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Helene Cyr\/Stocksy<\/p>\n <\/span> Helene Cyr\/Stocksy<\/p>\n <\/span> \nA new wellness topic is trending on social media: cortisol levels and how individuals can balance those levels for the sake of bettering their health.\n<\/p>\n \nCortisol, most commonly known as the stress hormone, is a delicate conversation. It makes sense why people would debate \u201cthe perfect balance\u201d of this hormone, but medical professionals are hesitant to lean into the social media world\u2019s terminology.\n<\/p>\n \nCortisol is a complex hormone that is difficult for doctors to assess and manage, \u201cit seems highly unlikely that influencers would have the experience and knowledge to provide sound advice,\u201d Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nDr. Kirschner explained that many times if a person doesn\u2019t feel well, they want validation that their symptoms have a clear medical explanation.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSomething like \u2018cortisol imbalance\u2019 is a term that sounds like something from a medical textbook. However, it isn\u2019t a term that has a real meaning in a medical sense,\u201d he noted. \u201cThus, any discussion of \u2018cortisol imbalance\u2019 as a medical condition is based on a piece of medical misinformation.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nSince cortisol imbalance is not a valid medical diagnosis, he noted that reports describing a \u201ctreatment\u201d are also a form of misinformation.\n<\/p>\n \nStill, cortisol levels can be too high or too low\u2014but determining this is more complex than influencers may lead many to believe. Here's everything you need to know about this hormone\u2014and how to separate the facts from the fiction you see online.\n<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nCortisol is a stress hormone that can appropriately raise sugar in the bloodstream, help convert glucose to energy, and assist in fight-or-flight situations.<\/span> Cortisol is produced and regulated in adrenal glands located near the top of the kidneys. These glands affect both the central nervous system and the endocrine system.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIt is important to understand that cortisol acts in just about all tissues in the body, although these actions can be very different in different tissues in the body,\u201d Dr. Kirschner explained.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nCortisol can affect the following organ systems:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nAccording to Dr. Kirschner, many factors regulate cortisol secretion, including time of day, stress (including physical, social, and emotional stress), medical conditions, medication use, and alcohol and other drug use.\n<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nWhen cortisol isn\u2019t regulated properly, it can lead to too much cortisol in the body, and in some cases excess disorders, such as Cushing\u2019s syndrome.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf you have too much cortisol, like in Cushing\u2019s syndrome, it raises blood pressure, causes weight gain in your trunk and face, causes muscle weakness, easy bruising, thinning skin, irregular periods in women, acne, hair loss,\u201d Caroline Messer, MD, an endocrinologist at Northwell Health, told Health<\/em>. \n<\/p>\n \nThe most common cause of Cushing\u2019s syndrome is the long-term term use of medications used to treat conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. However, in some cases, an individual\u2019s body may make too much cortisol due to tumors.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe\u2019re finding out more and more that for a lot of these patients, it tends to be a small adrenal mass that is over-secreting cortisol and it can really easily be overlooked for somebody\u2019s whole life,\u201d explained Dr. Messer.\n<\/p>\n \nIf a tumor is determined to be the cause of excess cortisol, it is removed surgically.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cBecause tumors that produce cortisol excess cause the normal system to \u2018shut down,\u2019 people are often given replacement steroids after tumor removal until their own system wakes up, a process which can take a few months up to two years, or sometimes longer,\u201d noted Dr. Kirschner.\n<\/p>\n \nFor those who can\u2019t undergo surgery or if surgery doesn\u2019t cure the excess cortisol, Dr. Kirschner explained that other options include medications that block the production or action of cortisol, and radiation (or rarely chemotherapy) to try to kill any remaining tumor. In rare cases, the adrenal glands are removed.\n<\/p>\n The Effects of Stress on the Body, From Your Brain to Your Stomach<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nWhen the body doesn\u2019t make enough cortisol, this could be due to conditions like Addison\u2019s disease. Fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, and abdominal pain are symptoms of low cortisol.