Can Stress Cause Heart Disease?

Part 1

Yes, is the short answer, stress can cause heart disease and that’s a fact! If you want to know how and the process by which stress can damage your heart, then read on.

So what is stress exactly?

Anxiety.gif
Credit:  GRPH3B18

You may have stress within your body and don’t even know it.  We all know about the stress we have at work, the problems with our emotions, relationships etc., but what about other stressors.

Stressors can be manifold and diverse.  So, let’s go through a typical day.  You wake up from a good night’s sleep… or did you.  Did you have a good night’s sleep?  If not, this is a typical stressor.  Many people have trouble sleeping, be it from worrying about what they have to do tomorrow, having a cough or cold, the baby crying through the night, having to get up numerous times for the loo, suffering from sleep apnea, a partner snoring, being an insomniac.  Insomnia affects a vast amount of people, especially the older generation.

So how was your morning?

You’ve got to get the kids to school and little Johnnie has lost his homework!  The dog’s just left a message in the hallway and the baby is about to investigate!  Hubby can’t find a clean shirt!  You haven’t done the packed lunch for the kids!  It’s getting late and they’ll miss the school bus!  Someone’s knocking at the door!  The phone’s ringing…  Oh no, Mum’s been taken to hospital….   See what I mean, mornings can be very stressful, doubly so for working parents with kids.

stressed motherHow did your day go?

The working day often doesn’t go much better with traffic jams, work loads, deadlines, difficult bosses, uncooperative co-workers and whats more you’ve got a stinking headache…

When it’s time to go home, you’re probably frazzled and there’s another traffic jam!  Even so, the day doesn’t end there with dinner to get and the kids to bath and put to bed.  You’re too tired to have any quality time with your partner and after dosing off in the chair, you both finally get to bed exhausted.  You look at Hubby, he looks at you but you’re both too knackered tonight…

Next morning, it starts all over again!

Other Stressors

This is just ‘common’ stress that we all have to deal with on a daily basis. But what about other stressors.  Let me list a few…

  1. Dealing with a bereavement
  2. Going through a divorce
  3. Caring for a sick child
  4. Having an illnesscamel drinking coke
  5. Taking prescription drugs
  6. Using illegal drugs
  7. Drinking too much alcohol
  8. Drinking diet sodas
  9. Doing extensive exercise
  10. Headaches
  11. Drinking too much coffee
  12. Eating processed foods
  13. Poor living conditions
  14. Noisy neighbours
  15. Looking after an elderly parent
  16. Moving house
  17. Being on a restrictive diet

These are just a few hassles I thought of in just a few minutes.  If you’re dealing with a number of these issues at once, you will be putting you body under considerable stress.

So what happens when we are stressed?

BuffaloIn our caveman days, if we were being chased by a sabre toothed tiger or had to go get our food by hunting buffalo, our body would react to these stressful situations by releasing adrenaline (epinephrine) and other stress hormones.  This would charge the body by stimulating the ‘fight-flight’ response.  The heart would pump faster, the digestion would slow down, energy stores would be released from the liver for the heart, lungs and muscles to use immediately.  This response from your body is its way of giving you extra energy and strength to get away from, or confront the danger before you.

Buffalo Wings

Nowadays, there aren’t too many tigers around and the nearest we get to hunting big game is getting buffalo wings from the supermarket!  Even so, our bodies don’t know the difference between being chased by a tiger and having a confrontation with the next door neighbour!

Why is this a problem?

This ‘fight-flight’ response is built into our bodies and triggered by any anxious situation whether it be hunting a buffalo or moving house.  Most sources of stress today are long term.  These are not physical situations but more social, phychological or emotional predicaments.  Our caveman ancestors’ lives were much simpler and although their days were probably more fraught with danger, their stress response was not continual as ours is in this modern age.

This chronic stress produces a continuous release of stress hormones which will constantly deplete and use up your body’s nutrients.  The most important of these nutrients is Magnesium (Mg).  The persistent depletion of this indispensable mineral compromises other parts of the body which needs Mg to carry out thousand of tasks necessary to keep you and your heart healthy.

