Tag Archives: stress

Stress and Your Health: The Body-Mind Connection

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Susan Boyle made people all over the world smile and cry when she achieved her dream of singing on Britain’s Got Talent. Sadly, what should have been the greatest moment of her life nearly overwhelmed her, and she ended up being hospitalized for stress and exhaustion. Most people are familiar with how tension and anxiety feel, but you may not know about the long term effects stress can have on your health. Even in the absence of an acute breakdown like Boyle’s, continued exposure to stress may be drastically impacting your body.

Our emotional well being is a finely balanced thing; any significant change in your life or routine, whether good or bad, can be enough to upset that balance. Moving to a new house, worrying about excelling at your job, illness in the family, or even just an upheaval in your schedule can set off the series of chemical reactions we call stress. It results from the release of hormones like adrenalin and glucocorticoids, and is related to the more primitive fight or flight response.

This response evolved in our ancestors as a protective mechanism to help us run for our lives in the face of serious danger. The hormones raise blood pressure, energize muscles, hyper-focus the mind, and dampen temporarily non-essential body functions like memory, reproduction, and digestion.  The problems arise when the same chemical reaction intended to save us from rampaging wild animals kicks in as a result of the daily, and comparatively minor, pressures of life. The hormones that would help save your life in the short term begin to do damage over time.

You’re likely to notice the emotional aspects of stress like anxiety and depression first, but the physiological side-effects can be even more wide ranging. Sudden spikes in your level of tension can contribute to headaches, insomnia, digestive issues like heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome,  skin rashes, changes in menstrual patterns, and sexual dysfunction. Sustained stress weakens your immune system to make you more susceptible to infectious diseases, increases your risk of heart disease, and may play a role both in infertility and certain cancers like breast and ovarian.

Knowing what stress is doing to your body, you owe it to yourself to be proactive. There are things you can do to help turn the body-mind connection in your favor:

  • Start by getting more exercise. The endorphins released during physical activity are natural mood boosters.
  • Seek out activities that are relaxing to you. Whether it’s yoga, meditation, knitting, reading, or dance, the key is to prioritize whatever helps you unwind and to do it on a regular basis.
  • Nurture your connections with other people. Research shows that individuals with strong social support systems and emotional ties to others suffer less from stress-related diseases. Oxytocin, a hormone related to love, nurturing, and bonding is another natural happiness aid.

Since a calm mind and a healthy body go hand in hand, when you learn to manage your stress, you’ll not only feel better right away, you’ll be investing in every aspect of your well-being. Then whatever life throws your way, you’ll be strong enough, physically and emotionally, to weather the storm.

Three Steps to Stop Menopause Suffering Before It Starts

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The approach to menopause can be a daunting time. Symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats loom on the horizon, and you may not feel like there’s much you can do. However, if you understand the causes of the symptoms of menopause, you can be proactive and halt them before they begin.

Menopause symptoms are due in large part to adrenal issues. The adrenal glands control the output of DHEA, cortisol, epinephrine (also called adrenaline), and norepinephrine, all of which are hormones related to our stress response. When the adrenal gland is stressed, cortisol levels go up, and the level of hormones like estrogen go down.

Diminished amounts of estrogen have a direct effect on the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for controlling appetite, sex hormones, sleep, and body temperature. Thus changing levels of estrogen causes symptoms like hot flashes.

Additionally, when adrenal function is impaired or weak, a person may suffer from low blood sugar, blood pressure, and body temperature as well as a total feeling of exhaustion. Prolonged stress begins to weaken the organs, and other health related problems such as hypoglycemia can result.

Some factors that contribute to adrenal exhaustion are continued stress, poor diet, excessive consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, too much caffeine, alcohol, drugs, nicotine, and vitamin B and C deficiencies. To compound the issue, when the adrenals are weak, the thyroid gland tries to pick up slack. So when I treat my patients approaching menopause, it is imperative to treat both the adrenals and the thyroid simultaneously.

To strengthen your adrenal and thyroid function and head off menopausal symptoms, try taking these steps:

Eat a whole-foods based diet.
The body’s ability to metabolize refined sugars decreases with age. The inner aisles of the grocery store are filled with foods high in sugar and salt. Get ahead of the curve by shopping in the outer aisles of the grocery store, where all the fresh produce is located, and cut out the processed foods that ultimately make you gain weight.

Waist away.
Many women notice a huge shift in their weight distribution to the abdomen as they head into menopause. To combat this, try incorporating yoga into your fitness regime. Research has shown that women who do yoga once per week don’t gain any weight as they go through menopause.

Burn, baby, burn.
It is imperative to incorporate heavy weight lifting into your fitness regime three times per week. This not only boosts bone density but also does wonders for your figure and your hormones. The key is proper technique: you must lift the heaviest weights you can and complete three sets of twelve repetitions. Twenty minutes of intense weight lifting can be just as effective as an hour of cardio if done correctly.

