Tracking Cortisol

[Comstock]

In @haidut's talk with Paul Saladino (link), Georgi mentioned that low cortisol and adequate protein can lead to building muscle, without any exercise. I find myself agreeing, seeing as I sometime become more toned and more muscular without exercising. This leads me to wonder how we can track our cortisol levels, to figure out what to do to lower it.

Can some combination of the Peaty biomarkers like heart rate, and temperature, and other things like SpO2 saturation, heart rate variability, blood sugar, etc. reliably tell us what our cortisol is? Would ideally be able to use the biometrics in something like an Apple Watch to tell me when my cortisol is likely high or low.

 

[exile]

Ray recommended a total cortisol serum test which could be drawn without a doctors order at places like anylabtestnow. He didn’t think saliva cortisol tests were as reliable.

“I don't think saliva hormone tests are reliable. They are a convenient way to see whether the changes of cortisol during the day follow the normal pattern, but for judging its adequacy in an absolute sense I wouldn't pay any attention to them, since the saliva is subject to many influences that don't have much to do with the blood and other fluids. The hormones in the urine are mostly glucuronidated or sulfated, and so represent liver metabolism more than hormonal effects. Total cortisol is good. Some articles below discuss the problems with the 'free hormone' hypothesis.

[Cortisol] [What could a cortisol test help with?] It could show whether it’s chronically high. It can help to judge the doses of the things that lower it—pregnenolone, progesterone, aspirin, sugar, thyroid, calcium, etc.”

 

[Comstock]

Thank you. I think I'm more interested in tracking cortisol in the short term, so I can tell what foods, behaviors, and environmental factors affect it. Was hoping for some sort of proxy, like "if heart rate variability decreases, that's a good indicator that cortisol is rising". Will look around and see if I find anything.