Coping with stress

STRESS is a major risk factor for many chronic health disorders. However, it is really a perception issue: it arises when we perceive an inability to cope with the various demands placed on us.
Consequently, raising our stress-coping ability goes a long way in lowering our stressful feeling. Just having a 20-minute walk, jog, run and/or swim daily or being deeply involved in a healthful hobby or supportive club can help.
Recent longevity study also shows that meditation can lengthen our telomere, which is a marker that determines our lifespan as well as our susceptibility to major chronic diseases. Possessing a positive and cheerful attitude towards life events can pay rich dividends.
It’s also common to develop sugar/carbohydrate cravings during stressful times. Excess sugar intake can worsen heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, fungal infection, or tumour/cancer growth. Allowing bacteria in our teeth, gum, and gut to flourish can adversely affect our heart too.
A diet low on refined carbohydrates and sweet fruits benefit both diabetic and heart patients. It’s now known that only oxidised (damaged by free radicals due to lack of antioxidants) or glycated (attached to sugar) ‘bad’ cholesterol is likely to clog our arteries.
Regular exercise and adequate intake of foods rich in ascorbic acid (chilli, bell pepper, garlic, guava, freshly-harvested fruits and berries) help raise production of the good HDL cholesterol, which is beneficial for the heart as well as for longevity.
Nutritional therapy uses alpha lipoic acid, chromium and niacin to further enhance the effect of ascorbic acid.
Fructose (fruit sugar) has been implicated in research to cause elevated uric acid, hypertension, and accelerated diabetes type II. This so-called ‘natural’ sugar which causes fruits to rot is a major contributor to fatty liver besides alcohol beverages.
Refrain from having packaged fruit juices for breakfast , especially if you also suffer from pre-diabetic, insulin resistance, hypoglycaemia, diabetic, kidney disease, or high blood pressure.
High intake of refined sugar/starch lowers our defence against infection, besides promoting fungal or yeast infection (candidiasis) commonly found in people living the tropics.
Calcium supplement may lower production of digestive enzymes from both the stomach and pancreas. Even calcium in milk has been shown to promote prostate enlargement/tumour in men.
Research suggests that taking a calcium supplement should be accompanied by adequate intake of vitamins K2 and D3 in order to reverse osteoporosis and calcified plaques in arteries.
Magnesium intake may be good for elderly people since this mineral is responsible for activating more than 350 enzymes in the body. It also lowers elevated cholesterol and hypertension, stabilises irregular heartbeat, reduces muscle/artery spasms and kidney stones, and also binds to other minerals to build stronger bones.
Cocoa (not chocolate drink), organic nuts, seeds and beans are a rich source of magnesium.
Research has shown that men who consume raw nuts regularly lower their heart disease risk. But avoid deep-fried nuts or seeds since they may contain harmful rancid (oxidised) or trans fats which clog arteries.
Stress hormone such as cortisol tears down protein in our body, which leads to a higher demand for protein-rich food when stressed. High-blood cortisol can cause adrenal fatigue leading to diminishing cortisol production. This might lead to the development of autoimmune disorders.
Nutritional therapist uses ascorbic acid, gensenosides, eluthero and other adaptogenic herbs to rejuvenate the stressed-out adrenal glands and to balance their abnormal stress hormone production.
Ribose (d-ribose), which is a sugar produced by our body to feed the heart and other vital organs, may be supplemented to replenish deficient cellular energy levels and for those with ischemic heart disease or congestive heart failure. Other useful energising nutrients include Co-Q10 ubiquinol, creatine, and L-carnitine.
Having adequate sleep at night helps us to cope with stress since it lowers stress hormone production. Avoid strong tea or coffee since it lowers melatonin production leading to insomnia.
Sleep-promoting foods rich in the essential (can’t be produced by the human body) amino acid L-tryptophan include soy isolate, soy protein, tofu, fresh corn, brown rice, egg white, sea algae, sesame, pumpkin seeds, bean sprouts, spinach, watercress, seaweed, wheat germ, wheat bran, duck meat, turkey, game meat, cod, tuna, and crustaceans.
Excess L-tryptophan is converted by the body to niacin, which is a heart-protective nutrient.
Retiring just before midnight helps raise production of anabolic growth hormone so long as the last meal doesn’t contain too much refined sugar/starch which causes insulin elevation.
For chronically-stressed men, their production of the anabolic testosterone hormone is lowered. Intake of foods rich in vitamin C and zinc while reducing refined sugar/starch can help raise blood testosterone levels.
Stress-relieving mind-body therapies licensed with the Ministry of Health under complementary medicine (www.fcnmam.org.my) also help.
These include hypnotherapy, aromatherapy, and psychotherapy as well as physical therapies such as soft tissue manipulative therapy and reflexology.
Biological-based treatment for elevated stress include nutritional and herbal medicine which aims to bring the stressed body into equilibrium through physiological regeneration and hormonal balancing.
Views expressed are those of the author, who’s president of the Federation of Complementary & Natural Medical Associations, and not necessarily those of the professional bodies and government committees of which he’s a member. Dato’ Steve Yap can be contacted at lifestyle.steve@thesundaily.com.