Do you think stress has an effect on the immune system? Try to answer from your own experience, and you'll realize you don't know the exact answer. The fact is that the immune system has no way of "contacting" us and reporting problems like other organs do. For example, when the cardiovascular system fails to cope, a person's blood pressure spikes or the heart rate increases. And we only become aware of a weakened immune system when we are already sick. You may not even realize that frequent colds or slow healing wounds and scratches are also consequences of stress. The connection between stress and immunity It's important to understand that stress is not just a word, but a specific state of the body, and far from normal. During stress, the hormones cortisol and adrenaline spike in blood. They begin activating the systems that are responsible for reacting to danger. Nerves are strained to the limit and ready to pick up any signal for action in order to pass it on to muscles and heart. Then muscles adjust themselves to move actively at any moment: to fight or to run. All the resources of the body are directed only to them. At the same time, adrenaline and cortisol turn off less important life-saving functions. One of them is the immune system. Yes, when stress lasts a few hours, nothing bad will happen. But when we're talking about chronic stress, the consequences will be most dire, any infection, whether it's seasonal flu or COVID-19, will easily get in without meeting resistance. In the past, a human stressor was an encounter with a predator, a severe cold, a fire, today the threats are less material in nature. Constant anxiety, which can be caused by a pandemic, fear of the future, reduced income, increased work pressure, an unstable and unpredictable life, etc.. All of these reasons cause chronic stress. And consequently, the risk of getting sick. If you don't like such prospects, this is where specialized vitamins to boost immunity for stress can help. How to choose vitamins to improve immunity under stress? It is generally accepted that the following antioxidant vitamins are needed to strengthen the body: A, E and C. Yes, but they are only needed for the immune response. However, if you consume them under constant stress, it's the same as putting a Band-Aid on an open fracture, the benefits are completely absent. For a really good immune response to chronic stress, you first need to eliminate excess cortisol and adrenaline, deal with overstress and exhaustion, and get your nervous system in order. Otherwise the immune system will not be able to start its work. In order for the body to cope with stress, it needs lithium, vitamins B6 and B1. Let's talk about them in more detail. Lithium This trace element is little known today as a food supplement, although it has long been used by official medicine. Taking it to strengthen the immune system during times of stress will have a double effect. Firstly, lithium really calms the nervous system and evens out the mood. It gradually reduces the production of cortisol and adrenaline, thereby giving the body a signal that all is well and you can go back to normal. Lowering adrenaline levels "turns on" the immune system. In addition, lithium helps increase the production of serotonin, a hormone that suppresses stress and provides adequate rest and sleep. And it is these that allow you to gain strength, eliminate the effects of stress and restore the body's resources. Secondly, lithium is directly involved in the immune system. It gently stimulates an increase in the number of immune cells in the blood — neutrophils. They are part of the innate immunity and are engaged in absorption of foreign agents. It is neutrophils, the most mobile and active of the white blood cells, that can penetrate all organs and tissues, destroying infectious agents. Lithium also has anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, it can be attributed to drugs to enhance immunity. Anti-stress vitamins B6 and B1 Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is called "fuel of stress", because it’s rapidly used up in large quantities, precisely during the mobilization of energy. Vitamin B6 is responsible for an adequate response to stimuli and inhibition of the nervous system. With a lack of vitamin B6 dramatically worsens mood and at the same time increases irascibility, psychosis and depression can develop. In addition, vitamin B6 is involved in the synthesis of serotonin and is essential for normalization of sleep and mood recovery. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is used to supply nerve cells with energy. It is clear that during stress its reserves are quickly depleted. Hence the symptoms of vitamin B1 deficiency such as constant fatigue, inability to rest when sleeping, increased fatigue with little effort, insomnia. Another function of vitamin B1 is to protect neurons (nerve tissue cells) from damage by harmful products of metabolism. Therefore, if there is a lack of vitamin B1, the nerves really "deteriorate". Taking vitamins B6 and B1 helps to literally restore the nervous system. To make it easier for yourself to strengthen the immune system during stress, pay attention to the complex "Normotim". It includes lithium and vitamins B6, B1 and vitamin C. Taking "Normotim" will help to cope with stress, regenerate the nervous system and as a result the immune system can return to work actively and resist infections. Take care of your immune system so it can take care of you!
