Effects of cigarette smoking on your health

June 28, 2015

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: The best you can do is to quit smoking

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health can be very devastating and immediate solution needs to be found

If you love your life, then you would want to do all it takes to protect it and be happy. I believe it is in every ones interest to be healthy and comfortable in life. You may be poor economically but if there is no sickness in your body, then you are far much better that a billionaire in hospital struggling for his life because of sickness. It is regrettable that some of the health conditions we are struggling with are avoidable but we just chose to invite them into our body. Take for instance cigarette smoking is there anybody who is unaware of the dangers of cigarette smoking? Globally this is one drug that is being advertised publicly with incriminating materials detailing the consequences of its usage. In every pack of the drug there is a powerful communication of its dangers to the user’s health, so no one can actually claim ignorance. We cannot continue like this where knowingly we endangers our lives and that of the people around us through secondhand smoke says doctor Dalal Akoury a veteran expert in addiction, MD and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. The effects of cigarette smoking on your health are serious and very devastating. Realistically it can harm nearly every organ of the body. Available statistics indicate that currently cigarette smoking is causing more deaths with at least one in every five deaths in the United States is associated with cigarette smoking each year. To bring clarity about this vice, doctor Akoury is going to respond to some of the questions that concern many of us and you don’t want to miss that.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Is smoking a risk factor for autoimmune diseases?

The immune system is the body’s way of protecting itself from infection and disease. Smoking compromises the immune system, making smokers more likely to have respiratory infections. Smoking also causes several autoimmune diseases, including Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also play a role in periodic flare-ups of signs and symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Smoking doubles your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking has recently been linked to type 2 diabetes also known as adult-onset diabetes. Smokers are 30% to 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Additionally, the more cigarettes an individual smokes, the higher the risk for diabetes.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my bones?

Recent studies show a direct relationship between tobacco use and decreased bone density. Smoking is one of many factors including weight, alcohol consumption, and activity level that increase your risk for osteoporosis, a condition in which bones weaken and become more likely to fracture.

Significant bone loss has been found in older women and men who smoke. Quitting smoking appears to reduce the risk for low bone mass and fractures. However, it may take several years to lower a former smoker’s risk.

In addition, smoking from an early age puts women at even higher risk for osteoporosis. Smoking lowers the level of the hormone estrogen in your body, which can cause you to go through menopause earlier, boosting your risk for osteoporosis.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my heart and blood vessels?

The chemicals in tobacco smoke harm your blood cells and damage the function of your heart. This damage increases your risk for:

Atherosclerosis, a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in your arteries
Aneurysms, which are bulging blood vessels that can burst and cause death
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes:

Coronary heart disease (CHD), narrow or blocked arteries around the heart
Heart attack and damage to your arteries
Heart-related chest pain
High blood pressure

Coronary Heart disease, where platelets components in the blood stick together along with proteins to form clots which can then get stuck in the plaque in the walls of arteries and cause heart attacks
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs
Stroke, which is sudden death of brain cells caused by blood clots or bleeding

Breathing tobacco smoke can even change your blood chemistry and damage your blood vessels. As you inhale smoke, cells that line your body’s blood vessels react to its chemicals. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up and your blood vessels thicken and narrow.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: How does smoking affect my lungs and breathing?

Every cigarette you smoke damages your breathing and scars your lungs. Smoking causes:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that gets worse over time and causes wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms
Emphysema, a condition in which the walls between the air sacs in your lungs lose their ability to stretch and shrink back. Your lung tissue is destroyed, making it difficult or impossible to breathe.
Chronic bronchitis, which causes swelling of the lining of your bronchial tubes. When this happens, less air flows to and from your lungs.
Pneumonia
Asthma
Tuberculosis

People with asthma can suffer severe attacks when around cigarette smoke.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Do cigarettes cause cancer?

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. About 70 of them are known to cause cancer. Smoking cigarettes is the number-one risk factor for lung cancer. But, smoking can affect your entire body, and is known to cause cancer in the lungs, rectum, trachea, liver, stomach, lip, bronchus, colon, kidney, esophagus, bladder, uterine cervix, oral cavity, pancreas, nasal cavity, nasopharynx and larynx. Besides all thee smocking is also known to be a major cause of leukemia.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Do menthol cigarettes cause cancer?

