Fab or flab?
Undoubtedly a friend in times of emergency, cortisol is also denounced by some as "public villain number one" for how it potentially makes us fat.High levels of cortisol usually correspond with low levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter of the brain associated with pleasure and happiness. Interestingly enough, to boost serotonin levels, our bodies are again overpowered by hunger pangs urging us to eat voraciously. The purpose is to trigger the release of insulin, which promotes cellular absorption of excess glucose and amino acids.
This way, more tryptophan (the amino acid used to manufacture serotonin) are likely to cross the blood-brain barrier and into the brain, now that there are significantly fewer amino acids competing with it for entry.
Unfortunately in today's society, most of us lead lives that are far more sedentary than those of our ancestors and sources of stress are seldom those we can literally run away from (think school, work, bills - yawns-). Unused glucose pile unceremoniously on our bellies, arms and thighs as FLAB.
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| http://www.ambergristoday.com/content/teen-talk/2012/january/30/teenagers-suffer-stress-too |
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| http://www.myhealthnews.co.uk/medicine/obesity-vaccine-invented/01295/ |
-Gulps- Alcohol!
Bingeing on alcohol can also spark symptoms not unlike those of Cushing's Syndrome! But because these symptoms go away as soon as binge-drinking stops, such a condition is known as Pseudo-Cushing's Syndrome. |
| Celebrating the end of a stressful bout of exams with booze may not be such a good idea after all... |
Hi Weilu and Fiona! A question from and Ben and I. We came across Cushing's disease and are wondering how is it different from Cushing's syndrome? Great blog by the way!
ReplyDeleteHello!!! :) Cushing's Syndrome and Cushing's Disease differ only by the SOURCE of the excess cortisol. :)
ReplyDeleteIn Cushing's Disease, you have too much cortisol specifically because there is a non-cancerous tumour in your pituitary glands that is secreting too much ACTH. ACTH is a hormone that stimulates your adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Too much ACTH means too much cortisol produced too.
In Cushing's Syndrome, the source of excess cortisol can be anything else OTHER THAN the tumour mentioned above - taking corticosteroid drugs for too long, adrenal hyperplasia, etc.
So Cushing's Syndrome is like an umbrella term and Cushing's Disease is something under it.
Hope things are clearer now! :)
Hi Wei Lu and Fiona!:)
ReplyDeleteAm I right to say that the higher your cortisol level, the sadder you are? Why does this actually occur?
Thank you!:)
Hello Danesha, thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteCortisol is actually a primary stress hormone so I wouldn't say that one would be sadder at elevated cortisol level, but more of a person being more anxious that can result in insomnia (due to mental stress by the "fight or flight" response).
It is like your wake-up-and-tackle-life's-challenges hormone that makes people feel more tense and hyper-vigilant instead of depressed.
However, people with Cushing's syndrome do feel very sad, not because of the high cortisol level, but because of their sudden change in physical appearance which is becoming fatter.
Okay thank you for clearing things up for me!! :)
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