I CAN MAKE YOU fat. Actually, I can make anybody fat. How? I prescribe prednisone, a synthetic version of the human hormone cortisol. Prednisone is used to treat many diseases, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, glomerulonephritis and myasthenia gravis. And what is one of the most consistent effects of prednisone? Like insulin, it makes you fat. Not coincidentally, both insulin and cortisol play a key role in carbohydrate metabolism. Prolonged cortisol stimulation will raise glucose levels and, subsequently, insulin. This increase in
...more
