Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland. It increases when you feel scared, stressed, or pressured. It also helps reduce inflammation. Today we will learn about this hormone and how it relates to weight gain. The inflammations it reduces include arthritis, lupus, Crohn's disease, asthma, and skin rash.
Cortisol is different from anabolic steroids that build muscles. There are 40 million prescriptions written with cortisol. So it's a common ingredient in medicines, but it has many side effects like weight gain.
How do cortisol stimulants work in the body?
Many inflammation cases happen because ofimmune system dysfunction,and its role is to recognize viruses and foreign bodies and attack them. Still, some people have immune systems that attack healthy normal cells, causing some swelling. Then the person takes medicines to reduce the immune system's activity.
Why does weight gain happen?
Weight gain is one of the most common side effects of drugs containing cortisone, happening in more than 70% of cases due to water and electrolytes balance in the body, plus issues with storing fats, amino acids, proteins, carbs, and glucose. Other factors that affect weight gain include:
- Increased appetite.
- Fluid retention in the body.
Girls taking steroids with cortisone notice more fat around the belly, face, and neck. This changes how fat is stored in the body, and the doses given for a short time like days or two weeks don’t cause those side effects much, but side effects start after doses over 7.5 mg for more than 60 days. The good news is once you stop the dose and adjust your diet, you can lose weight again within 6 months.
How to prevent weight gain from cortisone?
The first step Talk to your doctor and learn about your condition and the dose you'll be taking, and whether your body is ready for it. Also, discuss other options that might be available to you. There are some illnesses like asthma that don't need daily doses. There are also sprays that go directly into the nose and don't affect the whole body.
Cortisone is a medicine you shouldn’t stop suddenly, so check with your doctor before stopping because sudden stopping can cause health issues like joint pain, fever, and artery stiffness, plus worsen the inflammation problems it was controlling.
To control weight gain while taking this medicine, you should follow some steps:
- Choose foods that fill you up but are low in calories like veggies and fruits.
- Avoid feeling hungry by eating 6 small meals throughout the day.
- Pick complex carbs rich in fiber like brown rice and whole wheat pasta.
- Every meal should have about 30 grams of protein.
- Drink enough water to help with digestion,
- Keep up your regular physical activity
Always try to learn about treatment strategies, their side effects, benefits, and how to lessen those effects. Talk to your doctor about all this. You can also get a nutritionist to help on this journey.
