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An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

Maintaining optimal function of all your body's systems

This old adage is an important one to embrace as you undertake any health and training regimen. Once we are sick or injured, more effort is required to regain balance and wellness. If you are genuinely interested in your health you will want to maintain optimal function of all your body's systems.

This translates into taking an active role in monitoring your body right down to the level of your organ function and addressing problems at the onset. Once we actually have an established disease it is much harder to reverse than it would have been to prevent.

When one or more of the systems gets disrupted, the body will attempt to correct the imbalance with whatever chemical or mechanical means it is able use. If the disruption is significant or prolonged, the system can no longer function optimally, and we may experience symptoms related to that particular system or any other organ it affects downstream.

For example, when we are under stress of any kind, our adrenal glands are asked to increase cortisol production until the brain detects a sufficient level and turns down the stimulus to produce cortisol. If the stress is prolonged, this feedback loop becomes disrupted and the cortisol levels stay elevated. The sites on the cells that bind to cortisol become less sensitive when there is so much cortisol so now it takes even more cortisol to maintain normal cell function. At this stage we say we have a functional problem with our adrenal glands.

The primary symptom at this stage of fatigue is actually being wired and tired. These symptoms can be easily explained away or masked with stimulants and/or relaxants and often no medical help is sought.

With elevated cortisol levels the body has a hard time activating thyroid hormone. When we don't have enough active thyroid hormone and our metabolism slows down, we may gain weight, become constipated or be chilly frequently and now we may be compelled to seek medical help. Another example for women is when the cortisol interferes with the progesterone and estrogen receptors and symptoms of PMS begin. These women will present with symptoms of a system that is downstream from the original dysfunctional organ in the form of water retention, irritability, cravings, etc.

If no intervention is made, the adrenal glands will exhaust themselves until they are no longer able to make enough cortisol and the gland will atrophy. At this state the gland is said to have a lesional pathology and the treatment is more complicated.

The best approach to reach our highest health potential is to strive for optimal function in all systems by preventing disturbances at any level. Exercise and diet play significant roles to achieve these goals. To ensure that the body is functioning optimally we can perform various laboratory tests to monitor any changes or signs of stress.