Cortisol - The Silent Killer

Cortisol… the silent killer

Taxes. Final exams. Credit card payments. Relationships. All have what in common? Huge sources of stress! Although not all stress is bad stress, we often forget how these sources affect our body’s ability to maintain normal functioning. During times of high stress, your body responses through hormonal release.
Hormones play a crucial role in maintaining the body’s functioning. As chemical messengers, they affect many different processes from growth and development to reproduction. When stress arrives, a whole plethora of hormonal activities occur, some to inhibit production, some to increase production and some to create homeostasis (balance). While there are several different hormones that are all working together, cortisol is especially vital in times of stress.

Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands. The adrenals are located on top of the kidneys and a primary agent in the endocrine system. Once cortisol is released from the adrenal glands they are involved in a variety of functions: proper glucose metabolism, immune functioning, insulin release for the maintenance of blood sugar, regulation of blood pressure and inflammatory response.

While cortisol flows through the body daily, presenting higher levels in the morning and lowest at night, it is primarily known for being the “stress hormone”. When the body goes into “fight or flight mode” in response to a stress event, cortisol increases to help the body tend to higher demands. Cortisol decrease pain sensitivity, increases immunity, heightens memory, and increases energy through protein breakdown, movement of free fatty acids and creation of glucose. Additionally, cortisol helps to maintain homeostasis or balance within the body.

So now you are probably thinking, where is the catch? All of that sounds great! Well, it’s not. Cortisol sometimes forgets to turn off, therefore not allowing the body to return to relaxation mode. With the buzz of daily life, the body is more likely to remain in stress mode, resulting in chronic stress.

Impaired thinking processes, low functioning thyroid, higher blood pressure and a heightened sensitivity to blood sugar are only a few of the negative effects that cortisol has on the body. Things that you might not notice are a decrease in bone density, and muscle tissue and a low immunity and inflammatory response. One of the major warning signs of heightened cortisol is an increase in abdominal fat, which in turn is associated with more health problems.

Sadly, having high cortisol can result in a never ending cycle of stress. Stress about the weight that just won’t go down (I train and train but nothing changes!). Stress about the impaired cognitive functions (Why can’t I remember the simplest things!). Stress about always getting sick (I will never make enough money if I always have to take time off!). STOP IT! It is important to implement measures to reduce the stressors of life. Meditation, exercise, yoga, journaling are all helpful tools to reduce stress.

Other tools can be used to help lower cortisol. Vitamin C in a dosage of 1g, 3x a day is a proven effective cortisol control agent. Vitamin B complexes are another helpful tool. Other supplement regimes targeting cortisol control may include phosphatidyl serine, or calming herbs like St John’s Wort, passionflower and valerian.

Ensure that you are eating breakfast that includes protein. Protein helps to rebuild glycogen reserves. Without glycogen, your brain will not get feed, and sleep with be disrupted. And guess what? Disrupted sleep, means higher cortisol. Another cortisol cycle! Infrequent eating can also cause higher cortisol levels, therefore some researcher have advised to not go more than 5 hours without eating. While exercise can help reduce stress, too much exercise will increase stress on your body, causing an increase in cortisol. Keep your training times effective!

If you think you have high cortisol, talk to your doctor about testing. There are three main methods for evaluating cortisol: blood, urine and salvia. One of the more reliable indexes of cortisol secretion is the 24-hour urine sample collection. Accurate blood work requires a dexamethasone suppression test, in which the doctor will give you dexamethasone tablet to suppresses ACTH (ACTH is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal glands to release of cortisol) production. By taking the dexamethasone you will decrease cortisol production if the source of the excess hormone is pituitary (endocrine system) related. Saliva tests can also be quiet effective. These are done usually at 4x times throughout the day (upon waking, mid-morning, mid-afternoon and before bed) in order to produce a curve of your individual cortisol levels.

Let’s recap:

Cortisol is a crucial stress hormone that during acute stress manages our metabolic, behaviour, cognitive and immunity functions. We know that a little bit of cortisol is good, but a lot of cortisol can be bad. Overtime high cortisol levels can work to reduce muscle and bone health, slow down cell regeneration, alter various biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones, impair digestion, metabolism and mental function... essentially creating an unhappy endocrine and immune system. 

Be proactive. Start taking steps to reduce the overall stress on your body before it stops you.

For more articles on cortisol and how it affects the body, click here!