Posts Tagged ‘cortisol’

Hormones, Problem Areas and Your Body-Fat Map – Part 2

August 12th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to the idea that your hormones are responsible for your personal fat-distribution patterns.

For example, women with an excessive percentage of fat on the back of their arms are likely to have elevated insulin levels or low DHEA levels.

Body-Fat Map - Female woman

Men unlucky enough to be lugging around a generous set of man-boobs are likely to have high levels of estrogen (often combined with high insulin and low testosterone)

Body-Fat Map - Male

So, as a public service to all of my man-boobed brothers out there, we are going to take a look at how to get those hormones back in balance.

(For this post, I will be using a variety of reference sources. Most of the sources are pretty dry and technical, but one that I can heartily recommend to y’all is The Hormone Diet by Dr. Natasha Turner (Canada). It is a great reference that is easy to read and understand. I will be doing a more detailed book review about this book in the coming weeks.)

High Insulin

Causes

  • Eating too much over-processed, nutrient deficient carbohydrates – fast food, frozen dinners, pop, fruit drinks, sugary foods, processed diet foods…you know. Crap.
  • Eating too little protein – real protein, not processed McNugget protein
  • Eating too little fat – real fat, not trans-fat
  • Not enough fiber in your diet - no need for supplements, you should get enough protein from fruit & veg
  • Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
  • Not enough exercise
  • Excessive exercise to the point of muscle wasting
  • Steroid based medications
  • Poor liver function
  • Environmental toxins
  • Poor sleep patterns
  • Aging – sorry about that one

Solutions

  • Diet – Sugar/Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Medierranean
  • Botanical – Cinnamon, Chromium – talk to your naturopath
  • Increase consumption of fiber
  • Increase consumption of fish oils
  • Weight loss
  • Exercise
  • Reduce exposure to toxins & improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
  • Sleep
  • Get your hormone levels checked

High Testosterone

While not very common in men, it affects about 10% of women

Causes

  • Increased production by the adrenal glands
  • Polycystic ovaries caused by Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
  • Low Estrogen. Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that decreases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to increase the testosterone to estrogen balance

Solutions

  • Stress management = lowered cortisol = reduction in adrenal production
  • Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
  • Pharmaceutical – Troglitazone and Metformin – talk to your doctor
  • Botanical – Saw Palmetto – talk to your naturopath
  • Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Low Testosterone

Causes

  • Aging
  • Damage  to the testicles
  • Radiation
  • Testicular or Pituitary tumors
  • Serious viral infections
  • Vasectomy
  • Various genetic conditions – Klinefelter’s, Kallmann’s, Prader-Willi syndromes and Myotonic Dystrophy

In addition to these causes, there are a variety of lifestyle causes. These include:

  • Obesity…it’s a vicious circle – low test causes obesity and obesity causes lowered test…sorry
  • Exposure to pesticides
  • Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
  • Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that increases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to negatively impact testosterone production
  • Phthalates (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics) are another estrogen like compound that suppresses testosterone.
  • Alcohol…especially beer
  • Temperature – boxers v.s briefs
  • Sleep apnea
  • Narcotics

Solutions

Female

  • Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
  • Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
  • High Intensity exercise
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Male

  • Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
  • Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
  • Pharmaceutical – Aromatase blockers and/or testosterone, anabolic steroids – talk to your doctor and/or your lawyer…see Manny Ramierez
  • High Intensity exercise
  • Get your hormone levels checked

High Estrogen or Estrogen Dominance

Causes

  • Pregnancy & menstrual cycle fluctuations
  • Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
  • Obesity – obesity causes high estrogen which causes obesity…
  • Poor diet – processed foods, a high fat diet, a high sugar diet, excessive caffeine, low levels of magnesium and B6
  • Birth control pill
  • Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
  • Phthalates and other xenoestrogens (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics)
  • Low testosterone
  • Impaired liver function
  • Poor digestion
  • Alcohol
  • Lack of exercise
  • Lack of sleep

Solutions

  • Stress management
  • Improve your diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean/increase your fiber
  • Reduce your exposure to hormones and xenoestrogens
  • Improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
  • Get more sleep
  • Exercise more
  • Pharmaceutical – Testosterone – talk to your doctor
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Low Estrogen

Causes

  • Aging – Menopause
  • Premature failure of the ovaries
  • Surgical menopause
  • Unmanaged high levels of stress
  • Smoking
  • Low-fat diets
  • Extremely low body-fat

Solutions

Female

  • Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
  • Get your hormone levels checked

High Cortisol

We all have stress in our lives. The problems begin when we can’t handle the stresses that are thrown our way. That is when stress starts negatively impacting our health. Chronic elevated levels of corisol is just one symptom of that impact.