Most people who smoke occasionally give themselves the attitude that at the "Moment X" they will quit smoking. Everyone has his own reasons, there are very strong (direct prohibition of doctors), there are less categorical. And everyone, at the moment of making such a decision, is sure that he or she has enough willpower to do what he or she wants to do. All the more, there are a lot of aids invented, as well as various methods. And many people quit smoking. However, after a while they give up. Mark Twain said the following about smoking: "Quitting smoking is very easy. I've done it thousands of times!"Medical scientists conducted research in which it was found that taking such a micronutrient as lithium can help get rid of nicotine addiction.Physiological and psychological addiction to nicotinePhysiological or chemical addiction is caused by the capacity of nicotine to be absorbed by the bloodstream quickly and within seconds to reach the brain where it acts on sensitive receptors, triggering a release of adrenaline and mimicking the effects of dopamine — the "hormone of encouragement" or "pleasure hormone".Dopamine is the main hormone of the brain's "reward system”. When its blood levels are normalized, the brain tells the human subconscious: "You did great!" As a result, a person has an increase in performance and thought activity, combined with an improvement in mood and a feeling of calmness and relaxation. It is worth specifying that nicotine quickly begins to be broken down in the liver and a brief "euphoria" is replaced by a decrease in mood and signals to the brain to take a new dose to stabilize the condition. The body quickly becomes accustomed to nicotine and a steady increase in the dose is required for tangible stimulation. If it is not enough, or not at all, there is the so-called "nicotine withdrawal", which is characterized by difficulties with concentration, irritability, anxiety, mood disorders, weakness, malaise, sleep disorders. When a person gives up cigarettes, physiological withdrawal peaks on the third or fourth day, after which there is a decline and its symptoms eventually diminish and pass.So why doesn't everyone quit smoking?That's easy! Here the psychological dependence — compulsive desire to smoke again, especially in heavy, stressful situations comes into action. Unlike physiological addiction, it does not go away by itself, and a breakdown can occur even after many years.Lithium to help with smoking cessationTo make the process of quitting smoking easier, faster and without breakdowns, the body needs help. Lithium ascorbate, an innovative salt of lithium with outstanding safety and effectiveness, can provide such support. It is important to note that lithium ascorbate helps to resist both physiological and psychological addictions.When applied to physiological dependence, lithium helps reduce the need for nicotine and alleviates the symptoms of physiological withdrawal from smoking. It’s so because nicotine can bind to acetylcholine receptors in the brain, it essentially substitutes for endogenous neurotransmitters that regulate brain blood flow. After 2-3 weeks of regular smoking the body begins to understand that nicotine is "sort of" better than your own acetylcholine, that there is no need to strain and produce it, since nicotine regularly comes from outside. And the readjustment begins: the number of acetylcholine receptors and their structure change, the body begins to produce less substances that regulate the production of adrenaline and dopamine. Lithium ascorbate increases the production of dopamine, increases the level of dopamine in the blood and in the brain, reduces both the direct craving for smoking and the symptoms of smoking cessation.Lithium also gently modulates oxytocin production, which facilitates nicotine withdrawal. Recall that oxytocin is a companion hormone to dopamine, giving a feeling of satisfaction, security, rewarding people with joy and euphoria.As for helping to overcome psychological dependence on smoking, lithium is a normothymic. It helps to stabilize the emotional background and make mood better, as well as increases stress tolerance and improves cognitive functions. Taking lithium levels out the preconditions for returning to smoking in stressful situations or in case of increased emotional stress.Therefore, if you decide to quit smoking, pay attention to Normotim. Normotim contains a special dose of lithium ascorbate to help you overcome nicotine addiction, as well as to increase emotional stability in stressful situations and in conditions of high nervous tension. decided to quit smoking, pay attention to Normotim. Normotim contains a special dose of lithium ascorbate to help you overcome nicotine addiction, as well as to increase emotional stability in stressful situations and in conditions of high nervous tension.
