Fight or Flight: How to Avoid Adrenal Fatigue and Weight Gain

Mark Sisson explains the "fight or flight" syndrome and how to avoid adrenal fatigue and weight-gain.

One of my goals with this weekly column is to make significant human health issues easy to understand and discuss. I was pleased that last week's piece, the Definitive Guide to Insulin, Blood Sugar & Type 2 Diabetes, garnered some rave reviews. The Case Against Cardio piqued some great conversation and interesting criticisms (one soul out there in the webosphere took issue with the fact that I positioned Cardio exclusively from my personal perspective as a runner rather than authoring a more scholarly article. Well wasn't that spot on. It's called my blog.) My opinions can't please everyone, of course, but – based on my experiences and understanding – I am certain that contributing some insights on health in light of our (all together now) genetic blueprint is a worthwhile and timely endeavor.

Now to the topic at hand. Stress can make you gain weight, and it contributes to premature aging. Understanding how stress is related to your overall health and potentially even longevity is essential to achieving your health goals. But do not, repeat, do not go and buy yourself a bottle of Cortislim – just read this quick summary and you'll know all you need to know. Read more

Sex: The Natural Way to Stress Relief

When stress is at its worst, sex can stop you fretting. It reduces cortisol, lowers blood pressure, improves moods, and bonds people emotionally.

... Recessions cause high levels of stress, which reduces people’s sex hormones and lowers their libido. When a couple are lying in bed and the man is worrying about his job and the woman is fretting about her savings, neither of them is properly primed for sex.

It is a pity, because sex offers a host of beneficial effects. Read more

Intimacy Fights Stress

Researchers have found that the more physical affection couples engage in, the lower their level of the "stress" hormone cortisol.

Couples who hug, kiss and otherwise find ways to get close everyday may have fewer stress hormones coursing through their bodies, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, point to one potential reason that close relationships -- and marriage, in particular -- have been linked to better health.

Researchers found that among 51 German couples they followed for one week, those who reported more physical contact during a given day -- whether it was sexual intercourse or just holding hands -- generally had lower levels of the "stress" hormone cortisol.

This was especially true of couples who reported more problems at work, suggesting that some physical affection between mates may be a buffer against work stress. Read more