All cigarettes are harmful, including menthol cigarettes. Many smokers think menthol cigarettes are less harmful, but there is no evidence that menthol cigarettes are safer than other cigarettes. Like other cigarettes, menthol cigarettes harm nearly every organ in the body and cause many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. Menthol cigarettes, like other cigarettes, also negatively impact male and female fertility and are harmful to pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Some research shows that menthol cigarettes may be more addictive than non-menthol cigarettes. More research is needed to understand how addiction differs between menthol and non-menthol cigarette use.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: Can smoking cigars and pipes cause cancer?

Cigar and pipe smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and non-smokers. Cigar and pipe smoking causes several cancers including bladder, esophageal, laryngeal or voice box, mouth, tongue, lip throat and lung cancers. Therefore individuals who smoke cigars daily are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and lung disease like emphysema. From the renounces given in the discussion, you realize that there is nothing about smoking. All it does is to cause more harm than good. You could change this by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for the commencement of your healing process today.

Effects of cigarette smoking on your health: The best you can do is to quit smoking

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health

June 26, 2015

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why is nicotine addictive?

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health knows no boundaries, you can become a slave of your own smoking habits

Taking stock of your life are you able to see the accumulation of nicotine in your system? I know that we often take inventory in other sectors of life but not in our own health yet this is one area that we should always prioritize on. If we could be doing that, we will be able to detect certain harmful things in our health before they germinate beyond control. Why is it necessary to take health inventory? Look around you and you will see that there are a lot of toxic elements around, the environment is chocking with pollution and nicotine forms the better part of it. This can explain why the dangers of nicotine addiction to your health are becoming evident every day. We will be speaking to doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to give us more insight about this problem even as we look at the general effects of substance abuse to human health. Doctor Akoury says that nicotine is an addictive element that majorly comes from the use of tobacco products, therefore when one uses any of the tobacco products; nicotine is quickly absorbed into their bloodstream and then circulated into the various body systems and organs. It is important to note that this element moves swiftly and in just 10 seconds of entering your body, the nicotine element will be knocking at the door of your brain which is often its ultimate destination. When nicotine settles in the brain, it will cause the brain to release adrenaline, creating a buzz of pleasure and energy.

The buzz fades quickly though, and leaves you feeling tired, a little down, and yarning for the buzz again and again. It is this feeling of wanting more of the nicotine that makes you light up the next cigarette and the circle continues so long as the need is still there. And just to put more emphasis on that is that since your body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, you’ll be forced to smoke more and more cigarettes in order to get the nicotine’s pleasurable effects primarily to prevent the occurrence of any withdrawal symptoms.

The danger of this up and down cycle will be repeated over and over, thereby leading to an addiction. Remember that when addiction settles in, it will keep the individual users or smokers to keep the habit of smoking even when they want to quit and that is why breaking addiction is hard for some people than others. Many people need more than one try in order to quit. Research suggests that children and teens may be especially sensitive to nicotine, making it easier for them to become addicted. Doctor Akoury explains that tobacco use can be very dangerous to everyone and preventing is usage would be highly recommended. She adds that the age of introduction to tobacco use is very significant in determining how one will behave in the near future. Experts have actually established that when one is introduced to smoking at a younger age, such individuals are at a higher risk of becoming addicted to nicotine. It is no wonder the available statistics from various researches done indicate that up to three out of four high school smokers will become adult smokers.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why are cigarettes addictive?

I was once asked this question in a forum where students were being educated on the effects of drug abuse. I will repeat what I told the young people then to help you understand why cigarette is addictive. The truth is cigarette is made to be much more addictive for commercial gain at the expense of your health. Without thinking twice I can confirm to you that cigarette producers, manufactures or makers are not ignorant of the fact that nicotine addiction helps sell their products. The addictiveness of this element is used as a retention tool, to keep clients hooked and keep using their product. It is no wonder cigarettes today deliver more nicotine much faster than ever before. So when asked about this question, you must be informed that tobacco companies are very much aware of what they are doing and that they are using additives and chemicals to make cigarette even more addictive so that you remain a loyal and frequent client not because you like but because you have been made to.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why are smokeless tobacco products addictive?

