Don't let stress impact your heart!

You're right! We all experience some levels of stress from time to time. What is really comes down to is how we manage our stress, or how we "deal". If we engage in things like smoking, drinking, and over-eating when we are stressed instead of coping in healthy ways, then we may find ourselves at an increased risk for heart disease.

More research is definitely needed in this area to determine exactly how stress and heart disease is related.

Begin to identify your patterns in dealing with stress. Do you engage in prayer or meditation to overcome stress, or do you find yourself running for the cupboard, your purse, or the bar?

Identifying how you cope is step 1 to moving to healthier coping strategies. Then be intentional about replacing unhealthy coping mechanisms with health coping mechanisms.

It is better to get help if you find yourself unable to cope vs. letting the condition spiral out of control. You can seek help by going to your family physician, and he/she can help determine if stress is due to an anxiety disorder, mental condition, or both.

Depending on the severity of your signs/symptoms, your physician may attempt to manage conservatively. You may be referred to a mental health professional.

You should seek help if...
1. Experience a marked decline in work/school performance
2. Have excess anxiety
3. Misuse alcohol or drugs
4. Unable to cope with demands of daily life
5. Have irrational fears
6. Have an obsessive preoccupation with food
7. Experience significant change in sleeping or eating patterns
8. Have persistent physical problems and/or pain
9. Have suicidal thoughts or the urge to hurt others
10. Engage in self-mutilation, self destructive. or dangerous behaviors
11. Have withdrawn mood or behavior

There are other options. The use of complementary and alternative medicine has increased dramatically in the past decade. There is research to support the use of dietary supplements and herbal remedies for the management of stress and anxiety.

Research has long supported the use of Vitamin B12 for the management of anxiety and depression. Folate has also been identified to improve outcomes with depression.

Taking supplements can positively effect your general health and well-being. The array of supplements on the market today makes it difficult to choose the one that is right for you. Without a lab work up, there's no way of knowing what deficiencies you have in your diet. The most innovative thing to hit the market to date is 'customized nutritional supplementation'. With a simple swab of your cheek and, a supplement is created just for you after an analysis of your DNA.

Your genetic make-up determines which nutrients are used in your body; the way toxins are removed, what happens to any waste products and how efficient effective these key processes are working within your body.

By adjusting your lifestyle and utilizing a customized nutritional supplement, you can have a positive impact on how your genes work and compensate for areas in which your genes are not functioning at an optimal level.

Genewize is the only company to use a breakthrough 'titration matrix' to formulate a scientifically DNA guided product into a single serving solution. There are over 120 possible product ingredients in this 80-90% whole food product. This makes for over 177,000 possible combinations! Really the best thing is how easy it is to get this innovative product for free. Finally, there is a 90 day money back guarantee!

Thank you for your interest in health and nutrition. As a physical therapist, I'm an advocate for health and prevention through healthy living including the use of 'customized nutritional supplements'.

Leslie Kremer
info@LesKremer.com