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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Not only that, it can also lead to type 2 diabetes. Health researchers have discovered a gene that makes you crave certain types of food when you are under severe stress.
Common causes of stress include:
· Overwork
· Death of a loved one
· Financial difficulties Though you may not realize, high and frequent levels of stress and anxiety can lead to increased weight gain.
· Moving house
· Birth of a child
· Insomnia
· Marriage or divorce
· Unemployment
Types of Stress
Stress may be chronic or acute. Here’s the difference between the two types.
Acute stress: This type of stress is short-lived and if it does not reach too high a level , it can actually be productive. This is the stress that creates motivation and can help you finish your work before your deadline.
Chronic stress: This type of stress last over a period of time and develops as a result of an unresolved situation. Chronic stress can cause a number of serious health problems like heart disease and digestive disorders.
Stress and Food Cravings
When you reaching for the cookies or the ice cream when you’re feeling strung out, it’s because of a ‘comfort eating gene’ or the Ucn3 protein. This chemical is produced in the brain and has a major effect on many of your organs including the muscles, pancreas, liver and the heart.
Ucn3 protein not only increases the appetite, it can also affect how full we feel and the way our bodies use insulin—the chemical that converts sugar to energy. In laboratory studies, animals that produced higher levels of Ucn3 than normal began to show initial signs of diabetes. The production of this protein also triggers a taste for sweet and fatty foods.
During extended period of high stress, Ucn3 production goes into overdrive and you consume greater quantities of sugar, which your body doesn’t actually need. Over time, this can lead to serious metabolic disorders. The development of drugs that target the Ucn3 gene could help suppress the appetite, control weight gain and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Combatting Stress
Relieving stress in a healthy manner is vital for your health. One unique activity which has recently been discovered to reduce stress and which can be done by people of all ages is coloring. That’s right, it’s not just for kids and these days you don’t even need a coloring book and pencils. All you need is the Coloring Book for Me & Mandala designed by Apalon Apps for Android. This great app will provide endless hours of relaxation while you color on your mobile device wherever you are. Its features include: hundreds of animal, food, flower, mandala, and locations designs drawn in exquisite detail, more than 25 different color palates, numerous brush strokes to choose from, post-editing effects, and easy ways to share your artwork with family and friends.
Lose yourself in meditative coloring to relieve your stress today. It could save your life.
Charlie Harper works as a therapist and in his articles he writes about living a happy, stress-free life as much as one possibly can. He likes to prescribe art and music to his patients.
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