Licorice allows cortisol to bind to aldosterone receptors

Probably everybody already knows it but for me personally this is new so I thought I'd share:

"In the kidney this 11-beta HSD2 normally inactivates cortisol, another steroid hormone. Cortisol (called hydrocortisone when used therapeutically) has a wide range of different actions, such as quelling inflammation and altering blood Sugar levels. Normally cortisol’s action on the kidney is blocked, however, because an SDR enzyme in the kidney turns cortisol into a less active form called cortisone. If left active, cortisol works on the kidney just like aldosterone, binding to aldosterone’s receptor and triggering the same effects as aldosterone: potassium wasting through the urine, sodium retention, water retention, and hypertension. The problem with cortisol acting just like aldosterone in your kidney is that cortisol is several times more concentrated than aldosterone in your plasma, and if cortisol remains unchecked at your kidney, it will appear as though your kidney is flooded with aldosterone when it is actually cortisol doing all of this. Normally, the 11-beta HSD2 enzyme inactivates cortisol in the kidney, preventing it from impersonating a flood of aldosterone hormone. This explains why aldosterone appears out of control but remains low in both licorice overdose and 11-beta HSD2 deficiency; it is actually surplus cortisol acting like aldosterone."


http://drholly.typepad.com/licorice/