Cortisol is a stress hormone that your adrenal glands produce in response to physical or mental stress and, despite its reputation, it’s not all bad. This hormone released in larger quantities with mental or physical stress has the beneficial function of supplying your body with short-term energy. After an exhaustive workout, cortisol mobilizes glucose, so your muscles can use it during times of stress or when energy stores are low. But if it stays elevated or is too high at baseline, cortisol can cause problems.
What are the health risks of having a high cortisol level? Elevated cortisol can lead to bone loss, reduced immune function, fertility problems, and muscle loss. Losing bone and muscle tissue comes from cortisol’s catabolic nature; it breaks down these tissues.
As mentioned, physical or mental stress can cause cortisol to rise. However, the diet you eat also helps lower an elevated cortisol level related to stress. In fact, some foods have a greater ability than others to reign in the stress response and reduce cortisol. Here are five that show promise based on science.
Bananas
Bananas are a rich source of two key minerals that play a role in stress management, potassium and magnesium. You hear a lot about magnesium these days. No wonder! Magnesium plays a key role in over 300 chemical reactions, including ones that affect the body’s stress response.
Can eating bananas lower cortisol? One study of healthy cyclists found those who ate bananas or pears during a long ride had lower levels of cortisol than did those who only drank plain water. Bananas provide carbohydrates your muscles can use during exercise too. Supplying your body with enough carbohydrates during a workout helps keep cortisol levels from rising too much and staying up and it’s important for muscle recovery too.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is a decadent treat but has health benefits if you choose dark chocolate low in sugar. Can it lower cortisol too? Researchers from Switzerland studied the effects of dark chocolate on the stress response and cortisol levels. They found that consuming 40 grams of dark chocolate daily lowered blood and urine cortisol levels relative to a control group who got no chocolate.
How might dark chocolate lower cortisol and reduce stress? Dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, antioxidant phytonutrients with anti-inflammatory activity. These natural compounds may play a role in its stress-relieving, cortisol-lowering benefits. It also contains magnesium, a mineral that helps relax muscles and soothe the nervous system. Dark chocolate is also a natural source of caffeine, which could negatively affect the stress response, but the quantity is small relative to coffee.
Maca
Some studies show that maca, a plant found in the Andes Mountains and related to the mulberry, helps lower cortisol and reduce the stress response. Ingredients in maca appear to subdue the activity of the adrenal glands, the glands that produce cortisol. How do you consume it?
You can buy maca in powder form and add it to smoothies or porridge in the morning for added stress-lowering benefits. You can also buy maca tea, including maca tea with chocolate. Maca may have other health benefits too, but don’t consume it if you have thyroid problems or are undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Water
Believe it or not, plain water helps keep cortisol and the stress response in check, especially if you exercise. Why? Even mild dehydration places added stress on your body and causes your adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. A small study in runners found that those who drank water and stayed well-hydrated during their runs had lower cortisol levels. It’s another reason to hydrate well after a workout and when you’re stressed out too.
Fatty Fish
Studies show that taking long-chain omega-3 fish oil supplements help suppress cortisol and the stress response. However, you can get long-chain omega-3s by eating fatty fish, like wild-caught Alaskan salmon. A study found that consuming fish oil for 3 weeks lowered cortisol relative to those who took a placebo.
Other sources of long-chain omega-3s include sardines, cod, herring, Atlantic mackerel, and canned, light tuna. However, larger fish, like tuna, accumulate more toxins and heavy metals, so don’t consume albacore tuna more than once per week or canned, light tuna more than twice each week. Talk to your doctor before eating fish if you’re pregnant.
The Bottom Line
Eating the right foods can help to reduce the stress hormone cortisol, but high cortisol can also be a sign of medical problems. It’s safest to check with a doctor to make sure you’re healthy before using food to lower your body’s stress response. Total diet quality matters most. Make sure you’re eating a variety of whole nutrient-dense foods to supply your body with the nutrients it needs to support health and keep cortisol levels in check. And don’t forget that restricting calories too much causes a rise in cortisol. Skip the fad and restrictive diets and eat for health and energy.
References:
- Nieman DC, Gillitt ND, Sha W, Meaney MP, John C, Pappan KL, Kinchen JM. Metabolomics-Based Analysis of Banana and Pear Ingestion on Exercise Performance and Recovery. J Proteome Res. 2015 Dec 4;14(12):5367-77. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00909. Epub 2015 Nov 23. PMID: 26561314.
- Maresh CM, Whittlesey MJ, Armstrong LE, Yamamoto LM, Judelson DA, Fish KE, Casa DJ, Kavouras SA, Castracane VD. Effect of hydration state on testosterone and cortisol responses to training-intensity exercise in collegiate runners. Int J Sports Med. 2006 Oct;27(10):765-70. doi: 10.1055/s-2005-872932. PMID: 17006802.
- Amar EC, Apines-Amar MJS, Faisan JP Jr. Dietary Onion or Ginger Modulates the Stress Response and Susceptibility to Vibrio harveyi JML1 Infection in Brown-marbled Grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Juveniles. J Aquat Anim Health. 2018 Mar;30(1):39-49. doi: 10.1002/aah.10005. PMID: 29595889.
- WebMD.com. “Dark Chocolate Takes Bite Out of Stress”
- Delarue J, Matzinger O, Binnert C, Schneiter P, Chioléro R, Tappy L. Fish oil prevents the adrenal activation elicited by mental stress in healthy men. Diabetes Metab. 2003 Jun;29(3):289-95. doi: 10.1016/s1262-3636(07)70039-3. PMID: 12909818.
- Cuciureanu MD, Vink R. Magnesium and stress. In: Vink R, Nechifor M, editors. Magnesium in the Central Nervous System [Internet]. Adelaide (AU): University of Adelaide Press; 2011. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507250/
- MedicalNewsToday.com. “What are the benefits of maca root?”
- FDA.gov. “Advice about Eating Fish”
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