The Stress Hormone That’s Messing With Your Diet
We’ve all had those weeks where crazy amounts of stress leave us soothing our woes with late-night ice cream binges. But before your shame-spiral over your lack of self-control, weak willpower isn’t the only thing at blame in these scenarios.
Meet the stress hormone cortisol, which is responsible for your body’s “fight or flight” mechanism (more on that later). It’s been called public health enemy number one for its link to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, memory loss and more. And it might be responsible for weight gain and throwing your eating habits off the rails, too. Here’s how cortisol might be messing with your body — and what you can do about it.