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

We hear a lot about cortisol, the “stress hormone,” on social media as of late. Cortisol has change into a buzz phrase within the well being and health business—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 exhausting to separate truth from fiction.

That’s why we introduced in the knowledgeable, 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 authorized diet coach). She’s spent her profession serving to lively 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 Women Podcast is all about cortisol—the misunderstood “stress hormone” everybody likes to hate. We’re chopping by means of the noise, debunking myths, and exploring how cortisol performs a vital function in your well being, health, and total 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.

Critically, 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 utterly change the best way you concentrate on hormones, stress, and well being. (Spoiler alert: it’s not all about cortisol!) She additionally dives into sensible methods to dial down stress, get better higher, and keep sturdy as you age.

Actual Discuss: 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 diet, prioritizing sleep, or lastly studying to like your cool-down routine, restoration helps you keep resilient and prepared to 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 methods to be stronger (and more healthy) as you age.

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

Tune in now to listen to Dr. Carla’s unimaginable 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 troublesome exercise or life stress. Nevertheless, 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 exterior stressors with a view to survive. As a substitute, begin specializing in returning your stress response system to baseline recurrently by means of confirmed down-regulation methods like meditation, leisure walks, mild or stress-free yoga.
• Burnout isn’t brought on by cortisol—it’s brought on by power stress. Dr. Carla shares methods to tackle what’s triggering your elevated stress quite than blaming cortisol itself.
• Why getting older modifications the sport. Restoration will get trickier as ladies age attributable to modifications in resilience and hormonal shifts, however correct restoration methods can maintain you thriving. Energy coaching, diet, and aware restoration are extra vital than ever.
• The boundaries of hormone testing. Single snapshots from blood checks could be deceptive! Dr. Carla explains why you should concentrate on the larger image of your well being.
• Below-fueling = underperforming. Below-eating can really be an enormous reason for persistent inner 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 lively and high-performing ladies from puberty by means 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 Normal Hospital at Harvard Medical College.

Dr. Carla has 20 years of expertise as a fertility specialist and extra just lately 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 Docs 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 modifications 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 “Robust” and” Navigate Menopause” programs with Feisty Media.  

Dr. Carla has been within the health business 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 focuses on optimizing psychological and bodily efficiency in ladies in high-performance professions and feminine athletes of all ages. 

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

Observe 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 group for a two-week no obligation test drive here.

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