Low Carb and Cortisol
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BlessedWith3
Posts: 152
Lately, I have read several articles that low carb increases cortisol. Has anyone else read about this? What's your take on it?
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Hmmm... Interesting topic. I had to look this up, but still need more research time. But from what I've quickly read, I've gathered that some cortisol is essential for body function. Without cortisol you would have Addison's Disease like JFK. While a very low carb diet can raise cortisol levels, a diet full of lean proteins, veggies, healthy fats, and lots of water negates high cortisol levels. Weight lifting can also negate the affects of high cortisol levels. Men's cortisol levels are more affected by a low carb diet than women. Another way to negate high cortisol levels is to lose weight slowly, never crash diet, and ensure you are eating enough calories. Too few calories can raise cortisol levels.
So, it would seem to me that if you're eating a healthy low carb diet and exercising, cortisol levels shouldn't be an issue. :-)2 -
Cortisol and mental sanity is why I take full diet breaks every couple of months as per
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
Exercise raises cortisol too. Any kind of stress really.2 -
Cortisol and mental sanity is why I take full diet breaks every couple of months as per
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
Exercise raises cortisol too. Any kind of stress really.
i am about to take a diet break myself next month.You are suppose to increase your carb intake to 100-150 g minimum during a refeed to get your hormones & leptin,cortisol back to normal1 -
??? give the links to the articles you talk of.
I've never heard of that.0 -
@ busywaterbend...There are actually numerous articles about this if you google low carb diet + increased cortisol you will find a variety or article and discussion. I happened upon it in my reading. No specific article to quote, but the subject kept popping up. I was researching differences between low carb and low glycemic.
Here are some articles; http://www.livestrong.com/article/474762-can-a-low-carb-diet-raise-cortisol-levels/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cortisol/#axzz2OgEnsfpp
@GiGi - never heard of the break....am going to read up on that :happy:0 -
I'm so glad to see this discussion here because I have been wanting to reduce my cortisol levels and I have read a bit about this on other forums. I've read that the following things have potential to assist in this; Vitamin C, Green Tea, Chamomile, Ginseng, Magnolia Bark, Theanine, Rhodiola and Phosphatidylserine. Of course, I haven't gotten around to seriously taking this issue on yet so I haven't decided what's the best, nor have I tried all of the supplements I have listed. If anyone has experience with any of those listed (especially the less common ones after the first four), I would be interested in hearing about it.
I'm already taking five supplement pills a day (not due to this issue, just for the sake of my general health and well being) which include a multivitamin, fish oil, primrose oil, hair skin and nails pill and potassium (which I have read is vital for those on a low carb diet). If I add something else, I want it to really be worth it.0 -
When I eat lots of carbs, especially refined sugars (cereals, etc) I get sick. Which causes me stress. Which raises my cortisol levels.7
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FYI, although there are some studies that indicate this, there is obviously another compensating mechanism at work, because:
1. If cortisol levels alone are elevated, insulin, growth hormone and testosterone are lowered - which reduces muscle mass. Yet low-carb diets are proven in study after study to be the best at retaining lean body mass...
2. If cortisol levels alone are elevated, fat-storage tends to be promoted - yet study after study confirms low-carb diets are the best for fat-loss with lean-mass retention.
3. Elevated cortisol levels, like other inflammation, usually increases risk for cardiac events - yet study after study confirms low-carb is superior to any other macronutrient profile for triglyceride levels, cholesterol profile, etc.
Keep in mind elevated cortisol levels tend to exist anywhere a person has elevated bodyfat percentages. It also tends to increase due to any stressors (such as starting a diet, calorie counting, exercising, etc.)
Obviously the changes that come from the diet and/or exercise obviously outweigh the slight elevation in cortisol that occurs in some (not all) studies.4 -
albertabeefy wrote: »FYI, although there are some studies that indicate this, there is obviously another compensating mechanism at work, because:
1. If cortisol levels alone are elevated, insulin, growth hormone and testosterone are lowered - which reduces muscle mass. Yet low-carb diets are proven in study after study to be the best at retaining lean body mass...
2. If cortisol levels alone are elevated, fat-storage tends to be promoted - yet study after study confirms low-carb diets are the best for fat-loss with lean-mass retention.
3. Elevated cortisol levels, like other inflammation, usually increases risk for cardiac events - yet study after study confirms low-carb is superior to any other macronutrient profile for triglyceride levels, cholesterol profile, etc.
