adrenal glands

EXERCISES HAD A GREAT EFFECT ON ADERNAL GLANDS – (08-11-04)

September 23, 2012 by James Bogash

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Response and Recovery from High-Intensity Exercise in Women: Effects of Aging and Fitness

If most people were asked to list the benefits of exercise, I doubt many would reply that exercise can make the adrenal glands more responsive to hypothalamic control. This just illustrates that exercise’s beneficial effects cut accros an incredibly wide range of physiological systems.

In English, this study found that elderly women who exercise on a regular basis had adrenal glands that responded better than their sedentary cohorts. So, after exercise, cortisol levels are increased but should fall relatively quickly. But this response is slowed as we age. This can lead to abnormally elevated cortisol levels. However, exercise in the elderly women in this study restored a more normal response.

JCEM — Abstracts: Traustadóttir et al. 89 (7): 3248

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CAFFEINE INTAKE MAY EFFECT BLOOD GLUCOSE MANAGEMENT IN MEN WITH DIABETES – (10-13-04)

September 18, 2012 by James Bogash

Caffeine Ingestion Before an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Impairs Blood Glucose Management in Men with Type 2 Diabetes

Caffeine is known to stimulate the adrenal glands to release medullary products (adrenalin/epinephrine) and this will cause an increase in glucose floating in the bloodstream. It may be by this mechanism that caffeine ingestion in this study blunted the body’s ability to get glucose out of the bloodstream. So, those of you out there that describe “coffee” as your breakfast, you may be doubly shooting yourself in the foot–release of adrenalin to break down lean muscle mass so the brain has fuel to function on, and caffeine to make sure that glucose hangs around in the bloodstream longer–not a good combination. Caffeine Ingestion Before an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Impairs Blood Glucose Management in Men with Type 2 Diabetes — Robi.

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ARE YOU AWARE THAT ADRENALS BURN THROUGH VITAMIN C UNDER STRESS? – (01-26-08)

March 21, 2012 by James Bogash

Human adrenal glands secrete vitamin C in response to adrenocorticotrophic hormone

I have to admit, this one caused me to slow down and do a double take. It is well known that adrenals burn through Vit C under stress. I had always just assumed that this meant that Vit C was being used as a cofactor for some enzymatic process.

However, this study finds that, when the adrenals are stimulated via ACTH, they actually release high levels of Vit C for a short burst of time, presumably to assist in stress-related adaptations elsewhere in the body. This is a known mechanism in other mammals (humans are one of 4 mammals no longer able to make their own Vit C in the liver) that is used to combat stress, but I had never heard of any comparable process in humans. Maybe we just did.