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Weekly Newsletter Archive >
Are You Fraying?
Are You Fraying?
Nov 5, 2009
Did you know? Stress affects us physically – just look at a picture of any president on the day he was sworn in and four years later – the change can be dramatic! However, studies are now revealing that stress can actually change the expression of our genes! I wanted to touch on this subject as the holidays are fast approaching and that is an exceptionally stressful time for many (if not most) people for different reasons.
A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. In cells, a gene is a portion of DNA that contains both "coding" sequences that determine what the gene does, and "non-coding" sequences that determine when it is expressed. I like how Dr. James Carey, Ph.D. describes it: If you’ve ever twisted a piece of thread tighter and tighter, you may have noticed how the strands of the thread start to fray, breaking in small places along its length as it was tightened.
When experiencing stress, our DNA does the same thing. ANYTHING that stresses your body can cause this - whether it’s work, family or relationship problems, circumstances, the weather, traffic, being a caretaker for someone who is ill, being dehydrated or eating a sugary, processed food (toxic) diet. When your body perceives stress, the DNA helix (coil) gets tighter and tighter. When it gets too tight, gene pairs start to fail, just like a fraying thread.
You may have heard about research done several years ago on moms caring for special needs children and how their perception of that stress affected the length of their telomeres. Telomeres are the DNA-protein complexes that cap the ends of chromosomes like the plastic caps on the end of a shoelace. Each time a cell divides, a portion of the telomere frays, until the telomere totally frays and that cell stops dividing. Telomeres determine the number of times a cell divides, how healthy it is, and its life span, which, in turn, affects the health of the tissue that particular cell forms. In fact, scientific data reveals that extended exposure to psychological stress could speed up the aging process of your cells, causing them to die at a faster rate than normal. In fact there are numerous causes such as oxygen, water or nutrient deprivation, electrical or chemical imbalance, toxicity, atrophy and rupture from an accident or viral infection. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that you are not doomed by your genes or any situation you find yourself in. Your habits, thoughts and attitudes can either activate or suppress your genes. Each of your genes can create up to 30,000 proteins. Depending on what you do, each of them can create a different outcome. For example, just because you are genetically predisposed to develop cancer, heart disease or diabetes, does not mean you automatically will. You have something to say about that! THAT'S REALLY GOOD NEWS!
The Lord created us and knowing that how we think and perceive situations, as well as what we do affects us either positively or negatively. He also gave us the power to choose. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19 Msg) God declared it first – science is FINALLY catching up.
There’s more good news! Even though we may consider our bodies to be permanent, continuously aging structures, most of our tissues, are continually being renewed provided we supply them with the raw materials to do so. God created these amazing bodies to have a balance between the constant death of old cells and the constant birth of new cells. Research suggests the average age of the cells in an adult human may be as low as seven to ten years, depending on the particular tissue. Think about that for a moment: the average time for the turnover of the atoms in your body could be around seven years. If you monitor your thoughts and attitudes and cultivate healthy habits, you could essentially have a new, healthier body every seven years! It could give you a new way to consider 2 Corinthians 4:16.
3-D Living Program
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So, although stress of any kind can damage your body, even down to the genetic level, you have the ability to directly influence the way you age, based on your mental outlook and the habits you choose to cultivate. So here are six suggestions you can put in practice right now:
MANAGE STRESS: “Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (Philippians 4:6, 7 Message)
Pray, meditate, spend time in praise and worship, practice deep breathing, go for a walk, exercise, laugh. (“As long as you can laugh at yourself you will never cease to be amused." Anonymous) Find the methods that work best for you and practice them daily!
MONITOR YOUR THOUGHTS: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)
We all have a conversation that plays non-stop in our minds – our self-talk. Much of the time we are not even consciously aware of it. I suggest you purposely pay attention to those thoughts. Many times they are negative – and those negative thoughts create stress-producing chemical reactions. The Word calls it renewing your mind (Ro. 12:2). Part of the 3-D Living Program addresses ways to do this. Challenge any thought that contradicts the Word of God and replace it with the truth.
CLEAN UP YOUR DIET: In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 13 God lists the animals that are clean and fit for us to eat and in Genesis 1:29 He gives us the plants we are to use as our food .
A junk food, processed food, sugar-laden diet is extremely stressful to your body. Replacing sugary, chemically processed “food” (I am using the term loosely here!) with fresh, whole, nutrient-dense, real food will nourish you down to the cellular level providing the building blocks of vibrant (3-D!) health. You will naturally detoxify, which reduces stress as well.
GET ADEQUATE SLEEP AND REST: “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” (Psalm 127:2)
Sleep deprivation causes great stress physically and emotionally. We will get into more detail about this in an upcoming newsletter, but if you are experiencing sleep problems, there are definitely things that can help. The Rest/Reboot key of the 3-D Living Program explains the impact to your spirit, soul and body and provides suggestions to improve this area.
STAY WELL HYDRATED: When you are dehydrated (which most people unknowingly are), it puts great stress on your body. Be sure to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of clean water daily.
CULTIVATE A GRATEFUL ATTITUDE: “At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5:10 Amp.)
There are spiritual attitudes that are extremely stress-relieving and healing to our physical bodies. Among them are gratitude, forgiveness, love and joy. They are fuel for the spirit and soul.
As always, until next week, I wish you abundant, overflowing health, peace and joy and I call you BLESSED (empowered to prosper and succeed!).
Ann
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