{"id":1403522,"date":"2026-02-04T10:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T15:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1403522&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=1403522"},"modified":"2026-02-04T14:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T19:55:09","slug":"be-well-cortisol-explainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/04\/be-well-cortisol-explainer\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you need to control your cortisol? Probably not, doctors say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By DEVI SHASTRI<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cortisol, what is known as the stress hormone, is the talk of the internet.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\"><h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-section\">Related Articles<\/h2><ul><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/08\/i-cant-tell-you-attorneys-relatives-struggle-to-find-hospitalized-ice-detainees\/\" title=\"\u2018I can\u2019t tell you\u2019: Attorneys, relatives struggle to find hospitalized ICE detainees\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\t\u2018I can\u2019t tell you\u2019: Attorneys, relatives struggle to find hospitalized ICE detainees\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/08\/sick-of-fighting-insurers-hospitals-offer-their-own-medicare-advantage-plans\/\" title=\"Sick of fighting insurers, hospitals offer their own Medicare Advantage plans\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tSick of fighting insurers, hospitals offer their own Medicare Advantage plans\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/07\/round-valley-tribes-eel-river-dam-removal-trump-administration\/\" title=\"How a California tribe is confronting the Trump administration to claim their historic rights to a river\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tHow a California tribe is confronting the Trump administration to claim their historic rights to a river\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/07\/covid-trump-policies\/\" title=\"Trump policies at odds with emerging understanding of COVID\u2019s long-term harm\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tTrump policies at odds with emerging understanding of COVID\u2019s long-term harm\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/smart-offering-buses-as-warming-centers-during-extreme-cold-feb-7-8\/\" title=\"SMART offering buses as warming centers during extreme cold Feb. 7-8\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tSMART offering buses as warming centers during extreme cold Feb. 7-8\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><\/ul><\/aside>\n<p>Wellness influencers warn about the various symptoms of chronically high cortisol: waking up at 3 a.m., swollen \u201ccortisol face\u201d and accumulating belly fat. And many offer diet and exercise routines that they claim will help.<\/p>\n<p>But do you really need supplements and advice from influencers to control your cortisol? Doctors say it\u2019s very unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t be so quick to label this hormone as a villain, they say. And if you suspect something is off, talk to a professional.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n<h4>Cortisol keeps you alive and disorders are relatively rare<\/h4>\n<p>Cortisol is a hormone and you need it to survive. It comes from the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, and is one of many hormones at play in times of stress. It can influence inflammation, the immune system, metabolism, blood pressure and many other bodily functions.<\/p>\n<p>Cortisol is incredibly attuned to your body and environment. It fluctuates throughout the day, rising in the morning when you wake up and falling at night before you go to sleep. It also rises when you\u2019re sick or in other times of stress, doctors say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur cortisol level is regulated by the minute,\u201d said Dr. Roberto Salvatori, a Johns Hopkins University endocrinologist. \u201cIt is very sensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s rare that people have a disorder where cortisol on its own is the cause. If a person\u2019s cortisol level is chronically low, doctors would diagnose them with adrenal insufficiency. This includes an <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/autoimmune-diseases\">autoimmune condition<\/a> called Addison\u2019s disease, in which the immune system attacks the adrenal gland.<\/p>\n<p>People with Cushing\u2019s syndrome have cortisol levels that are too high. Among its causes are tumors, which are usually benign, in the adrenal or pituitary glands. It is treated with medication, surgery or both.<\/p>\n<h4>Talk to your doctor before ordering a cortisol test<\/h4>\n<p>The symptoms of either high or low cortisol are wide-ranging and can overlap with signs of other health issues.<\/p>\n<p>Adrenal insufficiency can manifest as fatigue, unintentional weight loss, low blood pressure and loss of appetite. Cushing\u2019s syndrome comes with weight gain, high blood pressure, brittle bones, weight gain around the face and belly, abnormal hair growth in women, sleep issues and more.<\/p>\n<p>Diagnoses take time, multiple tests and an understanding of a patient\u2019s overall health, doctors said. Cortisol can be measured through the patient\u2019s saliva, blood or urine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of nuance to interpreting cortisol and that\u2019s what makes me a little bit nervous about patients getting cortisol testing for themselves without having some kind of physician oversight,\u201d said Dr. Katie Guttenberg, an endocrinologist at UTHealth Houston.<\/p>\n<p>A one-off cortisol blood test won\u2019t provide useful information for most people, she said, and could lead to unnecessary stress and medical follow-ups. For example, women who are on birth control will have falsely high cortisol blood results, because of how the medicine works in the body.<\/p>\n<h4>Be cautious of supplements that claim to lower cortisol<\/h4>\n<p>Endocrinologists say there are no proven over-the-counter treatments for high or low cortisol, despite claims that supplements like ashwagandha and magnesium are helpful in \u201clowering cortisol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Cushing\u2019s syndrome, chronically high cortisol is a concern, said Dr. James Findling, an endocrinologist with the Medical College of Wisconsin, but more research into treatments is needed.<\/p>\n<p>He worries about people taking unregulated supplements when it\u2019s not always clear what\u2019s in them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not innocuous,\u201d Findling warned.<\/p>\n<p>Even in patients who have Cushing\u2019s syndrome, the medications have to be carefully dosed, Salvatori said, because an overcorrection could drive cortisol levels too low and cause other health issues.<\/p>\n<h4>Managing stress is good for you, regardless of cortisol<\/h4>\n<p>Salvatori notes there is a condition called \u201cpseudo Cushing\u2019s syndrome,\u201d which is often milder but causes some of the same physical effects despite the patient not having a tumor. It can be caused by alcoholism and other chronic issues.<\/p>\n<p>It is generally treated by addressing the underlying cause, doctors said, like getting the patient to stop drinking.<\/p>\n<p>Endocrinologists are learning new potential benefits for treating high cortisol, said Findling, who studies the condition. For example, it could potentially help diabetics who are on multiple drugs better control their blood sugar.<\/p>\n<p>The doctors also acknowledged that stress is highly subjective and Cushing\u2019s syndrome patients can go unheard and undiagnosed.<\/p>\n<p>But their advice for the vast majority of people: Talk to a doctor if you are concerned.<\/p>\n<p>For healthy people, rather than focusing in on one elusive hormone, the doctors recommended going back to the basics of stress management: Eat well, get enough sleep, move your body or go to therapy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing new about any of that,\u201d Findling said.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cortisol, what is known as the stress hormone, is the talk of the internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1403523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[23,22],"tags":[7601],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[799],"class_list":["post-1403522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","tag-network"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"23","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":"","print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":"","really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/02\/04\/be-well-cortisol-explainer","id":"cG9zdDoyNDQyNjk5","siteName":"Sharing Dash","syndicationSourceStack":[{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/02\/04\/be-well-cortisol-explainer","id":"cG9zdDoyNDQyNjk5","siteName":"Sharing Dash","sourceUrl":"https:\/\/sharingdash.medianewsgroup.com"}],"source_url":"https:\/\/sharingdash.medianewsgroup.com"},"market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":1403523,"title":"Be_Well_Cortisol_Explainer_14930","filename":"Be_Well_Cortisol_Explainer_14930.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Be_Well_Cortisol_Explainer_14930.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/04\/be-well-cortisol-explainer\/attachment\/1403523\/","alt":"","author":"14","description":"","caption":"FILE &#8211; A German soccer fan reacts at a fan zone after a quarter final match between Germany and Spain at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, July 5, 2024. 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