Causes

  • Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

  • Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
  • Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
  • Reduce intake of stimulants
  • Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Low Growth Hormone

Causes

  • Aging
  • Lack of sleep
  • Lack of exercise
  • Eating before bed
  • Sleeping with lights on

Solutions

  • Don’t eat before bed
  • Sleep in the dark
  • High Intensity exercise – low intensity (ie cardio) has little effect
  • Intermittent fasting
  • Supplements – GHB and the Amino Acids Arginine, Lysine and Ornithine – talk to your doctor/naturopath
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Low DHEA

Causes

  • Aging
  • Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

  • DHEA supplements – talk to your naturopath
  • Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
  • Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
  • Reduce intake of stimulants
  • Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Low Progesterone

Causes

  • Lack of ovulation
  • Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
  • Low levels of luteinizing hormone
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Excess prolaction

Solutions

  • Progesterone cream – talk to your doctor/naturopath
  • Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
  • Get your hormone levels checked

Note

I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one on tv. So, if you think something is out of whack with your hormones, go and get them checked.  That doesn’t mean that you have to take the drugs that your doctor is probably going to push on you. But, at least you will have the info to make your best decision.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot them my way. If I don’t feel confident about my ability to answer it, I will try and convince an “expert” to weigh in.

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Loneliness worse for your health than smoking and obesity

February 16th, 2009
Picasso - the old guitarist

Picasso - the old guitarist

According to the research of Dr. John Cacioppo, loneliness has a major impact on your overall health – both mental and physical.

In his research, Dr. Cacioppo employed brain scans, monitoring of autonomic and neuroendocrine processes, and assays of immune function to test the influence that social connection has upon our health. His research showed how our perceptions, behavior and physiology are strongly affected by a loss of that connection.

In fact, Dr. Cacoppo’s research has shown that loneliness can cause:

  • an increase in your blood pressure

  • an increase in your level of stress and cortisol production

  • a negative impact on your immune system

  • an inability to get a good nights sleep

  • an increased level of depression and anxiety

  • an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease

  • a reduction in your will to exercise

  • an increase in your cravings for comforting foods high in processed carbohydrates

  • an increase in caloric consumption

  • an increase in alcohol consumption

  • an increase in the consumption of a variety of drugs…both legal and illegal, and…
  • a feeling of sadness that feeds upon itself, causing even more isolation and an even greater sense of loneliness.

These finding were presented by Dr. Cacioppo at the most recent conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

According to Dr. Cacioppo, “healthwise, the difference between a lonely person and a popular person was akin to “a smoker and a non-smoker”.

“That stunned all of us, myself and all my colleagues in terms of the effects it had,” he said. “It shows just how powerful it is.

“Loneliness lowers the ability to control yourself. It is really easy after a bad day to have a second scotch and a third to get some comfort.”

Dr. Cacioppo’s research has led him to believe that our need for connection can be traced back through our evolutionary roots.

In order to survive in the past, humans needed to bond to rear their children. In order to flourish, they needed to [increase their levels of altruism and cooperation].

Just as physical pain is a prompt to change behavior, such as moving a finger away from the fire, loneliness evolved as a prompt to action, signaling an ancestral need to repair the social bonds.

The problem of social isolation is likely to grow as conventional family structures die out, said Dr. Cacioppo.

People are living longer, having fewer children later in life and becoming increasingly mobile around the world.

Surveys also show that people report significantly fewer close friends and confidants than those a generation ago.

All of this adds up to more loneliness and more health problems because of that loneliness.

According to the good doctor, we need to realize that “human beings are simply far more intertwined and interdependent—physiologically as well as psychologically—than our cultural prejudices have allowed us to acknowledge”.

