Cortisol is an important adrenal hormone and is involved in many functions in the body. It should be naturally occurring in the blood in higher amounts in the morning and should decrease as the day goes by into the lowest levels in the evening so you can sleep. It is known most commonly as the “fight or flight” hormone or the “stress” hormone and is used for quick bursts of energy for survival reasons, but it has other purposes in the body:
- Immune Functions
- Inflammatory Response
- Insulin Release for Glucose Maintenance
- Glucose Metabolism
- Regulation of Blood pressure
When the body is in a chronic stressful situation prolonged exposure to too much cortisol can cause many negative effects:
- Abdominal Body Fat
- Blood Sugar Imbalance
- Decreased Bone Density
- Decreased Muscle Tissue
- Higher Blood Pressure
- Impaired Brain Function
- Impaired Immunity
- Suppressed thyroid function
Here at Beyond-Biology.com our Program Advisors, Program Educators and Physicians have customized programs using Clinical Nutrition, Exercise, Yoga, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement and Hormone Balancing to help to support all of our patients with the negative effects of the stress of daily life and excess cortisol levels in the blood. Please call 888-908-0804 to find out how! Look at saliva tests to show exactly where your levels are at 4 different times during the day.