Nutrition Nugget: Cortisol Face

Have you seen or heard this referenced? [00:00:30] It's the name that essentially influences, or maybe [00:00:35] I'm better off saying the internet as a whole gives to this look when a [00:00:40] person's face appears more round, the cheeks more full and [00:00:45] kind of pink, and I think they would say puffy. [00:00:50] And they believe that it's due to stress, or really I should say [00:00:55] high stress.

Water retention, often from [00:01:25] eating higher amounts of salt or sugar, ultra-processed foods, could be [00:01:30] caused by poor sleep, drinking alcohol, allergies, underactive [00:01:35] thyroid, which is hypothyroidism. It's also often a combination of [00:01:40] fat accumulation and soft tissue swelling [00:01:45] connected to skin thinning. So this can be a side effect of [00:01:50] steroid-containing medications.

So according to NIH, Cushing's syndrome [00:02:20] affects about 40 to 70 people per million, and Cushing [00:02:25] disease is 70% of those cases. So that's about [00:02:30] 10 to 15 people per million per year. So in reality, [00:02:35] it's not really that this look is caused by high cortisol. [00:02:40] It's more likely that this is from high [00:02:45] corticosteroid levels.

[00:03:10] Sure, prolonged stress, higher levels of cortisol have impact on the body and [00:03:15] potentially the skin, yet usually to a much lesser extent [00:03:20] than what we see in moon face. The other piece of this that the [00:03:25] internet and influencers need a better understanding of is [00:03:30] cortisol itself Yes, cortisol is the stress hormone, and [00:03:35] the body needs cortisol.

So all of those things are [00:04:20] likely happening. And when the body is experiencing high levels of daily stress for sustained periods of [00:04:25] time, the adrenal gland, which is where cortisol is made, can become [00:04:30] exhausted and stop producing cortisol or not be able to keep up or [00:04:35] produce enough. This is, in wellness circles, what's known as [00:04:40] adrenal fatigue.

So it's higher in the morning to get us [00:05:15] up and out of bed, and then it tapers off later, you know, throughout the day and [00:05:20] into the evening. When that pattern is different, there are physiological symptoms and [00:05:25] signs like we discussed. So all in, cortisol face, is it a thing? [00:05:30] Yes and no. It is not a medical diagnosis.

There may be either a different pharmaceutical option that they can offer you or, [00:06:00] depending on what's going on, a functional practitioner may offer a host of other [00:06:05] options. So for the most part, the next time you see someone online talking about cortisol [00:06:10] face, you have permission to keep scrolling. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your [00:06:15] host, Jenn Trepeck.

I invite you, friend, if you are [00:06:40] not already a member, join us in the Happy Healthy Hub. You'll go to [00:06:45] asaladwithasideoffries.com/membership. This shows your support for this podcast, this [00:06:50] community, and your health. On top of interview episodes in full video with [00:06:55] behind-the-scenes content, your 24/7 ask-me-anything on the community board, you'll get [00:07:00] this week's recipe for cherry soft serve ice cream.

Happy, [00:07:25] [00:07:30] healthy.