For the Idaho State Journal’s most recent medical guide, I wrote an article about the effect of cortisol and how that hormone makes it almost impossible to lose stubborn belly fat. That hormone not only protects and builds belly fat, it also seeks and destroys brain tissue.
In a study done in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging, 4244 people, with an average age of 76 years, who did not have dementia, were assessed via an MRI looking at brain volume. They also had salivary cortisol levels checked at home 45 minutes after waking up and at night before bed. A higher evening cortisol level was found to be associated with smaller total brain volume, in particular in the area of the brain made up of all the nerve cell bodies (gray matter). Higher evening cortisol levels were also found to be associated with poor cognitive functioning. People who had higher morning cortisol (the correct physiological response of cortisol to the stress of waking), did not have the MRI changes and they showed better processing speed and executive functioning.
Simply put: your stress level and your body’s response to that stress via the hormone cortisol, pack the pounds around your waist and inhibit proper brain function. As it is very obvious that we cannot control a number of our stressors, we can help our body’s response to that stress with a good diet, daily movement, adequate sleep, relaxation, and meditation techniques such as prayer, and the proper amount of individualized nutraceuticals that help control cortisol.
Control cortisol to burn the belly fat and maintain brain function.