Remember what I said before that tobacco products are the major sources of nicotine. Therefore where the mode of usage doesn’t matter, whether it is smoked or chewed the end result is that nicotine is being taken in. it therefore means that all the nicotine found in all tobacco products are highly addictive drugs that acts in the brain and throughout the body. Dip and chew contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Holding an average-sized dip in your mouth for 30 minutes can give you as much nicotine as smoking three sticks of cigarettes. And again using two cans of snuff a week gives you as much nicotine as someone who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: What happens when I quit smoking?

Like other substances, tobacco and nicotine are equally very addictive just in the same way as alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. The common denominator about all drugs is that, when you stop smoking or cutback your tobacco use, you will experience withdrawal problems and when going through this process of withdrawal, you are likely to experience some of the following:

Anxiety
Irritability
Headache
Hunger
Cravings for cigarettes and other sources of nicotine

Finally nicotine withdrawal is short-lived and symptoms pass in time, usually less than a week. However withdrawal is the most uncomfortable part of quitting, but the real challenge will be beating the long-term cravings and staying away from tobacco hence forth. In your struggle with this problem of drug addiction, it is important that you get professional help to go about the whole process. This way you will be guided step by step and chances of making mistakes will be avoided. That is why doctor Akoury founded this medical center to help people live you regain their lives back. You can therefore schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for more professional input.

The dangers of nicotine addiction to your health: Why is nicotine addictive?

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy

June 26, 2015

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: What is secondhand smoke?

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy is as bad as smoking the cigarette for your health in pregnancy or even after

Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled by smokers getting into the nostril of a non-smoker or third party. Non-smokers can be exposed to secondhand smoke in several ways and places including in homes, cars, at workplaces and public places such as bars, restaurants, and recreational settings. In the United States for example, the source of most secondhand smoke is cigarettes, followed by pipes, cigars, and other tobacco products. It is important to know that secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of the chemicals are toxic and about 70 are known to cause cancer. And because nicotine in all these can be very devastating owing to the complications that come with it, it is only fear that we discuss the effects of secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy as one of the severe consequences that come with such addictions.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Can secondhand smoke make me sick?

Doctor Akoury an expert in addiction and weight lose says that when it comes to nicotine, there is no threshold of safety. So long as one is receiving nicotine in his system mode of receipt notwithstanding any exposure to nicotine, whether through secondhand smoke or direct cigarette smoking nicotine is not friendly. So when you are around a person who is smoking, you inhale the same dangerous chemicals as the smoker. Breathing even a little secondhand smoke can be dangerous because it is all about nicotine and not how it got to your system. The dangers of inhaling secondhand smoke can cause serious health complications including lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. In the United States for example it is estimated that up to 3,000 adults die each year due to lung cancer from secondhand smoke exposure. And according to the U.S. Surgeon General, living with a smoker increases a nonsmoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20% to 30%.

Besides cancer, exposure to secondhand smoke can also cause coronary heart disease and have negative effects on your blood and blood vessels thereby increasing your risk of getting a heart attack. Heart diseases caused by secondhand smoke kill approximately 46,000 nonsmokers every year. People who already have heart disease are at an especially high risk of suffering negative effects from inhaling secondhand smoke and should avoid even brief exposure to it.

Because studies show that laws banning smoking in public places help improve worker and customer health, many states and communities have laws making workplaces, public places, restaurants, and bars smoke-free. But millions of children and adults still breathe secondhand smoke in their homes, cars, workplaces, and in public places.

How does secondhand smoke affect pregnant women, babies, and children?

Pregnant women who inhale secondhand smoke are more likely to have lower birth weight babies than women who do not inhale secondhand smoke. Once born, babies who are around cigarette smoke are more likely to get ear infections, develop bronchitis and pneumonia and die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Therefore secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems in children, including:

Frequent lower respiratory illness
Wheezing and coughing
More frequent and severe asthma attacks
Ear infections

It is therefore advisable that, women who are pregnant should avoid surroundings where heavy concentrations of secondhand smoke linger.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is smoking while pregnant harmful?

