1:58:12Hormone Expert: Control Your Hormones Control Your Belly Fat! Cortisol, oestrogen, testosterone.
From The Diary Of A CEO · Published Jul 21, 2025 · Watch on YouTube
TL;DR
Dr. Sarah Zal, a Harvard-trained physician and bioengineer, argues that hormone imbalance—especially cortisol—is the root of most chronic health issues, with ~90% of her 40,000 tested patients having cortisol problems.
Key insights
- Cortisol is a "dictator" hormone; if imbalanced, it overrides other hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin). High cortisol is linked to depression (50% of depressed patients have high
- ~90% of the 40,000 people Dr. Zal has tested have cortisol problems, including professional athletes. Estimated general population prevalence is 30-50%.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) scores ≥1 predict 45 different chronic diseases. Dr. Zal's own ACE score is 6/10; her trauma manifested as depression, prediabetes in her 30s, high cortisol (30 vs.
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