Читать книгу Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Dummies - Artemis Morris - Страница 49

When your body is under stress or your blood contains low levels of hormones called glucocorticoids, the pituitary gland in the brain secretes a hormone called acetylcholinesterase (ACTH), which signals the adrenal gland on the kidney to secrete cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that increases blood sugar; suppresses the immune system; decreases bone formation; and affects fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism, which can lead to weight gain. Cortisol levels are controlled by the part of the brain called the hypothalamus.

White adipose tissue, or fat cells, releases a number of inflammatory chemical signals, called adipokines, that affect the body as a whole. The fat cells then become part of the endocrine system — the system that regulates growth and reproduction and, when out of balance, increases the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses.

The low-level chronic inflammation of obesity makes your brain and body less responsive to the normal cues (mediated by the adipokines) that signal when you’re full and help you to maintain normal body weight. The inflammation also tells your adrenal glands to produce more of the compound cortisol.