Is cortisol really that important to a person's health? You've probably heard the term stress hormone, and you know how difficult it can sometimes be dealing with stress. Well, that stress hormone, secreted by the adrenal glands, is known in the medical profession as cortisol. It plays a vital role in helping to maintain health and well-being. For example, cortisol helps to control weight, protect the immune system during an emotional setback, or in a sudden crisis whether it's a physical or emotional crisis. Additionally, cortisol also helps regulate blood, the release of insulin for healthy blood sugar maintenance, and it helps the body fight off infection. According to health and lifestyle information from Mayo Clinic, the body's normal stress response tends to be self-limiting. Once the perceived or real threat has passed, a person's hormone levels return to normal. This means that your heart rate, cortisol levels, breathing, and blood pressure return to baseline levels. However, serious problems can arise when you're dealing with constant stress, toxic personal or work environments, and stress factors that are always present such as a chronically ill child. Constant stress can easily cause you to feel pressured, exhausted, frustrated, and under physical or emotional attack. As a result, your stress-response system doesn't return to its normal baseline levels. You might say it's in an Always ON position that can spell trouble because of overexposure to cortisol along with other stress hormones. In fact, cortisol overexposure can play havoc with almost all your body's processes. What about added stress on top of a major move? Every individual has a different stress tolerance that's based on their individual reactions to situations and challenges.
An individual's personality also plays into how they react to situations. Some people are naturally calm and easy going regardless of their personal or work challenges. Others tend to panic, or overreact causing an increased level of stress and worry. To complicate things even further, factors such as career changes with extensive business travel, workplace harassment, brutal deadlines, increased financial obligations, unemployment, chronic injury, and the ongoing stress of a 24/7 lifestyle can make it difficult to pinpoint the causes of adrenal insufficiency. How long does it take to usually diagnose this condition? Due to the non-specific symptoms that develop very slowly, many people simply ignore things and chalk it up to overwork, jet lag, a demanding new promotion, a sick child/parent, lack of restful sleep, or their weekend warrior activities, etc. Unfortunately, it's usually after a crisis occurs that any attention is paid to the adrenal glands. Which Cortisol Supplement Has Scientific Proof? On a positive note, there's the remarkable benefits of high quality cortisol supplements that gently help to balance the impairments and health problems caused by chronic stress without interfering with the important short-term stress response that's needed. This product does not contain cortisol but helps lowering it.