Marina Wright

Never underestimate the powerful role of balancing your blood sugar in reducing stress and cortisol levels ✨
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⚠️ Wild swings in blood sugar can continuously activate the stress response, potentially disrupting the delicate balance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to adrenal dysfunction and various health issues.
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➡️ To ease the load on your adrenal glands, opt for balanced meals with plenty of protein, fiber-rich carbs, and healthy fats. Avoid skipping meals or starting your day with coffee on an empty stomach.
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🍳 A balanced breakfast with plenty of protein, quality carbs, and fats sets your blood sugar on the right path, prevents cravings later, improves your mood, and sustains your energy throughout the day.
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Not hungry in the morning?
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➡️ Start with something small, like a smoothie with high-quality protein powder.
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➡️ Instead of making dinner your biggest meal of the day, try eating more for breakfast and lunch. This could improve your morning appetite.
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The goal is not to avoid all stress or remain constantly calm, but rather to cultivate a nervous system that can dynamically respond and adapt to varying environmental conditions.
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➡️ Flexibility in the nervous system refers to its ability to smoothly transition between sympathetic (activation) and parasympathetic (relaxation) states based on environmental demands. When our nervous system is flexible, we can swiftly respond to stressors and return to a state of calm without lasting consequences.
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Triggers can lead to dysregulation, but let’s explore the world of GLIMMERS that bring about regulation!
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💫 Glimmers can be found in the simplest of moments: the warmth of the sun on your face, a stranger’s smile, the sound of laughter, a beautiful sunset, a favorite song, or a good cup of coffee.
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At the core of Glimmers, a term coined by Deb Dana, lies the Polyvagal Theory, explaining our nervous system’s three states:
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💚 Ventral Vagal (Safety and Connection): Imagine it as a green light - where calmness, connection, and clarity reside.
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💛 Sympathetic (Alertness and Stress): Picture a yellow light - gearing up to tackle challenges. Heart racing, tension building.
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❤️ Dorsal Vagal (Shut Down): Visualize a red light - overwhelmed, disconnected, almost frozen.
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When we are experiencing a glimmer, we are in the Ventral Vagal state: lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and lower cortisol levels. In this state, we laugh, we experience joy, and we feel safe and a sense of belonging. This is where magic happens; it’s where your body can heal and repair.
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💡 Neuroscience tells us we can train our brain to seek out glimmers, inviting moments of calm and connection.
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So, what are YOUR glimmers? Share in the comments 💗
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💫Here are a few simple habits that won’t take much of your time but will have a positive and lasting impact over time.
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Do you already incorporate these habits into your routine? What else do you find helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments below! ⬇️
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Chronic stress often causes deficiencies in vital minerals such as magnesium, zinc, sodium, and potassium.
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⚠️ These deficiencies can disrupt neurotransmitter function and the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, reducing our ability to cope with stress.
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Swipe to explore key minerals that support stress resilience and where to find them in food 💗
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Breathwork serves as a powerful tool for managing stress and anxiety in real-time, leveraging our body’s natural calming system—the parasympathetic nervous system—through a bottom-up approach.
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Swipe to see three breathing techniques that can reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and even help you fall asleep more easily.
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Have you tried any of these techniques? 💗
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References: PMID: 30245619, PMID: 36630953
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Chronic low-grade inflammation can affect brain function and mood, lowering your stress threshold, which in turn reduces your resilience and ability to manage stress.
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⚠️ Research suggests that inflammation can disrupt neural pathways and neurotransmitter function, leading to negative effects on cognitive processes and emotional regulation.
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🔥 Some of the most common sources of chronic inflammation include intestinal permeability resulting from an imbalance of bacteria in the gut, chronic blood sugar dysregulation, environmental toxins, lack of sleep, chronic stress, overexercise, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, chronic infections, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and chronic diseases.
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Additionally, the continual demand for anti-inflammatory cortisol to counter chronic inflammation can further increase stress and disrupt the HPA axis, creating more cortisol dysregulation.
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➡️Swipe to discover a few simple habits that can aid in decreasing inflammation and reducing stress. I hope you find them helpful 💗
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The things we do or don’t do right after we wake up can influence our ability to manage stress throughout the day.
