Episode #151: “Cortisol: The Misunderstood Stress Hormone” with Dr. Carla DiGirolamo

We hear a lot about cortisol, the “stress hormone,” on social media today. Cortisol has turn into a buzz phrase within the well being and health trade—a part of a cautionary story used to warn ladies away from intense bouts of train they age.

From fear-mongering posts about the way it’s ruining your well being to questionable recommendation from “hormone coaches” promoting dear dietary supplements and restrictive diets—it may be onerous to separate truth from fiction.

That’s why we introduced in the skilled, Dr. Carla DiGirolamo—a Board Licensed Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Reproductive Endocrinologist, Menopause Society Licensed Practitioner, and health fanatic (to not point out a CrossFit coach and licensed vitamin coach). She’s spent her profession serving to energetic ladies—from puberty to menopause—optimize their psychological and bodily efficiency. Yep, she’s mainly a rockstar relating to understanding hormones and training high-performing ladies.

This week’s episode of The Match Bottomed Ladies Podcast is all about cortisol—the misunderstood “stress hormone” everybody likes to hate. We’re reducing by way of the noise, debunking myths, and exploring how cortisol performs a important function in your well being, health, and general resilience. Collectively, Dr. Carla and I sort out the dialog all of us want to listen to about cortisol, ladies’s well being, and the reality behind these viral hormone claims.

Severely, this week’s episode is one for the books. 

Right here’s why we’re obsessive about this episode:

Dr. Carla’s analogy of cortisol because the trombone in a a lot bigger orchestra will fully change the best way you consider hormones, stress, and well being. (Spoiler alert: it’s not all about cortisol!) She additionally dives into sensible methods to dial down stress, recuperate higher, and keep robust as you age.

Actual Speak: Restoration Issues

Restoration isn’t only a checkbox after a exercise—it’s the place enchancment really occurs. Whether or not it’s dialing in your vitamin, prioritizing sleep, or lastly studying to like your cool-down routine, restoration helps you keep resilient and prepared in your subsequent problem.

Don’t skip this one if…

✅ You’ve been freaked out by cortisol content material on social media.

✅ You need to know how one can be stronger (and more healthy) as you age.

✅ You’re interested in how hormones affect your stress and efficiency.

Tune in now to listen to Dr. Carla’s unbelievable insights and sensible recommendation!

👉 Listen to the Full Episode Here

👉 Watch the episode on YouTube

What You’ll Be taught in This Episode:

• Cortisol isn’t the villain—it’s important for all times and health. It’s the hormone that helps you sort out challenges, whether or not that’s a tricky exercise or life stress. Nonetheless, it’s all about returning your stress response system to baseline after activation.
• Cease worrying about “spiking your cortisol.” You want cortisol to be aware of outdoors stressors with a view to survive. As a substitute, begin specializing in returning your stress response system to baseline repeatedly by way of confirmed down-regulation methods like meditation, leisure walks, light or enjoyable yoga.
• Burnout isn’t attributable to cortisol—it’s attributable to continual stress. Dr. Carla shares how one can deal with what’s triggering your elevated stress somewhat than blaming cortisol itself.
• Why growing old adjustments the sport. Restoration will get trickier as ladies age because of adjustments in resilience and hormonal shifts, however correct restoration methods can maintain you thriving. Power coaching, vitamin, and conscious restoration are extra necessary than ever.
• The boundaries of hormone testing. Single snapshots from blood assessments could be deceptive! Dr. Carla explains why it’s worthwhile to deal with the larger image of your well being.
• Beneath-fueling = underperforming. Beneath-eating can really be a giant reason behind persistent inside stress and elevated cortisol ranges. Vitamin fuels your physique for exercises and restoration.

About Dr. Carla DiGirolamo

Dr. Carla DiGirolamo is a double Board-Licensed Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Reproductive Endocrinologist specializing in caring for energetic and high-performing ladies from puberty by way of menopause. Dr. Carla accomplished her residency coaching in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brown College Medical College/Girls and Infants’ Hospital and Reproductive Endocrinology fellowship coaching on the Massachusetts Common Hospital at Harvard Medical College.

Dr. Carla has 20 years of expertise as a fertility specialist and extra not too long ago as a Menopause Society Licensed Practitioner. She can be an endocrine guide for Wild Well being and Everlasting Life. She has been featured in Boston Journal’s High Medical doctors within the Boston space for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Dr. Carla has been featured in a number of podcasts and speakerships at varied occasions discussing the physiology of the hormonal adjustments of menopause, hormone remedy, and optimizing bodily efficiency in elite and avid leisure feminine athletes. Dr Carla can be the creator of a number of programs together with the “Menopause Health Specialist” course with MedFit Classroom, and the “Sturdy” and” Navigate Menopause” programs with Feisty Media.  

Dr. Carla has been within the health trade her whole life as a leisure athlete and for greater than a decade as a health skilled with credentials as a CrossFit Degree 1 Coach and Licensed Vitamin Coach.  As a pioneer in Girls’s Efficiency Endocrinology, she makes a speciality of optimizing psychological and bodily efficiency in ladies in high-performance professions and feminine athletes of all ages. 

Dr. Carla has a weblog by way of Substack referred to as “Athletic Growing older”. https://www.athleticaging.blog/  and her second publication “Efficiency Edge” https://www.performanceedge.blog/  launched in February 2023

Comply with Dr. Carla

Web site: https://www.drcarlad.com/

Fb: https://www.facebook.com/carla.digirolamo.14

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_carla_d/

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-digirolamo-0109b8103/

Sponsor Shoutout

This episode was dropped at you by Miles to Go Athletics. Take our app-based coaching neighborhood for a two-week no obligation test drive here.

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Do you assume cortisol is your enemy? Assume once more. –Alison