I was recently looking around the CNN.com web site and read an article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta about dealing with economic stress and the effect it has on your body.  Dr. Gupta was right on the money (no pun intended) when, in his article, he mentions that stress has a huge impact on your body.  He goes on to say how stress can cause not only headaches, but also an impaired immune system and even digestive complaints.

I fully agree with that, especially about the digestive system being affected by stress.  And when the digestive system is compromised it affects the body as a whole and can lead to many other complaints around the body. Take myself as an example — when I get stressed, I tend to get constipated.  When this happens, I find myself more susceptible to getting colds or the flu or just headaches and fatigue, not to mention that my skin tends to break out.

Dr. Gupta gives some stress busting tips like laugh more, meditate and plan a budget. What he does not mention is how very important it is, especially during these times of economic stress, to take extra prevention with your health, particularly the digestive system.

A strong digestive system is your foundation to health. That means not only try to make better food choices, but if you can afford, take a few supplements as well.  The best supplements to help keep your digestive system strong and functioning properly during stress are fiber, at 35 grams per day, digestive enzymes with every meal, 2 grams of omega-3 oils daily, and at least a 50 billion culture count of probiotics daily. See, there’s HOPE for us all! Just adding these simple items can help protect your body from the debilitating effects of these stressful times.