AnxietyWritten by Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, Ph.D, ND, DACBN
Some degree of anxiety is perfectly normal. We all experience situations where we may feel fear and apprehension. However, there are some people who feel anxious even when there is no discernible cause. In these cases, anxiety usually becomes overwhelming and may interfere with normal functioning of one’s life. People who suffer from a debilitating level of anxiety are suffering from an anxiety disorder. Negative emotional patterns, anger, fear, stress and anxiety all contribute to degenerative illness such as cancer, heart disease etc..What is Anxiety? Anxiety is a normal physical reaction to an internal or external demand that is placed on your system. The human body reacts to most stressful situations with “fight or flight” response where it is flooded with stress hormones. These hormones make heart pump faster, breathing rate increase, and muscles tense up. This is body’s way of gearing up for imminent physical activity. However, a person who suffers from an anxiety disorder may experience chronic and recurrent episodes of anxiety that have no discernible cause. These episodes can last for days, weeks, or even months. Sometimes, an anxiety disorder may stem from a definite trigger such as childhood abuse or witnessing event of war. But in other situations, hormonal or chemical changes in brain or environmental factors cause an anxiety disorder to develop. What Causes Anxiety? There are several parts of brain that are involved in development of anxiety. Scientists have performed research using brain imaging technologies and neurochemical techniques to discover network of interacting events that are responsible for anxiety. Most of activity appears to be centered around amygdala, an almond-shaped structure deep within brain. Many researchers feel that amygdala acts as a sort of central “hub” that processes and interprets different signals to and within brain. The amygdala controls storage of emotional memories, therefore, it may play a central role in development of anxiety disorders such as phobias, and post traumatic stress disorder. The hiccocampus is another area of brain that is likely to be involved in anxiety disorders. This part of brain is responsible for processing threatening or traumatic stimuli. It helps to encode information into memories. People who have undergone severe stress, such as military combat or childhood abuse, have a smaller hiccocampus than people who have not experienced such a traumatic event. The smaller size may explain fragmented memory, flashbacks, and memory deficits of those who develop post traumatic stress disorder.
| | Enzymes, Are Enzymes DangerousWritten by Loring A. Windblad
This compilation of information is Copyright 2005 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. The references for this series of articles is author’s personal knowledge and experience, book “Enzymes for Autism and other Nurological Conditions. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including this header, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos.We have dealt with internal destruction of supplemental enzymes once they enter acid environment of our stomach. It’s nice to know that vegetable-based enzymes, such as those found in Bio88+ (Plus), actually thrive in our stomach and intestines. But…can proteases be dangerous? Used appropriately, these enzymes pose no danger to consumer. The biggest problem with enzymes is inhalation of large quantities of enzyme dust by people who work around enzymes a great deal, or getting large quantities on one’s skin, such as in manufacturing plants. In both circumstances, enzymes can cause irritation, itching, and discomfort. It is rarely a problem with normal digestive use. Well, how about will enzymes digest my mouth, stomach or intestines? If this were true, enzymes produced by your own body would have already digested you away. These enzymes much prefer denatured (cooked or damaged) proteins found in foods. Most proteins, in their healthy state, are coiled and globular in structure. This prevents enzymes from having access to cleavage sites. When heated or in extremes of pH (like stomach acid), proteins uncoil, exposing sites where enzyme can bind and cleave. Also, cells of our bodies and mucosal lining of gastrointestinal tract contain protease inhibitors that inactivate certain protease enzymes. The mucosal layer acts as a physical barrier to proteolytic activity on living cells. The pancreas exposes your small intestine to a barrage of enzymes every time you eat, and enzymes do not break down intestine. If enzyme powder remains on lips or gums for a prolonged time, it may break down some of layer of dead cells that covers our mouth and throat (the whitish_colored layer). When fresh, raw layer of tissue comes into contact with saliva, person may feel slight irritation. If you open a capsule to mix it with food, make sure you drink something afterwards to wash any enzyme residue down. Because amylase is in saliva, you have a constant supply of enzymes in your mouth all time anyway.
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