Keep in mind elevated cortisol levels tend to exist anywhere a person has elevated bodyfat percentages. It also tends to increase due to any stressors (such as starting a diet, calorie counting, exercising, etc.)
Obviously the changes that come from the diet and/or exercise obviously outweigh the slight elevation in cortisol that occurs in some (not all) studies.
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Interesting!0
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How do you know your cortisol levels are high? Bloodwork? Observation of symptoms?0
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I think any calorie reduced diet increases cortisol.2
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I think any calorie reduced diet increases cortisol.
If my calories get too low my BG seems to be a little higher than I would expect. This may explain it.2 -
https://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar/One of cortisol’s effects is that it raises blood sugar. So, in someone with blood sugar regulation issues, fasting can actually make them worse.
I’ve seen this time and time again with my patients. Almost all of my patients have blood sugar imbalances. And it’s usually not as simple as “high blood sugar” or “low blood sugar”. They often have a combination of both (reactive hypoglycemia), or strange blood sugar patterns that, on the surface, don’t make much sense. These folks aren’t eating a Standard American Diet. Most of them are already on a paleo-type or low-carb diet. Yet they still have blood sugar issues.
In these cases, cortisol dysregulation is almost always the culprit. When these patients try intermittent fasting, their blood sugar control gets worse. I will see fasting blood sugar readings in the 90s and even low 100s, in spite of the fact that they are eating a low-carb, paleo-type diet.
That’s why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for people with blood sugar regulation problems. Instead, I suggest that they eat every 2-3 hours. This helps to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day and prevents cortisol and other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine from getting involved. When my patients that have been fasting and experiencing high blood sugar readings switch to eating this way, their blood sugar numbers almost always normalize....
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@midwesterner85 @cstehansen @KnitOrMiss @nvmomketo @Aquawave @baconslave @Dragonwolf @albertabeefy @foamroller4 -
https://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar/One of cortisol’s effects is that it raises blood sugar. So, in someone with blood sugar regulation issues, fasting can actually make them worse.
I’ve seen this time and time again with my patients. Almost all of my patients have blood sugar imbalances. And it’s usually not as simple as “high blood sugar” or “low blood sugar”. They often have a combination of both (reactive hypoglycemia), or strange blood sugar patterns that, on the surface, don’t make much sense. These folks aren’t eating a Standard American Diet. Most of them are already on a paleo-type or low-carb diet. Yet they still have blood sugar issues.
In these cases, cortisol dysregulation is almost always the culprit. When these patients try intermittent fasting, their blood sugar control gets worse. I will see fasting blood sugar readings in the 90s and even low 100s, in spite of the fact that they are eating a low-carb, paleo-type diet.
That’s why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for people with blood sugar regulation problems. Instead, I suggest that they eat every 2-3 hours. This helps to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day and prevents cortisol and other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine from getting involved. When my patients that have been fasting and experiencing high blood sugar readings switch to eating this way, their blood sugar numbers almost always normalize....
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@midwesterner85 @cstehansen @KnitOrMiss @nvmomketo @Aquawave @baconslave @Dragonwolf @albertabeefy @foamroller
Ha! I got in trouble with my Endo once when I told him I didn't like to eat until closer to the 9-10 am mark. He was all, "Do you know what you're doing to your body? It might feel okay, but your liver is compensating, and so is your cortisol production, etc."0 -
https://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar/One of cortisol’s effects is that it raises blood sugar. So, in someone with blood sugar regulation issues, fasting can actually make them worse.
I’ve seen this time and time again with my patients. Almost all of my patients have blood sugar imbalances. And it’s usually not as simple as “high blood sugar” or “low blood sugar”. They often have a combination of both (reactive hypoglycemia), or strange blood sugar patterns that, on the surface, don’t make much sense. These folks aren’t eating a Standard American Diet. Most of them are already on a paleo-type or low-carb diet. Yet they still have blood sugar issues.
In these cases, cortisol dysregulation is almost always the culprit. When these patients try intermittent fasting, their blood sugar control gets worse. I will see fasting blood sugar readings in the 90s and even low 100s, in spite of the fact that they are eating a low-carb, paleo-type diet.
That’s why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for people with blood sugar regulation problems. Instead, I suggest that they eat every 2-3 hours. This helps to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day and prevents cortisol and other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine from getting involved. When my patients that have been fasting and experiencing high blood sugar readings switch to eating this way, their blood sugar numbers almost always normalize....