One of the common problems of our time is stress. Stress doesn't care about our gender, age, income, social status or place of residence. Nearly 70% of mega-city dwellers face stress because of a number of problems related to work, family, loneliness, dissatisfaction with their financial situation or appearance. There is no universal way to deal with stress because we are all different. What works for one will not work for another, and vice versa will cause more discomfort. Some give preference to constructive ways: sports, yoga, dancing, walks in nature or reading books. Others resort to destructive ways: alcohol, tobacco, and food. We shouldn't be surprised, food really can have a destructive effect on our bodies and lead to even more problems. A large percentage of people, when faced with a stressful or unpleasant situation, resort to food, especially sweets, to improve their emotional state."Food relieves stress" is a mindset that has been embedded in our brains since infancy. When a baby cries, his mother either cradles him or gives him a breast, with which the baby gets contact with his most intimate person. A baby can be cranky for many different reasons. However, the mother almost always has one solution — milk. Consequently, from the very first days of life, there is a subconscious connection: food = attention, love, pleasure, safety. That is, food is one of the elements of contact with the loving, protective world, the center of which for the child (at least until the age of two) is the mother.Thereafter, all the stages of growing up and socialization are inextricably linked with the "encouragement" of food. How often as a child did you hear from your parents phrases like: "If you behave well, you'll get sweets", "Bring me an A on the test and I'll bake you a cake". And, of course, cake or cakes for every birthday.Food is used as encouragement from an early age, but it continues into adulthood. After receiving a bonus or promotion at work, we go to a restaurant or set the table at home. After all, we really do deserve a good meal! However, in fact, we just get into a stressful situation, even if it's positive.When we’re facing stress, our blood level of the hormone cortisol rises, which makes us feel hungry. And we begin to binge on stress. Most often, with sweets — also called “fast carbohydrates”. In psychology, that’s called an eating disorder.Let's imagine your condition at any unpleasant moment. There’s a feeling of anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, emptiness... However, if you eat something delicious, especially sweet and high-carbohydrate, the problem immediately goes into the background. In fact, a sense of joy and peace of mind returns. This effect is short-lived... After a while, we’ll want to eat delicious things again.Thus we get into a vicious circle, which is worth breaking. After all, sooner or later we may encounter a new problem, which is also reinforced stress — with excess weight gain.Trap again! New stress and again food as a stress neutralizer. Of course, many people try to break this cycle with diets and the gym. They turn to google, "How do I stop eating stress and loneliness?" Only a few reach their goal. Why? A common cause of breakdowns is limiting oneself to food, because it is perceived not as "fuel" for the body, but as the main source of pleasure.And how do you stop coping with stress, loneliness or bad moods with food?According to experts, the fight against stress should be comprehensive. And, first of all, it is important to stabilize the psycho-emotional state. How to stop eating while being stressed? How to get rid of that addiction?Most people find it difficult to cope with stress and the habit of eating it on their own. And here to help can come substances that contribute to the normalization of the emotional background, reducing the level of depression and anxiety. In particular, the trace element lithium has a proven normotensive effect.Lithium salts have been used in psychiatry for more than forty years in the treatment of bipolar disorder and significantly reduce symptoms of manic-depressive states. Therefore, studies of this trace element continue around the world. The result of such research was the development of a new salt of lithium — lithium ascorbate. It has better indicators of safety and effectiveness. On the basis of lithium ascorbate was created a special vitamin and mineral complex Normotim.Normotim is a complex drug, which in addition to lithium ascorbate, includes vitamins B1, B6 and C. Together they provide a powerful anti-stress effect, and also help to effectively cope with psycho-emotional stress, relieve anxiety and emotional tension and improve mood. This is confirmed not only by clinical trials, but also with positive feedback from customers. Moreover, unlike antidepressant drugs, Normotim is sold without a prescription.
