Pigs in a poke, rats in a cage

The effects of stress on people you know and love can be devastating. They may be devastating to you.

Ask any Vietnam Vet and you will come to know what the effects of chronic stress are on people. Many blame Agent Orange for the large number of deaths after the war (more than during the war as a matter of fact).

I would tell you from my experience it is more likely to be posttraumatic stress disorder.

Now admittedly that is an extreme case that many of us may not directly relate to, but I assure you stress and how it's handled plays a big role in the aging process.

The goal is to restore balance in your life and achieve some degree of stability or I promise you stress will add to your early demise.

In scientific terms you want to avoid the chronic ongoing activation of your nervous system.

Just so we are clear I am talking about 3 different nervous systems, the voluntary one that we use to speak and move and act out our daily lives and the automatic one.

For you science buffs the automatic nervous system is called the autonomic nervous system and consists of 2 branches, an excitatory one (sympathetic) and a calming one (parasympathetic).

If you understand those words you already know I am simplifying things a lot here but you get the point.

The automatic one is responsible for our eyes adjusting in the dark, our heart rates, our blood pressures our breathing rates and so on.

But stress goes much farther than our nerves. It affects the secretion of hormones from our brain, our guts and our adrenal glands and it affects the way our individual cells respond to them.

If affects our risk of heart attack, stroke and probably cancer too. It also directly affects our immune system.

How often have you heard these two stories?

Someone is burning the candle at both ends trying to meet some kind of deadline and after weeks or months of this lifestyle they find themselves chronically sick with every cough, cold and snivel that is out there.

Or the opposite end of the same spectrum. Someone is cranking along to the max for a long time and then they go on vacation. Suddenly, after months of being well in the face of tons of stress, they fall apart and get sick as a dog when they are on a break.

In each case we are seeing the effects of the immune system.

In case one you have the traditional "adrenal burnout syndrome".

Here the person has tapped into their resources to the point where there just ain't no more to give and they get sick.

In reality it may be the body's way of protecting them as they were at the end of their proverbial rope biologically.

In the later case, this person was holding everything at bay. Like the little Dutch Boy they had their biochemical fingers in the dike and when they pulled them out (went on vacation) the dike collapsed and gave them a much needed rest.

From a supplement point of view almost everything I make has anti-stress properties.

But less than half of you are taking everything I make so let me give you some simple guidelines.

First and foremost you cannot escape the need to sleep for very long. You can get away with a night or two here or there if you are in good physical shape and get the right nutrition but that is about it.

There have been times in my career where I have deliberately taken Sleep Wizard even though I wasn't having a sleep problem.

You see after years of staying up late and going on little sleep it comes naturally to me.

So sometimes I pop a Sleep Wiz so I do not get into the cycle of going on too many nights without sleep.

It always works to reset my clock and make me far more effective than if I had persevered and gone on too little sleep.

Always.

So let me remind you that nothing fights stress like a good night's sleep and nothing delivers a good night's sleep like Sleep Wizard.

Just think, you can skip the Nocturnal Eating disorder, weight gain, amnesia and buttered cigarettes associated with prescription drugs.

I would also make sure you get a good daily dose of fish oil or Super Omega 3 and Monster multi especially if your eating habits suffer as well during times of stress.

That never happens to you, right?!

So the next time the unending to-do lists, lack of time, disintegration of social fabric, work stress and family stress get you down...

...Open up your cupboard. If you see Dr Dave's Best there, all you need to do is remember to take them daily as this young lady did.

"Doc, you might not think summer is stressful but for me it's the toughest time of the year. There is more outside work, vacation planning and of course I have my kids home from school. All of this and I feel compelled to have a good time because it's so beautiful, warm and sunny.

I have to admit I wasn't taking your vitamins regularly and I let one or two lapse. Well I decided to get back on a daily routine and I have to tell you after 2 or 3 weeks I feel like I am much calmer and have more control in my life.

I am looking forward to this season because I know I can get stuff done without being stressed.

I take your fish oil, Monster multi and Sleep Wizard. I love them all but sleep Wizard is like a miracle drug.

Thanks for such amazing products."

Gayle S. - Burlington

I love 'em too, Gayle, couldn't do without 'em.

Tomorrow we'll dig a bit deeper into the mind body connections and how to set them to right.

Let's make this the best summer ever!

Yours,
Dr Dave

Supplements mentioned in this blog:
Monster Multi
Fish Oil
Super omega 3
Sleep Wizard