The Effect of Stress on the Immune System: FAQ

Here we answer some commonly asked questions about the effect of stress on the immune system, as well as questions like "how do you boost your immune system". We have found that these are frequently asked questions and hope to help people find their answers.

What is the effect of stress on the immune system?

Short term stress like dealing with an attack or playing a sport does not negatively affect the immune system. The spleen is instructed to release more red and white blood cells. The red blood cells increase oxygen supply to the lungs and heart while the white blood cells are directed to portions of the body most likely to be injured or become infected, namely the skin, bone marrow and lymph nodes.

Chronic stress, on the other hand, appears to blunt immune system responses. Studies have shown that those who work in high pressure jobs, have continuous financial problems, marital difficulties or any of the other problems that can cause chronic stress, have lower than normal white blood cell counts, are more vulnerable to colds and other viruses, take longer to recover from them and experience worse symptoms than do people who are under less stress.

How do you boost your immune system?

There are many ways, including good nutrition and proper rest. There are a number of dietary and health supplements that can boost the immune system including Vitamin C, Andrographis paniculata (AP) and Beta Glucans.

How do you boost your immune system if you are under chronic stress?

If you cannot reduce the stress in your life, then vitamins and health supplements are the only choice.

Can supplements counteract the effect of stress on the immune system?

Clinical studies have not been done concerning the improvement in immune system responses among people who use health supplements and are under chronic stress. Studies have shown that AP increases white blood cell counts in person's using the herb, which could counteract the lowered white blood cell counts in persons under chronic stress.

How do you boost your immune system if you work or live in a high risk environment?

People at higher risk for infection can benefit greatly from the use of a health supplement for immune system enhancement. For more information about products that naturally boost immune system performance, visit http://www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.

About The Author
Patsy Hamilton has more than twenty years experience in health care and currently writes informational articles for the Immune System Booster Guide. Read more at http://www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.

Is Modern Life Hurting Your Health?

How often have you said to yourself, "I wish things would slow down"? "I wish life was simpler!"

Modern life can be taxing. Today we live faster, work more, and have less free time than ever before. In addition, our 'conveniences' often come at the expense of the purity of our environment.

It's no wonder we are the 'stress generation'. Did you know that you hear more news in one DAY that your great-grandparents heard in an entire year? One day!

Combine the stress caused by too much information with the changes in our environment and the food we eat and you end up with a losing combination.

What can we do to fight back against the unseen environmental factors that rob us of our health and peace of mind?

Plenty!

Here are the top three environmental factors that have a negative impact on your life and what you can do about each.

1. Air pollution

This problem can sneak into your home or office without you even noticing. And the problem is very real. From airborne pollutants to toxic mold, our breathing is under attack.

Many cities now routinely warn citizens to stay indoors during certain parts of the day, particularly in the summer, due to elevated ozone levels. Of course, summer is the time when our children and we often want to be outdoors.

The good news is that this is a problem with several solutions. Today we have a wide variety of air filters from which to choose. Ranging from those that simply filter our air to more expensive models that 'treat' the air, be sure you get a filter that traps super-small particles and defends against ozone as well. And change your filter often. Experts now recommend changing filters up to once a week.

You may not be able to change the air outside but you can make a difference in the air your family breaths when they are in your home.

2. Water pollution.

If you remember high-school science, you will remember that there is no new water. That's right, the water you drank today is completely re-circulated from the clouds above. Makes air pollution take on a completely new meaning, doesn't it?

Water is essential to life. When NASA speaks about the possibility of life existing on Mars or any other planet, what they look for is whether that planet has or has ever had water. The majority of the human body is made of water. We cannot live without it.

Like our air, our water is polluted with chemicals and toxins from various sources in the environment.

Thankfully, water filtration is sophisticated. Having an effective home water filtration system is within the reach of virtually everyone.

Whether you choose a 'whole house' filter or one that runs from the faucet, be sure that the particle size that it filters is sufficiently small. Look specifically to see that your filter will remove contaminants like lead, mercury, and asbestos.

3. Chemical Residue

If our air and water are both polluted, where does that leave our homes? By cleaning up the air we breath and the water we drink, we are on the road to providing a safer environment for our families. However, we're not there yet.

Every surface in our home collects dust, dirt, germs, and grease that need cleaning regularly. That's no problem, you say! You can just pick up your handy dandy bottle of all-purpose chemical cleaner and begin, wait, did you say chemical cleaner?

We filter chemicals out of our air and water and then put them right back into our home environment by cleaning every surface in our home with chemical cleaners, exposing our families to their vapors in the process.

Modern advancements come to the rescue in the area of cleaning as well. For the first time, we have easy access to methods of cleaning that will do a great job without bringing us the chemicals and toxins that we don't want.

In each area of household cleaning you undertake, be sure to choose products that won't leave a chemical residue or strong chemical odors in the air. Your health and your lungs will thank you.

By making a few simple changes, you can have a permanent impact on your life and the lives of your family members. Why not start today? Take back your peace of mind and begin the journey to happier and healthier lives.