But that’s not all!

Consider other stressors like the environment, chemicals, deprivation of nutrients, pesticides, fertilizers, GM (genetically modified) foods.

Chicken Farm, Florida
Chicken Farm in Florida

Because of the drastic changes in our farming practices over the years, the nations’ farmland particularly in the US, has become depleted and devitalized.  No more is there the practice of spreading rock dust and seasonally rotating the crops.  Instead, there is the over zealous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Injections of growth hormones are given to livestock, along with antibiotics to stave off disease because of the unhygienic conditions in which the animals are raised.  Not good for the animals, not good for us. Great for the producers.

By the time our foods get to the supermarket, they may look good but it’s like Snow White’s apple, the contents harbour toxins, chemicals and other unsavoury substances.  What’s more the foods generally lack flavour.  They are bland, unappealing and positively tasteless.  The introduction of extra water to add weight and flavour enhancers like too much salt, don’t add anything to the product except a higher price.

Those of us who remember the earlier years when food was naturally grown in soils that were replete in vitamins and minerals will tell how good their food tasted then as compared to now.  The younger generation don’t even know what good food tastes like and that’s a crime.

A poor diet and Mg deficiencywhite bread

All processed foods are an enemy of Mg.  It’s not just the junk or fast foods but also how foods are treated.  For instance lets take a look at wheat.  Industrial processing of wheat actually removes the embryo of the grain.  This part of the grain contains the majority of its nutrients including Mg.  Removal of the embryo or germ keeps the wheat whiter and it stays fresh for longer.  This makes it cost effective for the manufacturers but not good for the consumers, who have to pay for and eat a low quality product that has had its main source of nutrition removed.  An estimated 82% of the Mg in wheat is removed by the refining process.  Refined wheat is next to useless when it come to nutritional value.  This is over and above the problem wheat has in the first place by being grown in depleted soils.

Prescription drugs

Although drugs are supposed to help with managing diseases, they can also cause stress to the body because of their side effects.  Many pharmaceutical drugs will be damaging to your Mg levels and will drain them from the body causing added problems with the disease you’re trying to control.

mildred-seelig
Dr Mildred Seelig 1920-2005

It was the eminent researcher Dr Mildred Seelig who discovered a correlation between the side effects of drugs and Mg deficiency symptoms.  She dedicated her working life to the research of Mg and how a deficiency in this mineral adversely affected our health, particularly concentrating on heart disease.  She determined, that many of the drugs she dealt with, made an increased demand on Mg causing its depletion.

Many drugs interact with Mg in such a way that the drug intake can often be lessened because Mg does the same service as the drug.  Mg can also inhibit the absorption of some drugs.  This doesn’t mean you have to stop Mg supplementation, just that you take it a few hours before or after the drug.  In the case of Sodium fluoride which is prescribed for osteoporosis, it may be a better choice to take Mg instead, especially as fluoride binds to Mg and makes it unavailable to the body.

Setting the Scene

Ches Power AuthorThis post gives you the start of the sequence of why stress can cause heart disease. The next stage, which will be published in a few days, is learning why Mg deficiency, initiated by stress, will devastate your heart.

Ches Power

 

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Can Stress Cause Heart Disease?
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Can Stress Cause Heart Disease?
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Yes, is the short answer, stress can cause heart disease and that's a fact! If you want to know how and the process by which stress can damage your heart, then read on.
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Magnesium and Health
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9 thoughts on “Can Stress Cause Heart Disease?

  1. What a wonderful post. It’s incredible the toll that stress takes on our body. Magnesium is a wonderful nutrient to help our body function properly.

    I just wrote an article about magnesium and migraines and learned a lot about magnesium in the process.

    I think in this day and age we forget about the value of rest and relaxation. I know I am guilty of this. After reading your article, I think I will be changing that!

