I’ve been reading about supplements that can control cortisol like phosphatidyl serine, and ginkgo biloba and I was wondering how effective they were compared to each other and if either would be worth buying.
WEve had lots of discussion on this try a search In short cortisol sure we dont want it to soar but its needed you dont want to knock it way down. Its needed to tell the body to heal that there is damage a reason to rebuild progress.
Best to control it with solid diet, rest etc IMO
Phill
Without going into too much detail my cortisol levels are probably higher than they should be. I had been searching the site (which is how I found out about the phosphatidyl serine.) but I havent found (at least not yet) and objective comparisons between any of the cortisol inhibitors and how effective they are.
Well then again if you feel they are higher then most address your diet rest etc… Also inflammation,fish oils.
what is your reasoning for feeling its to high?? been tested.
Phill
Diagnosed depression and severe anxiety (As in, when the shrink saw the results of the testing he had a “Holy crap!” look on his face because of the severity.), and some big time central adiposity. (If you saw my face you’d think I was emaciated, but I’ve got a beer gut at 5’11 175.)
I know you’re going to say “Get to a shrink! get the anxiety under control and the cortisol wont be an issue!” And I’ll tell you that I did, and I still am. I will also tell you that the anxiety is causing my life enough problems, so if I could take something to keep it from getting in the way of my lifting, that would be damned skippy.
LOL well I hear you bro and yes work on that your issues above all and diet, rest etc. I wish I could tell you more on those supps but I have decided to pretty much ignore or forget what I have known on them to the point of not being able to give you very concrete advice on which you should look at.
Try a search that thread I spoke Of Bill Roberts chimed in with some good stuff as usual
Good Luck
Phill
That’s the thread I read about the phosphatidyl serine from. I also remember a thread that mentioned charles P talking about taking it post workout to curb the cortisol response, but nothing yet about overall cortisol control, nothing concrete (This dosage in this control group caused this % reduction), and no comparisons between different supplements.
[quote]Sliver wrote:
Diagnosed depression and severe anxiety (As in, when the shrink saw the results of the testing he had a “Holy crap!” look on his face because of the severity.),
[/quote]
What kind of testing? Cortisol or a mental health test? Are you seeing an MD or a psychologist?
Have you had a good MD or endocrinologist check you out?
I’m not trying to make a diagnosis, but you might want to look up lipodystrophy (a symptom of many diseases) to see if anything sounds familiar.
The test was for things like anxiety. (I swear on a stack of bibles that I’ll find out the name the next time I see the shrink.) Given by a psychologist.
I haven’t had a good MD or Endo check me out because to make a long story short, I am poor, and poor people can’t see good doctors.
Lipodystrophy doesn’t look like the culprit. I CAN develop fat on my face. One of the meds my psychiatrist gave me (A different doctor.) gave me an insatiable appetite. I was eating close to 4000 cals a day in pure saturated fats and gained 10 pounds a month for 4 months. I didn’t gain any muscle (I blame this partially on the fact that I wasn’t lifting right. At the time I was a jackass newb that wouldn’t even do leg work.) but I got enough fat to give me a huge deer gut, grow out of all my pants, and give me stretch marks across my thighs. And yes, I had a fat face.
OK, have you had any doctor test your thyroid function? If not, your pysch probably would want to.
The medication thing makes more sense now, though.
There are many different kinds of lipodystrophy (“Lipo” is Latin for “fat” and “dystrophy” is Latin for “fauly nutrition”.), like the kind seen in Cushing’s (fat on the back of the neck and between shoulder blades). I’m not a doctor, and I don’t mean to turn you into a hypochondriac, but I just wanted you to look at some characterized syndromes before trying out some questionable cortisol reducing products. All the best.
Start eating fish oil / pure Omega-3.
And lots and lots of it.
2-3 tablespoons per day…
Besides the numerous benefits it has for your body composition, etc. a lot of studies have shown it’s positive effects on neurotransmitter production/function.
Just wanted to post again with an update involving some reading I’ve been doing.
First to the question about thyroid, I’ve had tests on my thyroid done twice and they both came out normal.
Second, Both phosphatidylserine and ginkgo biloba can suppress cortisol release in response to stress, but has no effect on resting cortisol levels. At least that’s what I found in the reading I’ve done. So the only way these supplements could be of any use is to take them pre-workout to curb your body’s response to the training. The idea of taking them and stopping your body from producing cortisol (or anything like that) is false.
I was disappointed when I read this (because resting cortisol levels IS what I was planning on taking them for.) but I bought some ginkgo biloba anyway to take pre-exercise because hell, it’s better than nothing.
EDIT: Turns out I was wrong about phosphatidylserine:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459371
this article says it CAN cause hypocortisolism.