Hormones, hormones, hormones. If you can control them they are your best friend, but if they control you...good luck! Following is a list of some of the pivotal players in weight control, mood, energy, recovery, and healthy living. I will touch on a few ways we can manipulate our lifestyle to get these tricky buggers working for us instead of against us.
CORTISOL
This is our stress hormone released from the adrenal glands. It helps regulate blood pressure and cardiovascular function, as well as the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Going back to our "paleo" evolution idea, we found cortisol important because it prepares the body for action and protects it in the event of traumatic injury. This would have been very important when running for your life from a bear/tiger/lion/etc, or when wounded during a hunt. However, evolution dictated that cortisol should be an acute hormonal response (levels should quickly return to normal). The problem now a days is that we are constantly under chronic stress (bills to pay, mortgages, deadlines, car trouble, traffic, babysitters, the economy, health care, sickness/disease) which leads to chronically high cortisol levels. If bad enough, the adrenal gland will eventually get tired (adrenal fatigue) and will cease the production of cortisol (sort of like type 1 diabetes and the pancreas). Another important function of cortisol is its role in fat metabolism. Cortisol is special in that it is the only hormone that can both put fat into a cell and take fat out of a cell. The main contributing factor that decides what cortisol does with the fat is the level of another player: insulin. If insulin in the blood is low, cortisol will work to get fat out of the cell for energy; if insulin is high, it will work to get fat into the cell for storage. This is why some people get stressed (high cortisol) and gain weight, while others get stressed (high cortisol) and lose weight. It's all about the insulin - which we will learn about in a moment. Now, lets find out what we can do to try and tame this cortisol beast.
1) Find a way to live more of a stress free life (your health depends on it!)
2) Eat a cleaner, healthier diet that reduces inflammation (all these things perpetuate physiological stress)
3) Get plenty of sleep!
4) Don't overdo long drawn out cardio (like 60 minutes on a treadmill) - this leads to chronically high cortisol
INSULIN
Insulin is a storage hormone released from the pancreas in response to increased blood sugar. Its main role is to keep blood sugar levels within a certain range. Blood sugar is raised primarily in response to eating carbohydrates. The higher the glycemic load of a carb, the more insulin needed to stabilize the blood sugar. Upon eating a meal with a lot of refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, corn, sugar) the blood is quickly flooded with sugar, stimulating the pancreas to release an appropriate amount of insulin to deal with the sugar rush. Insulin acts like an enforcer to do any of these three things: put the sugar into the cells to be used as immediate energy, put it into the liver as stored energy (glycogen), or stored in fat cells (where it is converted to fat) for later use. Without insulin, we would quickly become hyperglycemic (high blood sugar -which is very toxic) and die. The problem: insulin is chronically high because of our modern diet. We consume over 152 lbs of sugar per person each year in America. Also, we consume an overly abundant amount of carbohydrates (bread, bagels, pastas, pies, pancakes, bars, etc). With chronically high carb loads leading to chronically high insulin levels, we are forced to deal with insulin's secondary role: fat storage regulation. Once the system has stocked its available storage sites for carbs (which doesn't take that much), insulin starts putting that blood sugar into fat cells. Contributing to this accumulation of fat, insulin stimulates an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which acts to pull fat from the bloodstream into fat cells. Conversely, insulin also acts to inhibit hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), whose function is to release fat from fat cells into the blood to be used as energy. So, we see that high levels of insulin in the blood is a recipe for excess fat accumulation. Steps to control insulin and remain insulin sensitive:
1) Moderate the amount of carbs you put into your system (especially refined ones)
2) Exercise (exercise actually acts like insulin - your muscle cells will pull the sugar in for energy without the assistance of insulin)
3) Cinnamon has been shown to keep insulin down (put it on everything you can), and dry red wine (in moderation) may help with insulin sensitivity
GROWTH HORMONE
Remember when you were a kid and you could sleep all day, get up to eat, lay around and be lazy, eat some more, but still had the energy to run circles around your parents? Are you now jealous that your own kids can do just that, while you spend the entire day working your butt off, yet you keep gaining weight while they stay lean (seemingly from doing nothing)? What gives? Well, a lot of that disparity comes from an almost magical substance called Human Growth Hormone(HGH) - they tend to have a lot, while we (as older individuals) aren't generally so lucky. Let me clarify something - they don't necessarily have more of it, they just access what they have to fuller extent than us. What that means is that older individuals just need to figure out how to stimulate that release so we can take advantage of all its benefits too (and of course you've come to the right place to learn how to do just that).
HGH is an anabolic (growth promoting) hormone created by the pituitary gland (base of the scull) and secreted in intervals throughout the day. It causes growth, repairs tissue, mobilizes fat stores, and shifts metabolism to the preferential use of fat (ye-haw). So we can see why it is considered the "fountain of youth" and why when injected intravenously it has shown to do wonders for aging and weight loss. But, we are not here to be injected by anything, so we have to learn how to stimulate HGH the old fashion way (which is more fun anyway).
