allostatic load

The allostatic load is “the wear and tear on the body” which grows over time when the individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress.[1] It represents the physiological consequences of chronic exposure to fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine response that results from repeated or chronic stress.[2] The term was coined by McEwen and Stellar in 1993.[3]

It is used to explain how frequent activation of the body’s stress response, essential for managing acute threats, can in fact damage the body in the long run. Allostatic load is generally measured through a composite index of indicators of cumulative strain on several organs and tissues, but especially on the cardiovascular system.

phytoestrogens

November 15, 2010

Kenneth Setchell

The importance of estrogens in homeostatic regulation of many cellular and biochemical events is well illustrated by the pathophysiologic changes that occur with estrogen deficiency. Many of the major diseases of Western populations are hormone dependent and epidemiologic data have shown a strong association between their incidence and diet. In particular, the importance of a plant-based diet is evident from the current dietary recommendations that emphasize an increase in the proportion and amount of fruit and vegetables that should be consumed. Although interpretation of the role of individual components of the diet is difficult from epidemiologic and dietary studies, it is recognized that there are many plant-derived bioactive nonnutrients that can confer significant health benefits. Among these phytochemicals is the broad class of nonsteroidal estrogens called phytoestrogens, and in the past decade there has been considerable interest in the role of isoflavones because of their relatively high concentrations in soy protein. The isoflavones in modest amounts of ingested soy protein are biotransformed by intestinal microflora, are absorbed, undergo enterohepatic recycling, and reach circulating concentrations
that exceed by several orders of magnitude the amounts of endogenous estrogens. These phytoestrogens and their
metabolites have many potent hormonal and nonhormonal activities that may explain some of the biological effects of diets rich in phytoestrogens