Page 65 - FoodFocusThailand No.241 May 2026

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STRATEGIC R & DTEGIC R & D

MAGNESIUM: UNLOCKING

THE BODY’S STRESS RESPONSE

If you frequently experience fatigue, irritability, poor sleep quality, or unexplained anxiety, these symptoms
may reflect the coexistence of two conditions occurring simultaneously without your awareness: chronic
stress and magnesium deficiency. Both conditions present with remarkably similar symptoms, and more
importantly, each can act as a contributing factor to the other.

Stress Mechanisms from a Scientific Perspective In the short term, this is an adaptive and necessary
and their Accumulation in the Body response. The problem begins when the system fails
Stress is more than an uncomfortable feeling, emotional burden, to disengage. Under chronic stress, cortisol remains
or sense of psychological distress. Scientifically, it is understood persistently elevated, leading to hippocampal shrinkage,
as a state of biological dysregulation that arises when the systemic low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance, and
demands placed upon an individual exceed their perceived a progressive loss of the brain’s capacity to regulate and
capacity to cope. When the brain detects a threat —whether suppress anxiety.
physical, social, or psychological —two major response systems
activate in near-simultaneous sequence. Psychology of Stress:
1. The first is the Sympathetic-Adrenal-Medullary (SAM) From Thought to Physiological Response
axis, the fast lane of the stress response. Within seconds, The brain does not merely respond to stress; it actively
the brain signals the adrenal glands to release adrenaline constructs the experience of stress. The concept of
and noradrenaline, causing heart rate acceleration, elevated cognitive appraisal, central to the foundational work of
blood pressure, and increased blood flow to muscles. This Lazarus and Folkman in stress psychology, describes how
coordinated physiological response prepares the body for the individuals continuously evaluate two key questions: Is this
classic ‘fight-or-flight’ state. a threat? and Do I have the resources to handle it? When
2. The second system is the Hypothalamic-Pituitary- perceived threat exceeds perceived coping capacity,
Adrenal (HPA) axis, slower in activation but far more stress is generated even in the absence of genuine
consequential during prolonged stress exposure. The danger. This explains why rumination, catastrophizing,
hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and anticipatory anxiety carry such a high physiological
stimulating the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic cost. The brain treats an imagined future threats as though
hormone (ACTH), which subsequently signals the adrenal it were real, activating the HPA axis and triggering the
cortex to produce cortisol, the body’s primary long-acting release of cortisol accordingly.
stress hormone.
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