5 Ways to Eliminate Stress and Support Immunity

Best-selling author and visionary microbiologist Dr. Bruce Lipton once said that if he could choose one main cause of all disease, it would be stress. (1) This is a bold statement, but it is also really good news. Why would we say that? Because stress is absolutely something that each one of us can learn how to manage and even lessen in our lives, no matter what is happening around us. All it takes is a few simple tools, such as beta glucans, to see the difference of lower stress in your health and in your life!

What is Stress and When Is It Bad for Your Health?

Technically, “stress” is defined as anything that puts physical, mental, or emotional “pressure” on the body. Stress responses kick in the production of stress-related hormones (namely cortisol and adrenaline) as well as stress-related mechanisms that move energy away from maintaining and repairing the internal organs and systems, such as immunity and digestion, and into the large muscle groups and the limbs (so we can run from that tiger). The immediate result of this “fight or flight response” can also be seen in changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.

Your body is actually built to handle a certain amount of stress. In fact, a little bit of short-term stress is GOOD thing according to experts because it can help build resiliency and adaptability.

Daniela Kaufer, author of a UC Berkeley study on the good side of stress, states that “(s)ome amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance.” (2)

Chronic stress, on the other hand, is mental, emotional, or physical pressure that continues over the long term. This is the kind of stress that Dr. Lipton refers to which can be a serious risk factor for disease. Indeed, many studies indicate that chronic stress can lead directly to high levels of systemic inflammation in the body, which is a foundational element for most major disease.

Remember, when you are in chronic stress, your body thinks that it is constantly being chased by that tiger and its main priority will be to RUN, FIGHT, or FREEZE (i.e., to survive attack). This is so even if what is really going on is that you are stressed about a project at work or you just had a fight with your spouse. In an effort to create homeostasis in the face of ongoing high cortisol production over time, the body will actually create more “cellular receptor sites” for cortisol over other hormones, such as serotonin. (3) Thus, a vicious cycle of stress is created that lowers the immune system and leaves you increasingly vulnerable to infection, cancer and other major diseases and conditions.

The Solution: Kick the Stress Tiger to the Curb with Healing Hormones!

The opposite of fight or flight is called the “relaxation response.” This is when nervous system function and heart rate return to normal and healing hormones responsible for proper functioning and repairing of all systems in the body kick into high gear. (4)

In fact, when the body is in the Relaxation Response:

• “Healing hormones” such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin are released
• Cortisol and adrenaline levels stabilize
• Inflammation goes down (5)
• Immune system mechanisms improve (including an increase in Natural Killer cells) (6)
• Detoxification improves
• Metabolism stabilizes (including insulin production rebalancing)
• Brain health and mood improve
• Sleep improves
• Digestion improves (7)
• Cancer risk goes down
• Longevity increases (8)

Some research also suggests that staying in a prolonged “relaxation response” state can even lead to positive changes at the genetic level. (9)

5 Tools and Techniques for Your Stress-Busting Toolbox

The relaxation response, not the fight or flight response, is where YOU want to be most of the time for optimum health! Here are five easy strategies to help you get there:

1. Deep Breathing

Breathing is the most fundamental act we humans (and most of the animal kingdom) do to stay alive. But did you know that your respiration rate can also be an indicator of how stressed you are?

When we are in “fight or flight,” our breath becomes shallow, and we breathe from our upper chest not from our diaphragm or our belly. Shallow or scattered breathing inevitably leads to a lack of oxygen in the brain, which can, unfortunately, make us feel even more anxious.

There is a way to turn this all around, however, by using the breath itself as a tool for calming the nervous system. There are several breathing techniques that have been found to help lower stress responses and bring a person out of fight or flight. One of the most noticeably effective is called “deep breathing.” This type of breathing can also be called diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, or belly breathing.

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle located at the bottom of your lung cavity. According to research, deliberately breathing in and out of the diaphragm can improve Heart Rate Variability (HRV), massage the vagus nerves, lower blood pressure, and significantly encourage relaxation, according to a 2017 study sponsored in part by Harvard Medical School. (10)

Belly breathing has been shown to also help with “full oxygen exchange.” This is the healthy exchange of carbon dioxide (outgoing) to oxygen (incoming). Full exchange can significantly help with cognition and focus as well as help to reduce anxiety in both children and adults. (11)

Why not give it a try yourself? As you breathe in, feel the air move through your nose and fill your lungs fully. Allow your belly to rise. As you exhale, do so slowly and deliberately. Make your exhale longer than your inhale so you can signal to your entire body that you are no longer in crisis.

2. Moving the Body

Similar to breathing, moving the body is essential for keeping hormones balanced and the body healthy on all levels. This may seem like a no-brainer. However, according to experts, there is an epidemic of “sedentary-ness” in our modern culture that is seriously affecting health on all levels.

The anecdote is to move the body!

In research studies, aerobic exercise has been shown to help the body use oxygen more efficiently and also increase blood flow. This can have a significantly positive effect on the brain, the digestion and all systems in the body. Exercise also releases endorphins, “feel good” hormones responsible for mood elevation and pain relief.

