3 Ways Stressful Events Are Slowly Killing You

by Dr. Donna Schwontkowski

  1. Decreases Secretory IgA

Stress can decrease secretory IgA levels. Secretory IgA is an immunoglobulin found in mucus secretions of the mouth, digestive system, lungs and urinary tract. It’s one of your first lines of defense against pathogens trying to create infections.

Researchers have found that one 5-minute anger outburst can cause a negative impact on secretory IgA levels for up to five hours!

  1. Affects Your Gut Microflora

Stress can also impact your microflora. Fear or anger has been found to create negative changes in the balance of the flora in the intestinal tract.

The effect of emotions is greater than diet changes on the flora. In one study, these two negative emotions cause the sensitive Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to die off while E. coli and Enterobacteria – the ones that can cause disease – rose.

The longer you’re in a state of fear or anger, the more you’re assisting the bad bacteria in your gut to replicate.

Stress induced from anger and fear can make us more susceptible to disease in three different ways – and researchers may find many additional ways in the future.

We have no choice but to deal with our anger and fears, keeping them to a minimum.

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