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWhen there\u2019s too little cortisol, which is a condition called adrenal insufficiency, you can\u2019t maintain normal blood pressure, so you start having really low blood pressure, vomiting, lose appetite, sodium starts to drop,\u201d explained Dr. Messer.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nTreatment for low cortisol is medication like hydrocortisone, which replaces the cortisol.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nPeople who are under high stress, have inflammation, are overweight, or have diabetes or alcoholism may have mildly elevated cortisol levels that are not caused by medical conditions like Cushing\u2019s disease, Dr. Messer noted.\n<\/p>\n \nWhen higher levels of cortisol are present but not pathological, doctors refer to this as pseudo-Cushing\u2019s.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIn these cases, we try to treat the underlying cause\u2014help you lose weight, lower blood sugar, decrease inflammation, decrease stress, help you drink less, etc.,\u201d Dr. Messer continued.\n<\/p>\n \nWhile there isn\u2019t medication to bring down cortisol levels, if there were, she noted that it wouldn\u2019t change the underlying causes that raised it in the first place.\n<\/p>\n \nPseudo-Cushing\u2019s might be what is driving most of the social media attention around \u201cbalancing\u201d cortisol, suggested Dr. Kirschner.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSince cortisol is rarely out of \u2018balance,\u2019 restoring \u2018balance\u2019 isn\u2019t something that most medical professionals will consider,\u201d he said. \u201cMuch of the \u2018cortisol imbalance\u2019 talk really relates to people who don\u2019t feel well, whether that is energy, stress, weight gain, anxiety, and so on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nFor these people, once serious medical conditions are ruled out, the best way to improve their health is often through general wellness activities like regular exercise, a healthy diet, time with family and friends, and quality sleep, added Dr. Kirschner. \n<\/p>\n 20 Stress Relieving Foods to Try if You're Feeling Anxious<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nTelling the difference between \u201cnormal\u201d and \u201cabnormal\u201d cortisol levels can be challenging, often requiring complex testing best handled by a healthcare professional experienced in hormone health.\n<\/p>\n \nAccording to Dr. Kirschner, cortisol levels are typically tested in the blood, saliva, or urine, although levels can also be measured in tissues like hair. Because hormone levels vary throughout the day and are highest in the morning, the timing of the testing is important for proper diagnosis.\n<\/p>\n \nFor instance, when checking for high levels of cortisol, doctors recommend testing when cortisol levels are the lowest, which is between 11 p.m. and midnight. However, labs are not open during these hours to draw blood, so Dr. Messer recommends giving patients saliva tests that they can do at home during those hours.\n<\/p>\n \nUsing more than one method to test is also crucial, she reiterated, because many medications (like birth control) can lead to elevation of the protein that is analyzed to evaluate cortisol levels, leading to false positives.\n<\/p>\n \nGiving a steroid late at night and checking cortisol levels the next morning is another way of testing, Dr. Messer added.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe idea behind that is if we\u2019re giving you a steroid then your body doesn\u2019t need to produce cortisol, so cortisol should be suppressed the next morning, but if it doesn\u2019t get suppressed the next morning then there\u2019s an issue and we have to evaluate further,\u201d she explained.\n<\/p>\n \nIf cortisol levels are determined to be pathologically high, then imaging of the pituitary or adrenal glands might be conducted.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe most important thing is not to be terrified if your cortisol comes back slightly elevated,\u201d encouraged Dr. Messer. \u201cIt\u2019s very likely that it\u2019s not Crushing\u2019s disease and with proper testing, we can tell [what caused it] and help you lower it naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Helene Cyr\/Stocksy Cortisol, most commonly known as the stress hormone, is a popular conversation point in the wellness space. Experts agree that while too much or too little cortisol provides specific problems, the term "cortisol imbalance" is not a legitimate medical term. To test cortisol levels, individuals should seek advice from a healthcare professional with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[797,410],"tags":[798,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n What Is Cortisol? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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Medical Conditions and High Cortisol <\/span> <\/h2>\n
What Does It Mean to Have Low Cortisol? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Lifestyle Habits That Affect Cortisol Levels <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Testing Cortisol Levels <\/span> <\/h2>\n