Edited by Ivan Mercolini
Introduction
Hello everybody.
The subject of this lesson is well suited to modern man. I will speak, in fact, of the general food program recommended for a hypersurrenal subject (hypercortical alias), that is suffering from chronic stress .
Ivan Mercolini>
- author of the article -
In this sector I can place most of the subjects aged between 30 and 50 years. I bet that many of you, reading, will be exclaiming: "Here, this is a lesson for me!" In fact in the last 10-15 years we have witnessed an exponential increase in the stress load on the shoulders - or better - "on the adrenals" of every adult Italian.
The economic crisis has led to the reduction of personnel in the factories, and those who remain are forced to work for two, with more hours and more sustained rhythms. Tax increases and prices in euros make it difficult to make ends meet. Concerns about a future that is no longer certain bring anxiety.
Yes, a lot has changed in the world of work for today's adult. I'm not going to echo the news, nor do I want to humiliate anyone. I simply want to put my finger on an established reality that does not seem to be transitory, contrary to what the government officials announce (always repeating that next year will be different and lucky those who believe in it!).
I am not a politician, nor unfortunately I have the concrete possibility of pulling out each of you from the single problems that torment you, torment you, make you breathe with sighs and relegate now in the fantastic cinematographic creations like Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA.
But if I can't download your troubles, I can help you keep yourself pleasant and healthy through my lesson dedicated to you.
In fact, among the problems associated with chronic stress (in addition to insomnia, nervous exhaustion, bipolar disorder / mood swings ...) there is a predisposition to weight gain, with consequent overweight and metabolic syndrome, to then arrive at diabetes type II and obesity in the most extreme cases.
The most obvious advice, in the case of hypersurralism, is to change one's life conditions, changing jobs, changing the family situation and removing various stressors, at least the main ones. But since in 90% of the cases this is clearly not possible, here we resort to the doctor and therefore to tranquilizers, sleeping pills, anxiolytics, antidepressants ... in a use that often becomes chronic, as long as stressors are not removed.
Now ... in this lesson I will deal limitedly to the effect of chronic stress affecting body weight, therefore on aesthetics and health. And in these aspects I will come to you concretely in support, wishing you soon to come out of this unpleasant condition that so many other pathologies entails in the long term.
It should be mentioned, and we should reflect, on the fact that often this condition is not only dictated by the external environment, but also by how each reacts to external stimuli. Subjects with prevalence of the sympathetic nervous system, insecure subjects, sensitive and fragile subjects, receptive subjects, have a greater predisposition to reach this condition.
Stress and Hormones
Endocrine changes associated with chronic stress and their consequences
Well. I said that chronic stress, from which much of contemporary humanity suffers, leads to rapidly gaining weight.
Let's see why ...
+ STRESS = + GREASE and - MUSCLES
When we find ourselves in conditions of tension, of alarm, due to external stimuli or intimate concerns, the brain stimulates the adrenal medulla to release catecholamines and stimulates - through ACTH (adrenocorticotropic) - the adrenal cortical to the release of cortisol and aldosterone.
In short, the organism is prepared through these chemical signalers to face the problem (stressor) that in ancient times, when man was more of a hominid, resulted in physical struggle and hunting for prey. Thus the increase in attention and heart rate is justified, since the life of the hominid depended on the outcome of the struggle! The increase in blood sugar is justified: necessary for an intense muscular effort and lactacidogen. At one time, however, the stressor and struggle ended at some point; consequently our man-monkey rested, with normalization of the hormones mentioned, often after having consumed a good meal, the result of the struggle, which contributed to psycho-muscular relaxation.
The one just described represents, in broad terms, the functioning principle of the endocrine mechanism in response to environmental stressors. Therefore, summarizing:
stressor → increase in catecholamines, cortisol (and aldosterone) → increase in blood sugar, heart rate, tension and attention, blood pressure → INTENSE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (rapid flight, or physical struggle, or hunting or combination of these) → resolution of stressor → relaxation (with possible restoration) → rest and normalization of the hormones mentioned, increase in testosterone, tryptophan uptake and entry into the anabolic window.
