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Not much talked about, but crucial in understanding allergies :
The important link between Allergies and Stress .
Even slight stress and anxiety can substantially worsen a person's allergic reaction to some routine allergens.
Moreover, the added impact of stress and anxiety seem to linger, causing the second day of a stressed person's allergy attack to be much worse.
Stress can bring on asthma attacks, and it exacerbates nearly every kind of allergy.
So what does stress have to do with allergies when it's your immune system's overreaction to certain allergens that causes the problem?
Stress increases the adrenal gland's production of cortisol and spurs the sympathetic nervous system to make more epinephrine and norepinephrine.
An oversupply of these hormones cuts your immune system's effectiveness.
Lets's uppose you are walking outside and you get in the way of some pollen being carried on a gentle summer breeze. When the pollen enters your nose, an SOS signal is immediately sent to your brain, which orders a specific response--maybe three sneezes and a small rush of mucus to eject the foreign invader.
The response ought to be within reason: big enough to do the job, small enough to trigger only as many defenses as are necessary.
When stress is involved, though, things can start to go haywire.
Stress lowers the level of a neurotransmitter called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), that keeps air passageways open and prevents the brain from ordering an attack-the-allergens response.
That is why anything that significantly lowers stress tends to lower allergic reactions.
So what exactly is stress ?
Anything that elicits a response from the body is a stressor. Improving your diet or quitting smoking, both of which are good, are stresses. Getting a new job (even a better one), moving, exercising, weather changes, working long hours and major events like divorce and moving are all stressors.
Improving the way the body adapts to stress is the key to improved quality of life.
Exposure to stress results in a cascade of events throughout the nervous system and the endocrine system (hormone-secreting organs) and affects the whole body.
When the stressor, regardless of the origin, is unrelenting, the body may lose its ability to adapt to it–the defense mechanisms become exhausted. The nervous system and the adrenal glands are the primary organs that initially respond to stress.
The adrenal glands are among the most important organs in the body, are key to our ability to deal with stress, and yet receive little if any attention . Many symptoms that compromise our quality of life occur as a result of adrenal fatigue.
The Organ that helps us cope with stress
The adrenal glands sit on top of each kidney and contain two major components: the cortex, on the outside, and the medulla, on the inside.
In response to triggers from the brain, the medulla secretes hormones. some of which stimulate an area of the brain called the hypothalamus.
This permits the body to respond to stress by increasing blood sugar levels, the breathing rate, cardiac output, blood flow to the muscles, lungs and brain and cellular metabolism, the famous "fight-or-flight" response.
What happens when there is too much stress ?
Too much stress is the underlying cause of most health conditions and allergies. Stress in virtually any form will cause, at the very least, a decrease in functioning of the immune system.
And prolonged, unremitting stress may eventually weaken the adrenals, resulting in ineffective organ function.
A number of herbs from around the globe both reduce stress reactions and strengthen the adrenals, improve function of the immune system and the body as a whole.
These herbs work synergistically and are supported by traditional and modern clinical research.
If you are interested in this topic, more information is hereHow to Blast Your Allergies Away Forever!
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