Each of us has heard that phrase as a child: "grouchy as an old man". And indeed, frowning, grumpiness, negative views on life and people around are very typical for the elderly. We look at them and confidently say to ourselves, "I definitely won't be like that." However, older people at one time thought the same thing. Why does this happen? How can we avoid it? And most importantly, is it possible to reverse the process and return the joy of life and good mood to our elderly loved ones?Why does one's mood "deteriorate" with age?"Old age is not fun" is another saying that everyone knows. Yes, it’s not ok to be aware of the gradually accumulating diseases, the fading physical activity, the natural traces of aging in the appearance. It’s worth noting that the problem of aging is not only psychological, but also purely physiological: after 25 years the aging process starts — the level of inflammatory processes increases, increasing the consequences of oxidative stress and cell mutation, neurodegenerative processes start, the neurons responsible for mental activity, mental function and social adaptation are gradually dying. All these changes, as well as deterioration of physical condition can not but affect the psycho-emotional state, it deteriorates.Clinically, that’s manifested by asthenic symptoms, characterized by a decrease in work capacity, sleep disorders, emotional instability, and impaired attention and memory. Changes in the emotional sphere of the person are especially demonstrative, mood swings become more frequent, and periods of a bad mood become more pronounced and prolonged. For example, the prevalence of depression at older ages is 2-3 times higher than at younger ages. Among people over 60, the frequency of depression is 15-20%, and among the elderly with long-term therapeutic and neurological illnesses (and their frequency, unfortunately, is also increasing) reaches 40-60%. As a result, any stresses and problematic situations easily lead to destabilization of the emotional state, bad moods, irritability and, as a consequence, a decrease in the quality of life. And in extreme cases, it can also lead to suicide.Lithium is something everyone needsSo far, people aren’t able to stop the aging process, but it is possible to normalize the nervous system even in old age! Scientists have found that the trace element lithium is beneficial to the nervous system and emotional background, increases stress resistance, improves mood, and makes the emotional state stable. In particular, one of the mineral water sources in Tuscany, where the water has an unusually high concentration of lithium, is very popular among tourists for its amazing effect: after bathing in it the mood increases. And Canadian scientists have found that the presence of lithium in tap water increases the life expectancy of people who use it! Later, the same group of scientists proved that increasing the concentration of lithium in water can serve as an effective prevention of Alzheimer's disease. It’s important to note that lithium is not only a natural normothymic, it’s a mood stabilizer. In addition, this trace element:- protects cells in the nervous system from aging;- contributes to the regeneration of the brain, its neurons and blood vessels;- improves cognitive functions, including memory and thinking;- reduces the likelihood of senile dementia;- normalizes sleep;- has a beneficial effect on bone tissue, reducing its fragility and the likelihood of fractures.How do I provide my body with lithium?It’s believed that the natural source of lithium is food and drinking water. However, we have to admit: the amount of lithium in modern food is sometimes too low to meet the body's needs for this substance. Drinking water also contains little or no lithium, the culprit being the careful treatment of tap and bottled water to remove impurities.Therefore, experts strongly recommend not relying on the contents of your plate and cup and supplement your diet with prophylactic doses of lithium, especially, at an advanced age. A convenient way to compensate the lack of lithium in the body would be to take a specially designed vitamin and mineral complex Normotim, which contains lithium in the dosage the body needs, as well as B vitamins and vitamin C. A unique patented manufacturing process ensures high bioavailability of all its active ingredients. Normotim is sold at the pharmacies without prescription Old age is not a reason to be dissatisfied with life and grumpy grumbling. Yes, the years take their toll, but the achievements of modern science are quite capable of minimizing the discomfort associated with the aging process.
