Too much gnawing, you increase your level of inflammation and weaken your body. Researchers at Ohio University have found that ruminating too much on stressful events results in an increase in protein C, a marker of inflammation. 34 healthy women were recruited for the purposes of the experiment.
Each woman had to sell her skills in a mock job interview. After the interview, half of the candidates were asked to reflect on their individual performance during the interview while the other half thought of neutral if not more enjoyable activities such as boating or shopping.
The blood samples taken from the two groups showed a significantly higher level of protein C on the part of the women who had replayed the film of their recruitment interview.
Reduce stress to protect yourself from certain diseases
Protein C is sent by the liver as the immune system’s first response. This protein increases in response to trauma, injury or infection in the body.
The level of this protein is usually measured to determine if a patient has an infection or if they are at risk of developing certain diseases later on, such as cancer, autoimmune diseasesor degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. This new study tends to show that stress is a poison for the body. Fight against stress could protect the immune system.
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