phoenixnutritionals.com (CLICK HERE) Recently Oprah Winfrey has stated that at her age, she has become more and more aware of the health issues of older women. In one of several shows dedicated to women’s health issues, Oprah Winfrey hosted the author of the insightful book The Wisdom of Menopause by Dr. Christine Northrop. Dr. Northrop encourages women to learn to enjoy life again by doing at least 5 things that they enjoy doing. She makes the valid point that stress, to excess, can make us sick. Excess stress can alter both the immune system and the body’s inflammatory system. As stress mounts, people find themselves with chronic fatigue, memory problems, and increased incidence of colds, flu and other contagious conditions as a result of a depressed immune system. While Dr Christine Northrop places emphasis on the mind connection, which we wholeheartedly agree with, here at The Institute, we address the effects of stress, anxiety and depression on the physiology of the body. In addition to immune suppression, excess stress also increases overall inflammation in the body. Called silent inflammation, this can be the most dangerous of all inflammatory conditions because it can go unnoticed for years. Silent inflammation is at the root of such conditions as low thyroid, heart disease, candida, stress, osteoporosis, elevated cholesterol and other liver related issues, diabetes, and the complications of the menopause. Oprah Winfrey spoke highly of Dr. Northrop’s book, The …