“Why do some people heal and others don’t?”

G'day to you. Set yourself up for a 'caffo' day today...a little learning and a little caffeine. Couldn't hurt, right? Thanks for clicking by today. I appreciate it. It gets lonely without you here in the great void. Speaking of the great void...did you see the pictures from that comet we (the royal we) just landed on! Amazing, eh! No, we're not talking comets today. But I got another email from my pal, Dr. Al that I want to share with you and he started with an intriguing question. Read on...

Dear Bob,

When I was in medical school I asked a question that none of my teachers could answer.

“Why do some people heal and others don’t?”

Two people can have the identical diagnosis, and receive the same treatment and care. One will thrive and the other will not recover.

Throughout my years of practice, I’ve since found that people who heal have a strong immune system. Yet even then, physically healthy people can get sick. Why should that be?

In my practice I find that one of the biggest non-physical causes of disease is stress. My patients who learn to relieve their stress get sick less frequently and they recover faster.

When you’re stressed your body shifts into “fight or flight” mode. Your autonomic nervous system triggers your body to shift priorities. Blood, nutrients, and oxygen are diverted from your internal organs and your immune system. They rush to your large muscles so you can run faster or fight harder to survive.

Stress tells your body to turn off immunity and repair and maintenance and shift all priority to survival.

But something else happens. Stress also shortens your telomeres. In fact, studies prove that people with a lot of stress have shorter telomeres.

You already know telomeres are like ticking biological clocks. They protect your DNA. Each time your cells divide, telomeres get shorter. Eventually, they’re so short your DNA is exposed. It can no longer make correct copies. New cells are older and weaker.

And that opens you up to all kinds of chronic diseases that are linked to aging. Add to that an immune system shut down by stress and you could have a serious problem.

Unfortunately, our modern world is full of pressures that trigger our stress response.

That’s why it’s so important to learn to handle stress. In a minute I’m going to tell you about an easy way to help your body reduce stress before it starts to take over. And it works even if you’re already feeling anxiety and worry.

Herbs that act as “adaptogens” are one very powerful way to help your body adjust to stress. One of the best is panax (Asian) ginseng. An animal study in India found that ginseng is particularly effective against the kind of relentless stress that’s so common in our fast-paced and high pressured world.

Another herbal adaptogen is ginkgo biloba. Studies show it prevents cells from dying due to stress by protecting telomeres from shortening.³

I recommend taking 200 to 500 mg of panax ginseng and 120 mg of ginkgo biloba daily if you are feeling stressed.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Try some calming tea...when you wake up, you'll feel relaxed and ready to take on the world. 

Or, just stay the way you are and have another coffee!

See ya, eh!

Bob