And if we don’t address our very real need for connection, we are risking our own psychological and physiological health.

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“If you want to go fast,” says an African proverb, “go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

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Santa Claus is Clinically Depressed

December 3rd, 2008

santa_claus_is_coming_to_town

Poor ole Santa.

For all these years, we thought that he was jolly and full of Christmas (sorry, Seasonal Holiday) Cheer.

Little did we know, he has a dark secret.

Santa suffers from obesity, type 2 diabetes, clinical depression and may even have a drinking problem.

drunk-santa

But how could we have known?

It really isn’t too surprising.

In a recent study, scientists in the Netherlands have proven that a link exists between abdominal obesity and depression.

And Santa does have a bit of a belly.

How about you?

The Research

In this 5 year study, Dutch researchers found that “older adults with symptoms of depression appear more likely to gain abdominal fat”. Interestingly, in this study, the link applies only to abdominal fat, not overall body fat.

This study builds upon previous studies ( here, here, and here ) that suggested a link between general obesity and depression.

santa-cokeSo, let me get this straight…not all fat people are jolly?

Well, that certainly messes with Coca-Cola’s Christmas marketing plan, doesn’t it.

What are we supposed to do with a depressed Santa Claus?

Get him a prescription for antidepressants?

Buy him some personal training sessions?

Lap Band surgery?

Study Conclusions

According to the experts, “There are several mechanisms by which depression might increase abdominal fat. Chronic stress and depression may activate certain brain areas and lead to increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which promotes the accumulation of visceral fat”.

“Individuals with depression may have unhealthier lifestyles, including a poor diet, that could interact with other physiological factors to produce an increase in abdominal obesity”.

My Conclusions

Depression may indeed be a cause of abdominal obesity.

Depression may lead to increased cortisol which may lead to increased abdominal obesity.

However,

  • A typical 21st century lifestyle is loaded with stress
  • Stress is linked to anxiety and depression
  • The typical Western diet is a primary cause of systemic inflammation
  • Inflammation is linked to abdominal obesity
  • Depression often results in physical inactivity and unhealthy lifestyle choices

Perhaps, it isn’t the depression causing the obesity.

Perhaps it isn’t the obesity causing the depression.

Perhaps it is the combination of a stressful lifestyle, combined with a whole host of poor lifestyle choices that is causing the obesity and the depression.

But then again, what do I know?

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Dieting – what a tangled web – pt.2

April 7th, 2008

In 2007, North Americans spent an estimated $64 billion on weight-loss products & services. This works out to an average of $810 per dieter.

2007 North American population = 334,000,000 x Approx 25% of the population participating in the weight-loss industry = 79,000,000 dieters in North America.
$64,000,000,000 spent in 2007 / 79,000,000 dieters = $810 per person

So what did the typical North American dieter get for their $810?

Not a whole lot of success considering that obesity rates keep increasing year after year.

So keep your $810 in your pocket and pay attention.

In Part 1 of this post, I began by dividing all of the different methods of weight-loss into two camps

Eat Less and Burn More

I then gave an introductory explanation of the methods that fell into the Eat Less camp

Today I will cover the Burn More camp.

Burn More

By itself or in conjunction with one or more of the Eat Less methods, burning extra calories can be an effective way to lose weight. In addition, some of the Burn More methods will do more for your health than just melting away body-fat.

One of the most obvious and time tested ways of burning more calories is exercise.

Exercise

Along with eating less food, exercise is the original cure for excess body-fat. Get outside, move around and you WILL lose body-fat.

Simple, right?

Not in 2008. Weight-loss is a huge business. If you owned a business that earned just 1% of the weight-loss industry sales, you would have grossed $580 million dollars last year. Sounds pretty good to me.

However, if you are going to earn $580 mill, you had better be offering something more complicated than:

  • Walk 30 minutes per day at a brisk pace
  • Stretch every night before bed for 20 minutes
  • Perform 30 minutes of body weight exercises / calisthenics 3 times per week
  • 15 minutes of deep breathing exercises or guided meditation per day

This plan, when combined with a meal plan focused around fresh vegetables, fruit, lean protein (animal or vegetable) and minimal grains will result in a leaner, fitter, healthier & more relaxed you…GUARANTEED

This plan is simple and effective. However, simple and effective will not achieve $580 million in sales.

