Over 75% of Americans report symptoms of stress. So, what exactly is stress biochemically, and more importantly, how can you reduce it?
Stress is the body’s natural response to demands or challenges, whether from everyday pressures or significant life events. The body’s response to short-term stress is productive as the hormone co. However, if the stress is ongoing, this normally protective mechanism can become destructive, leading to acceleration of chronic disease and aging.
The primary consequence of chronic long-term stress is increased inflammation. This is paradoxical, since the primary stress hormone, cortisol, decreases inflammation in the short term. However, chronically elevated cortisol levels inhibit the master metabolic switch, AMPK (1, 2, 3). AMPK is inhibited by excess cortisol, leading to chronic low-level inflammation in every organ of the body (including the brain) and accelerating aging (4).
The most powerful way to address chronic stress is to increase AMPK activity. The best way to do that is to follow Metabolic Engineering®, which reprograms your metabolism in every cell. The most important dietary component of Metabolic Engineering® is the Zone diet, which restricts calorie intake without causing hunger or fatigue.
One metabolic consequence of the Zone diet is a rapid reduction in insulin resistance, which in turn decreases inflammation. The second most important dietary component of Metabolic Engineering® is adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids, which provide substrates for the production of powerful hormones known as resolvins that shut off lipid-based hormonal mediators of inflammation. For this to be effective, you will need approximately 2 grams of EPA and DHA daily. These two dietary components of Metabolic Engineering® will account for 90 percent of your ability to reduce chronic inflammation induced by stress. Finally, you can add polyphenols to Metabolic Engineering® to reduce oxidative stress, which in turn reduces inflammation.
But what about lifestyle factors to reduce stress? They are helpful, but not as powerful as Metabolic Engineering® in activating AMPK, which reduces the inflammatory consequences of chronic stress. This is why I use the 70-25-5 rule. Seventy percent of your ability to reduce excess cortisol will come from following Metabolic Engineering®, thirty percent from exercise, and five percent from stress reduction techniques like yoga. Intensive exercise increases AMPK activity only during exercise, and yoga has a lower impact on activating AMPK than does intensive exercise, though it is slightly better than simply walking (5).
Chronic stress is a constant companion of modern life, but you have several lifestyle interventions that can help prevent chronic stress from adversely affecting your health. Metabolic Engineering® is by far the most important. The more you combine these other lifestyle interventions with Metabolic Engineering®, the less stressful your life will become.
References
1. Christ-Crain M, et al. AMP-activated protein kinase mediates glucocorticoid-induced metabolic changes: a novel mechanism in Cushing’s syndrome. FASEB J. 2008; 22:1672-1683. doi: 10.1096/fj.07-094144.
2. Liu YZ et al. Inflammation: The common pathway of stress-related diseases. Front Hum Neurosci. 2017;11:316. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00316.
3. Zhou B et al. Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase drives hepatic insulin resistance by directly inhibiting AMP-activated protein kinase. Cell Rep. 2021 Oct 5;37(1):109785. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109785.
4. Yegorov YE, Poznyak AV, Nikiforov NG, Sobenin IA, Orekhov AN. The link between chronic stress and accelerated aging. Biomedicines. 2020; 8:198. doi:10.3390/biomedicines8070198.
5. Dhali B, Chatterjee S, Sundar Das S, Cruz MD. Effect of yoga and walking on glycemic control for the management of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J ASEAN Fed Endocr Soc. 2023; 38:113-122. doi: 10.15605/jafes.038.02.20.
