Got Stress?
Ask the Nutritional Pharmacist
Robert B Kress RPH CCN
GOT STRESS?
Welcome to the first in a weekly series of Ask the Nutritional Pharmacist here in the Mail Max.
My name is Robert B Kress, Registered Pharmacist and Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist. My wife Amy and I operate our nutritional consultant practice out of Scripts Pharmacy in Saint Joseph.
For this inaugural article I would like to address a topic that I get questions for every day…STRESS!
Lack of energy, focus, memory loss, weight gain, issues of libido and more are all symptoms that can be related to stress.
What exactly is stress and how does it take aim at our health, and most importantly, what can we do about it?
Yes, stress is a physiological reaction that people experience, stemming from emotional, physical, or mindful sources.
The part of the body that is responsible for dealing with stress and providing us the hormones and natural body chemicals to do so are the adrenal glands.
The adrenal glands sit in an area above the kidneys and are responsible for producing adrenal hormones such as cortisol, dhea, and adrenaline.
We have been designed to deal with stress in a “fight or flight” and episodic response, where we are given a reprieve between episodes. The problem is that in this day and age elements of stress are abundant around us, and we seldom get those times of reprieve.
Lets look at an example of a very prevelant source… the media.
Have you heard any news today? Whether it is the T.V providing ‘background noise’, channel surfing between different political or financial channels, even local nightly news casts, internet headline searching, the radio as you drive in your car, etc, etc.
There are always common themes, like right now…the economy, the presidential elections.
Gas prices, the stress story of the summer have now taking a back seat right next to global warming I guess.
What I am trying to say is that most news and media platforms are designed to evoke your emotions, whether it be anger, fear, sadness…the list goes on, mostly dis-empowering ones.
This certainly plays a part in our well being, our health takes a direct hit through the constant bombardment of perceived stress we pull in through our psyches which then weighs upon our adrenal glands to begin the physical manifestation.
Liken this to revving your car on high R.P.M.’s constantly, without a rest; your engine will burnout at a faster rate. Your adrenal glands and your body are the same way.
Your adrenal glands are asked to work overtime and this eventually leads to what has been termed Adrenal Fatigue. Adrenal Fatigue is when your adrenal glands have little left to give which in turn leads to the symptoms I mentioned above as well as a depletion of other hormones (our body’s messengers) throughout our system.
Because I am known as the nutritional pharmacist let us see how vitamin supplementation can assist us in the battling of stress.
We look at adrenal repair primarily as a two fold process. Provide the appropriate vitamins to feed the adrenal glands to begin the rebuilding process, and implement adaptogenic support, which allows the adrenals to kick back and relax so they do not overwork while supporting levels of energy and stamina.
The vitamins responsible for the most effective adrenal repair and rebuilding are full spectrum active B vitamins, Magnesium, and vitamin C.
Adaptogens as mentioned above, are usually herbal preparations such as ashwagandha, ginseng, rhodiola, and my favorite, cordyceps.
The combination of the above nutrients along with relaxation techniques, and maybe a media fast can be just what the nutritional pharmacist ordered in bringing back vitality, energy, and a feeling of wellbeing to ones life.
Submit your questions on health to Robert@scriptspharmacyonline.com. I will answer all inquiries and if your question is picked for the column you will receive a $25 gift certificate at Scripts Pharmacy.