March 7, 2015
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
The nefarious, notorious hormone cortisol is a molecule that is near and dear to my heart. Both myself and many of the athletes I've worked with have struggled with high blood and salivary cortisol levels no matter what we do to try and control it or lower it.
So in today's podcast, myself and my guest Evan Brand – a Nutritional Therapist at Greenfield Fitness Systems – take a deep dive into underground, little-known methods to lower cortisol levels, including methods I've never talked about before on the podcast or in my books and articles.
In this discussion, you'll learn about:
-The enormous cortisol bomb that exploded inside Evan's body when he moved to Austin, Texas…
-The ratio of cortisol-to-DHEA that would be ideal…
-Why I rarely bring my kids on airplanes anymore…
-How you can use Shinrin-yoku, A.K.A. “forest bathing” to decrease stress and cortisol…
-The concept of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to lower cortisol…
-Evan's crazy story of phenibut, and whether you should actually use phenibut…
-Where marijuana fits in…
-And much more!
Resources we discuss during this episode:
–Evan's coaching page at GreenfieldFitnessSystems.com
–The book “Dirty Electricity” by Sam Millham
–GreenWave Dirty Electricity Filters
–Evan's REM Rehab sleep product
–Study: effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function
–The NASA Clean Air Plants project
-The Tapping Solution Book for EFT
-VaporBoost Sweet Dreams
–The Nutritional Therapy Association
–CBD Oil Documentary “The Science of Weed”
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about lowering cortisol or controlling stress? Leave your thoughts below.
Ben – Even mentioned a nutrition school he went to that sounded interesting. Do you know the name of the school?
Check out Evan's page at https://greenfieldfitnesssystems.com/product/evan… it has all his info.
Hey! I listen to both you and Evan all the time. (huge thanks!). Happily surprised to hear EFT mentioned (some might foolishly put it in the woo woo category). EFT or Energy Psychology was finally accepted as an accredited technique by the APA (american psychological association) after a number of psychologists garnered enough studies to proof it's efficacy. Please please (special request for a guest) interview David Feinstein, PhD http://www.innersource.net/ep/ on how EFT works and how you do it. EFT has been around for about 20 years now – Gary Craig doing most of the work advancing the technique and the main advocate. David Feinstein and Gary Craig wrote the definitive book on EFT (aka Energy Psychology).
The tapping itself doesn't have to be 100% on 'point' – acupuncture points that is – but it's much more effective if you do the process correctly. ( I love you Evan and I think you may have adapted the technique a little….) EP/EFT usually starts with the set up statement, or psychological reversal. (tapping a triple warmer point on your hand, between the bones of your pinky and ring finger) Shrinks usually start by having you rub points on your chest (neurolymphatic points) and stating the NEGATIVE belief "Even though I am up way to late writing this, I deeply and completely love (or honor) and accept myself"
Then you begin tapping the points while saying what comes to mind around the issue. at the beginning of your eyebrow – which is the beginning of bladder meridian (rules nerves), then corner of the eye bone (triple warmer and gall bladder meridians), then under your eyes on the bone (beginning of stomach meridian), then under your nose (end of governing meridian) chin under your lip (end of central meridian) – to under the collar bones (kidney 27 – really important meridian) to under you arms (spleen meridian). Etc, There is more. It's believed that by bringing up the negative event – which stimulates the amygdala – then tapping – which calms the amygdala – you are in effect rewiring a neural response.
I've been studying and using the technique for 10 years now and I've witnessed some amazing results. Especially when demoed by and experienced depth psychologist like Dr. Feinstein, Gary Craig (I've taken his 5 day seminar) and a 10th degree black belt friend who uses it while training his martial arts students. They literally kick ass :)
Awesome Helen, thanks for stopping by and shedding some more light on the subject! I know there's probably a thousand different ways to tweak EFT, but it's profound for me!
And I am sooo thankful you talked about it! Yes, so profound. Whether we can be happy all the time is one thing, but the baseline can be a state of joy. Doable. Thanks again, Evan!
Great podcast, I was wondering, when Evan was talking about short term stress reducers, he mentioned valerian root, but was then side tracked by gaba wave. Do you have any idea why he would classify valerian root as a short term only supplement? I thought it was relatively harmless?.
Hey there.
I say that Valerian should be short term only because it has been shown in a study to inhibit GABA receptors. We don't want to down regulate GABA and potentially cause greater anxiety or nervousness by doing that longer than acute use.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17585957
Fantastic… Good to know that a world class athlete and his brother lived under power lines for over 8 years chasing each other and shocking each other because they lived under power lines. This is a great link to know more about the effects of EMF’s http://www.skepticnorth.com/2011/06/evaluating-th…
Great job Ben
I really enjoyed the podcast. It was great to hear Evan mention Huber's Winery. I'm originally from Southern Indiana and I try to visit Huber's Farm and Winery when I'm back home again in Indiana. One question though, I've tried a lot of the nootropics and I can't say that any of them are worth the money. Is phenibut really all that it is cracked up to be? It sounds like a lot of hype like all the other supplements I've wasted my money on.
N=1 Brian. Give it a try and let us know!
I placed an order yesterday for some phenibut. I'll post my results as soon as I give it a try.
I've taken it for sleep Brian. It worked amazingly well for about 2 nights (not consecutive). Then, it stopped working for me and now just makes me feel hungover :(
Phenibut didn't do much for me except make me sleepy. I was hoping it would help with my introversion but it didn't. I find lithium orotate helps some, but not much, but better than phenibut without making me sleepy. Even with alcohol, phenibut wasn't impressive. I even tried large doses, up to 3 grams.
Yep, I second Ben's idea. It's definitely something I keep in my supplement stash, but I only use it maybe once every 6 months. Like I mentioned, it can be used for enhancing a concert or party experience without the horrible effects of alcohol.
Thanks! Haven't listened to the episode Ben recommended — start there and on top of that anything that supports detoxification such as:
-NAC
-Vitamin C
-Spirulina & Chlorella
-Milk Thistle
Great show! What do you recommend to mitigate EMF while flying, other than grounding. Taking any antioxidants or anything?
You should check out this podcast, lots of great stuff in there for you – https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2015/01/healt…
Hmm, confused, this link takes me to the Raw Braws podcast, did you mean to link to a different one?
Yes! You are right, that was not the correct page. Take a look at any of these for some good tips on healthy travel. https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/?s=travel