For luck of better words I will say that it is never safe to stay around smokers when pregnant let alone smoking. This is very dangerous because smoking while pregnant: affects the placenta which is the source of your baby’s food and oxygen, lowers the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby and also increases the following:

Your baby’s heart rate
The risk that your baby will be born prematurely
The risk that your baby will be born with low birth weight
Your baby’s risk of developing respiratory problems
The chances of stillbirth
The risk for certain birth defects like a cleft lip or cleft palate
The risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Besides that, children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at greater risk of: behavioral problems, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disorders and becoming smokers themselves in the future. Therefore I recommend strongly that all pregnant women who are smoking should quit right way if not permanently then at least during their pregnancy.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is it too late to quit?

If you are pregnant, it is never too late to quit smoking. There are benefits to quitting smoking at any stage of your pregnancy. Quitting as soon as possible will help protect you and your baby from some health problems, such as low birth weight.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Shouldn’t it be easy for me to quit smoking while pregnant?

No. Quitting smoking is hard for most women. Women who were smoking when they got pregnant often have to make more than one attempt to quit for good.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: Is it harmful to smoke again after my baby is born?

You might think it is safe to start smoking again after your baby is born, but your baby is not out of harm’s way. Remember that secondhand smoke is equally dangerous not just for your baby but to people around you. The best thing to do is to quit permanently because babies who are around cigarette smoke: have weaker lungs than other babies, are more likely to have health problems such as infections and more frequent asthma attacks and are at increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Therefore you need to protect your baby doing the following:

Do not allow anyone to smoke near your child.
Do not smoke or let others smoke in your home or car.
Use childcare providers who do not smoke.
Do not eat in restaurants that allow smoking.
Do not take your child to other indoor public places that allow smoking.
Teach children to stay away from secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: I smoke can I breastfeed my baby?

Of course you can and you should breastfeed your baby because breast milk is very good for your baby. However, smoking may make it difficult to breastfeed because it changes your breast milk, disrupt your baby’s sleeping patterns and may even cause you to have problems releasing the breast milk. In conclusion life is lived once and doing the right things will help you have comfort in that life. Therefore for your health and your baby’s, you should quit smoking. Doing this will not be easy, and therefore, you need to consult with doctor Dalal Akoury to help you go about it professionally and in the most healthy way.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine addiction in pregnancy: What is secondhand smoke?

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction

June 24, 2015

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Why it has become necessary to treat

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction can make you lose your self esteem and bring your serious health complications

In life we are often faced with different threats that bring a lot of discomfort to our health and well-being. While discussing the dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction we noted that stress is closely associated with drug addiction and all for the wrong reasons. This collaboration is wreaking havoc to human health and we were able to identify some conditions that come with this relationship. Some of those conditions included gastrointestinal Problems, eating and Stress and diabetes. And as we progress in to the last part of this discussion, we want to dig deeper into other problems that come with the threats of stress and anxiety in addiction. Therefore doctor Dalal Akoury the MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is going to share with us some of the effects in relation to pain, sleeping disturbances, sexual and reproductive dysfunction, memory, concentration, and learning among other relevant conditions to the topic of discussion.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Pain

Pain is a common phenomenon in very situations of life. It can be physical or even psychological but in all these it will still remain to be painful. Currently the relationship between pain and emotion is still under investigation by the experts. This investigation or study is facing challenges in the sense that many factors like how different personalities responds to pain and emotion, and the fear of pain and stress itself. However available evidence point to the direction that that chronic pain may impair the action of neutrophils and thereby weakening the immune response. Let’s consider the following pain for a better understanding:

Muscular and Joint Pain – in this case it is believed that stress may intensify chronic pain caused by arthritis and other conditions. Psychological distress also plays a significant role in the severity of back pain. Some studies have clearly associated job dissatisfaction and depression to back problems, although it is still unclear whether stress is a direct cause of the back pain.

