Stress: Vitamin C abolished secretion of cortisol in animals that had been subjected to repeated stress.

This is not necessarily related to the vegan diet, but since I have been fat for so long and then lost 60 lbs. and then gained back 20 lbs (some of it is muscle, so I think I think 17 lbs. of fat loss would be great for me) I'm keen on sharing what I find that will help lower cortisol levels.

I'm doing similar things to what I did before to lose the fat, but it's not working nearly as well as it did before, in my opinion. Among other things, such as the body's homeostasis, I think the big difference is stress. Think about being in love, deeply infatuated love. I was high for nearly two years and felt zero stress. Nothing. This was when the worst economic problems hit the fan and I lost $8,000 a year from a client who went in the dumper business wise. Yet, it didn't phase me and I was always up and happy. I also got more business to replace it, not as great, but pretty good. It made me realize that if your mind is happy, your body responds, and your life manifests as if God Himself is handing over a silver platter of your needs just as you need it. Trust in the Universe is a huge stress relief, I think.

I'm having difficulty being in a climate (I long for the tropics in my bones) and I'm experiencing personal, work, and faith issues that are stressful to say the least.

Copy and paste job:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200210/vitamin-c-0

People who have high levels of vitamin C do not show the expected mental and physical signs of stress when subjected to acute psychological challenges. What's more, they bounce back from stressful situations faster than people with low levels of vitamin C in their blood.

In one study German researchers subjected 120 people to a sure-fire stressor -- a public speaking task combined with mental math problems. Half of those studied were given 1,000 mg of vitamin C.

Such signs of stress as elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol and high blood pressure were significantly greater in those who did not get the vitamin supplement. Those who got vitamin C reported that they felt less stressed when they got the vitamin.

The researchers believe that vitamin C should be considered an essential part of stress management.

Earlier studies showed that vitamin C abolished secretion of cortisol in animals that had been subjected to repeated stress. Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Once it gets into the bloodstream, it is responsible for relaying the news of stress to all parts of the body and mind.

Cortisol is the hormone, for example, that triggers the fight or flight response to stress that allows us to spring into action when we sense danger. But like many emergency-alert systems, the stress response comes at a considerable cost.

Among other effects, frequent exposure to high levels of stress hormones exhausts the body's physical resources, impairs learning and memory, and makes people susceptible to depression.

In the animal studies, vitamin C fed to rats undergoing stress prevented the expected increase in cortisol levels. In addition, it prevented the animals from exhibiting the known signs of physical and emotional stress, including loss of body weight.