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📱 Delaying phone checking is a simple habit that can offer many benefits.
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If waiting 30 minutes seems challenging, you can start with just 10/15 minutes, and gradually increase from there 💗
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Sharing some of my favorite herbs for addressing common hormonal imbalances:
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1. Ashwagandha. Studies suggest ashwagandha’s adaptogenic properties can regulate the body’s stress response, indirectly balancing cortisol.
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2. Licorice Root: Licorice root contains compounds that support adrenal function by extending cortisol activity, potentially raising cortisol levels when low. It is not recommended for those with high blood pressure.
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3. Vitex (Chasteberry): Believed to increase LH secretion, enhancing progesterone production. Additionally, it may help lower prolactin levels, positively impacting overall hormone balance.
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4. Milk Thistle: Supports liver function, aiding in detoxification and the metabolism of excess estrogen.
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5. Spearmint: Research suggests that spearmint tea can help reduce excess testosterone levels. It’s particularly beneficial for managing PCOS symptoms.
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6. Maca: Particularly useful for addressing low estrogen levels, maca has been associated with hormonal balance and may offer support for women experiencing estrogen deficiency.
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7. Berberine: Found in various plants like coptis, Oregon grape, barberry, and goldenseal, berberine has been extensively studied for its ability to lower blood sugar levels and reduce insulin resistance.
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* Remember to consult your healthcare provider before starting a new herb or supplement.
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If you find this helpful, consider subscribing to my newsletter. I send out an email every week with actionable steps to improve your hormone health 💗
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References:PMID: 32021735, PMID: 20854795, PMID: 20564545, PMID:19585478, PMID: 25914334, PMID: 34956436, PMID: 36467075, PMID:35209140
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A systematic review examined how dietary supplements impact stress levels in women.
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The review analyzed randomized controlled and pseudo-randomized trials on essential fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc.
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The findings showed that:
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⭐️ Essential fatty acids (EFAs) were effective in reducing stress during pregnancy and anxiety in premenstrual women and menopausal women without depression.
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⭐️Magnesium and vitamin B6 together reduced premenstrual anxiety.
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⭐️High-dose sustained-release vitamin C reduced anxiety and blood pressure from stress.
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🐟 Types of Omega-3: Omega-3 fatty acids include alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Technically, only ALA is essential because the body can’t produce it. However, the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is limited, so it is beneficial to consume EPA and DHA directly, mainly from marine sources.
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McCabe D, Lisy K, Lockwood C, Colbeck M. The impact of essential fatty acid, B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc supplementation on stress levels in women: a systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2017 Feb;15(2):402-453. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2016-002965. PMID: 28178022.
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A balanced breakfast with plenty of protein, good quality carbs with fiber, and fat sets your blood sugar off on the right foot, prevents cravings later, improves your mood, and helps sustain your energy throughout the rest of the day.
‌
Not hungry in the morning?
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1. Start with something small, like a smoothie with good quality protein powder.
2. Instead of making dinner your biggest meal of the day, try eating more for breakfast and lunch. This could improve your morning appetite.
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Looking for more hormone-friendly meal ideas? Join my newsletter mailing list and be sure to check out my stories—I love sharing what I eat! 💗
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Did you know that one of the most important choices you can make for your health is to consume enough high-quality protein?
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⭐️Adequate quality protein can improve your blood sugar management, muscle mass and strength, bone health, hormone health, and immune function.
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🧠 Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, also play a crucial role in producing mood-boosting neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins.
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➡️Swipe to discover foods with the highest protein content and meal ideas to help you meet your protein needs.
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How Much Protein Should You Be Consuming?
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As with most things in nutrition, there’s no simple answer. Your optimal protein intake depends on factors such as age, health, body composition, main goal, and the type, intensity, duration, and frequency of physical activity. Even considering all this, you’ll still need to adjust your intake through self-experimentation.
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The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound. However, the RDA doesn’t represent an ideal intake; it’s the minimum needed to prevent malnutrition.
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➡️Recent data and expert opinions suggest that higher protein intakes, usually ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, offer additional health benefits, especially in combating age-related muscle loss.
