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Life + Stress = Weight Gain
A stress-free life is unfortunately just a fairy tale. Also unfortunate is the fact that chronic stress can lead to weight gain. This happens for a variety of reasons, one being that stress makes you hungry.
5 Easy Ways to Manage Cortisol, the Stress Hormone
Cortisol is a hormone that's recruited to regulate blood pressure and the immune system when the body is experiencing physical or emotional stress. Constant stress can cause our bodies to overproduce the hormone, and instead of helping to balance our bodies, cortisol can cause sleep problems, leave us vulnerable to infection, induce blood sugar abnormalities, and lead to abdominal weight gain.
In its February issue, Prevention magazine describes solutions for managing cortisol, and these options are all doable with little effort (so you don't become even more stressed about having time to manage your stress hormone!).
Kissing Reduces Stress
It was great news when we learned that sex can reduce stress, but it turns out there's no need to get naked in order to ease your mind or your troubles — recent research shows that kissing is also a stress-reliever. When couples were asked to smooch for 15 minutes, there was a decrease in levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Other couples who were asked to just hold hands, also had a decrease in cortisol, but kissing was much more effective.
Wake Up and Drink OJ: Vitamin C Fights Stress
Let's face it, the holiday season is stressful. Couple that with all the runny noses that surround you and it becomes clear – vitamin C is your ally. Aside from helping shorten the duration of a cold, fighting wrinkles, and helping absorb iron, vitamin C is a stress buster.
Stress Can Affect Your Smile Too
Stress generally interferes with your desire to smile, but new research indicates that stress may actually have a detrimental impact on your gums. And that is definitely not worth smiling about.
Researchers found 57% of recent studies reviewed showed a relationship between gum disease and stress as well as related psychological symptoms like distress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
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Cortisol level
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Why We Overeat: Stress
If you find that you overeat throughout your day, but have ruled out excessive tiredness as the cause, then you may be reaching for fattening foods because you're stressed out. According to Health magazine, chronic stress causes your body to create cortisol and insulin. These hormones increase your appetite for comfort foods which tend to be high in fat, sugar, and salt.
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Stress
In This Report- Highlights
- Introduction
- The Body's Response
- Complications
- Conditions with Similar Sym...
- Treatment
- Risk Factors
- Lifestyle Changes
- Resources
- References
- Some people are pre-programmed for a heightened response to stress by conditions in the womb. Pregnant women under stress who eat a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates have babies with higher cortisol levels. Later on, these levels increase in response to stress.
- The impact of stress on the heart and circulation system is becoming more clear.
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