How to balance cortisol levels

Cortisol is one of the biggest health buzzwords of the moment. TikTok is full of videos of wellness gurus blaming stress hormone imbalances for everything from acne to weight gain, but the world of cortisol is often misunderstood. Like all hormones, cortisol has important functions in the body, and levels rise and fall naturally. However, when our levels are out of whack, it can lead to short- and long-term well-being issues, so it’s important to maintain balance. We asked Alicia Mackintosh, registered nutritional therapist and co-founder of the supplement brand Equito shed some light on one of the most important health issues of the moment.

Balancing Cortisol Levels: A Nutritionist’s Guide

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is an essential hormone in the body with far-reaching impacts on our daily well-being. Produced by our adrenal glands, which sit just above our kidneys, cortisol is often called the stress hormone because it plays a vital role in the body’s response to stress, also known as ” fight or flight response.” By regulating various functions throughout the body, such as increasing heart rate and blood pressure, increasing blood glucose levels, and sharpening brain function, it prioritizes essential body processes to help us think or get out of stressful situations, while momentarily abandoning it. non-urgent functions such as digestion and reproduction.

Its lesser-known roles are just as crucial as it governs a healthy sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm. The right amount of cortisol helps us feel awake, alert, warm and able to focus during the day, but able to slow down, shut down and sleep deeply at night.

Why do we need to balance our cortisol levels?

Like most hormones in the body, we need to have the right amount of cortisol. Too much can make us feel jittery, anxious and tired, but wired, and too little affects our energy, focus, mood and immunity. Cortisol follows a natural rhythm throughout the day. Generally speaking, it starts to rise in the early morning, peaking around 11am, helping us to feel alert, energized, warm and able to focus before starting to decline in the afternoon . This naturally leads to some energy around 3 or 4 pm before it dies down throughout the night to help us wind down. This allows melatonin to increase so we can fall asleep naturally and regenerate during the night.

Maintaining this balance is what helps us feel better, but it’s a cycle that is greatly affected by our diet and lifestyle stress, caffeine, exercise, lack of sleep, a sugary diet and medications can affect it. In the short term, this isn’t so much of a problem, and the body can adapt to it, especially if you also supply your adrenal glands with the right nutrients to stay healthy, but over time it can start to have ramifications on your health .

What are some symptoms of cortisol imbalance?

One of the reasons we evolved as humans is because cortisol allows us to perceive danger and respond accordingly. The fight-or-flight response is well suited to running and fighting life-threatening situations; however, in the modern world, many of the stresses we face are less invasive and can often be low-level chronic stress.

Poor sleep is probably one of the first signs that your cortisol cycle may be out of whack when you wake up in the night and can’t get back to sleep or feel tired in the evening but wired, struggling to switch off. Elevated cortisol during the day can make us feel anxious, especially if we’re at the office or in a meeting and can’t be physically active when we’re stressed. Other more subtle signs are low energy (even after a good night’s sleep), inability to concentrate, sugar cravings, or always needing that extra cup of coffee to get you started. Long-term stress can affect our immunity, cause inflammation, lead to digestive problems, skin problems, hair loss and more.

What are some common misconceptions about cortisol?

I would say the main thing is that cortisol is the bad guy as we explained here, we really need cortisol; it’s just about keeping the balance! The other is that we are all “exhausted or adrenally depleted.” Yes, long-term stress will put a lot of strain on our adrenal systems, but total burnout is actually quite rare. Our adrenal systems are designed to help us deal with times of stress; however, the best way to keep them healthy is to treat them properly to ensure they can recover, keeping us resilient.

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What are the key ways to balance our cortisol?

• Often, what we do in the first two hours of waking has the biggest impacts on our day. During the first 90 minutes, let daylight enter your eyes for about 10 minutes (ideally not through a window) and hold off on tea/coffee until after that point.
• Protein at breakfast also prevents spikes in cortisol that can cause you to lose energy later. Look for eggs, seeds, nuts, cottage cheese or smoked salmon.
• Exercise is great for stress, cortisol balance, and sleep, but avoid strenuous workouts before bed.
• If you are stressed then fasting may not be for you, wait until you are in a better place.
• Fiber is vital to your gut microbiome, which affects your stress response.
• Try to get 10 plants a day from different groups: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, lentils, beans, herbs and spices.
• Supplements can be incredibly stimulating if you’re stressed and quick results, especially if you’re burning the candle at both ends and can’t always eat well. B vitamins, vitamin C and zinc are vital to keeping your adrenals healthy. Equi ensures that all nutrients are at the optimal level to restore adrenal function.
• Science shows that adaptogenic herbs (ashwagandha, rhodiola, schisandra, Siberian ginseng) as well as medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, cordyceps) can have a balancing impact on this all-important cortisol cycle, reducing levels if they are high while regenerates and restores normality. function That’s why Equi adds a daily dose of adaptogens and medicinal mushrooms to each daily dose.
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening (after 12pm) as it affects the quality of REM/deep sleep.
• Alcohol also affects sleep cycles and cortisol, but we drink more when we’re stressed. Look for zero percent options and try to stick to the recommended 14 units per week.
• Prioritize sleep and good sleep hygiene.
• Reduce exposure to bright light in the evening whenever possible.
• Before bed, try some magnesium (supplement or Epsom salt bath).