I've been thinking a lot about what I've read about cortisol from a Ray Peat and followers perspective.
It sounds like a many Peaters think that cortisol should be as low as possible.
But I'm starting to think this is a mistaken belief, at least for me personally.
In a healthy human cortisol should be high in the morning and taper off by evening.
Further, in an obese human, cortisol is found to be high. But cortisol is released by the body to help lower inflammation. And the fat cells of most obese individuals are chronically inflamed. Lowering the cortisol in these people may actually be doing more harm than good. It makes more sense to go after the inflammation, then the body will tend to release less cortisol.
I think the problem many of us have is a diurnal cortisol rhythm, i.e. exactly the opposite of what a healthy human should have (in addition to high inflammation that drives high cortisol).
Personally, I'm a night owl. I think I have been since I was a teen. I've also struggled with weight, low energy, and lack of motivation in general.
I simply cannot sleep at night. When the sun comes up, I get the sleepiest.
And my experience with Peat recommended supplements to lower cortisol has shown me that they are effective and if I take them in the morning, I get even sleepier. I think not because I have a "cortisol based metabolism" but because I have a diurnal cortisol rhythm.
I think I can prove this by not taking any supplements that lower cortisol in the morning and only taking them a few hours before bedtime. (obviously, the only real way to prove this is to test salivary cortisol throughout the day, but I'm not giving a doctor any more of my damn money)
I also need to focus on things that raise my cortisol in the morning.
So for the former, that would be Niacinamide, B vitamins in general, etc.
For the latter, I've read that magnesium and boron have both been associated with raising cortisol levels (which is odd, considering magnesium helps people relax).
I know people recommend vitamin E to lower cortisol levels as well. But from a study I just read ([The effect of vitamin E on cortisol and lactate levels and on the acid-base equilibrium in calves exposed to transportation stress]. - PubMed - NCBI), it sounds like vitamin E may not actually lower cortisol but allow the body to bounce back to normal much more quickly after a physiologically stressful event. I'm hoping that daily vitamin E in the morning will help my body to lower cortisol at night.
Further, I've read that obese people, when given licorice to raise cortisol in the morning, lost weight. I wonder how much of obesity isn't just about raised cortisol, but more about a diurnal cortisol rhythm?
Lack of Cortisol characteristic for young obesity patients. Plus: Self-Esteem Changes During Puberty Would Actually Increase Diurnal Cortisol Production - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone
I'm not a fan of licorice, though. Because the one thing it does better than raising cortisol is raising estrogen.
So dear friends, what do you think? Seems as though a gram or two of niacinamide in the evening + other B vitamins + aspirin would help to lower cortisol and help me sleep.
But what would you recommend to help me get back to that normal morning burst of cortisol?
The thing that prompted me to go down this line of thought is this article from Adel at Suppversity:
Take Control of Your Cortisol Levels - Use These 5x Stress-Modulating Diet, Lifestyle & Supplementation Rules Wisely - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone
It sounds like a many Peaters think that cortisol should be as low as possible.
But I'm starting to think this is a mistaken belief, at least for me personally.
In a healthy human cortisol should be high in the morning and taper off by evening.
Further, in an obese human, cortisol is found to be high. But cortisol is released by the body to help lower inflammation. And the fat cells of most obese individuals are chronically inflamed. Lowering the cortisol in these people may actually be doing more harm than good. It makes more sense to go after the inflammation, then the body will tend to release less cortisol.
I think the problem many of us have is a diurnal cortisol rhythm, i.e. exactly the opposite of what a healthy human should have (in addition to high inflammation that drives high cortisol).
Personally, I'm a night owl. I think I have been since I was a teen. I've also struggled with weight, low energy, and lack of motivation in general.
I simply cannot sleep at night. When the sun comes up, I get the sleepiest.
And my experience with Peat recommended supplements to lower cortisol has shown me that they are effective and if I take them in the morning, I get even sleepier. I think not because I have a "cortisol based metabolism" but because I have a diurnal cortisol rhythm.
I think I can prove this by not taking any supplements that lower cortisol in the morning and only taking them a few hours before bedtime. (obviously, the only real way to prove this is to test salivary cortisol throughout the day, but I'm not giving a doctor any more of my damn money)
I also need to focus on things that raise my cortisol in the morning.
So for the former, that would be Niacinamide, B vitamins in general, etc.
For the latter, I've read that magnesium and boron have both been associated with raising cortisol levels (which is odd, considering magnesium helps people relax).
I know people recommend vitamin E to lower cortisol levels as well. But from a study I just read ([The effect of vitamin E on cortisol and lactate levels and on the acid-base equilibrium in calves exposed to transportation stress]. - PubMed - NCBI), it sounds like vitamin E may not actually lower cortisol but allow the body to bounce back to normal much more quickly after a physiologically stressful event. I'm hoping that daily vitamin E in the morning will help my body to lower cortisol at night.
Further, I've read that obese people, when given licorice to raise cortisol in the morning, lost weight. I wonder how much of obesity isn't just about raised cortisol, but more about a diurnal cortisol rhythm?
Lack of Cortisol characteristic for young obesity patients. Plus: Self-Esteem Changes During Puberty Would Actually Increase Diurnal Cortisol Production - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone
I'm not a fan of licorice, though. Because the one thing it does better than raising cortisol is raising estrogen.
So dear friends, what do you think? Seems as though a gram or two of niacinamide in the evening + other B vitamins + aspirin would help to lower cortisol and help me sleep.
But what would you recommend to help me get back to that normal morning burst of cortisol?
The thing that prompted me to go down this line of thought is this article from Adel at Suppversity:
Take Control of Your Cortisol Levels - Use These 5x Stress-Modulating Diet, Lifestyle & Supplementation Rules Wisely - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone