Thankyou Food for the Brain foodforthebrain.org/brain-bio-centre.aspx The body produces adrenalin under two circumstances. Firstly, as a response to an actual stress to enable the fight or flight response. This changes your breathing, making you gasp, to get more oxygen in; it pushes up your blood pressure to get rapid circulation, and triggers protein to be turned into glucose so you dont run out of fuel for the fight or flight. Secondly, adrenalin is produced as a response to low blood sugar levels. The brain is incredibly dependent on a permanent supply of glucose to function. So, when glucose levels in the blood are getting low it triggers an increase in adrenalin, which enables protein to be turns into glucose. The trouble is that the pace of 21st century living both gives us non-stop stress signals and the way we eat triggers blood sugar dips. When adrenalin levels rise, for either reason, a person can experience a flash of panic or anxiety. The classic symptoms of a panic attack are shortness of breath (air hunger), palpitations and a sense of impending doom. The importance of breathing According to psychiatrist Dr. Michael Platt, author of Adrenalin Dominance (plattwellness): Because of the feeling of air hunger, or shortness of breath, the person hyperventilates, expelling too much carbon dioxide. Hyperventilation can result in pain on the left side of the chest secondary to gas pain from swallowed air. It can also cause numbness and tingling around the lips and fingers as the blood becomes more alkaline from blowing off carbon dioxide. A patient suffering from a panic attack may show up at the emergency room complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath – classic symptoms of a possible heart attack. People with anxiety issues often have sighing-type respirations. They may have the sensation of a lump in their throat, referred to as globus hystericus, caused by muscle contraction in that area.” Hyperventilation changes the acid level of the blood by altering the balance of carbon dioxide. The body responds by producing more lactic acid. The solution is to breathe into a paper bag during a hyperventilation attack and concentrate on breathing deeply for a minute. This helps redress the balance. Moments of blood sugar dips can also both bring on hyperventilation and increase lactic acid. So, keep your blood sugar level even by eating little and often. A more advanced and highly effective breathing technique is Buteyko breathing. It is good for general anxiety but especially good for those who often hyperventilate and have panic attacks, which can be exacerbated by the lack of CO2 induced by over-breathing. buteykobreathing.co.nz/Buteyko-Practitioner-Glenn-White.html
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 19:08:11 +0000
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