Stress, Metabolism and Liquidating Your Assets

The main reading discusses the relationship between the body, stress and nutrition in essence. Normally, we take in nutrients in our body to aid during our day to day experiences. When stress levels rise, the body calls for more nutrients. It is at this point that the body must find alternative sources of energy to substitute that which is readily available for use. To prevent getting affected by such high stress levels, the body must be prepared for such situations. The author uses the metaphor of the money system.

When individuals have access to large amounts of energy, they store this up. This is done in a similar way as we all do. We will take the excess money to the bank, or invest it. Stored energy is not stored up in the form of energy. Instead, it is stored in other forms like fat. The conversion of energy into fats and muscles is aided by insulin. Insulin is produced in the liver and helps in the transportation and storage of the excess energy to other forms especially fat.

When stress levels rise, the amount of energy that is stored up is withdrawn from the bank and other investment forms. The withdrawal of this energy involves a series of events. First, any insulin that is floating in the system is made ineffective by producing glucocorticoids which prevent cells from being converted into fats. The body also produces other enzymes to speed up the conversion of all forms of energy into usable energy. Protein is converted to amino acids while glycogen in converted to glucose. These new forms of energy are then flushed into the circulatory system for use during the stressful situation.

There are various diseases that may arise as a result of the above system being overworked in any way. If for example stress levels keep rising and dropping, the body reacts like a fixed account and penalizes you each time you withdraw immaturely. This causes the energy to be largely minimized. The body may also wear out muscles as a result of the body constant withdrawal. The body often uses the proteins from muscles to deal with stressful situations. When this happens, the amount of muscle in the body is slightly reduced. However, lot of stress is required to cause a substantial reduction in muscle mass. Finally, stress increases the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL)and decreases the levels of good cholesterol (HDL). This is responsible to a certain degree to the development of cardiovascular disease. In fact, there is a little evidence that stress increases the chances of heart disease.

Diseases may also be developed as a consequence of stress. Juvenile diabetes or type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system views the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas as foreign invaders. Consequently, the immune system destroys them. As a result, the body becomes incapable of producing insulin and a sa result is unable to convert excess energy into glycogen. As a result, the cells are starved of energy. Body organs are unable to function in the right way. The body also gets an excess of fatty acids and glucose in the circulatory system. The circulating stuff clogs the blood vessels in the kidneys hence making the kidneys to fail. The same may also happen in the eyes and thereby cause blindness. Other blood vessels in the body may be clogged hence causing stroke and often pain. Proteins are also combined hence making them unusable. As a result, one is forced to result to using insulin to return the system back to normal. Very high levels of glucose are not good for such people. It can deprive energy from the brain hence damaging neurons and causing a coma. It also causes the individuals to feel weak. However, this area has found a lot of technological attention and success and gadgets that monitor and balance the levels of insulin in the body have been created. Stress usually affects the state of the disease. First, stress causes the formation of even more glucose into the body. This then calls for the use of even more insulin. Second, glucocorticoids are released into the body to make cells less effective to insulin. Again, this causes the amount of glucose in the blood to increase. Finally, stress has been shown to contribute to the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the cells’ irresistance to insulin. Usually, it has been noted that type 2 diabetes is largely complemented by the aspect of adding weight. The body reaches a point when it no longer accepts to store away any more fat. Consequently, any excess glucose stays in the blood system. This glucose causes similar consequences as those in patients of type 1 diabetes. However, in this case, type 2 diabetes cannot be helped by the use insulin. Their bodies are capable of producing their own insulin but their bodies reject the aspect of converting excess energy to fat.

Diabetes Policy

The government of the US can help the community in decreasing the chances diabetes along with managing current cases by adopting a policy that suggests the same. In this case, it would be more practical to adopt various aspect of this system into the policy. The government should not only try to eliminate the risk of diabetes but also help to manage the disease for those affected.

First, the government should ensure that the available food products are low in calories. This will largely reduce the amount of energy that should be stored away as fat. This will directly decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The government can regulate the number of calories in manufactured goods and put up tax levies on those products that have very high levels of calories. Moreover, the government can regulate the foods that are advertised or made available for children. This can be done both in schools and on advertisement platforms. This will largely lower the risk of adding weight which has been shown to contribute to the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The government should also ensure that there is a regular exercise program that is incorporated into the education system to encourage healthy habits. This will help children to make use of excess energy and lower the risk of diabetes. The children will also avoid unhealthy habits like lack of sleep and skipping of meals if they have sufficient exercise. Sufficient exercise has also been found to lower the levels of stress substantially.

Moreover, the government can help to lower the risk of diabetes by introducing education programs that encourage healthier habits. The government can use such education programs to inform the population about healthier habits and also to identify the point at which they will need to change their habits. If people discover that they are at risk of developing diabetes, they could engage in healthier habits and largely reduce the risk of it developing. Habits that they would need to change include regular meals, low calories in their diets and frequent exercise to make use of excess energy.  The government can use its education system to inform the population about all these and more.

The government could also help in the management of diabetics. This can be done by providing free insulin for the patients of type 1 diabetes. Patients of type 1 diabetes must constantly use insulin. Inability to get access to insulin may be fatal for patients. Consequently, the government can provide insulin to such patients and thereby alleviate the need to use their own funds. The risk of being incapable of managing the disease will be eliminated. As noted, stress levels often worsen cases of diabetes. If their insulin is taken care of by the government, the government will reduce of the worsening substantially.

The government can help patients manage their diabetes by providing insulin management devices at lower prices. This can be done by contracting manufacturers of the devices to provide the devices to the government at lower rates. The government could also relieve the manufacturers of such devices from the need to pay taxes. This way, the government will help in the management of insulin and the patients will not need to use insulin on an hour by hour basis or when they feel the need to use. Such devices will also help in the management of insulin as patients will not need to use it unless their bodies need more insulin.

The promotion of such technology will also encourage more stakeholders to join in the battle against diabetes. This will make more focus to be put into developing better technology to help manage the disease. Researchers will also put more focus on the disease hence demystifying the various aspects of the disease that have remained in the dark.

Finally, the government can put more effort in the diagnosis of the disease. The disease can be incorporated in the diagnosis of all diseases. When a patient arrives at a health center, they should be tested for diabetes along with other diseases. This will help to lower the risk of the disease advancing before it is diagnosed. If this is done, the prospects of reversing the disease will be highly advantaged. The disease will also be easier to manage if it is discovered earlier. Blindness and other symptoms will also be eliminated if the disease is diagnosed earlier.

In conclusion, the government can adopt a policy that will help to lower the prevalence of diabetes along with the fatalities that are associated with it. This can be done by adopting an educational system to educate the population about the various aspects of the disease. Secondly, the government should make diagnosis and management of diabetes free in government hospitals. The government can also make devices to manage insulin levels more easily available by making it easier for manufacturers to operate within the country.

References

Sapolsky, R. M. (2007). Why zebras dont get ulcers: Stress, metabolism, and liquidating your assets. The Praeger handbook on stress and coping, 181-198.