As you begin taking these steps, give yourself four weeks for the behaviors to become habits. In time, it will become a lifestyle that changes both how you look and feel about your magnificent body!

Esther Blum, MS, RD, CDN, CNS
Registered Dietitian
NV Perricone, MD Flagship
791 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065
212.734.2537

The 10 Sins of Skin Aging

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  1. Pro-Inflammatory foods (sugar and starches)
    Foods can be pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. Avoid pro-inflammatory foods—these will promote wrinkles, a host of diseases, accelerate aging and cause the storage of body fat.  Eating pro-inflammatory foods such as sugary and starchy foods shows up on the skin as a loss of radiance, dark circles under the eyes, the loss of tone, puffiness, an increase in fine lines and wrinkles, the loss of facial contours and increased pore size.  These foods can also exacerbate acne, which is a systemic, inflammatory disease.   I am not exaggerating when I say that sugar can rob you of your youth, health, and beauty.

  2. Excessive exposure to the sun.
    Although we have all heard it a million times, excessive sun exposure will accelerate skin aging and cause skin cancer. We need to get some sun in order to absorb Vitamin D and keep our bones strong and healthy.  However, baking out in the hot sun at the beach or by the pool is very destructive to your skin, as well as to your immune system.  Excess sun exposure will cause photoaging, resulting in the following:

    Loss of skin elasticity
    Thinner, more translucent-looking skin
    Wrinkles
    Dry, rough, leathery skin
    Broken capillaries on the face
    Freckles,
    Liver spots on the face, back of hands, arms, chest and upper back
    Spots or blemishes on the lower legs and arms
    Skin Cancer

  3. Stress
    Of all the destructive, pro-inflammatory and pro-aging forces I have observed as a physician, nothing compares with the negative effects of stress. Stress causes certain hormonal changes in your body, which rapidly alters the function of the cells in your vital organs. Not surprisingly, these effects are reflected in the appearance of your skin.
     
    Stress causes the release of the hormone cortisol.  When we have large amounts of cortisol circulating in our blood streams for extended periods of time, it is extremely toxic. Our brain cells, or neurons, are extremely sensitive to the effects of cortisol. When it is circulating at a high level, cortisol causes brain cells to die. Excess cortisol can destroy your immune system, shrink other vital organs, decrease your muscle mass, and cause thinning of the skin, accelerating skin aging and wrinkling and making blood vessels under skin more prominent.

  4. Smoking Cigarettes and/or exposure to second hand smoke
    Cigarette smoke is highly damaging and aging to skin. When we inhale just one puff of a cigarette, over a trillion free radicals are produced in our lungs, which then trigger an inflammatory response that circulates throughout our body.  When we inhale tobacco smoke, the result is activation of white blood cells which line our arteries, causing an inflammatory response, predisposing us to heart disease. 
     

    In addition, there is a tremendous inflammatory response in all organs of the body —including the skin. Cigarette smoking depletes the skin of oxygen and vital nutrients including Vitamin C, critical in keeping skin youthful, moist and plumped up. Tobacco also acts as a vasoconstrictor, which means that it causes constriction of blood vessels. This reduces local blood flow to an area, and temporarily raises blood pressure.  When the blood flow is reduced to the skin it results in a gray, pallid, lifeless and unhealthy looking complexion. Smoking also causes dry, leathery looking skin, premature deep lines, wrinkles and loss of radiance.

  5. Excess Alcohol
    People generally think that alcohol is bad for the skin just because it dehydrates the body.  They incorrectly assume that increasing our water intake will counteract the problem.  Unfortunately, alcohol creates inflammation throughout the body including the skin, resulting in effects that far outlast dehydration.  The metabolites of alcohol are molecules known as aldehydes.  Aldehydes are destructive in that they cause damage to the cell plasma membrane, as well as other parts of the interior of the cell.
     

    Alcohol causes small blood vessels in the skin to widen, allowing more blood to flow close to the skin’s surface. This produces a flushed skin color and a feeling of warmth which can lead to broken capillaries on the face. The alcohol-induced dehydration also makes the skin more prone to fine lines and wrinkles.

    Dullness, enlarged pores, discoloration, sagging and lack of resilience are some of the short and longer term effects. Because alcohol alters blood flow to the skin, it will give you an unhealthy appearance that can last for days. An occasional glass of red wine can confer some health benefits for a number of reasons.  But as with everything from eating to exercise, moderation is the key.  Too much alcohol is highly destructive.

