Cortisol is often portrayed as a bad stress hormone, but for athletes, cortisol is critical to performance. Cortisol activates all the processes that keep the body energized and fueled during your workout. It naturally rises and falls after exercise.
When an athlete overtrains or does not recover properly, cortisol may not return to baseline levels after exercise as quickly. Chronically elevated cortisol is problematic for the body. In addition to getting enough rest and not overtraining, there are also some supplements that can help reduce cortisol.
What is cortisol?
Cortisol is a steroid hormone known as a glucocorticoid produced in the adrenal glands. During a workout, cortisol’s main role is to trigger release glucose for quick action. It also helps increase breathing, heart rate and blood flow.
Instead, as cortisol increases, it limits processes not needed during exercise, such as digestion and reproduction. When a workout is over, cortisol levels naturally return to a baseline amount.
Elevated cortisol becomes harmful when athletes overtrain, undernourish, or don’t rest and recover enough. The body can give you signs that cortisol levels are elevated. Some signs may be fatigue, mood changes, interrupted sleep, delayed recovery from exercise, increased food cravings, and hormonal imbalances.
There are steps you can take to naturally lower cortisol. This can start with prioritizing proper rest, recovery, and adjusting your nutrition plan to incorporate cortisol-reducing supplements.
Exercise and cortisol
Most athletes can relate to the complex relationship between stress and exercise. On the one hand, exercise can be a powerful stress reliever. On the other hand, too much exercise or too much high-intensity exercise combined with insufficient rest and recovery can be detrimental to stress and cortisol levels.
Regular exercise it has a positive effect on the neuroendocrine system, which is responsible for managing stress. Cortisol plays an important role in this system. When the system recognizes stress, including exercise stress, it produces cortisol.
Cortisol is a signal hormone that activates all the processes you need during exercise. It increases heart rate, breathing rate and blood sugar to allow the body to perform. After each workout, cortisol levels return to baseline.
Most types of exercise naturally lower cortisol. This is especially true on low-intensity training days, including active recovery days, to help reduce stress hormones.
High-intensity exercise, greater than 80% VO2max, causes a greater rise in cortisol than other types of exercise and can remain elevated for longer. As the body recovers from training, cortisol levels return. This is a compelling reason to include a variety of exercise intensities in your workout routine to manage cortisol levels so you don’t overstress the body.
Foods to lower cortisol
Quality nutrition, along with supplements are extremely beneficial for fighting stress and reducing cortisol.
Food to look for:
Fruit and vegetables. Vitamins, minerals and fiber support healthy digestion and stress response.
Wholegrain. The nutrients and fiber in whole grains keep the gut healthy and support overall well-being.
Fish. Cold-water fish like salmon, tuna, herring, and halibut all provide omega-3 fats that help manage cortisol levels.
Healthy fats. Nuts, olive oil and avocado are sources of monounsaturated fats that help reduce the effects of stress on the body.
Black chocolate. In addition to being a comfort food, dark chocolate contains magnesium, an essential element that the body needs to cope with stress.
Foods to avoid:
Foods that can cause inflammation. Highly processed snacks, fried foods as well as excessive sweets and alcohol can increase inflammation in the body.
Too much caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that allows many people to feel more awake and alert. However, caffeine it increases cortisol and can increase feelings of anxiety.
Supplements to lower cortisol
Quality nutrition plays a key role in reducing inflammation, a side effect of excess cortisol. Sometimes diet alone is not enough, so we look to supplements to support a healthy eating plan. While we always aim for a food first approach, some of the best supplements for reducing cortisol are outlined below. As always, talk to your doctor or registered dietitian to see what supplements may be best for you.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The Omega 3 The fatty acids found in fish, krill and algae oils offer significant benefits in reducing inflammation and cortisol. Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce its natural effects high cortisol, helping people feel better. If you don’t regularly eat fatty fish or plant sources of omega-3 in your diet, this may be a good option.
Prebiotics and probiotics
The gut-brain axis it is a two-way communication system between the gut and the brain. The gut produces and responds to hormones associated with positive mood and stress, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
Probiotics help populate the gut microbiome with beneficial microorganisms, while prebiotics are like food for the microbiome. Pro- and probiotics can help maintain healthy gut function, supporting a positive mood. Eating a diet that is abundant in plants such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains will help provide prebiotics. Probiotic-rich foods include fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, tempeh, miso, yogurt, and kim chi.
L-Theanine
Quality sleep is an essential way to naturally lower cortisol. L-theanine is an amino acid that helps promote feelings of relaxation. A randomized control trial found that l-theanine supplementation had a positive effect on sleep duration, the time it took participants to fall asleep, and reduced the use of sleep aids. L-theanine is also found naturally in teas such as green tea.
Adaptive Mushrooms
Reishi and Cordyceps are all functional mushrooms known as adaptogens. Adaptive mushrooms they have bioactive antioxidant compounds that reduce harmful free radicals created by excessive stress.
The lion’s mane
Lion’s Mane contains bioactive compounds that help you feel calm and relaxed while working to reduce cell damage from stress. While research is limited in this area, it does exist studies showing that lion’s mane increases cognitive function.
Cordyceps
Similar to lion’s mane, Cordyceps is a type of functional mushroom that helps reduce feelings of stress. Cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal glands, which is precisely where the cordicephalus has the greatest effect. Cordyceps can help support a healthy nervous system and stress response.
There is not enough research to confirm whether Cordyceps has any performance improvement, however, these small-scale studies have shown that Cordyceps can improve oxygen consumption during high intensity exercise.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a type of evergreen shrub that has many of the same anti-stress properties as adaptogenic mushrooms. Ashwagandha is commonly used to combat feelings of emotional and physical stress.
Ashwagandha has potential exercise benefits like Cordyceps. Recent review article Examining ashwagandha and physical fitness showed a positive relationship between ashwagandha and VO2max, an important measure of aerobic fitness. Please note that for drug-tested athletes, any supplements taken must be NSF-certified for sports or updated sports-certified.
Magnesium
Athletes are at higher risk of magnesium depletion due to their increased exercise. Magnesium plays a role in energy metabolism and must be present in adequate amounts during exercise.
Magnesium supplementation can support performance and aid the stress response to exercise. A study of rugby players showed that adding a magnesium supplement helped reduce inflammatory markers typical after exercise. Magnesium has also been shown to reduce muscle soreness after vigorous exercise and improve sleep.
Reducing cortisol naturally
Supplements can be a powerful partner in reducing cortisol, but you can also adopt daily habits to manage stress. Here are some daily habits to naturally lower cortisol.
Breathing exercises that help reduce heart rate, blood pressure and feelings of stress.
Yoga combines the effect of exercise, mindfulness and breathing to effectively help reduce cortisol.
Meditation and mindfulness practices can help you feel present and reduce feelings of anxiety.
Go for a walk outside. Exposure to the outdoors and nature can improve mood, and being outdoors can expose the body to vitamin Dan important vitamin for stress management.
Find ways to include healthy, nutritious foods that fuel your body.
Stick to a sleep routine. Sleep is your secret weapon in reducing cortisol. During sleep, the brain and body rejuvenate.
Don’t skip meals. Skipping mealsespecially breakfast, causes an increase in the production of cortisol and the stress hormone.
A well-rounded diet of healthy, nutritious foods is the first line of defense for managing stress. There are several effective supplements for reducing cortisol without negatively affecting exercise performance.
Working with a nutritionist can help you identify the root cause of your high cortisol and then create an actionable plan to reduce it. For personalized support and to discover your cortisol-lowering supplement recommendations, get on our waiting list apply for coaching nutrition today.
