5 Foods That Naturally Decrease Cortisol, the Stress Hormone
Summary
TLDREmma McAdam, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discusses the impact of diet on cortisol levels, the hormone associated with stress. She explains that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats can counteract cortisol's negative effects, which include anxiety, depression, and inflammation. Foods high in B vitamins, omega-3s, magnesium, and those that regulate blood sugar and promote a healthy gut microbiome are recommended. The video also emphasizes the importance of hydration and avoiding foods that increase cortisol, such as alcohol, caffeine, and simple carbs.
Takeaways
- 🍽️ Diet impacts cortisol levels; what you eat can significantly influence stress levels due to its effect on cortisol production.
- 🏃♂️ Cortisol is the 'stress hormone', playing a role in the body's fight or flight response and regulating various bodily functions.
- 🚨 Chronic exposure to cortisol can lead to negative health effects such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, and increased risk of diseases.
- 🥗 A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats can help lower cortisol levels compared to a traditional high-fat, sugar, and carb diet.
- 🥦 Foods high in B vitamins, especially B12, can help metabolize cortisol. Good sources include organ meats, beef, chicken, eggs, and fortified cereals.
- 🐟 Omega-3 rich foods reduce inflammation and can be obtained from both fish and plant-based sources like walnuts, avocados, and flaxseeds.
- 🌰 Magnesium-rich foods are crucial for muscle relaxation, reducing inflammation, and metabolizing cortisol. Examples include pumpkin seeds, almonds, and dark chocolate.
- 🍬 Eating regular meals and protein-rich foods helps regulate blood sugar and decrease cortisol. Skipping meals can stress the body.
- 🌿 A healthy gut microbiome is linked to better mental health. High-fiber foods and probiotics support a diverse gut bacteria population.
- 💧 Staying hydrated is important as dehydration can increase stress and cortisol levels.
- 🚫 Foods that increase cortisol include alcohol, caffeine, saturated fats, simple sugars, and simple carbs like white bread.
- 🧩 Managing stress involves a holistic approach, and while diet is a key component, it should be combined with other lifestyle practices for best results.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of the video by Emma McAdam?
-The video focuses on discussing foods that can naturally decrease cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone.
What is cortisol and why is it important to manage its levels?
-Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, which is part of the body's activating and energizing response. It helps regulate various bodily functions such as sleep cycles, inflammation, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Managing cortisol levels is important because chronic exposure can lead to anxiety, depression, fatigue, inflammation, weight gain, and other health issues.
How does diet impact cortisol levels according to the video?
-The video suggests that people on a traditional American diet high in fat, sugar, and carbs have higher cortisol levels compared to those who consume more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats.
What is the role of inflammation in the body's stress response?
-Inflammation is essentially a low-level stress response in the body. It can damage healthy tissue and lead to chronic stress on the body. It also increases intestinal permeability, known as leaky gut, which can trigger more inflammation.
Why is it better to consume whole foods rather than just supplements for managing cortisol levels?
-Whole foods are nutritionally dense and provide a more diverse and complex range of nutrients than simple concentrated supplements. They also support gut health through fiber, which is essential for maintaining a healthy gut microbiome.
Which foods are high in B vitamins that can help metabolize cortisol?
-Foods high in B vitamins, especially B12, include organ meats, beef, chicken, eggs, nutritional yeast, and fortified cereals.
What role do omega-3s play in managing cortisol levels?
-Omega-3s help reduce inflammation, which in turn can lower cortisol levels. They can be obtained from both fish and plant-based sources like walnuts, avocados, chia, flax, and olive oil.
How does magnesium contribute to stress and cortisol management?
-Magnesium is essential for relaxing muscles, reducing inflammation, and metabolizing cortisol. It also helps regulate heartbeat and decrease blood pressure. Magnesium-rich foods include pumpkin seeds, almonds, pistachios, broccoli, bananas, avocado, artichokes, spinach, and dark chocolate.
Why are foods that regulate blood sugar important for decreasing cortisol levels?
-Foods that regulate blood sugar help prevent the body from experiencing stress due to hunger. Regular meals and protein-rich foods, especially beans and legumes, are beneficial in this regard.
How does a healthy gut microbiome contribute to mental health and stress management?
-A healthy gut microbiome is important for mental health because most of the serotonin in the body is produced in the gut. Consuming high-fiber foods and probiotics can promote a healthy gut microbiome.
What are some foods and substances that can increase cortisol levels?