About The Author
Rick Mills is an independent consultant who specializes in health and wellness products that offer environmentally safe alternatives to common household products that have an adverse effect on our health.
http://netadvantage.toxicfreehomes.com
ram@direcway.com

Stress And Illness

Jack, 60 years old, is a client of mine. Jack had been in a very difficult, codependent marriage with Stella - a marriage where Jack completely gave himself up in his attempts to avoid Stella's anger, threats and blame. Jack sought my help regarding extricating himself from this very unhappy relationship and was finally able to end the marriage. Subsequently, Jack sent me the following email:

"Hi Margaret, I hope all is going well with you. I thought you might be interested in a health change I have noticed. In my last year of marriage to Stella I started having pressure in my chest when I started exercising. I went to several cardiologists. I felt the first one was an alarmist. He wanted to do an angiogram immediately and he wanted permission to do angioplasty at the same time if necessary. I told him that I would get back to him. I immediately went on a better exercise program and took additional supplements for my heart. Over a period of several months I visited three other cardiologists. A very well respected cardiologist had the great idea of doing another stress test on me. When he finished the stress test he said he did not see any reason to do anything different that what I was doing. The pressure I was feeling was still there at the start of exercise but it would go away as I continued to exercise.

"On December 31, 2005 I made my last support payment to Stella. I have not felt any pressure in my chest since then at the start of exercising or any other time. I actually feel an upward shift in my energy level. I know that stress has a lot to do with health and with the last payment I must have released a lot of stress.

"I am interested to hear your opinion about this. Stress can be so silent that I do not know if I am always aware of it."

I responded to Jack, telling him that recent research indicates that stress may be behind at least 90% of illness. Currently, Jack is in a loving relationship with Andrea, but even that relationship did not stop the stress until his last support payment to Stella. Yet Jack did not realize that the heart pain was related to his stress.

Too often, when we have physical problems, we seek a purely physical answer. Yet if stress is the underlying cause of 90% of illness, it is very important to open to learning about the fact that we might be stressed and about what is causing the stress.

If Jack had realized that his heart pain was stress-related, he might have been able to go inside and discover what was really causing the stress. On the surface, it appeared to be his fear of Stella's anger and the fact that he still owed her money. But if Jack were to look deeper, he might discover some false beliefs that were actually causing the stress – beliefs such as:

• I am responsible for Stella's unhappy feelings.

We cause our own feelings with our thoughts. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for another's feelings.

• It is not fair that I have to continue to pay Stella money.

Jack made choices that led to this outcome. He is responsible for the choices he made.

• It is my fault that things did not work out with Stella.

Jack is responsible for his choices, but not for Stella's choices. Thinking something is all our fault is a way of convincing ourselves that we have more control than we actually have over other's choices.

• I will not be able to make enough money to take care of myself.

Jack does well financially, but often stresses over money.

• As long as I owe Stella money, she will be able to control me.

Jack frequently gives his power away to others due to his trying to control them through pleasing, and then fears being controlled by them.

• I have to give myself up to Stella to control how she feels about me and treats me.

Jack caused himself stress by trying to control something that he has no control over.

There is a good possibility that if Jack had explored his beliefs and come into truth with himself, his stress would have decreased long ago. Much of Jack's stress was being caused by trying to control something that he had no control over. All of us can learn from Jack's experience. We all have the opportunity to continue to monitor our stress and continue to look at the false beliefs and resulting behavior that are the primary underlying causes of stress.

About The Author
Margaret Paul, Ph.D., best-selling author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You" and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or email her at mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone Sessions.

Stress Is Not Evil

When we talk about stress, we should keep in mind that not all stress is bad and that some stress is even vital.

It is needed for development of the species, be it a human or any other mammal. Maybe you have heard the proverb "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". It may sound exaggerated, but it's true. Think about it: In order for you to progress in anything, you need to be put first under pressure, or stress.

- What do you think that you do when working out or exercising? You put your muscles under stress so that they get used to it. And the next time they will be more prepared for it. They will grow and adapt themselves.

- Or what do you do when learning something like a new language? You challenge yourself. You progress, you learn and the next time it will be much easier than the first time.

The world is a very competitive place. Think about yourself, your possessions and desires as a small soap bubble in a bath. Now imagine that there are zillions of bubbles outside and each one is pressing against the others. In order to get your will through (be it survival, fitness, success in job, etc), you need to hold the pressure from inside or even push back. This inner pressure is stress.

Stress is what is keeping everything going. If we were relaxed and happy all the time, the world wouldn't progress anywhere. But, luckily, we all have our desires that are against the will of somebody else. This creates competition and makes our world tick.

You see, stress is not evil. What is evil and can lead to different mental and physical health problems is constant stress.

If you are into bodybuilding you may know that too long and too many workouts are not beneficial and even counterproductive. Your muscles need rest to grow.

This also applies to anything else that is stressful. For example, your job: You can work hard, support much stress, but rest is also very important to avoid diseases and burning out. And, like in bodybuilding, your productivity even decreases if you don't give yourself the needed resting time.

Stress is not evil, too much stress without rest is.

A good rest must be relaxing. Many people think that they are resting while they are not. That is what stress management is all about: To teach you relax. Meditation, breathing techniques, music, etc. - everything can help, but, like in stress, something that is relaxing for one person may be not for another.

All the different relax techniques are beyond the scope of this article, but I hope I made you think about what stress really is and, maybe, change your point of view. I am always open to any suggestions, questions and discussions. Feel free to contact me.

About The Author
Roman Semko, co-founder of Bodytweaking.com - health and fitness articles . BodyTweaking is a knowledge base on fitness related topics and tools.