Of all our hormones, cortisol might be the most misunderstood and maligned. We’re told this stress hormone is the culprit behind excess belly fat, high blood sugar, accelerated aging, and a host of menopausal and midlife woes. Menopausal and midlife women sometimes are afraid to exercise too much because they’ve been told it will raise their cortisol, which can already be elevated during this time of life. The problem with this narrative is that it’s one-sided. It paints cortisol as a demon to be avoided at all costs, when actually cortisol is essential to maintain and improve fitness, and frankly for human life. This week we sat down with endocrinologist Dr. Carla DiGirolamo to dive into what cortisol is, what it does, and how menopausal women can manage–even befriend it–to optimize their health, performance, and well-being.

Carla DiGirolamo, MD, PhD, is a Double Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Obstetrician/Gynecologist specializing in infertility and menopausal medicine. She is also a Crossfit Level 1 trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, and member of CrossFit Health. She is a MedFit Care provider and provides weekly workouts and medical updates at her Substack Athletic Aging. She has most recently become an Endocrine Consultant for Wild Health. 

• Dr. Carla DiGirolamo’s Athletic Aging blog post on cortisol

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