Cortisol, The
Enemy Hormone?
LET'S STUDY THE ENEMY HORMONE. ONCE
UNDERSTOOD WE CAN PARTLY CONTROL IT (IT WORKS, EVEN IF YOU DO
NOT LIKE THE METHOD USED).
Everyone knows about
the beneficial effects of testosterone on muscular strength
and size. Anabolic steroids have been around for several
decades now and even the established medical community cannot
deny their bodybuilding effects.
Androgens are not the
only form of steroids, which are Synthetically manufactured to
mimic the body's functional substances. There is the "so
called" enemy of bodybuilding, known as cortisol, which is
naturally produced by the organs on top of the kidneys called
the adrenal glands.
Guys survive normal
longevity without their nuts. Castration is by no means fatal.
Yep, guys you read it right; testosterone is not required for
life. Cortisol, on the other hand, is required. If your
adrenal glands fail to produce cortisol, and you do not take a
synthetic replacement steroid like "Prednisone" you will
surely die soon thereafter.
Now you ask;
"Cortisol destroys muscle tissue doesn't it, then why the hell
do I need it"? This life-sustaining steroid is known as a
"glucocorticoid" and its function is to maintain sugar (or
glucose) in the blood stream.
You say:
"Sugar, I avoid sugar products, what is this article trying to
say"? Sugar, also known as glucose or dextrose, in the blood
is vital for life. The brain alone must have an impressive
amount of sugar daily to function. Albeit, the brain and body
can operate poorly on the acetones, which are produced by fat
consumption, the first and best form of fuel is good old
sugar. The human body prefers sugar and will make its own if
it does not get what it prefers. Yea, your body will create
its own sugar if you do not give it what it
wants.
So what role does cortisol play in
the body's need for sugar? When you perform those two
hour-long workouts the blood stream's quantity of sugar is
depleted first and then the stored sugar in the muscles is
used (glycogen stores). When glycogen is depleted the body
goes into a crisis state and the pituitary gland produces a
chemical, which causes the adrenal glands to produce cortisol.
(And a substance known as "glucogon" is generated from the
pancreas, but that is another part of the
story).
Cortisol allows numerous amino
acids in the musculature to be released for conversion to
sugar by the liver. (Amazing, alchemists have tried to change
one substance into another for thousands of years and yet
their own bodies have had no trouble with the performance of
such tasks). Notice the prefix "gluco" in many of the
technical terms, which I provide. This process of making sugar
from amino acids by the liver is known as gluconeogenesis.
Literally interpreted as: the genesis of new
sugar.
This glucocorticoid steroid causes
muscle degeneration in order to manufacture sugar, or glucose,
for the brain and body. Once produced cortisol continues to
reek havoc on the musculature for about three hours before the
liver collects it from the blood, even if we eat a meal to try
to stop it.
You say: You mentioned
"Prednisone" as a synthetic form of cortisol, but "Prednisone"
is used for inflammations like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma,
organ transplant rejection prevention and the like and not to
make the body produce sugar, right? Correct, other vital
functions of natural or synthetic cortisol are inhibition of
the immune system as well as maintenance of normal kidney
function. The long term of effects of man made cortisol on the
body for immune function control are as bad, or worse, as the
original diseases themselves, but I will not discuss that
now.OK, so now we know what cortisol does. It is much like the
old saying pertaining to women.
You may not
wish to live with some of the effects, but you sure as hell
cannot live without it. Is adrenal cortisol production
controllable?
Yes, and by a simple
procedure on your part. Carbohydrate intake during the
workout. A sugar containing beverage such as "Gatorade" with
extra sugar mixed into, it will prevent much of the body's
need to metabolize its own muscles in order to make sugar.
Then, after your workout, take in a good sized load of
carbohydrate in order to replenish blood sugar levels and to
stimulate insulin production from the pancreas which will
allow for muscle sugar (glycogen) to be replenished. This will
lower the production of cortisol in your
body.
You say: Processed white sugar
intake, are you serious?
Not for an empirical energy high,
but to maintain muscular amino acid content. Lactose (in milk)
and fructose (in fruit) must undergo metabolic restructuring
before the body can use them. All the while cortisol must be
produced to provide the immediate somatic requirements.
Sucrose (white sugar) is within seconds of
ingestion.
Cortisol is destructive to muscles. It is
destructive for a vital cause. Consumption of refined white
sugar during and following a workout prevents the need for
cortisol output. It is better to understand the function and
control of this muscle eating steroid than to be simply afraid
of its effects. Doughnuts and Cookies
anyone?
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