Cortisol
WHAT IS IT? WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced by your adrenal glands. These little glands piggyback your kidneys.
Cortisol is often referred to as your ‘stress hormone’, but you have fluctuations in cortisol every day as part of normal functioning.
Cortisol, in normal amounts, helps you wake up in the morning. It also helps to balance inflammatory responses as well as regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Cortisol levels with increase when your body perceives stress. Now, the key word here is perceives.
This is where it can get a little tricky because actions that we know are usually good for us, may actually ‘stress’ your body too much.
Some of the things in everyday life that your body may perceive as stress are:
waking up before you are ready (hello alarm clock)
exercising
eating too much
eating too little
fasting
caffeine
not enough sleep
not enough downtime for rest
chemical and toxin exposure from food and household items
being in a job you dislike
being in a relationship that you aren’t happy in
deadlines (getting up in the morning and making sure you are out of the house in time is a deadline that happens EVERY DAY!)
So, if you have a little bit too much stress coming in all the time, your body can be overwhelmed resulting in too much cortisol too often, or a situation where your body stops being able to make enough cortisol to keep up, resulting in very little being available for normal everyday functioning.
In both these situations, your body will make adaptions to cope at the expense of other organs.
So what symptoms may you experience if your cortisol is high?
anxiety and depression
headaches
high blood pressure
brain fog
digestive problems
weight gain
trouble sleeping
cravings
immune dysregulation (often a hypersensitive immune system)
If you have low cortisol you may experience:
fatigue
trouble waking up in the morning
digestive problems
depression
cravings
low blood pressure
immune dysregulation (often decreased immunity)
As you can see, these symptoms are quite vague and aren’t specific to just having a cortisol imbalance. There are other tools I use as a Clinical Nutritionist to find out how stress is impacting your body and if chronic cortisol imbalances may be the cause.
What can you do to balance your cortisol?
SLOW DOWN!!
reassess your exercise routine
Eat! 3 balanced meals spaced over the day. Make sure each meal has protein, carbs, and fat.
take it easy on the coffee
schedule in non-negotiable downtime to be still and breathe
Need help navigating your body’s stress response?
I can help! Use the Book Now link at the top of the page or CLICK HERE to book your Initial Nutritional Medicine Consult or Initial Metabolic Balance Consult.
