Cortisol and other stress hormones are the first level of preventing weight loss in both men and women. You can cut your calorie intake as much as you want and still not loose weight because of high level of these hormones in you body. Actually cutting calories drastically will increase the levels of these hormones.

What you eat and how you handle stress can drive you body into blood sugar instability, weight gain, sleep disturbance and exhaustion that lead to weight gain and chronic illness.

Adrenal glands are stress handling glands that produce a variety of hormones that help you handle all types of stress-mental, emotional or physical. The adrenals function to keep your body in a dynamic balance during whatever external or internal changes or challenges you face.

They control fluid balance, blood sugar balance, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, and immune system response. You can see why the control indirectly your looks and weight.

The adrenals produce steroid hormones which are the hormones that determine overall strength, and stamina. They are the backup to the sex hormones, and so are vital for everything from fertility to pregnancy to menopause and include anti-aging hormones. Every cell in the body is effected by the hormones released by the adrenal glands. Adrenal health is the key to health and anti-aging.

A healthy diet will help balance blood sugar and hormone levels, help with adrenal fatigue, prevent energy and mood ups and downs, and promote proper weight.

What is a proper healthy diet? Starting with the popular Mediterranean diet is the easiest way to begin and modify your choices from there.

Eat every two hours, always add protein to your meals and snacks, eat real whole, fresh food, salt your food with sea salt and drink plenty of water.

When you eat every two hours you relieve the stress handling hormones of the task of keeping your blood sugar levels normal between meals that gives them a break. Epinephrine and cortisol are responsible for this,they also cause weight gain so you do not want an excess in you blood stream. Eating frequently, but only the right foods keeps you blood sugar levels normal without the addition of stress hormones. Avoid dead, junk foods. These foods cannot rebuild a healthy body. They are missing nutrients and rob the remaining nutrient stores from your body. Avoid trans fats they interfere with the functions of the cell membranes. Drink pure water as your primary beverage along with decaffeinated green and herbal teas, reduce to a minimum fruit juices and consume fresh whole fruit when you want a sweet snack. Low salt diets contribute to adrenal fatigue, so use sea salt on your food it looks and taste like regular salt but contains trace minerals that have been refined out of regular salt.

What to eat? Seven or more servings of vegetables and fruits should be you daily goal. Get rid of frozen or canned vegetables and fruits and eat fresh. Eat a natural source of protein, organic meats, vegetable protein including peas, beans, lentils, and nuts. Eat organic grains in their whole form and as sprouts in bread. The majority of your diet should be proteins, fats and vegetables next complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, and grains. Fruit is tasty and refreshing but due to the high sugar content should be the smallest food category. There is no room in a healthy stress free diet for margarine, vegetable shortening, commercially prepared foods.

Relax and consider yourself blessed to know what you know about health and apply what you know to live a long stress free life.