Known to be the stress hormone, it also infuses weight. Especially in women.
Secreated by the adrenal glands, cortisol is known to be “stress hormone”. If it is true that it is significantly released when the body is “attacked” by stress, it also intervenes in the metabolism of sugar and fats. For people who pay attention to their line, monitoring cortisol levels can be wise.
In fact “Cortisol does not intervene so much in weight gain, but especially in the distribution of fatswe learn from Dr. Pierre Nys, endocrinologist-nutritionist. Weight gain exists, but compared to changes in the distribution of fats, it is relatively modest. “ This weight gain occurs because cortisol decreases muscle mass by causing a loss of protein, and increases fat mass. The distribution of fats then becomes what is called “Android”, that is to say that it lodges in the upper parts of the body: the belly (visceral fat) and the face.
This distribution more easily alerts women, men having more naturally an android distribution of fat. In women in chronic stress, “We can see a modification of the morphology, the silhouette.” More than a “cortisol face”, so there is a “cortisol silhouette”. In people who really have too much cortisol, water retention can be added. Not only do people gain weight, with an Android distribution, but they also experience diffuse cellulitic infiltration, that is to say an appearance of cellulite.
People who have too much cortisol must limit the consumption of saturated fatty acids (butter, cheese, fatty meat …), avoid high glycemic index (IG) food (ultra-transformed food, white bread, white wheat flour …), salt and favor low IG food. In case of doubt about the cortisol level, it is possible to talk to your attending physician, who can prescribe a blood test and orient towards a specialist, in particular an endocrinologist. Note that the normal cortisol rate varies between 5 and 25 mcg/dl (138 to 690 Nmol/L).
