Can the Impact of Stress Lead to Disparities in Health Outcomes?
Study of the stress hormone cortisol is entering into research studies, and we at DHH find it a timely topic for its impacts to some Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Due to factors experienced by BIPOC groups like systemic racism, racial violence, and discrimination, managing stress hormone levels is especially important for these groups. Here’s a look at cortisol, the health impacts of cortisol, and ways to reduce cortisol levels in the body for improved health and wellness over the long term.
Cortisol and Impacts on Health
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, or stress hormone, generated naturally in the body that’s secreted by the adrenal glands. It’s completely natural to have some cortisol in the body, and symptoms can even develop when you have very low cortisol levels, since cortisol is involved in other functions in the body besides stress response. High cortisol levels, however, cause inflammation in the body and can lead to health symptoms and conditions like infections, impaired brain function, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue – and even disparities in cancer outcomes.
Prostate cancer researcher Dr. Leanne Burnham has been studying the impacts of cortisol from an early age, “Because what we know there are studies that show that African American children experience more stress, and their cortisol levels in their bodies are effective much earlier than any other race, and their studies that show the distress begins in the daycare setting based on discrimination that they may have from the adults that are taking care of them in that setting.”
Stress hormone levels can also have an impact on the outcomes of cancer patients. Dr. Leanne Burnham took her research further to look at the effects of cortisol on prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. According to Dr. Burnham, “I was growing cancer cells in the lab that were from Black patients and white patients, and I would expose them to stress hormones in the flask, or maybe you like to think of it as kind of like a petri dish, but in the flask where the prostate cancer cells were growing. I would treat them with stress hormones, and then I would look and see do the cells grow differently, do they express genes and proteins differently based on race? And what I found very surprisingly, disturbingly, whichever adverb you want to use, that the African American prostate cancer cells, when they were exposed to stress hormones, the tumor cells became more aggressive, and they up-regulated genes that we know prime a patient to resist therapy.”
Coping Methods for Stress
With high cortisol levels occurring at an earlier age and showing different results for some cancer treatments for some BIPOC groups, it’s vital to find multiple ways to cope with stress and to manage cortisol levels. A wide variety of coping methods, specific foods, exercise, sleep, lifestyle tips, and supplements have been shown in studies to help in lowering cortisol levels.
The herbal supplement ashwagandha and fish oil have both been shown in studies for their effectiveness in reducing cortisol levels. Ashwagandha has also been shown to be helpful as a sleep aid for those who have trouble falling asleep, and getting enough sleep is another key piece of managing stress hormone levels.
Coping methods for stress can span a wide variety – everything from things like:
Exercise has also been shown to be effective in reducing cortisol levels. Physical activities like walking, running, biking, swimming, tennis, basketball, soccer, and other team sports can be helpful in dealing with stress. And team sports can provide the double benefit of physical activity along with providing an outlet for talking about stressors in your life.
Lifestyle factors of getting enough sleep and maintaining healthy relationships that provide more emotional support than stress are vital as well. There are also some foods that may be helpful in maintaining stress hormone levels including probiotics, live probiotics in foods like sauerkraut and yogurt, green tea, black tea, bananas, and dark chocolate.
Management of stress hormone levels has been shown to be especially important for some BIPOC populations. Take time to consider additional coping methods and lifestyle modifications you can make to reduce your potential future risks to infections, impaired brain function, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue, and cancer. Improving your health outcomes for the future are important for not only your health and wellness – but also for your loved ones who want you to live a long life with them.
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Sources
How to remove cortisol from the body naturally. Medical News Today website. Accessed May 17, 2021. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322335
Elizabeth Scott, MS. What Is Cortisol? Verywell Mind website. Accessed May 17, 2021. https://www.verywellmind.com/cortisol-and-stress-how-to-stay-healthy-3145080
