Category Archives: Articles on Stress

03.21.11
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Coffee and Estrogen Dominance

I saw this and thought it was a great article and wanted to share it with you…

Clifta 🙂

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Coffee and Estrogen Dominance

Understanding Acid-Base Balance, Hormones, and Disease

Jul 30, 2007 Ronald K. Frazer

coffee and estrogen dominance - www.sxc.hu

If women understand the relationship between their diet, the acid-base balance in their bodies, and estrogen dominance, they can improve their ability to avoid disease.

What is estrogen dominance?

Estrogen dominance is a condition where the estrogen in a woman’s body is not balanced by progesterone. That doesn’t sound like a big deal on the surface, but, according to Dr. John Lee, it is thought to be a contributing factor in many diseases including allergies, breast and cervical cancer, endometriosis, PMS, breast and uterine cysts, decreased sex drive, infertility, hair loss, osteoporosis, and many other conditions.

Coffee contributes to estrogen dominance. The way that it contributes may be by making the body more acid. Once our bodies are too acid, the production processes of all hormones are altered; and we all know how dependent women are on hormones for their health and happiness.

It seems that when a woman’s body is too acid, it produces too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. Dr. Michael Lam of the American Academy of Anti-aging Research reports that in a small study of 500 women, those who consumed four or five cups of coffee per day had 70% more estrogen that those who drank less than one cup per day.

There is no research that proves that coffee reduces progesterone production but there are anecdotal reports from women that suggest that this is true. Kerri-Lynn Lapointe, N.D., writes in Menopause Myths Debunked that coffee and stress force the body to convert progesterone to cortisol which suggests a link between coffee and progesterone deficiency. Whatever the cause of a progesterone deficiency is, drinking coffee will make estrogen dominance worse by increasing the estrogen levels.

Coffee is such a delicious institution in many countries. It’s tempting to deny the facts in favor of the wonderful smell of a fresh pot. But there is no doubt that coffee makes the body more acid than it was designed to be.

Besides the acid-base problem, an article in Better Nutrition reports that there are 17 known carcinogens in coffee. There are hundreds more chemicals in the delicious brew that are yet to be evaluated. Coffee is a good example of a natural product that has some very deadly ingredients totalling 10 mg in each cup, including benzene and formaldehyde among others.

Is coffee the only cause of estrogen dominance?

No. There are other causes:

  1. Xenoestrogen exposure–pesticides, herbicides, beauty products, solvents, adhesives, birth control pills, etc.
  2. Eating non-organic meat which is fed estrogen to plump it up
  3. Stress
  4. Obesity

Is coffee the only cause of acid-base imbalance?

No. Much of the American diet causes an acid-base imbalance:

  1. Carbonated drinks
  2. Excessive protein in the diet, insufficient vegetables
  3. Artificial sweeteners

So what does this all mean?

If a woman is concerned with cancer, endometriosis, a lack of sex drive, or any of the other conditions in the first paragraph, she should be concerned about estrogen dominance. She should:

  1. explore all the factors that produce estrogen dominance and eliminate as many as possible from her life.
  2. learn what makes her body more acid and substitute things that make it more alkaline.

It would be nice if there was a single cause of cancer, of endometriosis or of the many other ailments that plague women. Then science could come up with a pill that would block that process–maybe even reverse it. But there isn’t a single cause, except perhaps living an unnatural lifestyle. But they can’t make a pill for that. So it’s really up to us to be aware of the dozens of things we do each day that stress our body’s biochemistry, and avoid as many as possible–replacing them with natural health and wellness.

10.10.10
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Make Over Your Bedroom for Better Sleep

This is one of my things that I'm working on.
Getting more and better sleep so I thought this
article was a good one... and one that I thought
I'd share with you.
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Make Over Your Bedroom for Better Sleep

A simple bedroom makeover, starting with a comfortable bed, can help you sleep better and through the night.

 

By Diana Rodriguez

 

Sometimes it takes more than being tired to fall asleep. Relaxation techniques can help you sleep more soundly, but don’t stop there. Creating the right atmosphere in your bedroom will also lead to better sleep.
Better bedroom environment

The ultimate sleep setting starts with a comfortable bed — good pillows and a blanket or comforter make your bed more inviting. You also want to set the right mood to help you sleep.

The Root of Sleep Problems

People have trouble sleeping for many reasons. Barbara Phillips, MD, director of the University of Kentucky Good Samaritan Sleep Center in Lexington, speculates that sleep problems may have to do with human instinct and the need to survive.

“Difficulty sleeping is a normal reaction to stress and to an unhealthy or dangerous environment,” Dr. Phillips says. This probably gave our ancestors a survival advantage when the greatest risk to their well-being was being attacked at night, whether by saber-toothed tigers or enemy tribes.

How does that affect your sleep today? “We are probably hardwired not to sleep as well when there are problems in our lives,” says Phillips. “This may be part of the reason that insomnia is often associated with stress, depression, and anxiety.” Being physically uncomfortable when trying to sleep can make it even harder.

How to Sleep Well: Creating Your Sleep Haven

The right sleep environment is essential to set the stage for better sleep. Give your bedroom a makeover with these tips:

  • Set an appropriate noise level. Certain sounds may annoy you at night, while having your room too quiet can also affect your ability to sleep. White noise is purposeful noise — usually a steady, low-level background sound — that blocks out distracting sounds. Try running a fan at night or playing a CD of soothing sounds, like rain or ocean waves — whatever relaxes you.
  • Check the temperature. It can be difficult to sleep in a room that’s too hot or too cold. The right temperature depends on your personal comfort level. Find out what makes you most comfortable in bed so that you don’t wake up sweating or shivering.
  • Make a comfortable bed. When you slip into bed at the end of a long day, it should feel welcoming, luxurious, and relaxing. Clean, soft sheets, blankets or a comforter, and pillows are a given. But also make sure that your mattress is in good shape and has the level of firmness you need.
  • Turn out the lights. Exposure to plenty of sunlight during the day can help you sleep better at night, but you want your room as dark as possible while you sleep. Hang curtains or shades designed with a backing material that blocks outside lights and early morning sunlight, or consider sleeping with an eye mask.
  • Limit bedroom activities. When you work, watch TV, or play on the computer in bed, it stimulates you and negatively affects your ability to sleep. Learning to associate your bedroom with only sleep and sex will help you fall asleep and sleep better when you’re in your bed.
  • Give yourself some space. Partners, cats, and dogs can lay claim to space on your bed, snore, and generally disrupt your sleep. If your partner’s snoring interferes with your sleep, talk about solutions to get it under control. If you have pets, consider keeping them out of your bedroom at night.

Sleep is a necessity, and it should be restorative. It can also be enjoyable. Create a tranquil sleep environment so that you can sink into a deep, restful sleep easily each night.

09.18.10
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Stressing Out, Gaining Weight, and Finally Losing It

A GREAT article that explains what happens to our bodies when we are stressed. I found this very interesting because I’ve been more stressed this last 6 weeks and it does affect you. This article explains how.

Stressing Out, Gaining Weight, and Finally Losing It

Your phone is ringing, breakfast is sizzling, and you’re trying to get the kids off to school — all the while getting ready to go to work yourself. Sound familiar, or are you stressed out just by reading these words? If you’re a living breathing human being, chances are you experience some type of daily stress. And it’s true: Stress can cause you to gain weight.

In fact, a recent study conducted by Susan J. Melhorn and colleagues from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, found that not only can stress can take a daily toll on you in terms of physical and psychological well being, but it can cause weight gain. According to recent studies, social stress — public speaking, tests, job and relationship pressures — may cause overeating and weight gain.” But you probably already knew that; stress makes many of us want to eat more.

You gain weight for two reasons:

Biological Interference: Biologically your body is designed for a “fight or flight” response to stress. So when you’re stressed, your body releases hormones to help you do either. And since you’re most likely not being chased by a saber tooth tiger, this response is not exactly helpful when your boss sends you a stressful email or you have an argument with your spouse.

What happens (in the most basic terms) is that your body releases chemicals when you’re stressed. The brain sends out a stress hormone called cortisol, which regulates energy by tapping into the body’s fat storage and protein, converting it into glucose and bringing it to muscles and to the brain. Additionally, it can move fat from storage depots and relocate it to fat cell deposits deep in the abdomen; researchers have shown that the abdomen is the best place for fast energy retrieval.

Cortisol may linger in your body long after the cause of the initial stress has passed and trick your body into thinking it has done something active in response to a perceived ‘threat.’ What’s even more surprising is that cortisol acts like a biological green light, which sends signals to your brain to refuel your body as soon as possible.

Eating Comfort Foods: When things are stressful, what can we do? How can we feel better? How about brownies, donuts, candy, ice cream, pizza, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken? This type of comfort food is always quick to the rescue in our time of need. Over the past year we’ve comforted ourselves by gravitating toward this kind of food, thinking, “You only live once, so I might as well enjoy myself now.” When tension and anxiety are high in one aspect of life, it’s not unusual for other areas to seem trivial or less important.

Why do we crave these foods? First of all, it’s what we’re used to having in times of discomfort. Parents gave you ice cream when you had a bad day at school. I know my parents did. I do it for my daughter. I can’t help it — she feels better.

