Hidden Dangers of Stress

It’s extremely common, easy to dismiss, and affects everyone differently, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that stress is a serious and dangerous health hazard.  When the body and mind is subjected to high levels of stress a wave of issues can take us over. Extended and intense periods of tension are detrimental to your wellbeing. It has influence on all systems of the body, creates a vicious and self-feeding cycle, and is easily contagious.

Stress can be attributed to many hidden health hazards, both directly and indirectly, but its presence almost always has a way of interfering will your wellness. Stress takes on many forms, but some of the most common are:

• Weight Gain


• Infertility


• High Blood Pressure


• Compulsivity and Unhealthy Habits/Coping Mechanisms  (overeating, smoking, substance abuse)


• Insomnia


• Cardiovascular Disease


• Accelerated Aging


• Poor Immune System Function


• Insulin Resistance


• Numerous Inflammatory Conditions and Subsequent Complications

How do you deal with stress and what do you do when you feel it taking over? How often does your stress level take control of you instead of the other way around?

Source:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/09/18/hidden-risks-of-chronic-stress

The Immune System and Chiropractic

This year’s cold and flu season making headlines as one of the worst in decades, it’s a good time to talk about what the immune system means for our health, and what chiropractic care means for the immune system. As most of you know, chiropractic specifically focuses on the nervous system. What fewer people know is how the nervous system affects our body’s ability to maintain proper immune function.
Here’s an overview of how it works:

Chiropractic corrects spinal abnormalities called vertebral subluxations. Vertebral subluxations cause interference of the nervous system by placing pressure on nerves. Since the nervous system controls all functions of the body, including the immune system, chiropractic care can have a positive effect on immune function.

During an immune response, the brain and the immune system “talk to each other” and this process is essential for maintaining homeostasis, i.e. balance in the body. If the nervous system is not functioning properly, then the immune system cannot function at 100%, thus the body becomes fertile ground for bacteria, viruses and illness, like influenza.

-          Dr. David Thomson