    1. Hi Brandy and thanks for reading the article. It’s good to meet a fellow Mg advocate. Hopefully, some of this information will filter through and perhaps one day the general public (along with our medics) will be educated about the importance of Mg. Stress and Mg deficiency is the start of the downward spiral to ill health. I hope you have good health always. Ches

  2. Life just seems so fast these days. Sometimes it feels like I don’t have a moment to even stop and think! I’m a teacher in a college. Every day I have is so busy, and I can feel myself getting very anxious if I don’t feel like I am achieving everything I need to in my job. Reading this makes me realize that I must reassess what I am doing and take time to relax. Thank you!

    1. Hi Molly, thanks for reading the post. I’m pleased you’re taking stock of your life and will attempt to find ways to relax. Being a teacher is a stressful occupation already, without the further stresses of everyday life! Taking a Mg supplement will actually help your stress levels because Mg is the relaxing mineral. Mg relaxes your muscles and Calcium (Ca) tenses your muscles. Make sure your Ca intake is not too high and don’t drink milk or other Ca rich foods before bedtime. Have a look at Calcium Supplements for Heart Disease? you may be surprised. Good luck and good health to you. Ches

  3. Hi Ches,

    I always felt that I was pretty good at managing my stress but didn’t realise the impact on the body and what was being depleted. I might be youngish now but I suppose its the long term harm that I am doing to myself that I don’t think about; much like a runner who knows about it later in life when his joints pack up. This has been enlightening and I am definitely going to do some more research on your website and get me a bottle of Magnesium!

  4. Hi Ches,

    I always felt that I was pretty good at managing my stress but didn’t realise realise the impact on the body and what was being depleted. I might be ‘youngish’ now but I suppose its the long term harm tht I am doing to myself that I don’t think about; much like a runner who knows about it later in life when his joints pack up. This has been enlightening and I’m definitely going to do some more research on your website and get me a bottle of Magnesium!

    1. Hi Brendan (Italian Brave Heart) and thanks for reading the article. Yes, it’s very easy to slip into ways that are not healthy for you, especially with stress because it’s a bit insidious. Being ‘youngish’ is definitely the place to start. I only wish I knew at your age what I knew now. Luckily for me, I was reasonably fit when I found out about Mg and now, at age 68, I feel younger and fitter than when I was 50! All my headaches, backaches, painful muscle spasms, digestive problems, depression and so much more, has disappeared. I take 600mg of Mg Chloride daily and so does my husband. By the way, make sure the Mg you buy is not Mg Oxide, it is poorly absorbed and you’d have to take a cupful of tablets to get your daily dose. See Best Magnesium Supplements for all the different Mg compounds out there. Good health to you and yours. Ches

  5. You have certainly given me so much food for thought! I live in central London and for months now I have been thinking… gosh what is this all about? Rushing from here to there. I am only in my late twenties so I cannot imagine the strain people feel having done it for years and years. I am already on the breaking point. I do a lot of meditating so am trying to incorporate inner peace & relaxation into my life as much as possible. Your post has helped me think of other ways I could be doing this as well and giving my body a break! Thank you 🙂 Just out of interest what is your favourite way to relax and calm down when you feel yourself getting stressed?

    1. Hi Holly and thank you for reading the post. You certainly do seem to have a busy life but at least you’re aware of it and are looking for ways to de-stress! Meditation is, of course, a great way of gaining composure and relaxation. Even so, it would be a good exercise for you to tot up your Mg intake and then your Ca intake, just for one typical day. I think you’ll be surprised how much your Ca is. This is the trick. Your body will cope if it has the Mg to produce the energy in your cells. No matter how much Mg you have, if Ca is more, then by default you will be Mg deficient. A Mg supplement will definitely protect and enhance you life. You will feel calmer and have more energy. All those little aches and pains will disappear. Take a look at Best Magnesium Supplements Don’t forget, Mg is a natural mineral that your body needs, it is not a drug. You cannot overdose on it because excess is always excreted. As for our way of relaxing? My husband and I always have lunch together. It’s a way to discuss our plans and talk about our successes and problems whilst enjoying each others company. Good health to you always Ches

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