The chain mentioned above is extremely important for understanding your present problem and for understanding how to avoid weight gain and the metabolic syndrome that is the subject of this paper.
In fact, since man was hominid, centuries have passed, and the lifestyle has changed radically, both in nutritive terms (qualitative and quantitative), and in terms of daily activity.
And this is all the more true for about twenty years now.
If the stressors first appeared at intervals, they are now constantly present and incident on the human body. Therefore, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is perpetually activated throughout the day of our stressed contemporary adult, which does not, among other things, follow an intense physical activity as was common in prehistory.
This means a gradual and inexorable deterioration of the body due to the loss of muscle mass induced by the always high corticosteroids and an inexorable fatigue (since the moments of rest are insufficient). Blood sugar is always kept high by cortisol and catecholamines.
Even the diet is quite different from the hominid. If millennia ago the meals were infrequent and raw (fruit, berries, wild vegetables, meat, fish), now they are frequent, abundant, refined and artificial / industrial.
It is known that today's meals, copious and rich in refined farinaceous derivatives, involve a strong stimulus for insulin, which is a lipogenic hormone (promotes the accumulation of fat).
With respect to the origins of the times, we therefore:
- Continuous stressors → high increase and maintenance of catecholamines, cortisol (and aldosterone) → increased and elevated maintenance of blood sugar, heart rate, tension and attention, of arterial pressure.
- Lack of physical activity due to sedentariness + abundance of modern industrial foods, refined and unmanageable for our body → consequent frequent stimulation of pancreatic beta cells.
All this beautiful overview leads us to:
- fatty deposits on the back due to continually high corticosteroids,
- fatty deposits on the belly due to insulin always high,
- Invisceral fat deposits due to lowering of testosterone levels (due to lack of rest and physical activity, due to hypercorticalism and due to a diet rich in carbohydrates).
Within a few months we reach overweight, metabolic syndrome, obesity, adrenal and pancreas exhaustion, etc. etc..
There are numerous pathologies that a hyperstressed lifestyle develops. Here I am not going to treat them all because, as I said, I will limit myself to evaluating the aspects that affect aesthetics and weight gain.
Chronic stress and increased fat
With my verbose speeches mentioned above I want it to be clear that chronic stress involves and facilitates the deposition of fat around the trunk .
But let's continue with the reflections, trying to be clear and thorough for all the readers ....
The stressed modern man who is the subject of the discussion is also often sedentary or if he carries out any physical activity - because the doctor told him so either because it is fashionable or because he has read that it is good for him - it is bland and inconstant, therefore it does not affect body composition .
And let's go ahead and reflect again ...
A stressed adrenal increases brain levels of norepinephrine and dopamine. These, in turn, stimulate the subject to ingest high GI and quantity carbohydrates. The latter, in fact, raising the levels of insulin copiously, increase the uptake of tryptophan and the consequent production of serotonin, which gives torpor and relaxation. But since the stressors never end, a sort of loop is generated in which the stressed subject gobbles up carbohydrates because the body wants to rest, it wants to stop the sympathetic system; but since the latter continues to be stimulated by the external environment and by its own agonizing thoughts, this relaxation cannot be achieved and our individual continues to swallow carbohydrates, which raise the blood sugar and, associated with the high glucose induced by cortisol, oblige the pancreas to release abundant quantities of insulin, which being a greasy hormone, fattens, fattens and fattens.
And again: the hormones are also leveled according to the circadian cycles, not only based on meals and psychosomatic stimuli. Specifically, to our discussion it must be said that cortisol reaches its maximum levels in the morning, and then gradually decreases during the day. For now, put this information in your pocket, because then it will be useful for us to draw up our food.
Meanwhile, from this long, lengthy and algebraic discussion you should have come to the conclusion that:
+ STRESS = + GREASE and - MUSCLES
Ah, PS: the adrenocorticotropic stimulus also involves an increase in aldosterone, and therefore in water retention, which is added to the increased heart rate in raising arterial pressure. Water retention further worsens the aesthetic and health situation.
