The Weight Loss Puzzle Finally Solved!
Excerpts from the new e-book, just released by Drs. Frank Aieta and Diane Hayden
STRESS HORMONES AND WEIGHT LOSS
e go through periods of time in our lives when the de- mands are greater and the stress load is heavier. Regard- less of the reasons: illness, relationship diffi culties, work struggles, caring for an aging parent or ailing child, there can be a physical impact. We may turn to food for comfort, or we may not nourish ourselves adequately. During times of stress there are actual physiological changes that happen in our bodies, one of which is weight gain. It may not happen overnight, but if we do not pay at- tention to our body’s needs, over time we may notice we are putting on the pounds. Most diet plans never take this into consideration and the follower of the plan fails to make any good progress. The fol- lowing excerpt from the recently released E-book: “The Weight Loss Puzzle, Finally Solved!” written by myself and Dr. Diane Hayden arms the reader with information on which essential lab tests should be run to evaluate how our bodies are actually responding to daily stress.
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The following lab tests should be run in order to assess the func- tion of the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands enable your body to respond to every kind of stress (whether it’s physical, emotional or psychological) through hormones that regulate energy production and storage, heart rate, blood sugar balance, muscle tone, and other processes that enable you to cope with stress. When the body senses that it’s under stress it will attempt to stimulate the production of the following key hormones: norepinephrine, cortisol, DHEA-S and pregnenolone. An overproduction of these hormones can lead to the body going into an energy conservation mode leading to weight gain as other glands like the thyroid, ovaries and testes are affected. In contrast, an underproduction of the adrenal hormones can lead to a variety of other issues including a condition known as adrenal fatigue syndrome which we touch on briefl y in the book.
AM cortisol - Cortisol is released in a circadian rhythm pat- tern and in healthy individuals should be highest in the morning and taper off as the day goes on. It is therefore important for you to get your blood drawn fi rst thing in the morning, around 8 a.m. being optimal. Cortisol plays extremely important roles in the body such as regulating blood sugar, reducing infl ammation, helping you deal with stress and regulating immune function to name just a few. When cortisol levels become too high due to repeated stress, your metabolism can suffer greatly as the body goes into an energy conservation mode by suppressing the body’s conversion of T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (the active thyroid hormone) and increasing the production of reverse T3 (the metabolism suppressing
hormone). Blood sugar levels also tend to go up, while you tend to store fat and lose muscle mass. On the fl ip side, chronically low lev- els of cortisol can lead to a whole new set of problems ranging from chronic fatigue to anxiety and depression as the body stresses and strains to maintain a normal balance. Optimal range for AM Cortisol is between 18-22 mcg/dL.
DHEA-Sulfate – DHEA is another adrenal hormone that is your
body’s repair and regeneration hormone. You can use this hormone to make other hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testoster- one. The levels should be assessed along with cortisol and pregnen- olone to determine if your adrenal system is over or under function- ing. Chronically elevated levels, like with cortisol, can not only lead to weight gain but also irritability, sleeplessness and mood changes. Low levels can lead to immune dysfunction and low libido as well as muscle loss and fat gain. Optimal ranges for women are 150-250 mcg/dl and 250-350 mcg/dL in men.
Pregnenolone – This is considered the mother of all adrenal hormones since it’s the precursor to make DHEA, cortisol, progester- one, estrogen and testosterone in both men and women. Your body synthesizes this hormone directly from cholesterol. Pregnenolone decreases with age and can be negatively affected by cholesterol lowering drugs, excessive trans-fats and a lack of healthy fats in the diet. The functions of pregnenolone in the body are as follows: • Increases resistance to stress
• Regulates the balance between excitation and inhibition in the nervous system • Improves mental and physical energy • Enhances nerve transmission and memory • Reduces pain and infl ammation
Since pregnenolone and all the other steroid hormones pro- duced in the body are all derived from cholesterol (a fat), eating ad- equate amounts of the right fats in the diet is of utmost importance. The ideal range for pregnenolone that I like to see in my patients is above 50 ng/dL with 90-110 ng/dL being optimal. Once again I look at this hormone in conjunction with the other adrenal hormones to determine the overall health of the entire adrenal gland.
Norepinephrine – Norepinephrine is both a hormone and
neurotransmitter produced in the adrenal glands and also in the nervous system. Along with epinephrine, norepinephrine is part of your fi ght or fl ight response when you encounter acute stress or
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