Too many cortisol suppressors in the American diet first and foremost. Followed by a slew of lesser issues.
Let me start this by saying I am old enough to remember a time when doctors literally told people what they ate did not matter when it came to the vast majority of diseases. As if getting sick was just some unfortunate lottery we were all subject to by virtue of being born. This was the 1980s and I didnt see a shift in this thinking start to take place until the early 2000s with the popularity of the Atkins diet. Maybe back in the day before food was so plentiful and unhealthy it really didnt make much of a difference. But by 1980 Americans were not playing with the same deck of cards so to speak when it came to a typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fast forward to 2023 and I think a lot of medical professionals get it, but know nothing more than the drug therapy they were taught in school. Even if they do have extensive knowledge of say, things other sufferers have tried and found useful, clinicians are not legally allowed to discuss things outside of consensus with their patients. The aforementioned are the cultural aspects that have gotten us to this state and now I will discuss the foods themselves that have lead to the explosion of inflammatory diseases seen in Americans today.
Cortisol suppressors are found in a variety of foods in differing amounts. Americans are typically looking to lower their cortisol because it is most commonly known as a stress hormone and we are led to believe we have too much. The majority of articles about cortisol talk about how to lower it and provide a list of suppressing cortisol foods. While too much is bad you can never actually know your levels without doing blood work and this isnt a test your doctor will order without serious reason. Leading many Americans to blindly lower their levels through diet. For most healthy people their adrenal glands will be able to handle it and they will notice a calming effect or better sleep.
For a person who already has an inflammatory disorder, or already has a high amount of cortisol suppressors in their diet, to do this could be a problem. Possibly a serious one because cortisol is responsible for over 200 functions in the body, not just triggering your fight or flight response. What this has to do with inflammation is that cortisol is responsible for taming one's inflammatory response. I like to use the analogy of a car on the freeway. To maintain a constant speed you need to periodically accelerate as well as break. Your inflammatory response is the gas petal and cortisol is the break. When you suppress your cortisol production you reduce the breaking ability of your inflammatory response. Suppress the cortisol production too much and you will start having symptoms of an inflammatory disease. Why? Because of those 200 other functions I mentioned. Your body is smart and going to prioritize the more important tasks to keep you alive. Like for instance keeping your blood pressure high enough to deliver oxygen to your brain over dealing with the growing psoriasis patch on your elbow.
There are many, many lists of cortisol suppressing foods on the internet. The most powerful of the group being dairy and soy. (with regard to dairy, it is specifically a protein called a-lactalbumin found in the whey) If you have been diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder or suspect you have one. The most advantageous thing you can do is cut these foods from your diet.
The slew of lesser issues mentioned in the beginning can run the gamut of different nutritional excesses and deficiencies, digestive problems, food intolerance, and in some gene mutations.
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