ANTI-AGE #38

DANS LA SANTÉ,
TOUT EST QUESTION
D’ÉQUILIBRE.
WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH,
IT’S ALL A QUESTION
OF BALANCE.
1) The alarm reaction, the initial phase, characterised by the
secretion of two hormones by the adrenal glands: adrenaline
and cortisol. The increased levels of these hormones in the
blood causes a faster heart rate, shallow breathing, excess
sweating and high blood pressure.
2) The resistance stage, during which the body tries to adapt
to the attack.
Today, stress is a great illustration of the fact that, when it
comes to health, it’s all a question of balance.
Good stress is needed to make the body function properly.
When faced with an infection, stress is useful to the immune
system for neutralising bacteria or viruses. Stress can also
be a good alarm signal, indicating danger inside or outside
the body.
But there is also bad, or chronic, stress which responds to
physical and psychological aggressions.
Considered by the WHO (World Health Organisation) as a
global problem on a level with cancer, over the last few centuries
stress has become a real public health concern.
It was only in the 1990s that French scientists started paying
attention to this new physiognomy: pressure from society, in
the workplace, the strains of modern life and the resulting
difficulties.
Nowadays, the implications of stress are human, financial and
legal and, though it was the bane of the 20th century, it is
even more so the case in the 21st century.
According to Canadian researcher Hans Selye, stress is developed
in three phases:
3) If it is unable to, or if the stimulation is too strong or too
repetitive, the body’s ability to adapt is quickly overwhelmed,
and the resulting exhaustion causes pathologies such
as heart attacks, digestive disorders, musculoskeletal issues,
breathing problems, psychological issues, and so on until it
reaches the “burn-out” stage: complete professional or personal
exhaustion.
Elisabeth Blackburn, who co-discovered telomerase, even
showed that chronic stress, by shortening the telomeres,
causes our cells to age prematurely and therefore speeds up
the overall aging process.
This is why it is so important to fight against chronic stress.
First of all, we need to gauge the gravity of this stress, and
recently we have been able to biologically measure our stress
levels thanks to the “Cortisol Awakening Response”.
We can then perform a quantitative analysis of the brain’s
neurotransmitters (adrenaline, noradrenaline, serotonin).
We must then put in place various methods to combat this
stress:
• To start with, identify and treat any responsible causes (family
or work-related).
• Where possible, try to avoid taking any medication, which
only masks the problem.
• However, taking a personalised micro-nutritional supplement
is vital.
• Finally, learn methods such as hypnosis, mindful meditation,
cardiac coherence and Melomind.
2020 ANTI AGE MAGAZINE #38 • 27