Even a little bit of exercise, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking, has also shown to have a positive effect. A 2013 meta-analysis conducted at the University of Texas found that moderate exercise can help to balance the HPA axis and regulate “hippocampal neurogenesis” (a mechanism related to neuroplasticity). (12) Those who move their bodies on a regular basis also tend to have better quality sleep, according to a 2017 UCLA meta-analysis. (13)

3. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

EFT stands for “Emotional Freedom Techniques” (also known as “tapping”). It is a very effective form of energy medicine that is loosely based on the Chinese Meridian System. EFT has been scientifically proven to lower cortisol levels and rebalance mood.

It involves lightly “tapping” on specific points along the upper body while using verbalization. First, the person describes the challenging feelings and/or situation and then they switch to speaking affirmations designed to turn negative emotions around. Simply doing the kinesthetic movements while “thinking” about the verbalized cues can be effective as well in a pinch.

Incredibly, EFT has over thirty years of evidence-based research behind it to prove that it works to calm the nervous system. It has also been shown to help in healing the foundational traumas and “triggers” connected to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and general anxiety disorders.

In studies conducted at the Foundation for Epigenetic Studies in Santa Rosa, California, military veterans with PTSD were led through six sessions of EFT practice. After just the third session, sixty percent of them no longer qualified as having PTSD. What’s more, a whopping 80% of those who completed all six sessions no longer met the PTSD clinical criteria for PTSD 6 months later. (14)

4. Eating a Whole Foods Diet

“…a person's stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression,” stated a report put out by Harvard Medical School in 2021. (15)

Indeed, diet plays a huge role in brain health, in immune system health, and in living a vibrant, balanced life in general. It can also be a huge factor in the state of your emotions, your mental health, and your hormonal balance as well.

Studies reveal that those who primarily eat a whole foods diet have more diversity in their gut microbiome. This means that they have a balanced ratio of different species of bacteria, both beneficial and opportunistic. A diverse microbiome translates into better brain and nervous system function via the “gut brain connection.”

One specific example of the “gut-brain connection” has to do with the endotoxin Lipopolysaccharide, or LPS. LPS is a gram-negative bacterium that has been linked to HPA axis imbalance, anxiety, and fibromyalgia. LPS overgrowth can occur from the overconsumption of certain foods, such as gluten and sugar. (16)

Eating whole foods means staying away from processed, prepackaged items, trans fats, and too much sugar and simple carbs (like breads and pasta). It also means “eating the rainbow” of healthy, organic vegetables, including green leafies such as spinach and colorful, antioxidant rich items like beets, peppers, and blueberries.

The name of the game when it comes to gut-brain health is diversity and eating enough fiber can really help with that. Many fibrous vegetables and some fruits contain “prebiotics,” which help fuel the good bacteria in your gut.

In a presentation put together for the Food Forum and the American Society for Nutrition in 2021, Dr. Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco shared meta-analysis research examining population-based studies and nutrition. The studies that she examined clearly indicated that “dietary patterns emphasizing whole foods were associated with lower depression, anxiety and stress, whereas a typical Western dietary pattern was associated with a higher risk of poor mental health.” (17)

5. Beta Glucans

Then there is the multitude of natural substances out there that have shown to help directly with lowering stress. Amidst all the information and the claims related to this stress-busting supplement or that, it can be hard to know what product can really help (and what is just hype).

One substance that has stood the test of time is beta glucans. No other substance has as much evidence-based research to prove its direct connection to lowering stress responses and a whole lot more.

Beta glucans are polysaccharide substances that naturally occur along the cell walls of grains and other kinds of whole foods such as yeasts and fungi. What is remarkable about beta glucans is that they have the ability to go directly to the immune system through the gut (via small openings in the intestinal linings called Peyer’s Patches).

Because of their ability to enter into the blood stream and then effect the immune system, beta glucans have long been known for their immunity-boosting properties. New research, however, has also found that beta glucans can also help to calm stress responses and balance stress-related hormones.

The mechanisms through which beta glucans work relies on their ability to play a role in “stress-related immunosuppression.” Several studies thus far have confirmed “antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-allergic, anti-osteoporotic, and immunomodulating activities” of beta glucans. (18)  Now recent research is beginning to discover how glucans affect stress responses directly. A 2021 study conducted at the University of Louisville in Kentucky analyzed four different kinds of beta glucans for their ability to affect stress responses via the immune system. In a mouse model, researchers discovered that glucans blocked precursor chemicals for cortisol at the time that the stress occurred. According to the researchers, “glucans might work via inhibition of corticosterone levels and/or stimulation of cytokine production” in effecting stress responses. (19)

You CAN Lower Stress NOW!

By now, it is probably pretty obvious just how many tools are at your disposal for lowering stress and keeping it at bay, including using key supplements that can help the immune system regulate cortisol production, such as beta glucans.

With stress hormones balanced and under control, you can step out of the “fight or flight response” and maintain clear, calm focus no matter what life throws at you. In today’s world, this ability is more important than ever!