So, what do we do about Elevated Cortisol? First, let's look at what causes it, and that is stress. "Well", you might say, "considering my life there's not much I can do about that!" And to a great extent, that would be a true statement. Unless we want to give up all of our aspirations in life and go live in a cave in a mountain or in a hut on an uncharted island, we are going to have stress in our lives. And even there, we would be stressed about finding something to eat, not getting eaten, keeping warm or cool, have a clean source of water, etc. Stress is a natural part of the human condition. How we deal with stress will make all of the difference in the world!
Stress increases cortisol and that causes sugar imbalance. That, in turn, will cause carb craving. Then we eat comfort food. That's not good. So, the key then is to relax and replenish. If you have no problem with alcohol, I recommend 1 - 2 standard 5 ounce servings of wine at the end of the day to help relax. Note that I am not recommending more than two! Getting drunk every night is not the solution, and that will lead to alcohol addiction, or alcoholism. If you have a philosophical or physical problem with alcohol, such as spiritual beliefs, sulfur allergies, or alcoholism, then I recommend either meditation or herbal remedies. Valerian is a great calming herb, and the better the product the better the effect. We offer a high quality Valerian Complex in our office, and there are good products available elsewhere.
If anxiety is an issue, indicated by rapid pulse, increased sweating, and difficulty with mental focus, I find that Valerian also helps. Additionally, multi-mineral supplements with help, as will daily consumption of calf fries. Now, if eating calf fries is not your thing, then find a product with that in it, or at least a similar effect. We have available a multi-mineral product with the essence of calf fries available in a capsule that you can't taste. It is called Min-Chex. If insomnia is an issue, then either increase your consumption of calf fries or use a product that is highly concentrated in that essence in it, such as our Orchex capsules.
Finally, when under great stress your body will use more vitamins. While any vitamin supplement is better than none, the synthetic vitamins have toxic effects. For that reason, more and more manufactures are producing whole food vitamins. These are naturally-sourced and non-toxic. We carry a line of whole food supplements if you are interested.
Next time we will talk about Estrogen Dominance. See you then!
