Raising & Lowering Cortisol: Why It Matters by Joan Kent, PhD

If you work out, this is for you.

Under stress conditions, including exercise, we release the steroid hormone cortisol. It regulates a variety of body processes, including metabolism and glucose levels. It also reduces inflammation and blocks immune functions.

Cortisol promotes a feeling of well-being, and having too little brings on fatigue. In excess, though, cortisol can increase weight and blood pressure and lead to heart disease — or even depression due to brain chemical changes it induces.

Cortisol fluctuates with circadian rhythms. Highest levels occur in the morning, lowest levels in the evening.

Meanwhile, the immune response works in reverse. This is one reason it’s been suggested that endurance workouts be done in the morning and high-intensity training in the afternoon or evening. The immune system manages recovery from training, and the thinking seems to be that endurance workouts won’t require much recovery, as compared with high-intensity work.

(Lots to comment on there, but that’s a different post!)

Acute Stress and Cortisol

High levels of cortisol during and after an athletic event serve as anti-inflammatory. They reduce various immune system functions so we can keep training.

After the workout or event, turning off cortisol allows the immune system to “switch on” and facilitate recovery from the workout.

But What If Cortisol Stays High?

If it stays high, cortisol starts to break muscle down through a process called gluconeogenesis or “making new glucose/sugar”. Obtaining glucose from muscle is more efficient than from fat.

While this is going on, cortisol is also preventing the uptake of amino acids (building blocks of protein) into muscle tissue, so no muscle growth occurs.

Chronically high cortisol can lead to fat storage, inhibited thyroid function, sodium and water retention, poor calcium absorption, further loss of muscle mass, and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance underlies such metabolic conditions as diabetes, hypertension, high blood fats (triglycerides), cholesterol problems, heart disease, even some cancers. It can cause obesity, too.

Over time, high cortisol inhibits immune function and recovery from exercise. Eventually, it may interfere with endocrine function and lower testosterone levels, which leads to poor athletic performance and recovery for both women and men.

What Raises Cortisol?

• High-intensity training without adequate recovery

• Overtraining

• Sleep deprivation

• Glycogen deficiency, possibly due to a low-carbohydrate diet, especially if you train regularly

• Repeated doses of caffeine over the course of the day

• Alcohol, whether it’s consumed for relaxation after an athletic event or — as many people use it — before bed to bring on relaxation and sleep

What Lowers Cortisol?

1. Sleep. Starches are excellent for bringing on sleep. A small portion of starch will trigger insulin, which allows the brain to make serotonin. That’s the precursor for melatonin, the sleep hormone.

You can consume starch alone (left-over quinoa or rice), or with saturated fat (baked potato and butter), or with a slice of turkey. Small portions are effective.

2. Consuming starches before and during a long or tough athletic training or event.

3. Refueling within 30 minutes after the training ends. For details on refueling to stop cortisol, just go here.

4. Specific supplements that facilitate recovery from training can help, as well, but that’s a topic for a different post.

If you’d like to use foods to enhance your fitness performance and/or recovery, I’d love to help. Just visit LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Workout Booster consult. Find out how small, easy changes can make a big difference in your workouts, your energy, and your health.

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar.