Extract:
Cortisol is a hormone that plays several very important roles in the human body. Many of these are health-promoting, under the right circumstances. Others can be disease-promoting, especially if cortisol levels are chronically elevated.---------------------------------------------------------
Among the disease-promoting effects of chronically elevated blood cortisol levels are that of excessive gluconeogenesis, causing high blood glucose levels even while a person is fasting. This also causes muscle wasting, as muscle tissue is used to elevate blood glucose levels.
Cortisol also seems to transfer body fat from subcutaneous to visceral areas. Presumably cortisol promotes visceral fat accumulation to facilitate the mobilization of that fat in stressful “fight-or-flight” situations. Visceral fat is much easier to mobilize than subcutaneous fat, because visceral fat deposits are located in areas where vascularization is higher, and are closer to the portal vein.
The problem is that modern humans often experience stress without the violent muscle contractions of a “fight-or-flight” response that would have normally occurred among our hominid ancestors.
and see: Amazon.com: The Cortisol Connection Diet: The Breakthrough Program to Control Stress and Lose Weight (9780897934503): Shawn Talbott Ph.D. FACSM, Heidi Skolnik: Books
Editorial Review
In his best-selling The Cortisol Connection, Dr. Shawn Talbott explained how elevated levels of the cortisol hormone, when triggered by stress, will increase appetite, enhance fat storage, disrupt blood sugar control, and eventually lead to obesity that can cause diabetes and other serious conditions. This concise follow-up puts Talbott's cortisol control, diet, and exercise ideas into an accessible format.
The Cortisol Connection Diet shows beleaguered dieters how to eat for quality and for quantity at every meal. It focuses on the quality of carbs, fats, and proteins as well as the quantity, and explains how to use food, exercise, and dietary supplements to control cortisol and blood sugar. Most importantly, the book shows readers how to change their metabolic response to food and shed those seemingly impossible last 20 pounds. Included are a three-week log to chart diet, exercise, and supplements; and a sample regimen for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and supplements.
The Cortisol Connection Diet shows beleaguered dieters how to eat for quality and for quantity at every meal. It focuses on the quality of carbs, fats, and proteins as well as the quantity, and explains how to use food, exercise, and dietary supplements to control cortisol and blood sugar. Most importantly, the book shows readers how to change their metabolic response to food and shed those seemingly impossible last 20 pounds. Included are a three-week log to chart diet, exercise, and supplements; and a sample regimen for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and supplements.
