Tag: stress

Posted on

What is immune system being pushed to the limit as discussed by Dallas Health expert Tim Wallace.

What is immune system being pushed to the limit as discussed by Dallas Health expert Tim Wallace.

It is winter, 2013 and the influenza virus has hit with a vengeance.  People are reporting severe symptoms that last for up to two weeks.  Many I have talked with have had their symptoms degenerate into bronchitis.

So what is it that has some people get sick with the flu and others skate right through the season without a single symptom?  Why to some people get over the flu or colds very quickly and others suffer quite a long time?

the influenza virus, flu, Pathogens

I am feeling that it is the immune system that determines an individual’s resistance level to these pathogens.   Doing whatever we can to strengthen and support our body’s natural resistance mechanisms is key to maintaining a healthy life.  There are choices we make in life and lifestyle that help to dictate whether or not we get the flu.

Here are some examples:

  • Working late repetitively can cause your body’s energy and nutritional resources to be channeled away from internal activities that keep your immune system up and running, ready to fight off germs.
  • Sleeping fewer than your normal actually needed hours.  During sleep the body repairs itself in many ways.  One of those “rebooting” activities during sleep is your immune system.
  • Drinking excessive alcoholic beverages.  Some of the things that alcohol does is dehydrate the body, slow the body functions down and consume many of the nutrients needed to maintain good health.
  • Forgetting or neglecting to drink enough water.  Water is a natural detoxification agent.  When there is not enough water in the system, toxins build up, move around and begin to effect normal processes.  This causes an unnecessary alert to the immune system, drawing its resources away from fighting unavoidable pathogens.   Water also helps to keep functions working properly, even in non-flu seasons.
  •  Eating a poor diet, rich in simple carbohydrates causes a shortage of the nutrients to build immune system cells.  Breads, sweets, white rice and regular pasta are examples of simple carbohydrates.  Better choices are whole fruits and vegetables.  Eat a variety of them and eat the skins if possible.

These are a few of the bad habits that negatively impact the immune system and can determine if you are able to go to work everyday this winter or if you are going to using all that sick leave and some of your vacation.

Be well. Perform well. Stay well.    Dallas Health Helpers  Tim Wallace

Posted on

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health.

When the immune system is mentioned, often peoples’ minds go to extremes, thinking of AIDS or some other devastating condition.  Many immune system disorders are life-changing or life-threatening.  But everyone should be concerned about maintaining a healthy, strong system of defense against invaders to the body.

Your immune system is at work 24/7 to guard against foreign intruders to your body so that you don’t get sick.  This activity can help keep you from getting the sniffles, a cold or a more debilitating condition such as the flu or even hepatitis.

With the immune system up and running strong, these invaders are stopped before they can get a foothold on your cells and begin to destroy them and make you sick.  There are cells that run reconnaissance missions looking for the intruders.  There are immune system cells that take the information from the others and create antibodies to kill them off.   There are immune system cells that simply “eat” the invaders on site, inGet Healthy a search and destroy mission. These are only a few of the activities that the immune system does.

 

We also have to be aware of some things that can impact the system’s ability to do its job.

Age

            Stress

            Fatigue

            Nutrition levels

            Healthy activity levels

Obviously, we cannot do anything about our age, but the others are lifestyle related and we can take actions in those areas that will help to build up our immune systems and fight off illness more effectively.  De-stressing your life and getting plenty of sleep are very important.  Taking time for an effective amount of exercise without going to the extremes is key to keeping your defense mechanisms mobile.  Getting enough of the right nutrition is a challenge, but can be done with supplementation when eating right is not happening.  The good news is that all these changes or adaptations to our lifestyles have many side benefits.  Targeting your immune system will help you to enjoy better health in other areas of your life.  Just pay attention to your body and notice the improvements.

Shaklee Corporation produces a couple of products that work directly with your immune system.   Click Get Healthyhere to learn about Nutriferon and Defend & Resist. Shaklee also offers a money back guarantee.  Try it here.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.252.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Posted on

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about joint pain relief.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about joint pain relief.

Many people experience joint pain.  This pain may come from arthritis, a simple structural abnormality, over use or repetitive use.  There are many reasons for joint pain. One source that is prevalent is being over weight or obese.

Obviously, the first step is to get to a recommended body weight.  That will take much pressure off the hip, knee and ankle joints. Take advantage of this pain-reliever that will offer many other benefits.

With joint pain, it is also important to keep moving.  Often, those with joint pain will tend to remain as immobile as possible to avoid aggravating their condition or for fear of causing more pain.  In general, keeping a joint functioning will help to keep it mobility and range of motion.  The old adage that if you don’t move it you lose it has some merit.

Find an exercise that you like and can easily do regularly.  With joint pain, one should avoid high impact activities.  Generally, easy movements done regularly will help to get good circulation to the tissue surrounding the joints, bringing nutrition and oxygen to them and helping to remove toxins and metabolic waste products.

One with joint pain should also avoid inflammatory foods.  Things such as desserts, red meats and processed foods can add to inflammation, causing more pain.

