Could your cortisol levels be lowered by a ‘cortisol cocktail?’

What is cortisol, and should I be worried about it?

“In general, people don’t need to worry about their cortisol levels at all,” Cheung says.

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“We don’t need to worry about regulating cortisol … It’s regulated by the adrenal glands. And they do an excellent job for the large majority of people.”

Fight, flight, freeze, fawn. Those instinctual responses to perceived threats or stress are triggered by the release of hormones including cortisol and adrenaline, and that’s why cortisol in particular is also known as the stress hormone.

The stress hormone, however, is in desperate need of a rebrand.

Stress is part of everyday life, and when it’s triggered – if you’re running late and need to run for the train, for example – cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands. That, in turn, increases the amount of glucose in the bloodstream, which is what the body can use for quick energy.

“If we didn’t have cortisol, we wouldn’t be alive. It’s essential to life,” says Associate Professor Theresa Larkin of the University of Wollongong’s Graduate School of Medicine.

Cortisol is crucial to regulating the body’s metabolism, circadian rhythm (body clock), immune function, blood pressure, and heart rate, among other functions. Simply put, Larkin, who holds a PhD in biomedical science, says it’s our “inbuilt alarm clock”, which more or less “tells other organs whether now is the right time for them to be functioning.”

Part of what makes testing cortisol levels not straightforward is the fact that they naturally fluctuate throughout the day – they’re at their highest in the morning and lowest in the evening, helping you stay alert once you wake up and let you fall asleep when you need to rest.

“[Cortisol is] there for it to increase our alertness and our response for the short term … up to a couple of hours ideally, and then it drops back off again,” says Larkin.

Can I lower my cortisol levels?

Trying to reduce your cortisol levels to lose weight, for example, or get rid of your puffy “cortisol face” (there is “no credible evidence” supporting its existence, Cheung says), would be akin to taking the batteries out of your smoke alarm instead of blowing out your candles before bed; the fire hazard is still there, but you’re left without the crucial warning to wake you up in time for evacuation.

“Don’t rely on Instagram or TikTok. Get medical advice from your doctor.”

Professor Ada Cheung

Heightened levels of cortisol are usually the symptom of the problem, rather than the problem itself. Even Cushing’s syndrome, which affects about 55 in every million people and occurs when your body makes too much cortisol over a long period of time, is typically the result of a pituitary tumour or steroid medications (as was the case for Amy Schumer).

Cortisol dysregulation – where cortisol levels are consistently abnormal – is generally overrepresented on social media “compared to the actual prevalence in the population,” says geneticist and biostatistician Divya Mehta, who is a professor at Queensland University of Technology’s School of Biomedical Sciences.

“It’s very, very rare, but it does happen,” Mehta says. “So this needs to be then diagnosed by the doctor rather than each person trying to self-diagnose.”

Right, but would drinking the ‘Cortisol Cocktail’ be bad for me?

Larkin says the “Cortisol Cocktail” is “not something that’s going to be a quick fix for cortisol dysregulation”.

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“We are so much better off getting all of those vitamins and minerals from whole foods because [this] ‘Cortisol Cocktail’ has quite a high amount of sugar … that’s not good in terms of cortisol,” Larkin says.

One of cortisol’s main functions, Larkin emphasises, is the regulation of glucose, so “adding in all of this glucose here, it can actually cause a dysregulation of cortisol or add to the problem of any dysregulated cortisol”.

Mehta notes how each individual component should, in theory, be beneficial – low magnesium and heightened stress levels have a bidirectional relationship, vitamin C is good for immune function, and sodium may improve “cardiovascular stress responses” – but if putting these ingredients together works in practice, well, “we don’t really know if that’s the case”.

Cheung’s view is less charitable, noting how “people are often preying on vulnerable people who are looking for a quick fix, and they’re selling them supplements and cocktails that don’t work.”

The “Cortisol Cocktail” could work, Larkin says, when “someone’s sitting with someone else and sipping on this ‘Cortisol Cocktail’ and debriefing and having a chat and enjoying the sun and de-stressing”.

A “Cortisol Cocktail”, however, is not necessary to the act of a relaxing socialisation session with friends, which Larkin says is actually what is “definitely positive for our overall cortisol levels and for our overall mental and physical health and well-being”. And that leads us back to our wider issue.

How to best manage your cortisol levels

“Cortisol is a really tightly regulated hormone,” Cheung says. “I think what people are trying to say is lower your stress levels … cortisol doesn’t equal stress.”

Eating well and sleeping well can lower our stress levels, Cheung says, and it may contribute to weight loss, which is often lauded by content creators as a benefit to lowering cortisol levels. “But targeting the cortisol level itself is the wrong concept,” she says.

There is no quick fix for stress management. Starting small and building habits, be it carving out time for a quiet cup of tea away from the work laptop or going for an afternoon walk, is more likely to make a difference in the long term.

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Larkin says one of the best things to do is help your circadian rhythm, and your cortisol levels, by getting morning sun and reducing light exposure as evening turns to night, including ditching your phone when you go to bed.

“We should be moving and exercising while it’s light, eating while it’s light … aligning to the day-night cycle is the number one best thing,” Larkin says. Exercise, Larkin and Mehta agree, is also beneficial in reducing overall stress.

Cheung, meanwhile, says if sleep, exercise, good nutrition, mindfulness, meditation and social support don’t work, it’s time to look for external stressors, like demanding jobs or challenging family dynamics.

“And if that’s not working, then seek some professional help,” she says. “Don’t rely on Instagram or TikTok. Get medical advice from your doctor.”

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