-Foods and substances that can increase cortisol levels include alcohol, caffeine, saturated fats, simple sugars like sodas and candy, and simple carbs like white bread.
What is the importance of staying hydrated in relation to cortisol levels?
-Staying well-hydrated is important as dehydration can be a stressor for the body. One study showed that dehydrated individuals, such as young soccer players, had higher cortisol levels.
What is the Mediterranean diet and how does it relate to stress and cortisol management?
-The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats. It has been found to be effective at decreasing inflammation and improving mental health, which can help in managing stress and cortisol levels.
Outlines
🍽️ Foods That Naturally Decrease Cortisol
Emma McAdam, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discusses the impact of diet on cortisol levels, the stress hormone. She explains that while cortisol is essential for the body's fight or flight response, chronic exposure can lead to various health issues, including anxiety, depression, fatigue, and heart disease. McAdam emphasizes the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats, as opposed to a traditional American diet high in fat, sugar, and carbs. She also highlights the benefits of whole foods over supplements for gut health and nutrient diversity. Foods high in B vitamins, omega-3s, and magnesium are recommended for their ability to metabolize cortisol, reduce inflammation, and regulate bodily processes.
🥗 Strategies for Managing Cortisol Through Diet
In the second paragraph, McAdam continues the discussion on cortisol management by focusing on specific dietary strategies. She advises regular meals to prevent blood sugar fluctuations and stress, emphasizing the importance of protein-rich foods like beans and legumes, which also have antioxidant properties. The role of a healthy gut microbiome in mental health is introduced, with serotonin production in the gut being linked to good bacteria. McAdam suggests consuming a variety of high-fiber foods and probiotics to maintain a healthy gut. She also warns against foods that can increase cortisol levels, such as alcohol, caffeine, saturated fats, and simple sugars. The video concludes with a reminder that while diet is important, a holistic approach to stress management is necessary, and she invites viewers to explore her free course on grounding skills for stress, anxiety, and PTSD.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cortisol
💡Stress Management
💡Anti-Inflammatory Diet
💡Inflammation
💡B Vitamins
💡Omega-3s
💡Magnesium
💡Blood Sugar Regulation
💡Gut Microbiome
💡Probiotics
💡Hydration
Highlights
Emma McAdam discusses the impact of diet on cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress.
Cortisol is essential for the body's fight or flight response but can be harmful if chronically elevated.
A traditional American diet high in fat, sugar, and carbs is linked to higher cortisol levels.
An anti-inflammatory diet, similar to the Mediterranean diet, can help decrease inflammation and cortisol.
Foods high in B vitamins, particularly B12, can aid in metabolizing cortisol.
Omega-3 rich foods such as fish, walnuts, and avocados reduce inflammation and cortisol levels.
Magnesium-rich foods are crucial for muscle relaxation, reducing inflammation, and metabolizing cortisol.
Stress can lead to the excretion of magnesium and potassium, intensifying the stress response.
Eating regular meals and protein-rich foods can help regulate blood sugar and decrease cortisol.
A healthy gut microbiome is linked to improved mental health and can be supported by a high-fiber diet.
Consuming a variety of plant fibers supports good bacteria in the gut, contributing to mental well-being.
Probiotics in foods like yogurt, kimchi, and kombucha promote a healthy gut microbiome.
Staying hydrated is important as dehydration can increase stress and cortisol levels.
Alcohol, caffeine, saturated fats, and simple sugars can increase cortisol production.
Moderation in consuming carbs and sugars is advised to manage stress levels effectively.
Emma McAdam emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to stress management beyond diet.
A free course on grounding skills for stress, anxiety, and PTSD is offered for further stress management education.
