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In Reply to: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health posted by gabriella [180.890] on December 11, 2005 at 21:31:33:
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In Reply to: CORRECTED LINK posted by gabriella [180.890] on December 11, 2005 at 21:33:46:
hehe. I was about to tell you thank you and the second link didn't work.
In Reply to: Re: CORRECTED LINK posted by lissa [2032.384] on December 11, 2005 at 21:35:01:
Lissa, took the words right out of my mouth. :)
In Reply to: Re: CORRECTED LINK posted by lissa [2032.384] on December 11, 2005 at 21:35:01:
Thanks lissa, sometimes that happens!
In Reply to: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health posted by gabriella [180.890] on December 11, 2005 at 21:31:33:
Thanks for posting these. They are great!
Jenny
In Reply to: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health posted by gabriella [180.890] on December 11, 2005 at 21:31:33:
Here's a good addition to the topic. Go to http://www.vrp.com/articlesalpha.asp, go to articles whose titles start with letter N, and articles about Neuroendocrine Theory of Aging and Neuroendocrine Causes of Aging. They what may be causing aging (the stress factor) and what can be done to reverse effects of stress and rejuvinate the body.
In Reply to: Re: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health (archive) posted by R. [4746.2395] on December 12, 2005 at 00:03:32:
Thanks R. that's a wonderful lead. Since it's so late I only read one of the articles and skimmed another, but I saved the link because there is a lot more good information to be learned there.
The bottom line is that it sounds like one needs to keep their hypothalamus strong so that it maintains it's sensitivity to various physiological and biochemical signals in the body. The loss of hypothalamic sensitivity results in an increasingly worsening hormonal balance, and a shifting of homeostasis in the body.
I hope that proper breathing and Qi Gong, along with other SR techniques aids the hypothalamus in staying strong and retaining it's sensitivity, but I'll have to research that. That could be what Walt has been driving at with stress reduction and SR.
Some key points I read were:
Dilmans theory, in essence, is that growth, development and aging--and age-related diseases--are due to the progressive loss of sensitivity of the hypothalamus, the bodys central regulating mechanism. The hypothalamus is the region of the brain which is responsible for maintaining body systems within normal ranges (temperature, acid-base,
and hormonal balance, etc).
The hypothalamus operates much like a thermostat in our homes. The thermostat maintains temperature within a narrow, comfortable range. Just as the thermostat wears out with time, as we age, the hypothalamus becomes less sensitive to various physiological and biochemical signals in the body. Like the loss of comfortable temperature in our home, due to the thermostat wearing out, loss of hypothalamic sensitivity results in an increasingly worsening hormonal balance, and a shifting of homeostasis in the body.
The shifting of homeostasis is a major cause of many age-related problems, such as:
Loss of ability to sleep at night
Tendency to lose muscle and bone mass, and to gain body fat
Propensity to suffer from one or more of the common age-related diseases like arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, obesity, etc.
Thus, a key concept for potentially delaying--and in some cases, even reversing--these diseases is to restore the bodys hormones to more youthful levels. This can be done by: (1) supplementing hormones and hormone precursors that are deficient; and (2) resensitizing the hypothalamus (fixing the thermostat).
Additional elements of the neuroendocrine approach to anti-aging/life extension include:
Reducing free radical activity--to prevent damage to DNA and cellular membranes
Enhancing cellular bioenergetics--to optimize production of ATP, the bodys universal energy molecule
Normalizing brain neurotransmitter balance--to help normalize hypothalamic regulation and synchronize chronobiological rhythms
Utilizing cognitive enhancers--to restore mental performance to more youthful levels
http://www.vrp.com/art/1646.asp
Hypothalamic Threshold
What causes the loss of receptor sensitivity with age? This is not known for certain, but Dilman identified the following possible factors:
1. reduced hypothalamic neurotransmitter levels (catecholamines and serotonin, in particular);
2. reduced quantity of hypothalamic hormone receptors (which may be caused partially by the drop in biogenic amine concentrations);
3. decline in the secretion of pineal gland hormones (melatonin and pineal polypeptide hormones);
4. fat accumulation;
5. reduced glucose utilization;
6. accumulation of neuronal lesions produced by chronically elevated levels of cortisol due to prolonged stress; and
7. accumulation of cholesterol in plasma membranes of neurons.(4)
Homeostats and Growth
Dilman believed that the three homeostatic systems (which he designated, “homeostats”) involved in growth, development and aging are:
1. the adaptive (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis),
2. reproductive (hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis), and
3. energy (hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis) homeostats.
I believe that another homeostat should be added to these three—the immune (pineal-hypothalamic-pituitary-thymus) homeostat.
It is the breakdown or alteration in the functioning of these homeostats that causes the metabolic changes that characterize aging and the diseases of aging.
Dilman intuitively determined that all of the diseases of aging are characterized by similar metabolic changes. The most prevalent of these changes include the reduction in glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia and hyperlipidemia.
In Reply to: Re: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health (archive) posted by gabriella [87.890] on December 12, 2005 at 02:34:00:
Left out the other link I looked at:
http://www.vrp.com/art/170.asp
In Reply to: Re: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health (archive) posted by gabriella [87.890] on December 12, 2005 at 02:34:00:
Thanks for doing all that, Gabriella! I'll be interested in Walt's comments.
In Reply to: Re: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health (archive) posted by Sally [1945.1192] on December 12, 2005 at 08:47:53:
You're very welcome Sally, I'll be interested in what Walt has to say too!
In Reply to: Re: Stress: Why you have it and how it hurts your health posted by Jenny [15.452] on December 11, 2005 at 22:42:29:
You're so welcome Jenny, I'm glad you found them helpful!
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