Stress and Disease

Remember the concept -

Inflammation and Metabolic Dysfunction → Free Radicals → Oxidative Stress → DNA and Mitochondria Damage 

Stress, in the form of emotional, chemical, or physical stress can have a profound impact on health.  In fact, many believe it is the number one cause of chronic illness. 

Here are the symptoms  you may experience, as well as how it affects the body and your health. It is very important we address this in order for you to heal from chronic disease and live a quality filled life. 

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Feeling overwhelmed/can’t handle stress as well
• Irritability
• Insomnia/poor sleep
• Poor gut health (gas, bloating, distended belly)
• Excess belly fat/overweight despite a good diet
• Headaches
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Sweet cravings
• Feeling hangry, jittery, experiencing headaches or low energy if meals are missed
• Fatigue
• Afternoon fatigue or crashes
• Catching more colds and flus
• Irregular periods
• Lack of motivation
• Brain fog
• Forgetfulness

Our sympathetic nervous system, or “fight or flight,” is on constant high alert due to chronic stress. This mechanism is designed for a quick burst of energy and survival in a fight-or-flight situation. For example, if we had to fight a lion back in the day, it allowed for a burst of chemicals that gave us superhuman power to survive.

This mechanism of survival is not meant to be on all the time. Cortisol is released from the adrenal glands, as well as a host of other chemicals, to give us power and energy to fight or run. If we survive, the chemistry produced is burned off by the fighting or running. We use that energy to survive. This energy use allows for a return to balance and parasympathetic, “rest and digest,” control. However, if we are chronically stressed, the cortisol is elevated constantly, and the chemicals are never burned and thus accumulating at high levels in the body causing:

Hormones such as progesterone, DHEA, and pregnenolone are converted to cortisol to keep up with the high need.  This is like constantly filling a bucket with water, but that bucket has a hole, or like "stealing from Peter to pay Paul". This leads to low levels or imbalanced levels of these hormones. This imbalance can cause, but not limited to,:

• Irregular periods
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Excess belly fat
• Weight gain
• Poor sleep
• Brain fog/poor memory

Long-term cortisol elevation can weaken our immune system and cause us to be more susceptible to illness and chronic disease by:

• Reducing the activity of T cells and B cells
• Impairing immune signaling
• Decreasing B cell antibody production (CD4 cells)

Elevated cortisol affects our insulin and blood sugar fluctuations, causing:

• Fatigue after meals
• Sweet cravings
• Feeling hangry and jittery if we miss meals

The digestive system is under parasympathetic “rest and digest” control. However, stress will keep us in fight or flight and diminish our ability to rest and digest. This can cause:

• Poor digestion
• Dysbiosis (imbalance of good/bad bacteria in the gut, leading to gas and bloating)
• Reflux due to a “nervous stomach”
• Leaky gut
• Increased gut infections such as candida, parasites, and SIBO/SIFO

Stress causes our body to convert T3 into reverse T3, thus lowering a major thyroid hormone responsible for most of the action at the cellular level. The impaired gut function also slows the conversion of T4 into usable T3. Low cellular T3 leads to:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Depression
• Lack of motivation
• Constipation
• Thinning hair

This area of the brain is responsible for regulating many hormones such as growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, the adrenal hormone ACTH, and FSH/LH which are precursors to your sex hormones. When we are low on these hormones, this area responds by raising the levels so we maintain good healthy balance. However, chronic stress greatly affects this area of the brain and hormone imbalance ensues.  This will cause many symptoms and is a significant contributor of chronic illness.  To give a point of reference, many veterans returning from battle are greatly affected by this because of the intensity of the stress. Because of the intensity, the imbalances/symptoms may occur fairly quickly. 

For you and I dealing with chronic stress, this often takes years to develop. If stress is always there, we can all end up in the same place. The symptom list can be long due to the number of hormones affected, but may include: 

• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Feeling Overwhelmed
• Overthinking/Mind racing
• Depression
• Lack of motivation
• Digestive Issues
• Loss of zest for life
• Weight Gain
• Loss of Libido
• Thinning Hair
• Belly Fat

• Testing: Proper testing, using the best labs, is critical for healing.
• Identify the Stressors: Create a plan to eliminate them if possible. If not, adapt with a well-designed plan.
• Address Core Issues: The plan includes addressing cortisol directly using proper protocols, improving immune system function to prevent chronic illness, balancing hormones (including insulin, thyroid, and sex hormones), improving gut health, and restoring proper HPA axis function.

This may sound daunting, but my job is to guide you step by step through this process, helping you feel better and achieve healing and optimal function. The good news is I’ve done this hundreds, if not thousands, of times with patients. You are not alone—this is far too common.