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Also, it’s important to distribute your protein intake evenly throughout the day to minimize amino acid oxidation. For instance, aiming for a total of 100 grams of protein per day, with approximately 30 grams per main meal and a snack containing around 10 grams, can help you achieve this balance effectively.
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Never underestimate the powerful influence of food and nutrition on both the nervous system and stress levels ✨
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Swipe to learn more about certain foods (and meal ideas!) that can help provide the body with the energy and nutrients it needs to synthetize and metabolize hormones effectively 💫
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Your gut microbiome, made up of trillions of microbes in the digestive tract, plays a crucial role in the gut-brain connection.
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🫐 Research suggests that the composition, diversity, and activity of your gut microbiome significantly affect stress levels, mood, cognition, and overall brain health.
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Swipe to learn a few habits that will stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria in your gut. Pick just one to start, small changes quickly add up!
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The gut-brain connection is a two-way communication system between your gut and your brain, involving your nervous system, your immune system, and the system of chemical messengers known as neurotransmitter.
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🍎 Your gut microbiome, comprising trillions of microbes in the digestive tract, plays a pivotal role in this dynamic relationship. Research suggests that the composition and diversity of your gut microbiome significantly affect stress levels, mood, cognition, and overall brain health.
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Swipe to learn more about the foods influencing your gut microbiome’s composition and their role in supporting an optimal gut-brain connection, along with meal ideas.
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I hope you find it helpful! 💗
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Physiologically, exercise triggers a cascade of reactions that stimulate cortisol production.
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➡️This is not necessarily a bad thing! It’s a short-term surge that is beneficial when approached with moderation and recovery in mind.
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While intense and prolonged workouts suit some individuals, an exercise load exceeding your body’s adaptation can result in consistently elevated cortisol levels.
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⚠️ These elevated levels are catabolic, hindering the body’s recovery efforts. They hamper muscle growth and fat loss and often leave you feeling drained and lethargic.
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This is especially true for people who are under a lot of stress and are already dealing with dysregulated cortisol levels.
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✨Swipe to discover some simple habits to make your workouts more “cortisol-conscious” and maximize the health benefits of your exercise routine.
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Did you know that incorporating specific nutrients into your diet can effectively support the HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis), help regulate cortisol release and improve stress resilience?
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If you need more support, comment HABITS to access my guide to becoming stress-resilient, with practical tips you can seamlessly integrate into your daily routine 💗
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Magnesium is one of the key nutrients to help decrease stress and regulate cortisol levels ✨
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It supports the HPA axis and the stress response by regulating cortisol levels, reduces inflammation, improves mood, and decreases anxiety by balancing neurotransmitters, including the calming GABA. Additionally, magnesium aids in muscle relaxation, easing stress-related tension.
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✨But here’s where it gets even more interesting: When you pair magnesium-rich foods or supplements with vitamin B6, the two work in synergy to amplify their stress-relieving effects. How? Vitamin B6 is essential for the conversion of magnesium into its active form in the body.
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Swipe to see the best food sources of magnesium and B6.
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References: PMID: 33210604, PMID: 34883514, PMID: 28445426, PMID: 2865466.
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Confused about what type of magnesium to take? 🤔
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Swipe to learn about 9 different types of magnesium used in supplements + benefits and side effects so you can find a form that works for you!
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*I haven’t included magnesium oxide because it has a fairly low bioavailability and it can cause side effects.
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➡️How much should you be taking?
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The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults is 400-420 mg daily for men and 310-320 mg for women. Some people need more than that, but this is very personalized and more isn’t always better.
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⚠️ Now, before jumping to supplements, make sure you follow the below steps to restore magnesium levels:
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1. Address the factors that are causing you to be depleted, chronic stress is a big one!
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2. Eat a high magnesium diet. Here are some of the foods highest in magnesium: pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, spinach, lentils, black beans, potatoes, yogurt, bananas, avocados, mussels, sardines, salmon, milk, liver, raisins, chicken, figs…
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3. Combine Vit B6 rich foods with magnesium-rich foods to increase absorption rate, and help bring magnesium into the cell.
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4. Consider magnesium supplementation.
