I recently returned from an ACAM (American College for Advancement in Medicine) meeting that was held in Las Vegas. This group of medical professionals meets twice a year as a group and shares the latest information in healthy alternatives to drugs and surgery. I’d like to share some of the highlights with you:

Highlights of ACAM meeting October 17-19, 2008

First speaker: James LaValle, NC, CCN, R.Ph (Pharmacist)

Metabolic progression of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes to cancer

The presentation started with how the various stresses on the body (diet, drugs, exercise, emotional, toxins, …) affect the brain (hypothalamus and subsequently the pituitary gland), causing a rise in cortisol levels. Cortisol is our natural anti-inflammatory steroid. Unfortunately, cortisol in high levels can be damaging to the body in many ways:

1) It causes insulin to rise without necessarily causing a drop in glucose, called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to Type 2 diabetes and obesity. In fact, obesity is a marker for inflammation. Insulin is a highly inflammatory substance in the body.

2) It causes insomnia, which is also associated with obesity.

3) Although is an anti-inflammatory, its overall effect on the body is inflammation. We thus see a rise in CRP and vascular disease (atherosclerosis) and heart disease. Increased inflammation in the body leads to dementia and auto-immune diseases.

4) It is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.

5) It reduces natural killer cell activity. These are the cells that do the final killing of bacteria, viruses and cancer cells.

6) It reduces DHEA, which has immune-building capabilities, along with slowing down aging, protection against osteoporosis, and improving glucose and insulin regulation.

The long-term effects of inflammation, diminished natural killer cell activity, and DHEA reduction are changes in cell function. Over time, cells will start to change in their ability to self-regulate, slowly leading to the progression of cancer.

My comments: Stress is at the core of all disease. This illustrates just a few of the effects of stress on our bodies. We must either 1) learn to deal with stress, or 2) withdraw from stress, either occasionally so we can regroup, or more permanently. The stressors that we have control over must be managed better (diet, toxins, drugs) so we can better handle the ‘life’ that we have no control over. I like the words of the serenity prayer:

God,
Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. (The Serenity Prayer is generally thought to have been written by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

Stress-reducing activities include Yoga, meditation, focusing on exhaling while relaxing your shoulders (and then the rest of the body), enjoyable exercise, laughter, hot bath. Do something today for yourself—RELAX. You are worth it.