Health
The Truth About ‘Cortisol Belly’
In this episode of the Nutrition Diva podcast, host Monica Reinegel explores the concept of 'cortisol belly' and its relationship to stress and fat storage. She breaks down the science behin...
The Truth About ‘Cortisol Belly’
Health •
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Interactive Transcript
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Stress is an unavoidable part of life.
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But can stress hormones really change where your body stores fat?
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Today, we're taking a closer look at the so-called cortisol belly.
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Welcome to the Nutrition Divopotcast, a show where we take a closer look at nutrition news,
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research, fads, and trends,
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so that you can make more informed decisions about what you eat and buy.
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I'm your host Monica Reinegel,
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and today I'm tackling a question that June sent in.
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Have you addressed the cortisol belly craze?
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She writes,
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I keep seeing articles about this,
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but I ignore them,
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figuring it's just the latest fat.
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So am I right?
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Well, this is a great question,
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because like so many other internet rumors,
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this one actually has a kernel of truth at its core.
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Cortisol is a real hormone,
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and there is a relationship between stress, cortisol, and fat storage.
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But the story that's being told in the media about cortisol belly is at best an oversimplification,
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and at worst, a bunch of hoey.
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Cortisol is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands,
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and it plays several important roles.
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It helps to regulate your metabolism,
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your blood sugar, immune function,
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and it's a key player in your body's response to stress.
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And in fact, we couldn't live without it.
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When we experience a stressful stimulus,
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anything from a car suddenly pulling into our lane,
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to a plunge into a cold lake,
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to just a terse email from the boss,
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our adrenal glands respond by releasing adrenaline and cortisol.
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A adrenaline drives that immediate fight or flight reaction.
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It increases our heart rate.
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Sharpen's our focus gets us ready to leap into action.
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Cortisol's role is to reallocate metabolic resources
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in order to keep a steady supply of energy available to our brain and our muscles
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if the stress continues.
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And all of that is normal and adaptive.
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The concern is when stress becomes a chronic experience
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and cortisol levels stay elevated over long periods of time.
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This can result in sustained high blood sugar levels,
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and that in turn triggers the release of more insulin
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and chronically high insulin levels
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can result in more fat storage,
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particularly around the abdomen.
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And that, in a nutshell, is how they get to cortisol belly.
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You know, a lot of the research that first linked cortisol to abdominal fat
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was done in people with Cushing's syndrome.
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This is a rare condition where the body produces abnormally high levels of cortisol.
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These patients do tend to accumulate fat around the midsection
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and lowering their cortisol levels through medical treatment
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can reduce that fat.
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But look, what happens in Cushing's patients
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does not necessarily translate to people without that condition.
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For most of us, cortisol fluctuates during the day in a fairly normal rhythm
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and even if stress is causing temporary elevations,
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that's not the same thing as pathologically high cortisol levels.
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So, while it's possible that chronic stress might nudge fat storage
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toward the abdomen, that is certainly not the whole story.
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Many other factors can contribute to increased belly fat
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and they include diet, physical activity, sleep, genetics, and other hormones.
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So while stress in cortisol may play a role,
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it really is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.
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On social media, however, you will see posts and videos about supplements
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or cortisol reset diets, which allegedly melt away your belly fat
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by reducing your cortisol levels.
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Now, many of the products and the protocols that are being promoted online
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don't really have any solid evidence to support them.
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But once again, some of the hype is based on a kernel of truth.
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Certain supplements, including ashwaganda and phosphatidyl serine,
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have been shown to reduce the amount of cortisol that is produced
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in response to lab-induced stress conditions.
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And this effect is often greater in people who report a high level of chronic stress.
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Now, of the two of these ashwaganda is perhaps the best studied.
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And interesting side note, ashwaganda belongs to the Solanaceae
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or the Nightshade family of plants that I talked about just a couple of weeks ago.
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But the real question here is whether these supplements are going to have any long-term effects
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on your adrenal function or more to the point on abdominal fat.
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And here you're not going to find much evidence beyond testimonials
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or other anecdotal reports.
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And finally, the marketing of direct-to-consumer cortisol tests,
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these might involve saliva or urine or hair, adds a whole other layer of confusion here.
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These tests may detect cortisol levels, but the collection methods
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and the reference ranges haven't been standardized or validated
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and they are not recognized by medical authorities as a legitimate diagnostic tool.
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So my fear is that a lot of people may be spending money on tests
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that are really more about the marketing than about the medicine,
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and then they may end up worrying about a problem that isn't real.
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So far, I've thrown a lot of cold water on popular notions about stress, cortisol, and belly fat.
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But I'm certainly not denying that stress is a thing.
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And for that matter, I know that belly fat is a real concern as well
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and not only from a vanity perspective.
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Excess body fat that accumulates around the midsection is objectively more dangerous to your health
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than fat that might accumulate in other parts of the body, such as the thighs or the arms.
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It is linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease,
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and type 2 diabetes.
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And this is why many doctors are moving away from BMI or body mass index as a health indicator,
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because a high-waste circumference or a high-waste-to-hip ratio may actually be a much more accurate indicator of metabolic health.
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With all of that said, if you're concerned about belly fat and you suspect that chronic stress and cortisol may be a contributing factor,
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I do have some concrete steps that you can take.
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Now, no special belly fat busting supplements or diet protocols, I'm afraid.
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It all boils down to a few lifestyle recommendations that you have heard before,
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but before you roll your eyes, that's actually good news, because it means that the following tips are not just going to help you combat belly fat,
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they can also reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia, arthritis, anxiety, and depression. What a bargain.
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Moderate exercise, walking, swimming, cycling can reduce chronic cortisol levels and support overall weight balance.
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Strength training a couple times a week also helps with body composition.
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Go ahead and challenge yourself, but be sure to also schedule in some rest days, because overtraining can actually push cortisol temporarily higher.
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Eating a diet featuring plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats actually goes a long way toward regulating and balancing your body's stress response,
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and magnesium-rich foods, like leafy greens and nuts, can be particularly helpful in this regard.
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On the flip side, excess sugar and alcohol can disrupt blood sugar regulation and raise your cortisol.
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Things like mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or even just taking regular breaks to connect with others or with nature,
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can help your body recover more fully from the inevitable daily stressors and bring elevated cortisol levels back down.
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And cortisol does follow a daily rhythm. It peaks in the morning and then tapers off at night. And when you skimp on sleep, it can throw that rhythm off,
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keeping cortisol levels elevated when they should be winding down.
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Honestly, making sleep quality, one of your priorities, is one of the most effective ways to normalize cortisol levels.
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It's really far more effective than any supplement or diet.
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Now, none of these approaches magically melt away belly fat, but together they can help modulate cortisol, improve your resilience to stress, improve your quality of life,
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and support a healthy body composition over the long term.
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So to come back to June's original question, is there any scientific basis for all this buzz about cortisol belly?
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Yes, there is a kernel of truth here, chronic stress, and elevated cortisol can play a role in fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area.
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But the way it is often portrayed in headlines and on social media is oversimplified, exaggerated, and it's often used to sell you stuff you don't need.
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The real solutions are not going to be found in cortisol cocktails or detox diets.
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They're found in the same fundamentals that we always seem to come back to, managing stress, staying active, getting enough sleep, and eating a balanced diet.
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Thank you for your question, June, and if you have got one that you'd like me to tackle, you can email me at nutrition at quickanderditips.com
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and be sure to check the show notes for links to a couple of related episodes on belly fat and midlife metabolism.
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Nutrition Diva is a Quick And Dirty Tips podcast. Holly Hutchings is our director of podcasts.
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Steve Rickeberg is our audio engineer, Morgan Christiansen heads up podcast operations and advertising.
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Rebecca Sebastian is our manager of marketing and publicity, and Nat Hoops is our marketing and operations assistant.
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That's it for this week. Thanks for listening, and remember to eat something good for me.