress has been found to increase urinary magnesium excretion and decrease intracellular magnesium concentrations. These effects appear to be mediated by catecholamines and possibly glucocorticoids. Intracellular magnesium deficiency, in turn, results in increased susceptibility to the adverse effects of stress. 3
Several pathologies for which stress is a triggering or aggravating factor can also be activated or worsened by magnesium deficiency and prevented or treated by magnesium supplementation4. These include anxiety, depression, fatigue, migraines, asthma, hypertension, vasoconstriction, and cerebrovascular and coronary occlusion or cardiac arrhythmias.. 5-6
Magnesium supplementation produces the "Relaxation" of nerves and muscles, which helps reduce muscle stiffness and tension caused by stress. This is of great value in the case of chronic stress or acute stress when the nerves are in a constant state of excitement. Studies on the effects of magnesium have shown that it contributes substantially to reducing daytime anxiety, in addition to improving nighttime sleep patterns.
Recommended dose: 300 to 600 mg daily, with meals or 1/2 hour before bed.
Extremely stressful situations cause depletion of levels of
brain norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which can result in impaired performance and
in mood disturbances. Tyrosine is the precursor to norepinephrine (image), and
L-Tyrosine administration has been reported to help prevent stress-induced decline in brain norepinephrine levels. 7-8
Recommended dose: The doses given in these studies should only be considered for use for short periods. Lower doses (such as 500 to 1,000 mg a day) are safe for long-term use and experts confirm that patients who have been prescribed these dosages have shown an improvement in general well-being and stress tolerance.
It is an amino acid that accounts for more than 50% of the total free amino acids in green tea (Camellia sinensis).
L-Theanine crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to influence brain wave activity, possibly through its influence on neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, suggesting potential applications in stress, anxiety, and depression. 9
In fact, in Japan L-theanine supplements are sold specifically for mood balance. Theanine also appears to counteract the arousal properties of caffeine. 10 -a fact that probably explains why people feel relaxed after drinking Green Tea, despite its caffeine content.
Recommended dose: Between 50 and 600 mg a day. The usual intake for anxiety cases is 150-450 mg per day.
Rhodiola has been categorized as an adaptogen for its ability to increase resistance to a variety of chemical, biological, and physical stressors. Furthermore, the available evidence suggests that rhodiola possesses cardioprotective activity in stressful situations 11-12.
In an investigation, the effect of the chronic administration of 170 mg of a rhodiola extract for 14 days, in relation to aspects of mental performance and fatigue, was evaluated on 56 healthy medical men and women (aged between 24 and 35 years) working night shifts.
Night performance was analyzed using a test to determine speed of visual and auditory perception, attention span, and recent memory. Based on the results of the battery of tests used, a fatigue index. The trial was divided into three periods: a 2-week test period ingesting a rhodiola capsule or placebo; a two week treatment rest period; and a third period of 2 weeks in which the treatment with 1 rhodiola tablet or placebo was crossed daily.
A significant improvement in the fatigue index during the period of the first two weeks in the rhodiola group, and the improvement in mental performance returned to initial levels during the rest period. No side effects were observed. 13
Recommended dose: 350 to 700 mg per day of root extract (standardized to at least 1% salidrocida).
Eleutherococcus, also known as Siberian ginseng despite not being a true species of ginseng, helps normalize the way the body responds to stress triggers and acts by regulating the manufacture and secretion of adrenal hormones. It also strengthens the adrenal glands, of great importance in those who suffer from chronic stress. Likewise, it stimulates the immune system and reinforces a general improvement in physical and mental performance..14.15
In different clinical trials, data indicate that ingestion of the plant increases the ability to adapt to adverse physical conditions (polluted environments, radiation, intense cold), improves mental performance, increases the body's ability to resist infections and enhances the quality of work under stressful conditions.16
Recommended dose: 1,250 to 2,500 mg per day of eleutherococcus root powder or equivalent, in the morning upon rising (wait 20 minutes before eating).
In addition to lifestyle considerations - good diet, exercise, meditation, etc. A number of nutrients and plants can provide support to counteract the damaging effects of stress.
This supplement support requires a five-point approach:
1. Provide nutrients directly affected by stress, that is, those that suffer greater losses or an increase in their demand for the synthesis of hormones involved in the stress reaction (for example, B complex, vitamin C and magnesium).
two. Supporting the adrenal glands with adaptogenic plants (eg, rhodiola and eleutherococcus).
3. The use of nutrients to normalize cortisol levels (for example, vitamin C).
4. The use of plants with normalizing or trophorestorative action on the nervous system, as well as anxiolytic, to manage sleep disorders and anxiety (for example, valerian and oats).
5. The contribution of nutrients to balance neurotransmitters (for example, L-Tyrosine, and L-Theanine).
The supplements described in this article are considered "essential" to fight stress through nutrition and are recommended as a basic intake along with an adequate multivitamin and mineral formulation..
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