$580 million in sales requires that the exercise gurus make things complicated. For example, one of the major fitness centres in the U.S. is offering 341 different fitness classes. Three Hundred and Forty One.

CRAZY

Let’s simplify.

Even with 341 fitness classes, fitness training actually has very few goals.

  1. Make your heart & lungs work better
  2. Make your muscles stronger
  3. Keep your joints & muscles at optimum flexibility/stability
  4. Improve your co-ordination – balance, agility, etc…

These 4 four fitness goals are designed to help you live longer & live better.

Fat Burners / Thermogenics

Fat Burners or Thermogenics are dietary supplements or synthetic drugs designed to speed up the metabolism of body-fat. Take a pill and see the fat melt away.

Thermogenics have been around in one form or another for a long time. In the 1800s, digitalis was used as a fat-burner due to the assumption that its ability to increase the heart rate would result in fat loss. At that time, digitalis was also known as Dead Man’s Bells and Witches’ Gloves due to its toxicity.

In the 1900s, thyroid pills became popular.

In the 1960s & 1970s, amphetamines were all the rage. This continues today with Phentermine et al. Amphetamines are supposed to work by speeding up the metabolism & suppressing appetite. Sounds great until you get to their contraindications. Dependence, increased blood pressure & heart rate, insomnia…

In the 1980s/1990s, the Ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin (E.C.A) fat burner stack was very popular.

A distinct thermogenic effect was noticed by most who tried this fat burner. However, in most people, the effect was short lived and the product had to be cycled on and off as the effects wore off. People would lose weight while on, and then gain it back while off the stack. As well, there were numerous potential side effects.

The legal status of Ephedrine is currently up in the air. Supplement companies are currently unable to market ephedrine products as weight loss or bodybuilding supplements. The connection of pseudoephedrine to crystal meth makes further clouds the status of ephedrine as a marketable thermogenic.

When supplement manufacturers were banned from using ephedrine for their thermogenic products, they turned to other “natural” compounds such as citrus aurantium, guarana and yerba mate.

Hormonal Supplements

Another method of achieving weight loss involves the control of the body’s storage hormones. In particular, insulin and cortisol.

Insulin resistance, which may be caused / accelerated by the typical North American diet of fast acting carbohydrates, has numerous symptoms. One of those is weight gain; particularly fat around the abdominal region.

In the 1800s, Lord Byron popularized the use of apple cider vinegar as a method of controlling insulin and keeping body-fat at bay. Strangely enough, apple cider vinegar is currently experiencing a re-birth as a weight-loss supplement.

More recently, supplements such as chromium, alpha lipoic acid, vanadium, magnesium, taurine, zinc, gymnema sylvestre and banaba leaf extract/ colosolic acid have been promoted as insulin controlling weight-loss supplements.

Another hormonal approach to weight loss involves cortisol. It is cortisol’s ability to elevate blood sugar levels that has made it a target of dieters and supplement companies.

Phosphatidylserine found in white kidney bean extract as well as various adaptogenic herbs are being marketed as cortisol blockers effective at fighting stress induced weight gain.

Like the insulin focused supplements, the effectiveness ofcortisol focused products is still up for debate.

Liposuction / Abdominoplasty

While I may be stretching things a bit by including surgical methods of weight loss in the “Burn More” category; it fits here better than the “Eat Less” category, and I didn’t want to write a separate post. So there. Sue me.

Abdominoplasty is also known as a “tummy tuck”. Excess fat and skin is cut away from the body, the abdominal wall tightened and like Humpty Dumpty, is all put back together again.

Another method of surgically removing body-fat is liposuction. While there are various different methods of liposuction, the basic concept is the removal of body-fat by the insertion of a hollow narrow tube (think of a drinking straw) which is connected to a vacuum or suction machine. The fat is sucked out of your body through the tube.

It must be noted that like any surgery, both procedures involve risk.

Well, that’s it for today. In future posts, I will be looking at individual methods of weight loss. While I will focus mainly on the “eating less” side of the equation, I would be happy to answer anyone’s questions concerning any of the other methods. If I don’t know the answer, I will find someone who will.

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