Stress Hormone

We’ve all had those weeks where crazy amounts of stress leave us soothing our woes with late-night ice cream binges. But before your shame-spiral over your lack of self-control, weak willpower isn’t the only thing at blame in these scenarios.

Meet the stress hormone cortisol, which is responsible for your body’s “fight or flight” mechanism (more on that later). It’s been called public health enemy No. 1 for its link to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, memory loss and more. And it might be responsible for weight gain and throwing your eating habits off the rails, too. Here’s how cortisol might be messing with your body—and what you can do about it.

Cortisol vs. Your Waistline


It’s not just obvious daily stressors — like your boss nagging you all day — that elevate your levels. Lack of sleep, caffeine, alcohol, and even skipping a meal can all raise cortisol, Landa says. “Your body sees a skipped meal and low blood sugar as a mini emergency,” she says.

Research shows that high cortisol levels may be to blame for stress eating, with one study finding that women ate more on days they were stressed out than on days they weren’t (especially sweets). That’s because the sugar-release triggered by elevated cortisol doesn’t enter the cells for energy, but instead stays in the bloodstream, says Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Jennifer McDaniel, RD, who specializes in weight management. “This disrupted system increases hunger signals to the brain, leading to an increased appetite for high-calorie foods,” she says.

Stress eating is just one way this hormone messes with your weight. Elevated cortisol levels also cause fat to be deposited deep in the abdomen, which can lead to obesity or weight gain, says McDaniel. This visceral fat, or fat stored around the organs, produces more cortisol compared to other types of fat tissue, she says, which could help explain why it’s so easy to gain weight, but so hard to lose it.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/01/the-stress-hormone-that-s-messing-with-your-diet.html