8 Powerful Ways To Lower Your Cortisol Naturally

Having  too  much of cortisol in the body can trigger a range of different health problems:

Such as unexplained high blood pressure The formation of loose belly fat that hangs over Muscle weakness especially  in the legs and buttocks .You may wake up between 2-3am  struggling to sleep and overthinking 

It can weaken your immune system  making you prone to illness. It can trigger acid reflux and heartburn. "8 Signs You Have HIGH CORTISOL"

If cortisol is left unchecked it can lead to some  dangerous health conditions like heart disease,  type2 diabetes and a higher  risk of infection from viruses.

There are some simple ways that you can lower your  cortisol naturally to take  the strain off your body.

And that’s exactly what we will  talk about in today's article.

Just a quick reminder this article  is for educational purposes only,  so do speak to your doctor if you have  any medical or mental health concerns.

1. L-Theanine

If you wish you can take 200mg of L-Theanine twice  

per day to help relax your nervous  system and naturally lower cortisol.

This is an amino acid found in green  tea which helps to lower your heart  

rate when you are stressed and also  make you feel calm, steady and focused.

This nutrient easily crosses the blood  brain barrier within 30-45 minutes.

(after taking it) You can also get  

this in a gum that can be chewed, or  a mint that helps to give you focus.

Some people prefer to take this in the morning on  an empty stomach to replace caffeinated drinks,  

as it helps wake you up without causing  irritability and jitters that you get from coffee.

2. Magnesium Foods

When your cortisol is high, your body is  locked into a state called fight/flight.

This keeps your muscles tense, especially  around your neck and shoulders,  

as it’s a reflex to stress - the bodies  way of guarding itself against injury.

To naturally ease this tension you  want to start eating foods that are  

rich in magnesium more often,  such as leafy green vegetables.

Avocados, sunflower seeds, extra virgin olive oil,  

and sugar free dark chocolate  are also rich in magnesium.

This calming mineral is needed to help  relax your muscles, reduce tightness,  

spasms, and restlessness that occurs  when your cortisol levels are high.

3. Raise Oxygen Levels

When your cortisol is high, your nervous  system is in a state of alertness,  

and is making you very sensitive to triggers.

You may find that people annoy you more, your  blood pressure will increase and this can put  

a strain on your heart long term - which is why  doctors often relate stress to heart disease.

So to counter this, start raising  your oxygen levels by taking long  

gentle walks in nature for  at least 45 minutes each day.

This form of low intensity exercise,  helps to reduce cortisol and turn off the  

fight/flight reaction (sympathetic nervous  system) by boosting your oxygen levels.

You'll also find that sunlight exposure  produces more Vitamin D in your body, which  helps to lower inflammation and calm the adrenal  glands, so that they release less cortisol.

If you're finding this information helpful  please hit the like button, subscribe and  

turn all notifications to stay updated  with my latest health and nutrition tips.

4. Vitamin B1 & B5

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and B5  (Pantothenic Acid) are two of  

the most powerful nutrients for lowering  cortisol and relaxing the nervous system.

The best natural source of these  is unfortified nutritional yeast.  

Eat at least 2-3 tablespoons of this mixed in  yoghurt, soups, stir fries or over your salad.

Within 5-10 minutes you may feel  yourself relaxing and calming down,  

as the rest/digest part of your nervous  system kicks in (parasympathetic).

Eating garlic can also supply allithiamine,  

a powerful version of B1, which enhances  your mood, supports neurotransmission  

in your brain, lifts brain fog and helps  to quickly reduce the need for cortisol.

5. 4-6 Breathing Technique

Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down,  and breathe in gently to a count of 4,  

and then out to a count of 6. Do  this gently for just a few minutes.

The longer exhalation stimulates your diaphragm,  the muscle below your lungs which can reboot the  

signal to the brain, telling it to turn  off the fight/flight (cortisol) response.

You see, when you are stressed you tend to  breathe more rapidly and more shallow. By  

slowing your breathing down, your brain knows  it's safe to turn off its stress reaction.

By the way, I'll be sharing some links below  the video to my favourite supplements to reduce  

cortisol, and also some cortisol testing  kits if you are looking for more resources.

6. Aromatherapy

Invest in some high quality essential oils to  

promote relaxation of the body  and ease the nervous system.

Lavender, frankincense, bergamot, ylang ylang  and myrrh are some of my personal favourites  

which each contain active ingredients  that have been shown to lower cortisol.

You can place a few drops of your chosen  oil into a little coconut oil (carrier oil)  

and massage this into your temples. Studies show that the active ingredients  

within essential oils penetrate the skin and  help to balance out hormones throughout the body.

Gently inhaling these aromas by using a  room diffuser or oil burner can also help  

to make you feel peaceful and get  your body out of the stress mode.

7. Quit Snacking

Snacking throughout the day continuously  triggers another hormone called insulin,  

which is there to help control your blood sugars.

Over time this repeated habit can cause  insulin resistance, which can cause your  

brain cells to starve of energy, putting  your body into stress mode (high cortisol).

Instead of snacking, it's recommended  to eat 2 solid meals per day,  

adding some healthy fats to boost  satiety and keep you feeling full.

Avocados, grass fed butter, Brazil nuts, almonds,  virgin coconut oil or oily fish (sardines/salmon),  

can all help to keep you feeling full and  reduce the need for cortisol in your body.

8. Adaptogens 

There are many herbs and spices used throughout  the world that are classified as adaptogens.

Basically, adaptogens help your body adapt  to stress, including emotional stress,  

and physical stress from exercise or injury.

Getting more adaptogens helps your body adjust  and respond to the changing conditions of life,  

so it naturally lowers the need for cortisol in  your body, and calms your adrenal glands down.

Ashwagandha and rhodiola are two amazing  herbs which you can get in supplement form.

You can also drink lemon balm, hibiscus,  

chamomile, maca or butterfly pea flower  teas to keep your cortisol levels in check.

As you can see there are many active ways  to lower cortisol naturally in your body,  

so try out a mixture of these  and see which works best for you.

In addition to these methods I also recommend that  

you find ways to pull away  from stressors in your life.

For example if you have relatives  or friends that get on your nerves,  

don't go as often and don't stay as long.

We often try to push through stress, which  only makes the problem worse as it can  

physically build-up inside your body, causing  an over reactive nervous response (cortisol).

Take care of yourself mentally,  physically and emotionally.

Eating probiotic rich foods like kefir,  sauerkraut, raw vegetables, kimchi and kombucha  tea can all help the cells in your gut to produce  calming brain chemicals like GABA and serotonin.

Here's a quick summary of the powerful  ways to lower cortisol naturally.

1. Take L-theanine in a gum, mint or  supplement to replace your morning coffee 

2. Eat leafy greens, and foods rich in magnesium  to calm muscle tension and lower cortisol 

3. Raise oxygen levels by  taking long walks in nature 

4. Consume nutritional yeast to get B1 and B5,  the most important vitamins to relax the body. 

5. Use the 4-6 breathing technique to  physically turn off the stress response 

6. Use essential oils to  stimulate the parasympathetic  rest and digest part of the nervous system .

7. Quit snacking and eat solid meals with healthy  fats to stay satisfied and balance hormones.

8. Use adaptogen herbs like ashwagandha and  lemon balm to reduce the need for cortisol.

9. Limit stressful situations in your life by  avoiding annoying people as much as you can.

10. Eat probiotic rich foods to support  your gut microbiome in producing  calming brain chemicals like GABA>

Thank you so much for reading my article,  and as always I wish you great  health, wealth and happiness.