- With Mayo Clinic nutritionist
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
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Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the nutrition and healthy eating guide, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.
A Marinette, Wis., native, Katherine is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in wellness nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and nutrition education related to weight management and practical applications of nutrition-related lifestyle changes.
Other areas of interest include food and nutrition for all life stages, active lifestyles and the culinary arts.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
Weight-loss basics (6)
- Metabolism: What's the best way to boost it?
- Body fat: What happens to lost fat?
- Slow metabolism: Is it to blame for weight gain?
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Diet plans (9)
- The Cookie Diet: Can it help you lose weight?
- The Special K diet: Helpful for weight loss?
- Coffee calories: Sabotaging your weight-loss goal?
- see all in Diet plans
Mayo Clinic diet (1)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
Diet and exercise (4)
- Weight loss: Better to cut calories or exercise more?
- Can I use yoga for weight loss?
- Negative calorie foods: Diet gimmick or weight-loss aid?
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Diet pills, supplements and surgery (14)
- Phentermine for weight loss: Can it help?
- Hoodia: Does this dietary supplement help weight loss?
- Water retention: Are there any natural diuretics?
- see all in Diet pills, supplements and surgery
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Question
CortiSlim: Can cortisol blockers help with weight loss?
Can cortisol blockers such as CortiSlim help me lose weight?
Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
There is no solid evidence that using so-called cortisol blockers such as CortiSlim, CortiStress and Cortistat-PS leads to weight loss.
Manufacturers of cortisol blockers claim that high stress levels increase your body's production of the hormone cortisol, which in turns makes you accumulate excess fat. What they don't say is that the connection between stress hormones and weight gain is still a theory, with only a few preliminary studies supporting it. More important, there's no evidence that blocking cortisol results in weight loss.
Indeed in 2007, the Federal Trade Commission charged the marketers of CortiSlim and CortiStress with making false and unsubstantiated claims about their products' effectiveness for weight loss. As part of the resulting settlement, the companies were forced to pay millions of dollars in refunds and to stop making unproven claims about their products.
Bottom line: The most effective way to lose weight is to control calorie intake and increase the number of calories burned through activity and exercise. There's no magic diet pill that can take off the pounds for you.
Next questionDo weight-loss products like Sensa work?
- Federal Trade Commission reaches New Year's resolutions with four major weight-control pill marketers. www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/01/weightloss.shtm. Accessed Jan. 24, 2010.
- Refunds for consumers who purchased CortiSlim or CortiStress. www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/09/corti.shtm. Accessed Dec. 14, 2009.
- Vicennati V, et al. Stress-related development of obesity and cortisol in women. Obesity. 2009;17:1678.
- Roberts C, et al. The effects of stress on body weight: biological and psychological predictors of change in BMI. Obesity. 2007;15:3045.
- Torres SJ, et al. Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity. Nutrition. 2007;23:887.
- Bauer B (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 14, 2009.
- Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 14, 2009.
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