Cortisol
The Stress Hormone
Is stress running your life? Do you have blood sugar issues? Do you feel that you are just chasing your tail? Do you sleep for several hours but still wake up tired?
If you answered “Yes” to any or all of these questions then your cortisol circadian rhythm may be imbalanced. BUT.. this article is not about your adrenal glands!!
I always tell patients, "if you want me to support your adrenal glands, by all means I will because I have plenty of student loans that still need to be paid back." In other words, you will dump your entire life savings before any adrenal supplement will help you get ahead. So lets get a head of the problem and not just manage your ongoing issues.
If you answered “Yes” to any or all of these questions then your cortisol circadian rhythm may be imbalanced. BUT.. this article is not about your adrenal glands!!
I always tell patients, "if you want me to support your adrenal glands, by all means I will because I have plenty of student loans that still need to be paid back." In other words, you will dump your entire life savings before any adrenal supplement will help you get ahead. So lets get a head of the problem and not just manage your ongoing issues.
Normal Circadian Rhythm:
Cortisol has been termed a stress hormone due to its physiological nature in terms of raising blood sugar and heightening your bodies immune response through cytokine signaling. In a normal healthy individual starting at midnight (12 A.M.) cortisol is at its lowest point and continues to raise throughout the early morning and peaks approximately seven A.M. and diminishes throughout the day. See the diagram below.
What items will disrupt circadian rhythm?
1. Anemia
2. Blood sugar
3. Chronic immune issues
4. Food allergies
5. Emotional stress
6. Taking Melatonin orally (supplement)
7. Environmental toxins (i.e. mold, pesticides, parabens, phthalates)
8. Cytokine storms (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-a)
These 8 categories are only a few of several that can disrupt circadian rhythm. The most common factor that we see that has a dramatic impact is blood sugar.
High blood sugar individuals such as diabetics typically have elevated cortisol levels. Elevated cortisol results in an increase breakdown of glycogen (sugar storage) and when it is not being used by cells it is stored as fats. This is why most diabetics suffer from obesity.
High cortisol individuals often fatigue after a heavy carb meal. When I was going through school, I could always tell who had an elevated blood sugar issue because they would pass out after lunch. Same thing for family members after a holiday meal.
For people with insulin resistance or diabetics continue to worsen in their condition they suffer from a weakened immune system, leaky gut issues (increase potential for food sensitivities) and neural issues (i.e. neuropathy). The only way to provide beneficial care for diabetics is to balance their circadian rhythm through diet, exercise, and supplementation to gain sensitivity back to the insulin receptor site.
Before you read on, please understand that when you take supplements they are suppose to "supplement" what you are not getting in your daily eating regiment. They are not an excuse to eat whatever you want. People who suffer from chronic conditions, we recommend supplements to push their physiology and speed up recovery time. We never expect patients to take supplements for life with a few exceptions like receptor site polymorphisms.
High cortisol individuals often fatigue after a heavy carb meal. When I was going through school, I could always tell who had an elevated blood sugar issue because they would pass out after lunch. Same thing for family members after a holiday meal.
For people with insulin resistance or diabetics continue to worsen in their condition they suffer from a weakened immune system, leaky gut issues (increase potential for food sensitivities) and neural issues (i.e. neuropathy). The only way to provide beneficial care for diabetics is to balance their circadian rhythm through diet, exercise, and supplementation to gain sensitivity back to the insulin receptor site.
Before you read on, please understand that when you take supplements they are suppose to "supplement" what you are not getting in your daily eating regiment. They are not an excuse to eat whatever you want. People who suffer from chronic conditions, we recommend supplements to push their physiology and speed up recovery time. We never expect patients to take supplements for life with a few exceptions like receptor site polymorphisms.
Diagram 2: This shows a normal circadian rhythm (black) and an imbalanced circadian rhythm (red) causing physiological damage to cells through all systems of the body including nervous, gut and hormones.
Reactive Hypoglycemia
Low blood sugar issues can really be very detrimental to cortisol circadian rhythms. These individuals are easy to spot because their signs and symptoms typically include:
- Cannot stay asleep through the night
- Have a hard time getting out of bed
- Must rely on coffee or caffeine to get motivated in the morning
- Afternoon headaches
- Afternoon fatigue (need a nap)
- Trouble shutting your mind off at night
These patients often feel worse than someone with type II diabetes due to the fact that their adrenals are constantly secreting cortisol to raise blood sugar, this is absolutely exhausting to the body. Constant release of cortisol results in the following:
When people forget to eat, this low blood sugar state results in the release of adrenalin throughout the day and even night. Eventually the body releases too much blood sugar and causes an increased blood sugar state causing the patient to slip into a deep restful sleep. This is the beginning of elevated blood sugar issues.
These patients constantly crave carbs and are always tired because their stress pathway (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is always being pushed. Teenagers and college students fit this profile more often than most because they skip breakfast and typically carb load.
- Advanced aging process due to elevated IL-6
- Increased insulin release
- Decreases mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal track resulting in increased food reactivity
- Chronic immune stimulation
- Poor hormone receptor site attachment (decrease mood, libido, erectile dysfunction, painful menstruation, etc.)
- Liver congestion --> biliary stasis (problems with fats)
- Increased risk for osteoporosis
- Increased risk for dementia
- Breakdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis resulting in poor cellular metabolism
- So much more
When people forget to eat, this low blood sugar state results in the release of adrenalin throughout the day and even night. Eventually the body releases too much blood sugar and causes an increased blood sugar state causing the patient to slip into a deep restful sleep. This is the beginning of elevated blood sugar issues.
These patients constantly crave carbs and are always tired because their stress pathway (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is always being pushed. Teenagers and college students fit this profile more often than most because they skip breakfast and typically carb load.
Many of these blood sugar issues can be easily balanced with proper diet and change of eating habits along with patient’s strong desire to get better.
Closing Thoughts
So many people these days are trying to lose weight, get in shape, get healthier but they are focusing on the wrong things. Food is the most important aspect when it comes to revitalizing your health. You have to eat right.
Eating right in itself is a task. I married a Japanese woman who is an excellent cook. She makes sure the food is in season, organic, pesticide free, the oils it is cooked in is healthy, knowing the correct amount of time where the food is not overcooked and so many more items.
Cooking itself is very in depth but like anything, in the beginning it is hard and feels like a humungous task, however, with a little bit of effort and attention it becomes second nature. Now you can reap on the benefits of eating healthy.
Eating healthy will in and of itself help you lose weight regardless of exercising. Food is what helps your recover and repair. Sugar and vegetable oils are poisons and we should all eliminate them from our meals. Sugar is more addictive than cocaine AND it is more deadly than cocaine because it kills you slower.
Quick note for all of your sugar-holics out there! The reason you do not like vegetables is because sugar destroys your taste buds. When your taste buds are destroyed, strawberries, blueberries, bananas and spinach do not taste as rich because of your dead taste buds. Give yourself 30 days off sugar (of ALL KINDS!!) and try it. You will be amazed.
We at Quantum Chiropractic are here to help you. So please do what you can to better yourself, if you need help whether it be SOT Chiropractic or nutritional laboratory analysis, contact our office.
