12 replies to this topic

[Sith]

Hey everyone. I was recently interested in Cortisol blockers to alleviate stress, both mental and physical stress upon the body through the inhibitory action of Cortisol blocking drugs or supplements. There are a variety of medical cortisol blockers: metopirone, aminoglutethimide, and ketoconazole. Would these actually work in reducing some physicals stress? Is the concept of cortisol blockers widely used within the life extension community? 

 

Thanks! 

[cuprous]

Google ashwaganda and cortisol.

[Sith]

Google ashwaganda and cortisol.

 

This seems interesting! Thank you! 

[Junk Master]

Tianeptine is effective in lowering cortisol.  A quick search will turn up all kinds of stuff.

[aconita]

It is stress that causes cortisol to be too high, not the other way around.

 

Not a smart choice to reduce cortisol with drugs or supplements since it is a very important hormone, much better to reduce the stress that eventually causes it to rise too much.

[xEva]

You could also try oxytocin. It sorta acts like insulin on liver gluconeogenesis (insulin turns it off). Similarly, oxytocin turns off overactive adrenals, if they can't stop (a very stressful event can trigger a cortisol-driven downspiral, sorta like in diabetes).

 

I guess it depends. If cortisol is high due to stressful lifestyle, oxytocin may not be the best idea. But if it's due to an event and you need to relax and unwind but can't, then it could be good.

Edited by xEva, 23 February 2016 - 02:55 AM.

[Sith]

You could also try oxytocin. It sorta acts like insulin on liver gluconeogenesis (insulin turns it off). Similarly, oxytocin turns off overactive adrenals, if they can't stop (a very stressful event can trigger a cortisol-driven downspiral, sorta like in diabetes).

 

I guess it depends. If cortisol is high due to stressful lifestyle, oxytocin may not be the best idea. But if it's due to an event and you need to relax and unwind but can't, then it could be good.

 

It's mainly due to a stressful life style and is more ongoing rather than one event. 

[hotbit]

What is your diet? Maybe bio-yogurt and kefir is a simple answer?

The team then ran the mice, along with 20 mice fed a bacteria-free broth, through a battery of stress tests. In negotiating a maze, the mice that received probiotics ventured out into open spaces more than twice as often as the control mice, suggesting that they were less anxious. And when forced to swim, the bacteria-fed mice were slightly more prone to struggle — rather than give up — than their broth-fed brethren. "These mice were more chilled out," says Cryan, adding that the effects of the probiotics were similar in magnitude to those seen in mice for antidepressant drugs. 

→ source (external link)

[xEva]

It's mainly due to a stressful life style and is more ongoing rather than one event. 

Then you need to meditate. I don't think that artificially blocking cortisol is a good idea. It's not just a stress hormone but, first of all, it's a life hormone. Lowering it artificially will interfere with the feedback loop and likely increase its production.

Meditation is what you need, so that you will be less stressed out by your lifestyle. Whatever school/method looks good/appealing to you will do.

[Sith]

 

It's mainly due to a stressful life style and is more ongoing rather than one event. 

Then you need to meditate. I don't think that artificially blocking cortisol is a good idea. It's not just a stress hormone but, first of all, it's a life hormone. Lowering it artificially will interfere with the feedback loop and likely increase its production.

Meditation is what you need, so that you will be less stressed out by your lifestyle. Whatever school/method looks good/appealing to you will do.

 

 

Thank you so much for this information! That is very valuable as I had looked into meditation before. Can I just ask, where do I actually start with meditating? How did you start? 

 

It's mainly due to a stressful life style and is more ongoing rather than one event. 

Then you need to meditate. I don't think that artificially blocking cortisol is a good idea. It's not just a stress hormone but, first of all, it's a life hormone. Lowering it artificially will interfere with the feedback loop and likely increase its production.

Meditation is what you need, so that you will be less stressed out by your lifestyle. Whatever school/method looks good/appealing to you will do.

 

 

Thank you so much for this information! That is very valuable as I had looked into meditation before. Can I just ask, where do I actually start with meditating? How did you start? 

[xEva]

I had looked into meditation before. Can I just ask, where do I actually start with meditating? How did you start? 

I think it's best to have a personal instruction in the beginning. So you'd need to find some traditional school (like TCM or a form of qigong maybe) or take some "stress management course" in your area. You could also try TaiChi (TaiJi). Some call it 'meditaion in motion'. Whatever it is, it's important that YOU would like it.

[amw]

In general, you don't want to eliminate too much cortisol. A large dose of phosphatidylserine would lower it a bit, without being too aggressive. Similarly, you could drink a lot of black tea. On the flip side, if you want to experiment with lower levels of cortisol, then 7-alpha-hydroxy works pretty good.

[amw]

I would add that you don't want to use Ketoconazole, for it'll lower your testosterone and can really mess you up, if overdosed.