ack of a suffiecient diet can cause chemical stress. Chemical stress can also come from pesticides, insecticides, polluted air and water, heavy metals such as mercury or lead, asbestos and artificial food additives. Stress in general causes the immune system to weaken to a great extent. There are many health problems related to diminished immune systems including allergies and susceptibility to different diseases such as fungus and yeast infections. With the premature degeneration the stress will cause an acceleration in the aging and the break down of tissues. This kind of explains the myth that stress makes you grow gray hair. Other Physical problems such as cellular damage are caused by highly unstable molecules called free radicals. Because of the highly unstable nature of the "free radicals", they can be extremely toxic and are a primary result of stress that undermine the immune system and threaten health. Interestingly enough, the body's immune system actually produces these highly toxic free radicals in small amounts because they are essential for the immune system to remove a virus or bacteria. It is only when high concentration of free radicals are present, or when the level of free radicals overwhelm the body's ability to remove them, does a threat actually occur to our health. Maintaining the balance between free radical activity and antioxidant enzyme supply is one of the important functions of the body. It is in the cell where free radicals are created and do the most damage. In the case of the immune system, this random circulation of the free radicals (molecules with an unpaired electron which is seeking to bind with any and everything) cause communication break down between the immune system cells and the body, weakening or wiping out some of their signals. Simply put excess amounts of the free radicals create chemical reactions at the wrong place at the wrong time causing havoc with the cellular environment. In doin...
