Cortisol significantly impacts weight management. When cortisol levels surge, they trigger physiological responses that promote weight gain. These include increased fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area, and a slowed metabolism, making it harder to shed excess pounds.
Many factors, including excess cortisol, can influence abdominal weight gain. The best way to prevent cortisol belly is to prevent your body from making and releasing too much cortisol.
Cortisol belly simply looks like abdominal fat, and there is no way to identify it by appearance. More important than its appearance is what cortisol belly can do to your health. Visceral fat is considered particularly dangerous because of its location near vital organs and its metabolic activity.
Leptin is produced in body fat. It is a hormone that tells our brain how much body fat we have and helps keep our weight steady and in normal range. When we gain weight, our leptin level goes up. This reduces our appetite and promotes energy expenditure to cause weight loss bringing us to our previous weight.
Moderate-intensity activities, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling, have been shown to reduce cortisol over time. Activities like yoga, Pilates, and tai chi also provide the dual benefit of physical activity and stress reduction, helping to balance cortisol levels while improving mood and metabolism.
Ashwagandha has not been studied as an aid to gain or lose weight, though a small study did find that it may help reduce food cravings in adults who are chronically stressed.
“Adrenal cocktails”—mixtures of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt—are popular on TikTok, with users claiming they provide a range of health benefits, including weight management and stress relief. But there's no evidence to suggest these drinks provide adrenal health benefits, experts said.
Take deep breaths. Several studies reveal the benefits of deep-breathing exercises for at least five minutes, three to five times a day. Research shows that it helps to lower cortisol levels, ease anxiety and depression, and improve memory. To get started, try using a deep-breathing app like Insight Timer or Calm.
The buildup of fat deposits in the side of your skull can make your face so round that you can't see your ears from the front. The medical term for moon face is moon facies. Some people call it cortisol face. Using steroid medication like prednisone for a long time is often the cause.
A lack of cortisol and aldosterone might make you feel exhausted and weak, lose weight without trying, cause low blood pressure, or even see your skin getting darker (in cases of primary adrenal insufficiency).
The FDA found claims that the product kept cortisol levels in a healthy range and promoted weight loss were unsubstantiated. 18 According to the FDA, it didn't work—and would need to be regulated as a drug if it did.
The current study indicates that vitamin D has the potential to reduce cortisol levels and the cortisol:cortisone ratio. Suboptimal levels of vitamin D have been associated with impaired exercise performance, as it reduces muscle action and skeletal mineralisation [Wyon et al. 2014; Fitzgerald et al. 2015].
It can cause vomiting, drowsiness, nausea, and liver damage. If you have an autoimmune disorder, don't take ashwagandha without first consulting your doctor. Also, certain groups such as pregnant women, people with cancer, and people with stomach ulcers should not consume any ashwagandha products.
Higher cortisol levels can also cause people to build up fat around their bellies. Learning to reduce stress through exercise and meditation—while also being more mindful about food—can have a large impact on your well-being and help you keep weight off in the long-term.
Water plays an integral role in how the body functions, can help the body heal from physical and emotional stress through flushing cortisol from our systems, and can even assist in regulating mood as well as our sleep wake cycles (Pross N, Demazières A, Girard N, Barnouin R, Metzger D, Klein A, et al., 2014).
Symptoms of high cortisol levels, or Cushing syndrome, can include: Weight gain, especially in your face and belly. Fatty deposits between your shoulder blades. Wide, purple stretch marks on your belly.
A common symptom of an underactive thyroid is weight gain, often around the abdomen. However, the American Thyroid Association states that the weight gain may not necessarily be due to the build up of fat, but the accumulation of salt and water.
Too much cortisol can cause some of the main symptoms of Cushing syndrome — a fatty hump between the shoulders, a rounded face, and pink or purple stretch marks on the skin. Cushing syndrome also can cause high blood pressure or bone loss. Sometimes, it can cause type 2 diabetes.
Magnesium may help to control the chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) in the brain, resulting in a calming effect on the body. Magnesium may help to manage your stress response system and cortisol levels.
The Cortisol Detox Diet is a way of eating that supports adrenal and hormone function. If you want to know how to reduce cortisol levels, there are certain nutrients you need to prioritize. For example, foods such as walnuts and wild-caught salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids.