Cortisol1 photos

Cortisol is the main catabolic hormone that breaks down proteins, promotes fat accumulation, and also increases blood glucose levels. Cortisol is produced in response to stress, fatigue, exercise, fasting, fear, and other emergency situations. Cortisol is also called a stress hormone, it is designed to mobilize nutrients: body proteins (including muscle) are destroyed to amino acids, and glycogen to glucose.

The level of glucose and amino acids increases in the blood, so that in an emergency situation the body has building material to restore. . In bodybuilding, cortisol plays a negative role, so many sports supplements and drugs are designed to reduce the effect of cortisol and start anabolism. The response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system to certain stimuli may depend on the initial level of cortisol. For example, an increase in cortisol may be lower in the morning when its basal level is higher (DeChemey et al., 1985). It is assumed that this is due to the presence of a negative feedback circuit. In one of the works it was shown that despite the fact that the highest value of the initial content of cortisol in plasma and its maximum value after exercise is observed at 07.00 hours, the increase in cortisol level compared to the control day was the highest when exercise was performed in 24.00 hours (Kanaley et al., 2001). On the other hand, when comparing the area under the curve and circadian fluctuations in the state of rest in women who were engaged in physical exercisesAt different times of the day, there were no differences in changes in the level of cortisol secretion (Thuma et al., 1995).

If, during the day, there were two identical physical exercises, the changes in the secretion of ACTH and cortisol caused by the second exercise were more pronounced than the changes in the level of these hormones after the first exercise or after a single session held on another day (Ronsen et al ., 2001a) .. Power. A number of studies have been conducted to study the effect of dietary cortisol on plasma levels and the use of food supplements before, during and after exercise. Eating carbohydrates during long (2.5 h) classes of jogging or ridingcycling with an intensity of about 70% V02max leads to a decrease in response secretion of cortisol, as well as a decrease in the level of test load (Utter et al., 1999).

Similar results were obtained by other researchers, who showed that taking a 7% polymer solution of glucose, fructose and mineral salts at a rate of 200 ml every 30 minutes during a jogging session with an intensity of 60 — 65% V02max with a duration of 2 hours completely eliminates the increase in cortisol, which is observed in the control group, which took pure water in equal volume (Dcuster et al., 1992). When a carbohydrate solution was consumed compared with an aqueous placebo, along with a decrease in the response secretion of ACTH and cortisol, an improvement was found in the speed test for4.8 km after two hours of cycling with an intensity of 65 & 75% V02max (Murray et al., 1991). . With an equal energy value, after three days of the ketogenic diet, a higher level of cortisone is observed before and after exercise as compared to the control group fed on a mixed diet (Langfort et al., 1996).

Glycerol, which was proposed as an aid to maintaining the water regime during exercise, does not have any effect on changes in plasma cortisol levels after exercising on a bicycle ergometer with an intensity of 70% V02max for 1 hour, followed by a stepwise increase in load before the onset of fatigue (Inder et al., 1998c).

Creatine is a popular nutritional supplement among athletes. Short-term use of creatine for 5 days does not affect the increase in cortisol level in response to an intensive 1-hour strength training session, although after taking creatine a tendency to increase cortisol level may be observed (Opété Hespel 2001). Good nutrition, taking drinks with dietary supplements or with carbohydrates or placebo does not have any effect on cortisol levels, measured for 24 hours after exercise (Bloomer et al., 2000).