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Two things to keep in mind when it comes to supplementing magnesium:
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✨ It’s better to take smaller doses more frequently rather than one large dose to improve absorption.
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✨ If you have gut issues, topical forms of magnesium can be a better option for you to increase the absorption rate.⠀
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Hope you find this post helpful! 🫶⠀
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Magnesium is one of the key nutrients to help decrease stress and regulate cortisol levels ✨
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It supports the HPA axis and the stress response by regulating cortisol levels, reduces inflammation, improves mood, and decreases anxiety by balancing neurotransmitters, including the calming GABA. Additionally, magnesium aids in muscle relaxation, easing stress-related tension.
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Are you getting enough in your diet? Swipe to see the highest sources of magnesium in food. I will be doing another post with the best types of supplements soon!
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References: PMID: 28445426, PMID 28445426, PMID: 20929532, PMID: 28545353, PMID: 27869100⠀
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Never underestimate the powerful influence of food and nutrition on both the nervous system and stress levels ✨
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Here are a few habits to regulate dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitter that regulates mood, motivation, learning, memory, motor control, and stress response, which are essential for physical and mental well-being.
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How are you boosting your dopamine levels today? ❤️
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A balanced and nourishing breakfast with plenty of protein, good-quality carbs with fiber, and fat sets your blood sugar off on the right foot, prevents cravings later, improves your mood, and helps sustain your energy throughout the rest of the day ✨ Swipe to see some examples.

Never underestimate the powerful role of balancing your blood sugar and eating nutrient-dense foods in reducing stress and cortisol levels:

🍽 Low blood sugar triggers cortisol release, while high blood sugar prompts insulin spikes and crashes, compounding stress. To ease the load on your adrenal glands, opt for balanced meals with plenty of protein, fiber-rich carbs, and healthy fats.

🌿 Certain nutrients, such as vitamin C, B vitamins, and magnesium, support the HPA axis (Hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal axis) and help manage cortisol release. (Check my post from last week if you want to learn more about those nutrients and the best food sources.)
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There’s no magic food to instantly lower cortisol and stress levels, but incorporating specific foods into your diet can effectively support the HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis) and aid in regulating cortisol release.
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If you enjoy actionable tips like these, consider subscribing to my newsletter. I send out an email every week on how to optimize your health.
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Sign up at the bio link 💗
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References:
PMID: 25449699
PMID: 6527092
PMID: 26797633
PMID: 11590482
PMID: 33848753
PMID: 24149705
PMID: 1702662
PMID: 11590482
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Here are a few symptoms that often go unnoticed because they have become ‘normal’, but these are signals from our bodies that we might be pushing ourselves too hard.
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✨Knowing what to look for and recognizing these signs when they are present is the first step so we can make necessary adjustments to our lifestyle (setting boundaries, saying ‘no’ more often, letting go of people-pleasing, scheduling time for rest, making self-care a priority…) before they escalate into larger issues.
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Often, when juggling career and family obligations, the last thing we want to do is slow down and rest. It may seem counterproductive, but I would argue that rest is actually the most productive thing we can do for ourselves and those around us.
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Do you recognize any of these signs?
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Let’s start the week with a regulated nervous system ✨What are you choosing today?
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Struggling with sugar cravings while striving to manage your weight and embrace healthier choices can be tough. Swipe to discover the main reasons behind those cravings and find solutions! ✨
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Swipe to see the steps I take to make a balanced breakfast, along with a few breakfast ideas 🙌
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A balanced breakfast with plenty of protein, good quality carbs with fiber, and fat sets your blood sugar off on the right foot, prevents cravings later, improves your mood, and helps sustain your energy throughout the rest of the day.
‌
Not hungry in the morning?
‌
1. Start with something small, like a smoothie with good quality protein powder.
2. Instead of making dinner your biggest meal of the day, try eating more for breakfast and lunch. This could improve your morning appetite.
‌
Need more hormone-friendly meal ideas? Subscribe to my newsletter + make sure to watch my stories, I love to share what I eat 💗
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👉 Swipe through to find 5 techniques in my stress toolkit that provide quick and effective stress reduction in real time.