Women who are experiencing chronic stress also have much lower levels of klotho. Klotho is an important hormone which has many various purposes in the body. It not only enhances cognition, but also regulates aging. This finding suggests a powerful link between stress and longevity. In a research study at UC San Francisco, a lot of interesting findings were revealed in the relationship between stress, depression and klotho. The research also revealed that although women who had stress certainly did have significantly less klotho, women who were experiencing formidable depressive symptoms had even lower levels of klotho than those under stress.
The study conducted is the first one to exhibit how psychological factors can actually influence this important hormone and impact stress and longevity. Although it cannot be said with factual certainty that chronic stress and extreme fatigue causes directly the lower levels of klotho, it can be stated that that is what the researchers observed. This new connection will also open the doors for future research, helping us to discover more about age-related illnesses and mental health.
Some studies have already been conducted in regards to klotho, as scientists have done experiments using worms and mice. When klotho levels in the blood are disrupted, it leads to symptoms of aging. Some of these symptoms include the loss of bone and muscle and the hardening of arteries. When the klotho levels are, on the contrary, reversed in the creatures, they tended to have longer lives.
A senior author named Dena Dubal, MD, PHD, and her team worked together to produce some new evidence in regards to klotho. She found that, basically, the more klotho the better—and some people are born with a genetic variant which results in carrying more klotho in the bloodstream. These individuals tended to live longer, have lower rates of age-related disease, a larger region of the prefrontal cortex, and better cognitive function. They also found that mice with more klotho were more resilient to Alzheimer's-related toxins and they had better cognition.
In the study there were a range of participants, including 90 individuals who were rated as high-stress and 88 who were rated as low-stress. These persons were around their 30s and 40s and in general were healthy. It is already recognized and known that klotho levels drop when a person ages, but the people in the study were still relatively young for this to happen. The women who were stressed out did exhibit a decline of klotho, but those who were not stressed did not have the same sort of decline in klotho with aging.
Chronic stress generally has been proven to lead to health issues during aging. These problems include Alzheimer's disease in addition to cardiovascular ailments. If it is true that higher levels of klotho have a positive effect on the mind and body, then measures can be taken in lifestyle or therapeutics to increase the hormone in individuals. In the end, these findings could end up having a big impact on lives.
Stress affects people of all ages. Because the destruction at the cellular level is slow, we do not see it clinically until middle age. Over the next 50 years, there is little doubt that the thesis advanced by this paper will continue to be validated. Those who are health conscious need not wait. The lessons are clear: stress is a necessary positive force of life, but excessive stress can kill. The problem is that each person’s stress handling capability varies. This is largely controlled by the adrenal glands. The stronger the adrenal glands, the more the body is able to withstand stress, whether it be physical or emotional. The simple thing to do is to protect your adrenals on a daily basis with simple nutrients such as vitamin C. Those who are already in Adrenal Fatigue from overworked adrenals will need a comprehensive recovery plan. The lesson is simple : when your adrenals are healthy, you will live longer. Therefore, one must consider stress and longevity as being connected.
Chronic stress not only affects the adrenal glands, and hormone levels, but all systems in the body. The
NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress ResponseSM approach to looking at how the body handles stress illustrates that stress affects hormone levels, mood, nutrient update, metabolism, and inflammatory response. This is all because the body is a unit, with many systems working together to ensure proper function. Klutho is just one example of how the body as a unit responds to stress. Stress levels rise, and if you look at just one aspect of the body, klotho levels fall, but at the same time, the inflammatory response is triggered, epinephrine is released, sugar levels in the blood rise, and so on. The body’s NEM stress response is a network of reactions and changes that occur. It is important to understand this to fully achieve health.