Factors that stimulate the production of HGH:
- stage IV sleep (first couple hours) - so try not to be disturbed during this time with phone calls etc.
- strenuous exercise (this doesn't mean a few jumping jacks and a walk around the block - it means getting muscles to the point of exhaustion usually through lifting weights - the more intense, the more HGH!)
- low stable blood sugar levels promote an environment for HGH
- increased amino acids (protein) in the blood
- intermittent fasting has been shown to increase HGH levels
Factors that inhibit the production of HGH:
- lack of sleep
- higher blood sugar levels
- long (60 min +) drawn out stints of cardio (marathon runners/cyclists have lower levels then other athletes)
- obesity
So, it is safe to say that increasing those factors that stimulate HGH while limiting those that inhibit it is the fastest way to staying trim and youthful. For example, lets say that HGH should be at a peak during the first 2 hours of deep sleep, and also immediately following a strenuous exercise bout. How could we inhibit this effect? Simple, raise blood sugar levels by having those milk and cookies before bed or that "recovery bar" (which is sure to be chocked full of sugar) just after exercise, respectively. Or you could just decide that there is too much to do during the day to the point where exercise isn't important and that you will sleep when you're dead.
TESTOSTERONE
This sex hormone is produced by the testes (men) and the ovaries (women). Obviously, this anabolic hormone is mostly noted for its work during adolescence in males (voice change, hair growth, muscle growth, etc), but it remains an important hormone into adulthood as well. Normal levels of testosterone will ensure a maintenance of bone tissue growth, muscle repair, and a healthy libido. Interestingly, abdominal fat has a negative affect on testosterone levels. Not only that, but fat, insulin, and alcohol are all factors that promote aromatase activity (conversion of testosterone into estrogen). So if you don't want weak bones, deteriorating muscle, and growing boobs (guys only, sorry ladies) you need to follow these steps to increase or at least maintain your testosterone levels.
Factors that stimulate testosterone:
- lifting heavy things on occasion (weights would be good)
- get plenty of Vitamin D
- get plenty of animal fat in the diet
Factors that inhibit testosterone:
- high levels of cortisol
- long endurance exercise (marathoners show lower levels than other athletes)
- higher than normal blood sugar
- dioxins (toxins commonly found in conventionally raised animals and dairy)
- body fat (especially in excess)
Leptin
Leptin is a hormone produced and released by fat cells. Its role is to act upon the hypothalamus to signal satiety (feeling full). The interesting thing about leptin, the fatter one is, the more leptin they have in their system. This may seem counter intuitive (as most people would assume obese people to be the most hungry). However, leptin can act like insulin in that the hypothalamus can become "resistant" to leptin, just like tissue can become "resistant" to insulin (diabetes). When this happens, there really isn't any appetite control. Similar to chronically elevated levels of insulin, chronically elevated levels of leptin will lead to a lot of ill fates.
For one, increased leptin levels lead to increases in estrogen. For men this could mean a decreased libido, weight gain, depression, prostate problems, and gynecomastia (enlargement of male breasts). Increased estrogen in women has been linked with breast and ovarian cancer, weight gain in butt and hips, mood swings, osteoporosis, and strokes. In young girls with elevated estrogen, menarche (menstruation) sets in at an earlier age which is a risk factor for breast/ovarian cancer.
Chronically high leptin is also a stimulant of the immune response. Stimulation of cytokines, such as interleukin 2 & 6 (IL-2, IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) usually means there is an infection to fight. But high leptin levels creating a chronic cascade of these cytokines, results in an increased risk for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, MS, and others.
During deep stage 3/4 sleep, a leptin surge occurs to suppress appetite while we sleep (or we would wake up hungry in the middle of night). This surge stimulates the release of thyroid releasing hormone (TRH), which stimulates thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which finally in turn stimulates thyroid hormone (T4). T4 has the role of increasing and controlling metabolic rate. So you see it is a bit complex, but if you become leptin resistant from excess fat cells, or don't get adequate sleep as a "thin" person, your metabolism will soon be "out of whack" leading to increased fat accumulation.
Ghrelin
Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the gut that acts upon the hypothalamus to tell us we are hungry (opposite of leptin). So, when you start having that feeling like you could "eat a horse", it is ghrelin talking. Most people don't fully take advantage of ghrelin's effects. At first look it would seem that this hormone would not be helpful in losing weight (as being hungry is not pleasant and leads us to eat). However, if you satisfy your hunger right away (or avoid it all together by constantly eating small meals all day) there is not sufficient time for ghrelin to do the following:
- promote intestinal cell proliferation ("therapy" for intestinal inflammation = good)
- stimulates the release of Human Growth Hormone (we know this is very good)
- it actually enhances learning! (study on an empty stomach)
Ghrelin is inhibited by insulin (which makes sense because insulin in the blood is in response to being fed). Take a look at the "Intermittent Fasting" post to see how this hormone among others can be taken advantage of for increased energy, a shift towards fat metabolism, and staying young.
