Cortisol, stress and the waistline.

The sad reality is we have more stressors in our everyday life than ever before and our biological stress response has not yet evolved to deal with the daily assortment of long term stress of modern life. Study after study shows that stress can cause abdominal fat, even in people who are otherwise thin. Researches at Yale university found slender women with high cortisol had more belly fat than those with lower levels. Hundreds of studies link depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and long term feeling of being overwhelmed with life can cause chronically high cortisol thus wreaking havoc on the waistline.

Cortisol isn't all bad it means well in temporarily stressful periods, it can help control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism and help reduce inflammation along with adrenaline it can tap into our fat stores and provide energy. When crossing paths with a bear our hearts race, our breathing shallows, digestion slows and blood flow is pushed into our limb muscles to help us run away ...all thanks to cortisol. But under pro longed periods of intense stress such as finances, a divorce, a job you hate, chronic illness, or just having to much on your plate at a time without proper rest and recovery cortisol starts becoming the enemy it seeks out muscle proteins instead of fat for fuel and can start to create dangerously high inflammation in the body and create a hormonal mess. Our bodies cant decipher between emotional stress, physical stress, mental or environmental the stress response we need to run from a bear or the stress response it needs to heal a broken bone is all the same wether real or imagined.. your body releases the same hormone cortisol.

Prolonged stress can lead to muscle wasting and high blood sugar along with some other nasty side effects that impact your metabolism and body composition.

Cortisol depresses your metabolic rate by interfering with your thyroid hormone

Cortisol boosts your desire for fatty and salty foods.

It boosts your abdominal fat storage

Cortisol depletes your happy hormone serotonin which in turn causes carbohydrate cravings

Cortisol can cause a blood sugar imbalance , resulting in hypoglycaemia

Cortisol depletes testosterone and estrogen

Excess cortisol leads to sleep disruptions , not being able to fall asleep or waking up at 2am and not being able to fall back asleep

Cortisol and NPY both decrease a cellular sensitivity to insulin , which can result in insulin resistance , type 2 diabetes and heart disease

Weak immune system

IBS digestion shuts down in times of stress

If your struggling to lose that abdominal fat and you feel your making your best efforts and are frustrated and sick of fad dieting ... maybe its time to look at the stress in your life. There a self tests you can try at home by measuring your blood pressure or Urine and Saliva tests that test your levels at four points throughout the day and give you insight as to wether your out of balance or in full adrenal fatigue. Along with eating a balanced diets , there are herbs and supplements that help your body cope with stress and help with the reduction of abdominal fat.

References

Nutritional healing , Phyllis A Balch

Womens encycolpedia of natural medicine ,Tori Hudson ND

Books by DR. ND Turner