Secondly, carbohydrates make you feel better by releasing the hormone serotonin, which is a brain chemical that makes you feel good. So those are the reasons, now what?

Here are a few tips to relax and stay healthy during stressful times:

  • Create a “Stress Snack Eating” Kit. Assemble an actual kit that has healthy snacks. Keep this kit around your office or at home and break out when needed. Make sure that you have portion controlled foods in there that are low in calories in case you over-indulge. Also put in a few non-food items, such as an iPod loaded with comedian sketches, a jump rope.
  • Keep Away Unhealthy Snacks. This becomes very important when you know you’re going to have a stressful day. Researchers have shown time and time again that snacks in sight are snacks that are eaten.
  • Enjoy Healthy Comfort Foods. My favorite is popcorn (made in a pan or air popped) made at home with a bit of butter spray, salt, and garlic. You can find more recipes in my column, Healthful Comfort Food Recipes for Rough Times.
  • Exercise the Stress Away. Yes, go out for a walk, take a spin class, go for a run — research shows that a bit of exercise can help you fend off unhealthy eating and reduce stress.

Article by… Charles Stuart Platkin, PhD


** 2 Supplements that I’ve found that help with stress and controlling your cortisol levels are… Estracort and Glutamine. I use these 2 supplements and they DO work really well.


Clifta Coulter Perez

Reno Personal Fitness Trainer

06.19.10
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The Secret to the Body of Your Dreams!

EstraCort – The Secret to the Body of Your Dreams!

Estrogen, cortisol, hormonal imbalance… Chances are you have heard these terms and they probably either confused or scared you. Estrogen is quite a word. To some it might mean femininity and signify the essence of being a woman. But to someone interested in getting in shape, it might mean something altogether different. Estrogen is not bad, but excessive estrogen can lead to fat gain, cause difficulty losing fat, water retention, mood swings, cravings….and the list goes on and on! Combine that with excessive cortisol—the STRESS hormone, and reaching your goals and feeling your best will be extremely difficult to do! In todays fast-paced, stressful world it is not uncommon for estrogen and cortisol levels to get out of whack, creating a hormonal imbalance. Knowing this, PGN Nutrition with the help of world renown fitness trainer Chuck Rudolph, MEd, RD, and Two-Time Miss Olympia and Miss Fitness International, Jen Hendershott, created the PERFECT supplement to help women control estrogen and cortisol to help achieve their goals and get the body they have always dreamed of! The future of the fitness-minded woman’s supplement is here, and it is PGN Estracort™. The FIRST supplement designed to specifically address this essential need!

PGN EstraCort – Estrogen and Cortisol Support for Women

Hormones are chemical messengers that signal the body to perform certain actions. For example, after you eat carbs, the hormone insulin is released to signal the body to absorb these carbs from the blood stream. The body releases various amounts of insulin depending on the type and amount of carbs you eat. Controlling insulin levels through smart diet choices is important since high levels of insulin lead to fat gain. Insulin is not the only hormone that contributes to controlling your weight, there are many. Of prime importance are the hormones estrogen and cortisol.

Estrogen is the primary female hormone (comparable to testosterone in men). Estrogen gives women their feminine characteristics and testosterone gives men their masculine characteristics. Estrogen has numerous actions in the body. Estrogen is needed for normal functioning of the body but too much or the wrong types of estrogens can have negative effects on your body. The same holds true for another hormone called cortisol.

Cortisol is called the “stress hormone” because it is released in response to stress and anxiety. When released at a normal level cortisol helps restore homeostasis after stressful events. But, like estrogen, when too much cortisol is released or cortisol levels are elevated for too long negative affects arise.

Knowing all of this PGN has created a formula to control estrogen and cortisol levels, leading to increased fat loss, less water retention and an overall leaner figure.

PHAT GIRL NUTRITION ESTRACORT INGREDIENTS

Summary Of EstraCort Ingredients:

  • 250mg DIM (Diindolylmethane)
  • 200mg Calcium d Glucarate
  • 500mg PhosphatidylSerine (250mg)
  • 500mg Green Tea (50% EGCG/95% PE)

DIM (Diindolylmethane)

DIM, a phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, is an estrogen metabolism modulator, meaning it favorably shifts estrogen metabolism. Estrogen is not a bad hormone, it is needed for normal functioning of the body, but certain metabolites of estrogen have more positive actions while other metabolites have more negative actions. DIM increases the amount of “good” estrogens (2-hydroxy) and decreases the amount of “bad” estrogens (4-hydroxy and 16-hydroxy). The good estrogens protect the brain and heart due to potent anti-oxidant activity, along with other positive actions, while the bad estrogens promote weight gain and are linked to cancer (breast and uterine). By supplementing with DIM your body’s natural estrogen metabolism becomes primed to create more of the good and less of the bad estrogens, leading to a health-promoting estrogen balance.

