We live in a world where we do everything fast, with little time to ourselves and that leads to us being more stressed, therefore, we have high levels of cortisol in our body, which affects our immune system and weakens it. Due to this, sometimes, infections that had already disappeared from our body can appear again, this is called recurrence. And this is what we are going to talk about in this article, knowing the relationship that stress and recurrences and the immune system.
What is cortisol and how does it relate to stress?
When we find ourselves in a stressful situation, it generates in us a reaction in the immune system that stimulates the production of cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone produced by the adrenal gland, which appears in high-stress situations. This becomes a problem when stressors are repeated or last too long, leading to cortisol causing inflammatory effects and weakening the immune system. As a consequence, the defenses go down and the production of lymphocytes is reduced, therefore our body becomes more susceptible to infections.
Stress-Immune System-Recurrence Relationship
When our body weakens and therefore our defenses decrease, it is much easier for new infections to appear or some that we have already suffered, can reappear again. If the second happens, we will be talking about recurrences, which, as we have said before, consists of the reappearance of the symptoms of a disease after its disappearance. Once we have had an infection, it is possible that germs accumulate and adhere to different surfaces, being resistant and harming our body. That is, when the germs remain on the walls of our body, a biofilm is created , which remains there for the next time our immune system weakens and the infection can be reactivated again.
Examples of recurrences
The most common genital recurrences that we can find are cystitis, herpes and candida.
- Cystitis: is the most common infection of the urinary system and the body in general. The symptoms that are usually present are micturition pain or itching, greatly increased micturition frequency, a feeling of wanting to go to the toilet constantly, and bloody urine.
- Vaginal yeast infection: a yeast infection that causes irritation, discharge, and intense itching of the vagina and vulva, the tissues at the vaginal opening.
- Genital herpes: a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Once the virus is spread in the initial infection, it can lie dormant in the body and reactivate several times a year.
Components necessary to avoid recurrences
A poor diet can make us feel weaker, since our body won’t be receiving the necessary nutrients to be at 100%, and therefore our immune system does not perform its functions properly. The components necessary to keep the immune system in shape are the following:
- Magnesium: this mineral helps regulate cortisol levels, lowering them.
- Omega3 fatty acids: reduces stress and improves memory. Our body cannot synthesize these acids by itself, it obtains them from food, such as egg yolk, dairy products and marine products.
- Vitamin D: helps in the synthesis of neurotransmitters related to the feeling of well-being such as dopamine and serotonin.
- B vitamins: strengthens the immune system and defenses of our body.
- Selenium: has a neuromodulatory effect on brain function. It can only be found with foods such as Brazil nuts, red meat or fish.
- Zinc: helps improve the immune system and provides an antioxidant effect.
Vitae solution
We want to present you two key products for recurrences and the immune system. One of them is ImmunoVita that thanks to its formula, increases the defenses and enhances and strengthen the immune system. Its formula contains yeast beta-glucans , which increase defenses naturally.
There is also UrinVita , a food supplement that, thanks to its content of proanthocyanidins and procyanidins , contributes to the well-being of the urinary system based on extracts of pomegranate, grapes, cranberry and rosemary.
