Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal glands, but in a different section than DHEA. Unlike DHEA, its production and blood level do not decrease with age. When a person is under stress, either physical, mental, or emotional, the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland with corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) causing the secretion of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). The ACTH circulates through the body to the adrenal glands and causes the secretion of cortisol.

Cortisol has important functions. It maintains an adequate blood pressure and primes the body for activity in the face of stress by increasing the blood sugar. If it does this for a short period of time, i.e., long enough for the person to evade the stressor, it is beneficial to the survival of the individual. If, as happens in the modern environment, the stress is chronic, then the continuously elevated levels can cause many deleterious effects: thinning of bones, immune system suppression, weakened muscles, fat deposition around the waste, and thinner skin. In addition, it can damage the neurons of the hippocampus that are important for laying down new memories.

If a person has a benign tumor that produces too much cortisol, he is said to have Cushing's syndrome, named after the physician who first identified this condition. From an anti-aging standpoint, the similarities between Cushing syndrome patients and aging adults is quite interesting. As we get older, we have thinner skin and bones, less muscle, more abdominal fat, and worsening short-term memories. We also are unable to turn off the cortisol response to a stress as quickly as we could when we were younger, and this leads to the damage of the chronically elevated levels. Moreover, the higher nocturnal cortisol levels decreases the amount of time spent in the deep stages of sleep which in turn lowers growth hormone secretion. The effects of the lower growth hormone secretion are outlined in the HGH section.

As with insulin, an important part of any anti-aging program is lower cortisol levels to the youthful range. This can be accomplished by behavioral techniques such as reducing stress in your life, meditation, and moderate exercise. DHEA can protect your hippocampal neurons and your bones from the damaging effects of elevated cortisol levels.

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