Calcium D Glucarate

Calcium D Glucarate is a botanical extract found in fruits and vegetables that promotes the removal of toxins and excess estrogens from the body. Calcium D Glucarate helps detoxify the body through a process called glucuronidation. The body naturally tries to removes toxins and excess estrogens through glucouronidation, but this process can become reversed by the enzyme beta-glucuronidase, which releases the toxins back into the body. Calcium D Glucarate increases the detoxification process by inhibiting the beta-glucuronidase enzyme, allowing the glucouronidation detoxification process to work its magic. Supplementing with Calcium D Glucarate increases the elimination of cancer-promoting toxins and estrogens.

PhosphatidylSerine

Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid found in the membrane of all cells, particularly in the brain. Phosphatidylserine keeps cells flexible and primed for nutrient absorptive. Supplementing with phosphatidylserine has been shown to improve cognition, memory, and mood and decrease blood concentrations of cortisol. Excessive cortisol levels can lead to suppression of the immune system and the accumulation of abdominal fat. Supplementing with Phosphatidylserine not only will improve brain functioning but will also help control cortisol levels.

Green Tea

Green tea is a type of tea leaf (black and oolong are other types of teas). Green tea has been used by the Chinese to treat a variety of disorders for years. Green Tea has powerful antioxidant properties, specifically from the active EGCG, and has been shown to help protect against various cancers. EGCG has thermogenic effects and has been shown to assist in weight loss by decreasing dietary fat absorption, appetite suppression, and catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT) inhibition. COMT is involved in the breakdown of catecholamines (i.e. NE). By inhibiting COMT, NE breakdown is slowed and it is able to activate the adrenergic receptors to a greater degree and enhance lipolysis (fat breakdown). Supplementing with green tea extract improves overall health and helps promote fat loss.

Summary

  • DIM positively shifts estrogen metabolism to produce more good estrogens and less bad estrogens.
  • Calcium D Glucarate increases the elimination of cancer-promoting toxins and estrogens.
  • Phosphatidylserine not only will improve brain functioning but will also help control cortisol levels.
  • Green tea improves overall health and promotes fat loss.

Supplementing with DIM, Calcium D Glucarate, Phosphatidylserine, and Green Tea together will optimize a women’s hormone levels, promoting a leaner, more healthy figure.

Not only will Estracort support your overall health, but it might just be exactly what you need to shift your body into the DREAM ZONE – obtaining the body you have always dreamed of having! So stop wasting time and letting estrogen and cortisol spoil your results. Get the body you have always wanted with Estracort today!

Clifta Coulter Perez of PHAT Physiques
Reno Personal Fitness Trainer

Reno Bootcamp Instructor

775-996-7183

03.23.10
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8 Foods That Fight Stress

I thought this was a good article By Sara Reistad-Long
Dark Chocolate

High in flavonoids, which are lauded for their relaxing properties (chamomiletea is another great source), chocolate also contains phenethylamine, a chemical that enhances your mood. The darker the chocolate, the more healthy substances you’re getting in your diet, so look for bars that are 70 percent cacao or higher.

Skim Milk

Turns out that a glass of warm milk really is calming. One study found that women who drank four or more servings of lowfat or skim milk every day were about half as likely to experience stress-related PMS symptoms than those who drank less than one serving a week.

Oatmeal

Carbs help you produce serotonin, a calming hormone that helps fight anxiety’s negative effects-which is probably why many of us crave them when we’re stressed. Go with the craving and choose healthy sources. Oatmeal is high in fiber, which means that your body will absorb it slowly. In one fell swoop, you’ll prolong the serotonin boost, keeping yourself feeling full for longer (and on less) and making sure your blood sugar’s in check.

Salmon

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids-abundant in fish like salmon-can help reverse stress symptoms by boosting serotonin levels, and that an omega-3-rich diet can also help suppress the production of the anxiety hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

Walnuts

They’ve been shown to help lower blood pressure, which is critical for those whose hearts are already working overtime thanks to high adrenaline levels. In fact, research so strongly backs their health benefits that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration goes so far as to recommend 1 1/2 oz per day.

Sunflower Seeds

A good source of folate, which helps your body produce a pleasure-inducing brain chemical called dopamine.

Spinach

Studies show that magnesium, which you’ll find in leafy greens like spinach, improves your body’s response to stress.

Blueberries

Their antioxidants counteract the effects of stress hormones like cortisol on your body.