What Supplements Can Help Support Stress Management

Are you feeling more stress lately? Maybe because we’re hearing more and more about how stressful our lives are today? Or maybe we are taking on more than we can really handle because we’re trying not to miss out on anything. Perhaps it’s a combination of all of this.

And can you completely remove stress from your life? The answer to that question is no. Stress, in different forms, is part of our daily life. There are different kinds of stress – some good and some bad. We need to understand the basics of stress to help us determine how we can select the right supplements to help us support the management of our stress.

Short term or occasional stress can actually boost the immune system and also forces us to adapt. Fight OR Flight OR FREEZE reaction.  Starting a new job, attending a big event, seeing a bear coming toward you, etc. are examples of short-term stress. We can adapt and respond to these relatively quickly and easily, and then that stress is gone and we can then be back into relaxation mode. With short term stress you may not feel the need for supplementation to help but it’s always good to consider how well you can relax because something simple, like L-Theanine, might allow you to relax a little quicker.

Now, when occasional stress exceeds our ability to cope, that is considered negative stress or “distress”. Several studies have shown that this “dis-stress” can affect the body’s ability to initiate an efficient immune reaction (thus your immune system isn’t as strong as it would be without the stress) and can also affect our digestive system and our nervous system. This may be when supplementation could provide you with some relaxation.

Chronic long-term stress (distress) is stress that doesn’t ever have a break to allow your body to activate your relaxation response. And chronic stress can come from many sources including environmental, relationship, work, or emotions. You may not be able to remove the “stressor” so it’s important to be able to allow your body to activate your relaxation response on a regular basis even when the source of your stress may still be present.

How do you know what to look for in supplements that can provide assistance in managing your occasional stress to help you get through your day? There are so many options today this can be a confusing and daunting task – causing you even MORE stress. That’s certain what you want to avoid. So let’s look a just a couple of things you might want to consider.

Remember to always check with your Health Care Provider before adding or changing your current supplement regimen.

Let’s consider L-Theanine first. As mentioned above, L-Theanine is an amino acid and a compound often associated with green tea and relaxation. There are several different l-theanine varieties available but the researched and patented Suntheanine® is considered to be one of the best to promote relaxation and mental calmness.*

Country Life® Vitamins has two great options providing Suntheanine®, in capsule form or fast acting chewable tablets.

Either option will allow you to give l-theanine a try and see how it works for you.

Next let’s talk about magnesium. Magnesium is important for over 300 chemical reactions in the body, one of them being to promote muscle relaxation. Quite often under stress our muscles tense up and magnesium can support their relaxation.*  But have you ever looked at all the options you have for magnesium? That can be overwhelming! So how do you select the right magnesium for you?

Have you tried magnesium supplements before and found that you might get kind of a laxative effect? Or maybe you’ve not “felt” any effects from taking magnesium. You see minerals are utilized when bound to a chelate, or carrier. And there are many different chelates used with minerals – amino acids like taurine or lysine are common as is citric acid. So, magnesium citrate would be magnesium with citric acid as the carrier. This absorbs well in the blood but in some people can sometimes cause loose stools. On the other hand, magnesium glycinate (or bisglycinate) is magnesium with glycine as its chelate.

Country Life® Vitamins has a great selection of magnesium supplements that can meet your needs.

If you are looking for a great way to add some additional magnesium into your supplement routine, look no further than Country Life® Vitamins to help you #PowerYourGreatness!

SUNTHEANINE is a trademark of Taiyo International, Inc

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure  or prevent any disease.