Chronic stress and burnout
Today, stress is omnipresent for many people. The burdens on the workplace have tended to increase, even in our leisure time a lot needs to be undertaken and done and of course the family may not come short either. Thus, for many, it is difficult to meet all the different expectations – not least their own – and to unite everything.
Stress increases cortisol levels
Those who suffer with stress produce more cortisol in the adrenal cortex. This hormone undertakes many tasks in the body for example, it has a dampening effect on the immune system. It ensures that inflammations do not spread too much and that small inflammations do not become a big catastrophe for the body. It is these properties, that modern medicine often uses cortisone, closely associated with cortisol, to suppress excess responses and inhibit inflammations.
Body must be able to relieve stress
Cortisol, together with insulin, also contributes to the regulation of the blood glucose level. Stress needs a lot of energy. By elevating the blood glucose level, cortisol provides the body with fast and sufficient energy when needed. Biologically, this is a very sensible mechanism: in a danger situation, we get the necessary energy to fight or flee. Today we are stressed but often “under constant stress” and we lack the necessary exercise (“fight or flight”), which would bring our body back to a “normal operating level”. This is the reason why sport is so good at relieving stress and prevent the negative effects of stress.
In burnout, the cortisol is low
The adrenal gland is only able to produce large quantities of cortisol for about 3 years. After this time, it falls into a state of exhaustion resulting in a rapid drop in the cortisol level. The result is burnout, a state of complete physical and mental exhaustion. A simple test to determine the cortisol profile of a person, can establish if somebody is under stress (high cortisol) or if a person is already in the burnout stage (deep cortisol).
Cayenne stimulates cortisol production
What are we to do? Burnout patients need medical attention. They need support in the acute phase, during the regeneration and in the sustainable change of their living habits. One treatment option is to add the dietary supplement cayenne pepper to the diet. The hot tasting substances contained in the pods can stimulate the production of the now missing corporeal cortisol and thus help the patient to get back on his feet more quickly and helps to tackle the necessary adaptation of the lifestyle. Other options to increase vitality are taking flower pollen (give energy), coenzyme Q10 (to prevent fatigue), Moringa (natural multivitamin) or Aronia.