Headaches – Tension type headaches are highly associated with stress and stressful events. Sometimes the headache does not start until long after the stressful event has ended. Additionally, stress can contribute to the development of headaches or cause headaches to occur more frequently. Some research suggests that people who experience tension-type headaches may have some biological predisposition for translating stress into muscle contractions. Among the wide range of possible migraine triggers is emotional stress although the headaches often erupt after the stress has eased.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Sleep Disturbances

The tensions of unresolved stress frequently cause insomnia, which prevents stressed people from sleeping or causes them to awaken in the middle of the night or early morning. This appears to be due to the fact that stress causes physiological arousal during non-rapid eye movement sleep.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Sexual and Reproductive Dysfunction

Sexual Function – Stress can reduce sexual desire and cause women to be unable to achieve orgasm. The stress response leads to a drop in androgen (male hormone) levels, sometimes contributing to temporary erectile dysfunction in men.

Premenstrual Syndrome – Some studies indicate that the stress response in women with premenstrual syndrome may be more intense than in those without the syndrome.

Fertility – Chronic stress may affect fertility. Stress hormones have an impact on the hypothalamus, which produces reproductive hormones. This effect may lead to changes in a woman’s menstrual cycle, as well as a reduction in a man’s sperm count. Stress can also reduce sex drive.

Effects on Pregnancy – Old wives’ tales about a pregnant woman’s emotions affecting her baby may have some credence. Stress may cause physiological alterations, such as increased adrenal hormone levels or resistance in the arteries, which may interfere with normal blood flow to the placenta. Maternal stress during pregnancy has been linked to a higher risk for miscarriage, lower birth weight, and an increased incidence of premature births. Some evidence also suggests that an expectant mother’s stress can even influence the way in which her baby’s brain and nervous system will react to stressful events. One study found a higher rate of crying and low attention in infants of mothers who had been stressed during pregnancy.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Memory, Concentration, and Learning

Stress affects the brain, particularly memory, but the effects vary widely depending on whether the stress is acute or chronic.

Effect of Acute Stress on Memory and Concentration – Studies indicate that the immediate effect of acute stress impairs short-term memory, particularly verbal memory. On the plus side, high levels of stress hormones during short-term stress have been associated with enhanced memory storage, improved working memory, and greater concentration on immediate events. The difference in effect may be due to how cortisol impacts glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Effects of Chronic Stress on Memory – If stress becomes chronic sufferers often lose concentration at work and home, and they may become inefficient and accident-prone. In children, the physiologic responses to chronic stress can interfere with learning. Studies have connected long-term exposure to excess amounts of the stress hormone, cortisol to a shrinking of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center. It is not yet known whether this shrinking is reversible.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Substance Abuse

People who are under chronic stress often turn to illicit activities in the hope that they will get relief they can also indulge in misuse of alcohol or tobacco for relief. These substances are actually self-destructive in their own right and when accompanied with stress the damage caused by these habits becomes severe in relation to the same happening under ordinary circumstances without the presence of stress. Besides that many people also resort to unhealthy eating habits, smoking, or passive activities, such as watching television when they are stressed. Remember that alcohol affects receptors in the brain that reduce stress and luck of nicotine increases stress in smokers, which creates a cycle of dependency on smoking.

The experts reiterates that the cycle is self-perpetuating a sedentary routine, an unhealthy diet, alcohol abuse and smoking all these promotes heart disease. They also interfere with sleep patterns, and lead to increased rather than reduced tension levels. Drinking four or five cups of coffee, for example, can cause changes in blood pressure and stress hormone levels similar to those produced by chronic stress. Finally we have by now seen that the friendship between drug addiction and stress is not in any way good for human health. The two must be separated and most importantly we must desire to eliminate them. You can begin the journey of this worthy elimination by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for the commencement of your treatment that will restore your life back to the fullest.

The threats of stress and anxiety in addiction: Why it has become necessary to treat

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction

June 24, 2015

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction: Why this association must be discouraged

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction are real and not to be taken lightly

For a couple of times we have been discussing the effects of stress, depression and anxiety in relation to substance abuse and we were able to look at certain health conditions including, cancer, heart diseases, stroke and the effect of these problems on immunity. From the study, it was very evident that stress is a very long bridge that connects the body to various illnesses. Without leaving any stone unturned, we want to progress on that discussion sighting the dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction. Our focus is going to be on the following health conditions:

Gastrointestinal Problems
Eating and Stress
Diabetes
Pain
Sleep Disturbances
Sexual and Reproductive Dysfunction
Memory, Concentration, and Learning

These are not conditions that anyone would wish to associate with more so when the individual is also struggling with drug addiction of any level. I know that a lot is being done to salvage the situation and the prevalence of addiction, but even as those efforts are being made, what is you individual contribution to those efforts? If you put substance abuse aside for a while you realize that these listed health conditions are not friendly to humanity yet they are much more resonated by stress, depression, anxiety and drug addiction. On our part as professionals from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury, we are working with like minded people in this fight against the scourge of addiction. We would wish that if we are to win this fight, then we all need to pool together and join forces to deliver the much needed victory to ourselves, families and the society. Therefore if you are struggling with any of the conditions named, you may want to start the journey by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for the commencement of your recovery.

