If everyday stress is no stranger to you, then you deserve to know what it is doing to you. It is probably safe to say that people of all ages have modern stress-filled lives. A truly worthy discussion of stress and its overall impact on health requires a book and there are a few excellent ones available today. But with regards to hormone imbalances in the body, a primary cause can be found in the prolonged elevated levels of the main stress hormone called Cortisol. This is a serious hormone in that without it we would not survive any stress but with an excess, for too long, we may not survive well either. It is made in the adrenal glands and is essential for activating and regulating our immune system against infection and reducing inflammation. It mobilizes glucose for the “fight or flight syndrome” and to ensure the brain has fuel. It is involved with the control of blood pressure and circadian rhythm. So, healthy levels are good and contribute to balance and well-being in the body. However, chronically-high levels of cortisol will significantly upset the balance of other hormones resulting in malfunctions in the body. Your resulting symptoms will also depend on the strengths and weaknesses of your genetic inheritance.

Some of the effects felt from high cortisol levels brought on by stress are usually irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. If the stress becomes prolonged over days, months, years, then some nasty metabolic and physical changes begin to show up such as:

Weight gain (especially around the waist area and the face)

Depression

Immune suppression (and other immune imbalances including autoimmune disorders, allergies, recurrent infections and weakened intestinal walls).

Insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome (associated with type 2 diabetes, unhealthy levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood pressure, obesity, and cancer.)

Low Melatonin (necessary for sleep and immune function)

Decreased thyroid hormone production

Decreased pituitary function (messages to the ovaries and testicles is weak affecting male and female hormone levels)

Decrease bone density (osteopenia and osteoporosis)

Memory loss (short and long-term and foggy-thinking)

Protein breakdown (catabolic-effects like dry, thinning skin and muscle loss since cortisol makes blood sugar from amino acids in muscle)

Damage to brain cells and receptors and  to the hippocampus of the brain from excessive exposure to high cortisol

This last result is highly feared because what it means is that the brain has lost its vital communication system with the rest of the body. In their book, “What Your Dr. May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer”, Drs. John R. Lee and David Zava say,”a lifetime of high cortisol levels may be a primary cause of Alzheimers disease and senile dementia.”

Chronically high cortisol levels may eventually lead to adrenal exhaustion which present as the many forms of “total collapse”.

Now, there are many ways to reduce the levels of high cortisol, obviously starting with removing the stressors. Remember not all stressors involve emotion. Infections, over-training in exercise, skipping meals, improper diet (activation of gut associated immunity), high sugar and refined carbohydrate intake and more also put stress on the body. There are nutrients and herbs that may help improve the cortisol response, also deep-breathing techniques, massage, and more. But in  repairing the damage done to the brain from high cortisol, there is but one highly effective and easy to obtain substance. It is a very special brain phospholipid called phosphatidylserine (PS). According to studies, this may be the only way to restore the brain’s vital hippocampus. PS is the major phospholipid in the brain and benefits nearly every brain function. The most clinically significant impact of PS is its ability to lower cortisol. It may not only lower cortisol when it is too high, it is also important for cases of low cortisol where the prolonged stress has produced adrenal burn-out and cortisol production is deficient.

To achieve the levels necessary to help repair the brain scientists have found that it takes an oral supplementation of about 800 mg daily. At this dose, oral supplementation would cost hundreds of dollars per month. It is much more efficient and far less costly to use transdermal (through the skin) delivery by use of a PS skin cream. In this form, the phosphatidylserine is micellized and is absorbed through the skin directed to the blood stream. This avoids any PS being lost through digestion and the first pass through the liver. The product, “Cortisol Balance” was designed for transdermal delivery of PS in levels that will be effective for the protection and repair of the brain.

There is an abundance of scientific data on the ability of PS to support and protect the brain. No other nutrient or pharmaceutical can match the effectiveness of PS. This PS product combined with a healthier lifestyle will safely enhance brain function in young and old. It can literally help turn back the clock on premature aging. It is imperative to protect ourselves as best we can against the ravages of too much stress so we can regain the high quality if life we were meant to enjoy.