Artificial Adrenaline

I don't want to get into the "Natural vs artificial" debate, so I'll jump to:

Where did your read/hear that adrenaline destroys cholesterol?
I can't find a reasonable citation....

 

First off, adrenaline is a catecholamine - it is unstable outisde of tissues or inside your gut. It has no known efftect when taken orally.

In medical circles the injectable form is called epinephrine.

In the body, adrenaline breaks down certain lipids - glycogen being the main one - to release glucose into the bloodstream. It also induces the production of another hormone - glucagon, which in turn also raises blood glucose levels. Adrenaline release is triggered either by low blood sugar levels or by the "flight or fight response" humans have when they are put in a stressful situation.

Everybody has experienced either dry mouth or sweaty palms when put in situation that is streesful - a first date, an interview, a final exam, etc. This is one manifestation of adrenline, another is an increased heart rate.

To my knowledge adrenaline does nothing to serum cholesterol levels other than to raise them as a later-on-byproduct of high blood sugar levels.

 

Our bodies have many processes that affect cholesterol. There are the two kinds, low density lipid (LDL) which you want to decrese, and high density (HDL) which you want to keep at a certain level.

The best way to reduce LDL is by cardio type excercise (running, walking, swimming, bicycle, etc.; low-impact long period repititive whole-body excercises) and a diet low in animal fats. Egg yolks, which have a horrible rep, have been shown to have little effect if eaten at normal levels (around one egg a day?).

For keeping HDL up, the same things work, but not as well. There are suggestions on the web, not entirely cranky, that a modest intake of booze helps.

 

Caffeine affects your brain, not blood lipids-- basically making you able to temporarily overcome fatigue.

Define "a lot". It isn't the number of pills, it is the total dose. Your doctor is the best person to tell you if what you are doing is safe or not. There are some really nasty problems associated with long-term overuse of caffeine. Caffeine does not replace sleep.

 

What is an adrenaline problem? Do you have Addison's disease?

In either case you really need to see somebody. Anybody who knows a lot more than I ever will.

 

I agree with Evo - we seem to have a strong case of "moving target syndrome" here.

What do you actually want to know?