The actions of insulin and glucagon were described very intently in Bulletin #18. Though these two hormones are very important in determining whether what you eat is used as energy, used to build muscle mass or stored as body, and their levels are determined solely by diet, they are not the entire answer. Other hormones ó testosterone, growth hormone and epinephrine ó also are very important and can be controlled through exercise. Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is the bodyís most powerful stimulus for fat breakdown. Nerve impulses are sent to the adrenal glands which secrete epinephrine and send it throughout the body in the bloodstream. This hormone primes the muscles for action and mobilizes fat from adipose stores to provide energy. It also increases the heart rate, blood pressure and the force of the heartís contractions. Growth hormone is the most important hormone responsible for normal growth during childhood. Even after a person has reached adult stature, growth hormone promotes muscle growth and fat loss in adults. There are several ways to naturally increase your bodyís GH levels, including getting plenty of sleep, training in high volume, and eating a diet high in protein among others.

The hormones insulin and glucagon play a significant role in determing muscle gain and fat loss. And both are controlled entirely by diet. Both insulin and glucagon are produced by the pancreas, but have opposite effects. The concern of these hormones is blood sugar regulation. After eating a carbohydrate, it is digested and sent into the bloodstream as glucose. As blood glucose levels rise, so does the release of insulin, which is required to move glucose into muscle cells for use as energy or to be stored as glycogen. If blood sugar levels rise too quickly, a large insulin release results. When this occurs, some of the glucose can be converted and stored as fat instead of being stored as glycogen. Also, too much glucose can be moved into cells, causing hypoglycemia. Glucagon is released when blood glucose levels become too low. This hormone prepares fat to be used for energy as well as muscle glycogen stores. The net result is to keep blood glucose levels normalized. By manipulation of the diet, you can regulate the insulin to glucagon ratio. This is a basic premise of the Parrillo Nutrition Program.