Transcripts
[Music] i'm emma mcadam i'm a licensed marriage and family therapist and today we're going to talk
about foods that naturally decrease cortisol managing stress involves a lot of things
a healthy work-life balance good boundaries sleep exercise but changing what you eat can also have
a big impact on your stress levels and that's because what you eat impacts cortisol levels now
cortisol is known as the stress hormone it's part of the activating energizing response in your body
and it triggers the fight or flight response but it plays a lot of other important roles in your
body too cortisol helps regulate everything from sleep cycles and inflammation to blood pressure
and blood sugar levels now cortisol is released by the adrenal gland in response to a physical threat
like an injury or a mental threat like a deadline and cortisol isn't inherently bad it's it's
helpful in the short term but being exposed to it for too long can lead to a chronic stress response
which can contribute to more anxiety depression fatigue inflammation weight gain higher blood
pressure a decreased immune system a higher chance of diabetes and heart disease so you can see how
decreasing cortisol can have a big impact on both physical and mental health so when researchers
explored how diet impacts cortisol they found that people on a traditional american diet of
high fat sugar and carbs had much higher cortisol levels than people who are eating more fruits
vegetables whole grains and polyunsaturated fats so an anti-inflammatory diet can counteract the
impact of cortisol inflammation is essentially a low-level stress response in the body your immune
system sends out macrophages and cytokines to kill off pathogens but the side effect is that it also
damages healthy tissue and leads to chronic stress on the body inflammation also increases intestinal
permeability which is known as leaky gut and this can allow bacteria into the bloodstream and that
can trigger even more inflammation to counter it so when we eat foods that cause inflammation
we essentially trigger that stress response in the body but you can choose foods that lower cortisol
inflammation and the stress response as we go through this list of foods you may recognize it
as having a lot in common with the mediterranean diet the mediterranean diet has been found to be
quite effective at decreasing inflammation and it's been shown to improve mental health okay
one last thing before we jump in while you can supplement with many of these nutrients
you'll almost always be better off eating whole foods that are nutritionally dense
and not just supplements that's partly because your gut health depends on the fiber
from the whole food and also because the nutrients in foods are more diverse and complex than
the simple concentrated supplements okay so let's talk about foods that naturally decrease
cortisol first foods high in b vitamins can help metabolize or burn off cortisol and this
is especially true of foods that are high in b12 and these include organ meat beef chicken eggs
nutritional yeast and fortified cereals so this is when they add b12 to cereals okay next foods high
in omega-3s these reduce inflammation now fish are often the best source but you can get omega-3s
from plant-based sources as well so these include walnuts avocados salmon chia flax olive oil tuna
mackerel herring anchovies etc next is magnesium rich foods magnesium is essential for tons of
bodily processes but it's especially essential for relaxing muscles reducing inflammation and
metabolizing cortisol it also helps regulate the heartbeat and decrease blood pressure
when we're stressed we excrete magnesium and potassium in our urine and low levels of magnesium
can intensify stress which can create a vicious cycle now getting enough magnesium has been shown
to help decrease anxiety and stress you can find magnesium in pumpkin seeds and other seeds like
almonds and pistachios it's also you can also find magnesium in broccoli bananas avocado
artichokes spinach also dark chocolate it's got magnesium and it has high amounts of flavonoids
which lower stress reactivity in the adrenal glands so yeah chocolate right the next thing
that you want to think about is foods that help regulate blood sugar so these are also important
to decrease cortisol if you let yourself get too hungry by going too long between meals
that can actually be quite stressful for the body so eat regular meals and
protein-rich foods especially beans and legumes which have antioxidant properties
another thing that's helpful is foods that promote a healthy gut microbiome now i'll
make an entire video on how important your gut bacteria is for mental health but long story
short most of the serotonin in your body is in your gut and having good bacteria in your gut
can really improve mental health now there's two ways to do this first eat lots of high fiber foods
and a lot of variety fiber comes from plants so fruits and vegetables are really important and
the fiber the different fibers from the different fruits and vegetables is what the good bacteria
eat so having lots of fiber keeps them happy and keeps your gut healthy fiber is called a prebiotic
one dietitian i spoke with recommends that you eat 30 different types of plants per week and
that's going to help keep the probiotics happy in your gut and so that's what we're talking
about for number two is probiotics these are foods that have good bacteria in them these are
things like live yogurt kimchi kombucha kefir and sauerkraut okay and lastly just stay well hydrated
dehydration is a stress around the body so one study showed that young soccer players who
were more dehydrated also had higher cortisol levels so just drink enough water every day
also it's important to know some foods that can really increase cortisol include alcohol caffeine
saturated fats simple sugars like sodas and candy but also simple carbs like white breads can
you know contribute to more cortisol now not all carbs or sugars are bad for you you can eat them
in moderation you just want to be you know mindful of how they're impacting your stress levels
okay so there are five types of food that can help you decrease cortisol and stress levels
now like i said before you can't just rely on food for stress management it's better to take
a whole body approach but knowing what foods to eat and not to eat to manage cortisol can be one
really important piece in your treatment puzzle i hope you found this video helpful if you'd
like to learn more about how to calm the stress response in your body check out my free course
grounding skills for stress anxiety and ptsd i teach about 20 skills to soothe anxiety in your
nervous system and the link is in the description okay thanks for watching and take care [Music] you
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