Tag: Cortisol

If you're on a mission to lose weight, you've probably tried everything from cutting down on your calories to spending hours sweating in the...

Hormones have a significant influence on weight loss and gain, so keep them balanced. Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, increases with stress, lack of sleep, and physical inactivity. The stress hormone cortisol shoots through the roof when you’re feeling tense. As levels rise, fat accumulates and leads to weight gain. Even excess estrogen makes fat cells grow, but avoiding high dairy and meat intake will promote balance.

Eating food is a basic human need that is caused by hunger. Feeling hungry around meal times is natural and normal. But, feeling hungry all the time is abnormal and indicates that your hormones related to hunger are not functioning properly. Eating certain foods and adopting simple lifestyle practices can help you make these hormones work efficiently and prevent feeling hungry all the time.

Caffeine or coffee, in particular, is the beverage of choice for most people. However, in women, it is associated with a few health complications. Caffeine causes loss of calcium and vitamin B 6 through urine. This increases the risk of osteoporosis and aggravates PMS symptoms. Caffeine increases cortisol levels after meals which causes stress. It might cause miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, fetal death, and stillbirth. It can also aggravate breast pain and obscure mammogram readings.

Anxiety is a feeling that all of us go through from time to time, especially in reaction to stressful events. While some anxiety is...

Holding onto negative emotion increases the stress hormone cortisol. At high levels, immune function decreases, making it hard for the body to fight cancer. It also increases inflammation and messes with sleep, two factors of chronic disease. Plus, emotional suppression brings on unhealthy coping habits that raise cancer risk. To release negative feelings, practice deep breathing or go for a walk. You can also take up kickboxing.

In the environment that we live in today, hair loss is a common problem faced by men and women alike. Although we attribute hair...

If you’re stressed often and your cortisol levels are through the roof, try natural ways of reducing these issues instead of resorting to medications. A diet rich in essential nutrients alongside regular but mild exercise can help reduce cortisol levels. Not just that, recognizing the factors frequently causing you stress, relaxing, staying happy, and sleeping well can also lower cortisol levels.

Depression is a mental health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Besides pushing a person into a gloomy and dejected state of mind,...

If you are not fond of stripping before you get under those bed covers, you have got it figured out wrong. Sleeping without your...

Skipping meals or going on a detox that requires you to stick to just water for a day or two may seem like a good idea. But what happens to your body when you skip a meal? Is it all good? Whether your goal is weight loss or a “cleanse,” here’s how going without any food for long stretches feels on the inside.

If you're gaining fat despite all measures, check whether your body has low levels of thyroid hormones. This can slow down your overall metabolism. Also check if you have too much insulin or an imbalance in estrogen and testosterone levels. This could make you store glucose as fat. Plus, high cortisol or leptin levels can make you overeat. Avoid refined foods and exercise well to use up glucose better.

Sprinting, an anaerobic exercise, burns more fat at a higher speed—about 200 cals in 2.5 mins—than jogging, an aerobic one. It boosts metabolism and helps build lean muscles faster with the testosterone and the growth hormone it helps release. And as it triggers a faster release of endorphins, it's more effective in lowering stress. Restrict sprinting to 3 days a week and avoid it if you have heart or respiratory problems.

Eat protein-rich foods like lean meat and casein shake to burn more calories. You should sleep for at least 7 hours to keep your cortisol levels low and your appetite in check. So also have tryptophan foods like turkey and melatonin foods like cherries, both of which improve sleep quality. Avoid fatty food, sweets, ice creams, caffeine, and frozen food in the evening. Meditate or relax to calm your nerves for good sleep.

Cortisol imbalance due to stress can manifest into palpitations, low energy, brain fog, night sweats, BP spikes etc. Moderate and regular exercise including yoga can get your stress levels down. Get adequate sleep and avoid screen exposure at night. Stay positive and laugh out loud. Consume foods with Vit C, take magnesium supplements and treat yourself to a massage.