  6. Lack of sleep
    A good night’s sleep will ensure that you awake refreshed, looking radiant and youthful. Adequate sleep is vital to avoid eye area puffiness and maintain vibrant skin.  When we look at the hormone parameters during sleep, we find that sleep turns down the negative effects of cortisol and the “bad” neurotransmitters, like epinephrine and norepinephrine that can be elevated during stress. Growth hormone is released during sleep—and growth hormone is the youth hormone. The hormone melatonin is also released, which has a positive effect on the immune system and the skin. It is during sleep that we rebuild energy reserves and regenerate the body as our cells undergo a process of repair.  Studies also show that inadequate sleep leads to unwanted weight gain and a craving for fat laden and carbohydrate-heavy foods.
     

    People who exercise regularly enjoy improved sleep quality. They fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, awaken less often, and sleep longer.

  7. Lack of Exercise
    There are mountains of studies proving that exercise can take off pounds, reduce incidence of heart disease, lower blood pressure, improve mood, solve sleep problems, and even cut risks of certain cancers.  Exercise will also ensure that you have beautiful skin.  Studies have indicated that exercise benefits the skin in much the same way it improves bone and muscle quality.  Without regular activity, bones become fragile and muscles atrophy.  When the skin of those who exercise regularly is examined under a microscope, the impact of their high fitness levels is clearly apparent.  The clear skin is thicker and has more and healthier collagen, the fibers that give the skin its strength and flexibility.  Exercise increases circulation and gives the skin a healthy and radiant glow.  As long as we use moderation and don’t overdo it, exercise of almost any kind has a powerful, positive, and anti-inflammatory effect on all our cells.

  8. Not eating enough protein
    This ongoing lack of protein is first notable in the face, as the features become soft looking.  The sharp definition, contoured cheekbones and that great jaw line all becomes blurred.  When the supply of protein is depleted, the body is then forced to feed upon itself.  This causes both tissue and muscle to breakdown. Protein cannot be stored in the body.  Because it is essential for cellular repair, the days that we don’t eat enough protein are the days that we are accelerating aging.

  9. Going fat free
    Healthy fats, especially omega 3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fat, have powerful anti-inflammatory effects improving skin’s moistness, texture, suppleness and smoothness.  We need good fats, such as those found in salmon, sardines and other cold water fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and açai (a Brazilian berry whose fatty acid ratio resembles that of olive oil).  These “good” fats will help us absorb nutrients from our vegetables and fruits, keep our cells supple, our skin glowing and wrinkle-free, our brains sharp and our mood upbeat.  We also need dietary fat to burn fat.

  10. Not drinking enough water
    Remember these key facts:  Water is important—If you do not drink water, your organs and cells cannot function.  You don’t have to overdo it—but if you don’t drink water, you cannot metabolize fat, nor can you flush wastes out of the cells.

    A dehydrated body provokes the development of aging, inflammatory compounds.  Water has great anti-inflammatory properties and will help you skin to be radiant, soft and supple—the key difference between a grape and raisin is water.

Try Perricone Cold Plasma to reduce the 10 signs of aging.

Barbecue Your Way to Beautiful Skin

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It’s summertime, and the grilling is easy.

Once of the joys of summertime is the barbecue.  Nothing tastes better than food cooked outdoors over an open fire.  But cooking muscle meats and other protein foods at high heats can create carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs).  In addition, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are also created.  The more AGEs we have, the more oxidative stress in our bodies, accelerating aging and disease risk in all organ systems, including skin.  In fact, AGEs play a key role in both healthy aging and preventing wrinkles and deeply lined, sagging skin.

We can still barbecue and reduce our risk of creating toxins if we follow a few simple rules.

1.    Choose lean meat, ideally from grass fed cattle or lamb, fish and free-range poultry; trim any excess fat from meat and remove skin from poultry.
2.    Marinate before cooking.  By marinating and/or basting most foods prior to or during cooking we can cut way back on the AGEs created.  Use vinegar, citrus juice, herbs, spices, red wine and olive oil in your marinades because they have antioxidant properties
3.    Keep your grill clean; remove any build up of charred food
4.    Avoid charring food; remove any charred areas from food before eating
5.    Try poaching food on the grill.  Nothing is more delicious that salmon poached in an aluminum foil packet, whether in the oven or on the grill.

Wild salmon is in season and is an excellent barbecue choice.  It is also one of the world’s most “wine friendly” entrees, working well with crisp whites or more robust reds.  For optimum flavor and anti-oxidants, try Pinot Noir or a glass of iced green tea with this dish.

Salmon, Chicken or Tofu Kabobs with a Basting Marinade of Fresh Lime and Rosemary
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 (6-oz. each) skinless-boneless wild salmon fillets, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or bricks of firm tofu, cut into chunks
4 large white mushrooms
1 medium zucchini sliced
1 large red bell pepper seeded and quartered
1 large onion peeled and quartered
salt
freshly ground black pepper

12 skewers
Note: If using wooden skewers soak in water for at least an hour, so they don’t scorch on grill.

