Cortisol Supplements & Adaptogenic Herbs
She grabbed my arm tight and pulled me back. I didn’t know what to expect, I never thought that this women had an aggressive bone in her body. She caught me off-guard so I spun around and in a nice, situation defusing tone, ask “What’s up”? She continued, not that spot, this is the spot as she grabbed her lower stomach and questioned “how do I get rid of this”? A scene that has played in my head over and over again, from both men and women, is the answer to questions that revolve around how to lose lower stomach fat or more importantly how to lower cortisol.
Both men and women suffer from it and it’s easily the hottest debated topic when it comes to books or products about how to manipulate and change your body and lose fat through hormones. The great cortisol debate, as some might call it. While the some may ask if it is even an issue, those of us who have made it a hobby to study hormones and fat patterns on the body understand that, above all else, cortisol must be minimized in any fat loss diet.
It’s my opinion that if you want to lose fat the process must be simple. Take someone who reads alot of literature (which you have every right to) and wants to know how to get six pack abs They know they need to keep cortisol low then understand that if blood sugar is kept low then cortisol must be kept low so they shouldn’t eat carbs (every carb causes inflammation in the body, fyi). So they successfully diet this way for three or four months then they read the last newest diet guru talk about how carbs aren’t bad and you can include them. So he starts letting things slide, a bagel here or there, multiple cheat meal, then everything goes out the window.
My point being, is that you don’t need more information about cortisol, yes it can be good about 9% of the time, but you should focus on the 91% of it that’s bad and figure out how to lower cortisol and the best (and healthiest) option is through a good six pack diet and the use of these 5 herbs.
Reishi Mushroom: Reishi helps to lower cortisol due to it’s powerful ability to reduce stress. This is going to be a reoccurring theme so I might as well say it now, if you reduce stress then you lower cortisol. It’s very calming and can act as a sedative (great to take postworkout) and improve adrenal gland function, which is a plus for lowering cortisol.
Rhodiola: A fantastic adaptogenic herb, which helps to balance out the body. It’s also great for improving attention span, mood and mental clarity.
Green Tea: Seriously, green tea does everything good in the body. It works to lower cortisol and stress because it’s extremely high in antioxidants and also minimizes the effects of environmental pollutants, inflammation and other forms of metabolic stress.
Ginseng: A very well known herb that is also a great adaptogenic tonic that helps to reduce nervous exhaustion and tiredness, which when high leads people to drink more caffeine which increases cortisol.
Holy Basil: This cortisol lowering herb does its job because it’s amazing for the immune system and anytime the immune system is strong then the body naturally reduces cortisol. Don’t skip this one.