Avoiding stress can also help to lower inflammation.

Many people have begun to use joint pain preparations that include glucosamine and chondroitin.  However, recent studies have proved that chondroitin is actually counterproductive to building health of the joint.  It actually inhibits the absorption of glucosamine.  When looking for a joint product, make certain is does not contain chondroitin.

Shaklee Corporation produces a product called Advanced Joint Health Complex.  This product works in a matter of days and it works to heal the tissues around the joint, not just alleviate pain.  They also offer a money back guarantee.  Try it here.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.252.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Posted on

Shaklee distributor in Dallas talks about energy.

Shaklee distributor in Dallas talks about energy.
We all have a need for sustained energy and an occasional boost.

There are daily energy needs for body functions.  Every cell must convert nutrients into energy in order to perform that particular cell’s basic function. Those functions may be to grow hair, pump blood through your system, transmit nerve impulses or move a muscle.  This conversion process is what is commonly known as metabolism.

This is why we require a steady diet of energy foods to sustain each cell and maintain our cellular activity.  Metabolism is actually a term for the collective activities of chemical and hormonal processes related to digesting, absorbing, converting and ultimately using our food to produce cellular energy.

There are three classes of macro-nutrients to consider: proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  Catabolic metabolism involves the breakdown of fats, proteins and carbohydrates into smaller units.  Anabolic metabolism uses smaller units of building blocks such as amino acids, glucose and fats to build tissues and eventually organs.  The most important component of human metabolism is glucose.  Metabolism of glucose produces carbon dioxide, water, a few nitrogen compounds and, most importantly, energy which can be used by the cells.  The catabolic process is what helps to provide the anabolic process to create the energy needed by the cells.

Cortisol and the adrenal glands help to drive these processes.  Stress impacts energy levels by its effect on cortisol.  There are many other hormones and processes that happen in metabolism that affect the body.

For instance, if one is not taking in enough food, the body will break down muscle tissue in order to get the amino acids there for fuel while preferentially holding on to fat.  However in a pure starvation mode, the body wills breakdown fat for the fatty acids to be used as fuel.

Blood sugar regulation is important to energy levels.  Insulin controls the uptake of glucose into the cells.  It plays the major role in regulating the glucose levels in the blood stream.  Overeating over time results in the cells being insulin resistant which will leave more glucose circulating in the body, leading to damage and eventually, diabetes.

Mitochondria are components in each cell which work to generate energy for the cell.  As we age, there are fewer and fewer mitochondria in each cell and those that remain may become more sluggish at producing the energy.  This decline in mitochondrial activity can lead to many age-related diseases.

What we eat affects our energy levels.  In the United States, we tend to eat too many simple carbohydrates and not enough complex carbohydrates or fiber.  This overeating of carbohydrates causes the body to convert the extras essentially to fat.  8:00

Protein is the chief tissue and muscle builder of the body.  Among its other functions, protein helps to make hemoglobin in the blood, carry oxygen to the cells, forms antibodies to fight infection, and supplies nitrogen for the production of DNA and RNA.  Protein also helps to supply energy to the body by breaking down amino acids.  If intake is inadequate, such as during illness or starvation, the body proteins are the first source to be broken down and used as cellular energy.  Please see my article on proteins to learn the best sources for protein.

Also, look for my next blog regarding fats and energy.

For a great source of energy, look to Shaklee corporation for good sources of protein and other energy-building products.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Posted on

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas shares the dangers of stress.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas shares the dangers of stress.

Most every one of us has stated at one time or another that we are stressed.It can even become a mantra that we say just out of habit. We live our daily lives and things do not always go our way.Too many things come our way at once.We just don’t cope with our everyday lives very well.Emotional events and situations begin to get the best of us and our bodies react.

There are times of good stress, like an upcoming wedding and there is happy stress.There is also the beneficial stress of physical activity.But in general, we Americans harbor the detrimental stresses of life without taking steps to alleviate it, allowing the ill effects to cause dysfunctions in our bodies.

Did you know that stress can make you fat?It is true.During periods of stress, the body produces a hormone called cortisol.Cortisol helps to regulation metabolic processes, it has anti-inflammatory properties and it can also be suppressive to the immune system.

When there is an overproduction of cortisol, the metabolism is affected in a negative way, causing the body to store more fat cells, particularly in the midsection of the body.How many highly stressed executives have you noticed have a large, protruding belly?

The other thing about stressed people is that they often have poor eating habits.Long days with hurried activities and looming deadlines don’t predispose one to taking time for a nice, relaxing, rejuvenating lunch. Breakfast is often eaten on the run in a dash to get the day started.Then there are dinners with clients and business associates.These are generally not the light, nutritious meals that will allow one to sleep well.

It is important to manage stress in order to keep the body working at its best as long as possible.Some things to help curtail the effects of stress are to get more exercise, like taking the stairs or going for a short walk.Get a massage from a professional massage therapist.Eat more sensibly and make sure you get protein in the morning.If you feel that you need something to help calm you down a bit, try Shaklee’s all natural Stress Relief Complex.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallasis about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.