6 guides
Stress & inflammation
Cortisol, inflammation markers, and the claims made about bringing them down.
Tests and markers
What Does a High hs-CRP Level Mean?
Every lab report gives hs-CRP a single number and a risk band next to it. What that number is actually reacting to — and how often it's reacting to something that has nothing to do with your heart — is the part the printout leaves out.
Moderate evidence18 Sept 2026
What Does a High Morning Cortisol Test Result Mean?
A high result is only "high" relative to the exact hour the blood was drawn, and most lab reports never say so. That single fact does more to explain a surprising number than anything on the page below it.
Strong evidence18 Sept 2026
Conditions and symptoms
Explainers
Does Box Breathing Actually Lower Cortisol?
Box breathing changes your breathing rate within seconds and your nervous system within minutes — the harder question is whether it also changes the hormone circulating in your blood, and that claim rests on thinner evidence than the technique's popularity suggests.
Limited evidence18 Sept 2026
Does Cortisol Really Cause Belly Fat?
The mechanism behind 'stress makes you gain belly fat' is real medicine — inside a disease most people asking the question do not have, and at cortisol levels an ordinary bad week does not reach.
Limited evidence18 Sept 2026
What Does 'Anti-Inflammatory' Actually Mean?
Ibuprofen, a blood test and a bag of blueberries can all be called "anti-inflammatory," but only one of those claims is tied to a mechanism you can point to and check.
Moderate evidence18 Sept 2026