Many people cannot imagine tea without jam, tea without a piece of cake. Some may even replace lunch with sweets... Taking snacks like sugary yogurts, candy or cookies... Most people have these habits — because sweet foods give a lot of pleasure!By the way, nutritionists equate cravings for sweets with alcohol addiction!Why is it dangerous to have a sweet tooth?Sugar is one of the most controversial substances. It intertwines the undeniable benefits and undeniable harm. From the point of view of benefits, sugar is a source of vitality, energy. On the other hand, sugar is called the "gentle killer", because it slowly and imperceptibly causes addiction and the formation of fatal diseases.The fact that humans need very little sugar for normal functioning: for women it’s about 25 grams and for men 30 grams per day. This is an evolutionary requirement of the human body. And before it was satisfied by natural sources of carbohydrates, because sugar is present in varying amounts in many foods.As for the human diet of the 21st century, it literally abounds in sugars, and, on the average, the inhabitants of developed countries consume at least 130 grams of sugar daily, which is several times higher than the recommended norm. Long-term excessive consumption of sugar, in addition to the well-known obesity, causes diseases such as strokes, coronary heart disease, malignant tumors and diabetes, which are the main cause of death among the population of developed countries.How does a sugar addiction develop?Addiction to sweets is gradually formed due to the superposition of several factors.First, sugar improves the organoleptic qualities of many foods, so it is present in the recipes of most dishes, not to mention confectionery.Secondly, the consumption of sugar through a cascade of biochemical reactions brings a feeling of pleasure and happiness, helps to cope with stress and depressed mood. And the more stressful the stress, the more a person pounces on sweets to neutralize negative emotions.Thirdly, sugar, that is fast carbohydrates, instantly energizes the body. However, this "recharge" doesn’t last long. And the loss of energy, which then occurs, exceeds the initial level of charge. Because of this, the body asks for a new and larger dose of sweets.In this case, speaking of sugar and sugar addiction, we mean addiction to highly refined (refined) carbohydrates, which, in essence, are not a food, but a chemical substance. After all, refined sugar as it is known to each of us is a product of modern technology and does not occur in nature.The mechanism of easy and quick addiction to refined sugar is confirmed by brain scans obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging. They show that after consuming sweet food, the same parts of the brain are activated as after using drugs and alcohol. Sugar stimulates the active production of dopamine, the so-called "hormone of happiness", by attacking the taste buds on the tongue responsible for perceiving sweet tastes. Drugs and alcohol have a similar effect. After a short time the brain "refuses" to produce enough dopamine on its own, requiring hyperstimulation by fast carbohydrates, which is subjectively accompanied by a feeling of collapse of strength and fatigue.How to defeat the craving for sweetsWhen attempting a sharp rejection of the sweet there is a situation of dopamine starvation, close in its essence to the "withdrawal" of drug addicts. The brain requires stimulation and the person with sugar addiction uncontrollably eats more and more portions of sweets in order to regain the usual level of dopamine, which brings a sense of calmness and pleasure.Therefore, weaning from sweets should be done in stages.At the first stage, you may replace sweets with fruits or berries which also contain sugar (fructose), but in combination with other substances: pectin, dietary fiber, vitamins and trace elements. In this case you should not eat more than 200-300 grams of fresh fruit or 40-50 grams of dried fruit.The next stage is the gradual replacement of fruit with sweet vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkin.It’s important to realize that even a gradual rejection of sweets will bring certain discomfort and inconvenience, because the body will readjust to more complex ways of producing glucose. As a rule, your mood worsens and your sleep is disturbed. That’s irritability, and also, it may cause a headache.To make the process of giving up sweets easier, faster and without disruption, can help take small doses of a trace element such as lithium.First, reducing the usual amount of sugar intake is a stress for the body that can destabilize the emotional sphere. And lithium has a proven normotensive effect, that is, it normalizes the emotional background and increases stress resistance, not allowing you to snap out of a restrictive diet and binge on sweets again.Secondly, lithium reduces cravings for sweets, because it regulates metabolism, which is involved in regulating blood sugar and restores cells' sensitivity to glucose.Thirdly, lithium has the very important property of enhancing mood by regulating the metabolism of dopamine in the brain, and by increasing the production of endorphins creates a stable positive mood. Simply put, taking lithium reduces the body's need for sugar to improve mood.Thus, lithium is a very important trace element that helps beat sugar addiction in direct and indirect ways.So if you are serious about getting rid of your sugar addiction, pay attention to Normotim which contains a special dosage of lithium to help the body overcome sugar addiction as well as to improve mood and emotional stability.Prof. Dr. O.A. Gromova