Doctor, I know you mention coffee as a good thing to drink, but I wonder if
the cortisol from caffeine is something to worry about?
Some people have an initial spike in
cortisol from caffeine but gain tolerance over time, while others don't adapt to caffeine.
Not exact matches
Still, if you are sensitive to
caffeine or struggle with
cortisol levels as I did, there is evidence that abstaining
from coffee for a while may be a good idea.
Caffeine directly stimulates your adrenal glands to release
cortisol into the bloodstream and once there, it pulls glucose
from your energy stores and spikes your blood sugar:
One of
caffeine's main effects, the increase in physical energy, comes
from a large
cortisol spike.
Caffeine elevates
cortisol, the stress hormone that stimulates the liver to pump out glycogen for our muscles to consume so they can run
from danger.
Some studies suggest increases in
cortisol and adrenal fatigue
from the high amounts of
caffeine in coffee beans.
When I see a patient who struggles with sleep, it's usually a result of too much
caffeine, high evening
cortisol levels, «screen time» (the effect that the blue light
from screens has on your melatonin levels), a magnesium deficiency, inflammation, or any combination thereof.
Researchers concluded that
cortisol is elevated in men as the result of
caffeine's effect on the central nervous system, while in women this occurs
from caffeine interacting with peripheral metabolic mechanisms.
If you want to improve belly fat losses then either just have one drink of
caffeine in the morning (when
cortisol is normally high) or try to take a break
from it.
Those who had been abstaining
from caffeine saw large spikes in
cortisol on the sixth day.
This is also one of the main reasons why it is not always best to drink coffee when you're already stressed out, even the increase in the feel - good hormones that come
from caffeine don't counteract the additional
cortisol that is being added to the already torching fire!