Phosphatidylserine and Cortisol | Benefits and Dosage

You may have noticed phosphatidylserine being added to shakes in the gym or taken by some of your gym mates. And with a few studies backing this supplement, phosphatidylserine is becoming more widely known and appreciated. 

But what is it, and how can it benefit you? If you live a hectic lifestyle, this could be your new favourite supplement.

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What Is Phosphatidylserine?

Phosphatidylserine is a key component of your cell membranes. It is a major part of the lipids that make up essential parts of your cells. It helps to cover and protect the cell and helps them to communicate. 

Phosphatidylserine is found in a number of foods. It is found in high amounts of fish such as mackerel and herring, as well as in offal such as chicken hearts and pig kidney. The highest dose by far is in bovine brain. Not easy things to mix in your shakes and eat on the go! 

Another source of phosphatidylserine is soya lechtin. This is a much more popular ingredient for supplements. It’s safer, as it carries no risk of infectious disease from animals and is vegetarian and vegan-friendly. 

Phosphatidylserine & Cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone which naturally occurs in the body. It’s released when the body feels under stress. This can be stress from work or lifestyle, but it can also be caused by exercise, particularly heavy resistance exercises. This is often surprising to people who only link exercise with feel-good endorphin hormones. However, stress hormones and their effects are vital to consider in a healthy active lifestyle. 

Cortisol is a hormone that affects many different functions throughout the body. Cortisol affects blood sugar levels, metabolism and water retention. 

High cortisol levels can be linked to weight gain in your abdomen, face and chest. So, if you are stressed and not seeing the results you should from your workout and balanced diet, cortisol could be to blame. 

Not only that, but cortisol also affects memory formulation. When you are stressed and your body feels like it’s in crisis mode, it concentrates on surviving to the detriment of “non-essential” functions, of which memory is one. So, if you struggle to get your workout together and keep having to stop to go over your workout plan, it could be your stress levels. 

But what does phosphatidylserine have to do with it? Well, phosphatidylserine is considered one of the most potent natural cortisol blockers available. This may sound great for you, so let’s take a deeper dive into how phosphatidylserine can reduce cortical and help manage your stress. 

One of phosphatidylserine’s main jobs is to cover and protect cells, as well as facilitating messages being passed from cell to cell. They block high levels of cortisol reaching the cells and affecting them. This can massively reduce the negative effects of cortisol on the body such as stress. 

However, as this is a natural product, users do not have to be concerned about being “numbed”. It does not stop the body feeling any stress, it just allows enough for the body to deal with constructively. There are therefore no known negative side effects of phosphatidylserine when sticking to the recommended dose.