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@midwesterner85 @cstehansen @KnitOrMiss @nvmomketo @Aquawave @baconslave @Dragonwolf @albertabeefy @foamroller
No, I don't believe this. Or at least I don't believe he is talking about patients who are fat adapted. Paleo? Sure. Lower carb? OK. Truly low carb? Nope - or at least not for very long.
A fat adapted patient is getting energy from fat stores just as easily as from dietary fat.5 -
Ketogenic Diets, Cortisol, and Stress: Part I — Gluconeogenesis (2012)
http://www.ketotic.org/2012/07/ketogenic-diets-and-stress-part-i.htmlSummary:
GNG is stimulated by glucagon, and as long as the GNG response to glucagon is enough to restore blood sugar before it goes down to about 55mg/dL, cortisol will not be called upon to regulate blood sugar.
By the time blood sugar levels have gotten so low that cortisol is deployed to help fix it, hypoglycemic symptoms also appear.
Keto dieters don't appear to experience hypoglycemic symptoms (except in some cases involving inadequate protein or prolonged fasting). In fact keto diets, especially protein-adequate keto diets, have been used to reduce the occurrence of hypoglycemic episodes in susceptible people.
Therefore it is not true that because keto diets use GNG for blood sugar regulation, they cause stress to the body.
Since blood sugar is easily measured, you can indirectly test for whether cortisol is being used to regulate your blood sugar yourself. If you find it to be low, there are other strategies you can try to alleviate it that don't involve giving up your keto diet.
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The Ketogenic Diet's Effect on Cortisol Metabolism (2014)
http://www.ketotic.org/2014/02/the-ketogenic-diets-effect-on-cortisol.htmlSummary
There is some reason to believe that cortisol dysregulation is a key underlying factor in metabolic syndrome [10], [11]. The dysregulation has a particular pattern that seems to be caused by a tissue-specific expression of the enzyme 11β-HSD1.
There is a belief among some researchers that ketogenic diets worsen cortisol metabolism (which could lead to metabolic syndrome and heart disease), but an examination of the specific pattern of cortisol metabolism related to metabolic sydrome shows the opposite.
This is what should have been expected in the first place, since ketogenic diets have already been shown to improve insulin sensitivity (the defining symptom of metabolic syndrome) in repeated randomized controlled trials.
One mechanism by which keto diet improves metabolic syndrome may be its beneficial effect on cortisol metabolism.3 -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23724462
Full study doesn't appear to be available:CONCLUSION:
Mindfulness meditation lowers the cortisol levels in the blood suggesting that it can lower stress and may decrease the risk of diseases that arise from stress such as psychiatric disorder, peptic ulcer and migraine. Then, mindfulness meditation should be used in combination with standard treatment.
Increased cortisol from the stress on the body of dieting? Meditate
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https://chriskresser.com/intermittent-fasting-cortisol-and-blood-sugar/
One of cortisol’s effects is that it raises blood sugar. So, in someone with blood sugar regulation issues, fasting can actually make them worse.
I’ve seen this time and time again with my patients. Almost all of my patients have blood sugar imbalances. And it’s usually not as simple as “high blood sugar” or “low blood sugar”. They often have a combination of both (reactive hypoglycemia), or strange blood sugar patterns that, on the surface, don’t make much sense. These folks aren’t eating a Standard American Diet. Most of them are already on a paleo-type or low-carb diet. Yet they still have blood sugar issues.
In these cases, cortisol dysregulation is almost always the culprit. When these patients try intermittent fasting, their blood sugar control gets worse. I will see fasting blood sugar readings in the 90s and even low 100s, in spite of the fact that they are eating a low-carb, paleo-type diet.
That’s why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for people with blood sugar regulation problems. Instead, I suggest that they eat every 2-3 hours. This helps to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day and prevents cortisol and other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine from getting involved. When my patients that have been fasting and experiencing high blood sugar readings switch to eating this way, their blood sugar numbers almost always normalize....
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That's me. To a T. The only time my fasting BG is not usually high in the morning is if I have fasted over a day. Then it dips into the 4s.
There's really no way to fix that though besides medicine. I suppose I could try exercising more consistently, but honestly, I don't know if that's going to happen. Too many joint problems lately.
During the day I have NO problem going 6 hours between a meal. No elevated BG then.
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