Cortisol is a steroid hormone, known as a glucocorticoid, made in the cortex of the adrenal glands and then released into the blood which transports it all around the body. Almost every cell contains receptors for cortisol, so it can have a lot of different actions depending on which sort of cells it is acting upon. These effects include: raising blood sugar making you hungry and crave sugar reducing your ability to burn fat suppressing the HPA-axis, which exists between you