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction: Gastrointestinal Problems

The brain and intestines are closely related, and are controlled by many of the same hormones and parts of the nervous system. Indeed, some research suggests that the gut itself has features of a primitive brain. It is not surprising then that prolonged stress can disrupt the digestive system, irritating the large intestine and causing diarrhea, constipation, cramping, and bloating. Excessive production of digestive acids in the stomach may cause a painful burning.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Irritable bowel syndrome (or spastic colon) is strongly related to stress. With this condition, the large intestine becomes irritated, and its muscular contractions are spastic rather than smooth and wave-like. The abdomen is bloated, and the patient experiences cramping and alternating periods of constipation and diarrhea. Sleep disturbances due to stress can make irritable bowel syndrome even worse.

Peptic Ulcers – It is now well established that most peptic ulcers are caused by H. pylori bacteria or the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications (such as aspirin and ibuprofen). Nevertheless, studies still suggest that stress may predispose a person with H. pylori to ulcers.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Although stress is not a cause of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), there are reports of an association between stress and symptom flare-ups.

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction: Eating and Stress

Stress can have varying effects on eating problems and weight like for example:

Weight Gain – Often stress is related to weight gain and obesity. Many people develop cravings for salt, fat, and sugar to counteract tension. As a result, they gain weight. Weight gain can occur even with a healthy diet, however, in some people who are exposed to stress. In addition, the weight gained is often abdominal fat, which increases the risk of diabetes and heart problems.

The release of cortisol, a major stress hormone, appears to boost abdominal fat and may be the primary connection between stress and weight gain. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid. These hormones, along with insulin, appear to be responsible for stress-related food cravings. Evidence suggests that hormonally induced cravings for “comfort foods” may have a biological benefit for managing stress. Eating comfort foods appears to reduce the negative hormonal and behavioral changes associated with stress, which might lessen the impact of stress on an individual. Carbohydrates in particular may increase levels of tryptophan and large neutral amino acids. This leads to more production of the chemical messenger serotonin, which might improve mood and performance under stress.

There may be a “reward-based stress eating” model. In this theory, stress and tasty, high-calorie foods cause the brain to make chemicals called endogenous opioids. These neurotransmitters help protect against the harmful effects of stress by slowing activity of a brain process called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, thus weakening the stress response. Repeated stimulation of the reward pathways through stress-induced HPA stimulation, eating tasty food, or both, may lead to changes in the brain that cause compulsive overeating.

Research findings indicate that overeating may be triggered by different stressors in men and women. However women tend to put on extra pounds when dealing with financial and work problems, as well as strained family relationships. Men gain more weight from lack of decision authority at work and difficulty in learning new skills on the job.

Eating Disorders – Chronically elevated levels of stress chemicals have been observed in patients with anorexia and bulimia. Some studies, however, have not found any strong link between stress and eating disorders. More research is needed to determine whether changes in stress hormones are a cause or a result of eating disorders.

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction: Diabetes

Stress can exacerbate existing diabetes by impairing the patient’s ability to manage the disease effectively. Therefore when stress management is becoming a problem to you, then you stand a greater risk of contracting some of these health conditions we have discussed and even those that we are yet to discuss. I don’t know what you may be going through but if this article is describing your situation then you need not to lose hope because help is right before you. The formation of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center was intended for you. Take this opportunity and call 843 213 1480 doctor Akoury today for professional advice on all that you may be going through in relation to the dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction and she will be able to help you in the most professional way to have your life and comfort back.

The dangers of stress and anxiety in addiction: Why this association must be discouraged

Category Archives: Dr. Dalal Akoury