Cortisol is known as the body’s primary stress hormone, but it also helps regulate metabolism, blood sugar, and blood pressure, plus helps reduce inflammation. That’s why it may be a surprise that the number-one sign your cortisol is high is not related to how stressed out you are feeling.
Meet the experts: Brynna Connor, M.D., a family medicine physician in Austin, TX, and the healthcare ambassador at NorthwestPharmacy.com; David Cutler, M.D., a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
“When cortisol levels are chronically elevated, it essentially means that the body is existing in a constant state of stress,” Brynna Connor, M.D., a family medicine physician in Austin, TX, and the healthcare ambassador at NorthwestPharmacy.com, previously told Prevention. “Persistent stress and chronically elevated cortisol levels can have significant negative effects on your health.” These effects and signs of high cortisol may impact any of the systems and processes mentioned above. But what is the most tell-tale symptom of high cortisol?
“The number-one sign that you might have chronically elevated cortisol levels is unexplained weight gain around the midsection caused by visceral fat,” Dr. Connor said. “When cortisol levels are elevated, the body naturally begins to store fat in the abdomen as a survival instinct designed to protect the internal organs, particularly the liver, kidneys, and intestines, as a way to protect them from shock, a.k.a. the perceived stress.” In other words, high cortisol levels signal to the body that there is some sort of physical threat to your well-being. And as a result, it takes action to protect your most important parts. “This weight gain due to chronically high cortisol levels also often occurs without any changes in diet and/or exercise that would cause the increase to occur,” Dr. Connor added. High cortisol may also reduce insulin sensitivity, further increasing the likelihood of weight gain.
While prolonged periods of stress are a common cause of high cortisol and associated weight gain, cortisol can become elevated for a variety of other reasons. “Cortisol levels can also be affected by physical illness, fever, sleep deprivation, inflammation, pregnancy, and emotional factors,” David Cutler, M.D., a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, explained. “In addition to internal factors, external factors such as diet, alcohol, caffeine, prescription medication, and nutritional supplements can also affect cortisol levels.” If you’re experiencing unexplained weight gain along with any changes in your health or daily life that would fall into one of these categories, it’s worth speaking to your doctor, who can do an assessment.
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