Garnishes
lime slices
rosemary sprigs

Basting sauce
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (use organic lemons to avoid the pesticide residues that accumulate in citrus rinds)
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation
•    Wash mushrooms; remove and discard stems. Wash peppers and remove seeds.
•    Thread vegetables onto skewers. Cook on grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally and basting with marinade.  Grilled veggie kabobs make the perfect accompaniment to our savory skewered salmon, chicken or tofu
•    Rinse the fish, chicken or tofu and pat dry. Cut into large cubes suitable for skewering.
•    Place the salmon cubes in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with freshly grated    sea salt and pepper.
•    Place the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until blended.
•    Pour the marinade over the fish and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
•    Lace the salmon, chicken or tofu onto the skewers and broil (or grill) for 5 minutes, turning once.
•    While the fish (et al) is cooking, pour the marinade in a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat.

To serve
Divide the fish among 4 serving plates and spoon some of the heated marinade over each. Garnish each plate with a few lime slices and a sprig of fresh rosemary and serve.

As an active researcher I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Nicholas Perricone, MD, FACN, CNS

How to Avoid Swine Flu and Other Viruses

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Concern over the threat posed by the H1N1 swine flu is returning to reasonable levels, but there’s a useful lesson to take away from all the coverage. Though we haven’t figured out how to cure viruses, there are a number of easy and efficacious steps you can take to reduce your chance of getting colds and flu in the first place. Indeed, most of what you can do to avoid getting viruses are the kind of good health practices you should be engaging in anyway.

The first thing your doctor, your mother, and recently, even President Obama tell you to do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands frequently, and they’re all totally right. Every time you shake someone’s hand, touch a doorknob, or pick up the coffee pot at work, you may be exposing yourself to a bevy of germs. Thankfully, it’s not necessary to permanently don gloves to keep your hands clean. You don’t even need antibacterial soap. Copious amounts of running water and vigorous rubbing with regular soap for 20 seconds will do the trick.

Though soap and water are always the best option, keeping a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer around can give you extra protection. Also, even if you’re vigilant about keeping your hands clean, try to avoid touching your eyes and nose. These are the primary routes by which viruses can enter your body.

Hand washing is great at keeping bugs out, but a strong immune is still your primary line of defense. An often-overlooked way to strengthen your immune system and keep from getting sick is to get plenty of sleep. A recent study at Carnegie Mellon showed that people who slept less than seven hours a night were three times more likely to catch a cold than people who slept eight hours or more. Obviously, a well-rested immune system is one that’s best equipped to keep you flu-free.

Other than getting enough sleep, the best boost you can give your immune system comes from the same big three that benefit your body in general: eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, get moderate exercise, and work to reduce stress. Just as balanced nutrition that’s heavy on good fats and antioxidants and regular exercise pump up your immune response, stress can impede your body’s ability to stay well.

Thus, the good news is, most of what helps you avoid both seasonal colds and flu and new bugs like H1N1 are things that work you keep you healthy all time. And even if you do get sick, you can rest assured that a your robust immune system will help your body heal itself and get you back on your feet as quickly as possible.

Cope with Holiday Stress – Drink Green Tea

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Remember Green Tea is a wonderful source of antioxidants and a powerful anti-inflammatory during this busy, stressful season. If possible, take a pass on adding milk to tea, even black tea, as it tends to inhibit the absorption of antioxidants and goes against the Perricone Prescription Diet.

The Wrinkle Cure

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Barbecue right for better skin

One of the joys of summertime is a barbecue. Nothing tastes better than food cooked outdoors over an open fire. But, we now know that when you cook the muscle meats from beef, pork, fowl and fish, carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are formed. In addition Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are also created. The more AGEs we have, the more oxidative stress in our bodies, accelerating aging and disease risk in all organ systems, including skin. In fact, AGEs play a key role in both healthy aging and can be a wrinkle cure and deeply lined, sagging skin; to learn more see AGE-less Face, AGE-less Mind. In this book, you will find important strategies for halting AGE formation, as well as strategies to reverse them. Along with recipes, I have included advice on supplements and topicals that have powerful anti-AGE properties. Our old friend alpha lipoic acid is a superb anti-glycating agent and fights their damaging effects both internally and externally.

The perfect Labor Day BBQ recipe!

With Labor Day right around the corner, the time is perfect for me to share one of my favorite recipes for the barbecue, salmon kabobs marinated with fresh lime juice and rosemary. Our savory salmon kabobs will deliver a healthy dose of the omega-3s as well as superior taste and flavor. This recipe also works wonders with shrimp, scallops, boneless chicken breast and firm tofu. Heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad makes the perfect accompaniment.

Please be sure to check out our Perricone Cold Plasma review to learn more about fighting the 10 must significant signs of aging, and try our cold plasma to help fight signs of aging.