Cortisol, Coffee & Why You Gain Weight Under Stress

Coffee Promotes Cortisol Production and Weight Gain Conventional wisdom suggests coffee is a great addition to a weight-loss plan — it's nearly calorie-free and contains no fat. But a more holistic view evaluates coffee through how it affects the body's ability to metabolize the rest of what you eat. Recent research suggests that despite its low calorie count, coffee may actually promote weight gain and type 2 diabetes by stimulating cortisol production and insulin resistance. CAFFEINE STIMULATES CORTISOL Cortisol is the body's stress hormone. One of its jobs is to facilitate the fight-or-flight response — raising blood pressure, accelerating carbohydrate and fat metabolism, and increasing blood sugar so muscles can perform under threat. Cortisol also promotes insulin release to shuttle glucose into cells. This cortisol-driven demand for blood sugar makes us feel hungry, encouraging us to eat more even when we're trying not to. If our cortisol response were physical — running from danger, fighting — we'd burn off the extra fuel. In today's world, most stress is mental or emotional. The result? Weight gain. And over time, our cells become resistant to all that insulin, which sets the stage for type 2 diabetes. REGULAR COFFEE BUILDS PARTIAL TOLERANCE A 2005 study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that habitual coffee drinking does build some tolerance to caffeine's cortisol effect. Subjects given caffeine after a five-day fast showed morning cortisol spikes that diminished after a few days of regular exposure. But when subjects sipped caffeine all day, their cortisol levels rose again in the afternoon — particularly in people prone to high blood pressure. Translation: an all-day coffee drinker will likely keep producing extra cortisol, encouraging weight gain. People who limit themselves to one or two cups first thing in the morning fare much better. CORTISOL PROMOTES BELLY FAT According to Shawn Talbott, PhD (author of The Cortisol Connection), cortisol also encourages your body to store fat — especially in the abdominal area — a pattern associated not only with diabetes but with heart disease, high cholesterol, and hypertension. 5 GENTLE COFFEE ALTERNATIVES * Green tea — slightly less caffeine, plus powerful catechin antioxidants. * Nutty smoothies — cashew milk, protein powder, nut butter. Steadier blood sugar, no 3 pm slump. * Licorice tea — caffeine-free, supports the adrenal glands. * Siberian ginseng tea — a tried-and-true fatigue fighter, slightly bitter, sweeten with honey. * Reishi mushroom tea — a staple in traditional Chinese medicine. Reishi, Siberian ginseng, and licorice root can also be taken in tincture form. — Lezah