Of the ten leading causes of death in this country today, eight are in some way related to stress. Such an alarming statistic is apt to contribute to more stress. But with the BHMD you can do something about it.
The BHMD cannot make your life totally stress-free. There are other factors in your life, environmental, per¬sonal, etc., which do not touch upon the question of weight loss and diet. Two elements of stress, however, the BHMD can take out of your life. These two are associated with many of the diseases that cut down the life span. They are also responsible for overweight, as well as the "roller coaster" effect of other diets.
First there is the stress caused by the lowered self- esteem and self-confidence due to being overweight. This type of stress works on the psychological level. It keeps the dieter confined to a vicious circle. The poor self- image many overweight persons have keeps them from losing weight because of "nervous eating."
A second and very important cause of stress has to do directly with nutrition. We know that fighting your spouse is stress. Getting mad because you are stuck in
traffic is stress. Working harder than you are able to is stress. But you may not realize that eating a candy bar or Big Mac is stress.
I define stress as the non-specific response of the body, mind or emotions to any demand made upon them.
In terms of nutrition the response primarily involves the body. But we should not underestimate the emotional component. We already saw how through lowered self- esteem a person anxious to lose weight defeats his goal through "nervous eating."
Any time you ask your body to respond to something, whether it be physical or emotional, you are stressing your body. Let's see what I mean by looking at the Big Mac you just consumed.
Your unwise choice for lunch has caused stress on two levels:
1) With your burger came the sting of conscience for eating something fattening. The Big Mac cre¬ated guilt feelings. That's emotional stress.
2) By demolishing the hefty burger you pitted your body against an invasion of 1,510 mgs. of sodium, or four times your daily requirement. Counting the salt in the pickle, mustard and ketchup, you consumed with the Big Mac a total of 2,091 mgs. salt, or seven times what you need for the day.
This intake of salt puts tremendous stress on your chemical and cellular levels. Salt, like sugar, fats and additives chemically harm the body. It puts an extra strain on your heart. It is liable to cause hypertension. Salt can affect your kidneys and blood pressure in a very unpleasant way. Salt is a stressor, and any kind of stress crimps your determination to stay on the diet and lose weight fast.
