Designing a simple "Terra Life". 
      

As we head into 2013, it seems that the distractions are coming at us at warp speed. Kids that need to be shuttled around, family members that need to be taken care of, deadlines at work and at home, and a flurry of other "High Priority" items that have to be dealt with before we even attempt to spend a single moment toward our dreams of becoming financially free.

Stress, Part 2 of 3

By Gerald P. Kozlowski, Ph.D. BCN Fellow

Research Program Director

If you remember from the last issue (Part 1 of 3) we described the caveman confronted by the sabertooth tiger which led to activation of the sympathetic division of the nervous system that prepared him or her for what's called figuratively "fight or flight". That response to stress was accompanied by the release of adrenaline and together with adrenal corticosteroids such as cortisol serve to mobilize the body's energy stores for immediate emergency action. It's a matter of preparing the body to do what is necessary to meet or run away from the threat. The "fight" part is one option. We've all heard of remarkable feats such as the petite mother lifting up the car to rescue her child or some other heroic deed unimaginable under ordinary circumstances. The "flight" part is to run and that requires a good amount of energy too. Consider for a moment what's happening in the brain. Stimulatory neurotransmitters like dopamine for example are released to help assist the motor system of the brain and spinal cord for activating the motor system. Neuronal circuits involved with improving attention mechanisms are one of the first called into play. Thus, the brain is bombarded with a sudden splash of internal (dopamine and norepinephrine) as well as external (adrenaline and corticoids) highly active substances; as well as mobilized glucose from internal (neurons) and external (liver) sources.

The brain can handle stress like this but not for more than probably 30 seconds according to some experts. But if the saber tooth tiger is a chronic or long-term stressor such as a demanding boss, bad marriage or other severe circumstance than there are far more deleterious effects such as forgetfulness and learning difficulties. In addition, the immune, digestive, reproductive, endocrine and every system of the body can be impacted as long as the pressure remains. In chronic stress, you feel like there's a great weight on your shoulders or you're on the proverbial treadmill burning up miss-spent energy. Add to that the feeling of going nowhere and it increases the pressure even more. Sometimes the psychological pressure of being caught in a losing situation is far more damaging than the actual source of the stress that started all this in the first place. Physiologists studying stress in animals create similar conditions so that they use the "learned helplessness" model in researching the consequences of stress. The hapless animal is denied the letup and relief for an hour or so in order to give us the information we need to study how stress impacts the body and brain. They found that one of the most potent of the stressors is tight confinement. The greater the struggle to regain freedom, the greater the intensity stress has in causing anxiety, depression and pain. The situation is very close to that of the human condition and we've learned a considerable amount of knowledge on what and how stress does its damage.

We now know that stress is not to be taken lightly. One of the most susceptible targets of stress in the immune system. In the case of the immune system, a stressed individual is more susceptible to colds, diseases and other disorders. It is "compromised" and cannot protect or repair the body as easily as a healthy person. The same will hold true for other systems of the body and all of us know examples of failures of the digestive, reproductive, endocrine and other systems. The good news is that short-term stress can be beneficial such as when taking an exam in school which is when you want to be highly alert. In Part 1, I also introduced the term "adaptogen" which as its name implies, helps us adapt to harsh or adversive circumstances. Herbalists call some natural herb products that increase the body's resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue as adaptogens. All adaptogens contain antioxidants, but antioxidants are not all adaptogens and that's not their proposed mechanism of action. They are nontoxic, help to balance the immune and endocrine system to normalize the body during periods of demand such as present in the athlete, a very dynamic, high-functioning individual at peak activity. It's a special condition called allostasis that is different from a term we all heard, homeostasis where the body is functioning in balance without the additional pressure of being engaged in a sport.

Two ingredients in RIZE are famous adaptogens: Rhodiola rosea and Korean Gensing. There are, in fact, other adaptogens such as Maca but of the adaptogens in Nectr products, these two have been studied the most. The Russian exercise and sports physiologists extensively studied Rhodiola rosea which explains why it's not so widely known in Western countries. One of the most important effects of R. rosea extract relate to improvements in mental performance, memory and learning. A single dose is stimulating and its molecular structure has similarities with the catec holamines like dopamine which have a key role in the sympathetic axis. In contrast, Korean or Panax ginseng (there is a Chinese form also called Panax) contain relatively large amounts of triterpenes that are structurally similar to corticosteroids and reveal their stress protective effects and adaptation to stressors after repeated administration for periods of 1-4 weeks. Their key roles are in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis usually abbreviated as the HPA axis. Having both R. rosea and P. ginseng covers neuroendocrine activities at separate levels which are of benefit because it is more comprehensive physiologically.

Stay tuned for Part 3 to read about how anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories assist us in battling the effects of stress. One hint: the Boy Scout motto is "Be prepared". See how that applies to a regular regime of Nectr products.