3 Things to be Carefull With

Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar are three things that people with cortisol issues should be carefull with. All three of these cause a stress response in the body which leads to more cortisol. For those who love their morning coffee make sure to have your caffeine between 6-8am(when your cortisol levels are naturally the highest) and have your coffee with your breakfast. The protein and fat in your breakfast will slow down the stress response on your body from the caffeine.

Sugar and alcohol also cause stress on the body. Sugar causes a large release of insulin which is a stressor. If you have a cortisol problem then you are more than likely to have a problem with insulin resistance, which means that any excess sugar is going to create a lot of problems for you. Alcohol can also wreak havoc on cortisol metabolism, because it is also perceived as a stress. Once again, if you are going to have alcohol make sure to have it with some protein and fat in order to slow down the absorbtion.

Cortisol is meant to be high in the early morning in order to give us energy and then gradually decrease throughout the day. Many people today have backwards cortisol patterns in which they have very low levels in the morning and high levels at night. The typical person with a backwards cortisol pattern often needs caffeine to wake up in the morning and alcohol to wind down at night. If you fit this mold then try to break free of your dependance on these substances.