What if I told you that stress is good for you?

Mar 11
3 min read

Surely you feel stressed and everyone tells you to learn to manage stress. Stress is thought to be the worst of evils, but is it really?

What if I told you that stress is a physiological function of our body and is necessary to stay healthy?

Let's start by pointing out that stress acts on different levels: on a chemical level we can speak of oxidative stress, while there is also physical and emotional stress.

Oxidative stress occurs when there is an excess of oxidants correlated with a significant reduction in antioxidants. This is due to the presence of ‘stress’ agents in the environment (e.g. heavy metals, ionising radiation, pollution, solvents), burnt food, smoking, alcohol and the use of certain medicines (xenobiotics).

This imbalance of oxidants is necessary for cellular respiration to take place, or to stimulate the body to strengthen itself following physical exertion, or even to enable the exchange of signals between cells. In addition, it is extremely important for the regulation of appetite via the hypothalamus, but also to prevent damage of nerve cells and to defend the body against pathogens.

In order to allow this physiological function of the body to function properly, there is a further defensive system based on antioxidants that limit the action of oxidants by preventing cellular damage and mutations at the DNA level.

At this point it should also be pointed out that the nature of stress has changed dramatically in recent years. In fact, there are different sources of stress acting simultaneously, which results in the continuous activation of our defence system.

Do you know what one of the main stress factors of our times is?

One of the most relevant factors is the need to make decisions: it is estimated that the number of decisions made per day is between 33,000 to 35,000 per person.

In addition, due to a diet low in antioxidants, our body is overwhelmed when it comes to regulating its homeostasis properly, and we get into a situation of chronic stress.

To all this, let us also add that in a stressful condition, our autonomic nervous system tends to activate mainly the sympathetic system, resulting in the production of neurotransmitters such as adrenaline or hormones such as cortisol (let me know if you would also like to know the link that exists between dopamine, adrenaline cortisol and cholesterol, so we can talk about it in another article).

Thus, if stress levels are high, it can lead to possible DNA mutations and damage, an event related to cancer and premature ageing. Moreover, it can lead to the activation of several transcription factors that govern the functioning of growth factors, cytokines and anti-inflammatory molecules. In addition, stress can create damage in the brain, as the brain metabolism is very fast and a lot of oxygen is consumed. As a result, oxidising agents are much more likely to form, which promote the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and ischaemia.

To sum up, stress certainly plays a very important role in our daily lives, but it does not have to have a negative connotation.

The key aspect to fully exploit its potential is certainly to learn how to manage one's reactions to external stimuli. In addition, a further suggestion would be to reduce exposure to them as much as possible. Furthermore, in order to counteract possible damaging effects at the cellular level, it is necessary to take sufficient quantities of antioxidants.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it interesting.

Did you know all these stress-related aspects?

Let me know by commenting on this article.

If you have any doubts, feel free to contact me at my email or by filling out the form on the site.

I wish you a good day.

See you soon,

Arianna