Would you try the coconut ‘cortisol cocktail'?

Times

17 hours ago

How will you unwind this evening? Nice cup of tea? Large gin and tonic? Or how about a 'cortisol cocktail', the latest viral sensation that promises to relieve stress without the use of alcohol and has got people on TikTok and Instagram frantically excited.
The recipe is available in many different variations online but generally consists of coconut water, orange juice, lemon juice, magnesium powder, salt and sparkling water. It's billed as a potent concoction that apparently restores energy and regulates the stress hormone cortisol.
'You not only will feel 210 per cent happier, your memory increases, stress goes down, and you'll get those hormones in check,' says one gushing Insta post. Or how about: 'You will stop anxious feelings, stop depressive thoughts, regulate blood sugars and sleep better and longer.'
• Feeling tired? How to boost your energy to avoid an afternoon slump
While becoming '210 per cent happier' would be amazing — imagine! — even if my stress levels were slightly reduced I'd be delighted. So despite my scepticism, I find a recipe that looks doable and set about trying it for myself. I find magnesium citrate powder in the chemist on the high street (£17.99) and purloin some posh coconut water, plus a few ripe oranges and a lemon from the corner shop. It comes to about £20 — about the cost of a fancy cocktail in a bar.
I measure out 200ml coconut water, add a teaspoon of magnesium, 50ml freshly squeezed orange juice, the juice of half a lemon, a quarter teaspoon of fine salt, and a few glugs of sparkling water. I mix it up — it's a pretty pale orange hue with a delicate froth — and serve it in a cocktail glass.
Twenty minutes later I perhaps do feel a bit calmer, but I've somehow lost my wallet in my own home, my husband is griping about traffic on the North Circular, and my son is using a circular saw in the basement. At this moment, I wish the cortisol cocktail contained diazepam.
I seek the opinion of Dr Mithu Storoni, a University of Cambridge-trained physician and neuroscientist and the author of Stress Proof and Hyperefficient. Just between us, I ask her, is it nonsense? 'Actually, I approve of this cocktail,' she says. 'I'd probably take it after exercise or before bed for maximum effect. It's much more calming and much better for your cortisol levels than an alcoholic cocktail, or even a high-sugar non-alcoholic alternative, most of which are really high in glucose syrup. They spike your insulin. They're horrible for you.'
• Is my cortisol level to blame for my irritable mood?
The cortisol cocktail contains no refined sugar, which is a plus for Storoni. 'I would definitely go for this if I had a cocktail menu in front of me. Coconut water is famous for having a very high amount of electrolytes — potassium especially, and sodium — which are great for hydration. And if you're dehydrated, that can raise your cortisol levels. In the hot summer, if you're dehydrated you are more likely to feel stressed, so having coconut water could help.'
There's more. 'I like the addition of a quarter teaspoon of fine salt,' she says. 'For most healthy people who don't suffer from raised blood pressure, restricting your sodium too much can have net negative effects, which include an increase in adrenaline.' Plus, she adds, 'in the summer, when we're all sweating, exercising, at risk of low sodium levels but otherwise healthy, then low sodium can increase your feelings of anxiety and stress.' If this is the case, 'having sodium can lower your stress reactivity and make you calmer'.
There's good data on magnesium too, she says. 'Magnesium has a very calming effect. It's been shown to improve sleep in people with insomnia.' In addition, 'combined with vitamin C, it reduced premenstrual or menopausal anxiety in one study'.
• As a lifelong insomniac, can magnesium really help me sleep?
Can men benefit too? Storoni cites a randomised controlled trial looking at reductions in cortisol concentrations in male rugby players following magnesium supplementation (500mg per day over four weeks — a little more than in a cortisol cocktail). Researchers found 'magnesium supplementation affected serum cortisol levels, most significantly before the game, pointing to magnesium's role in the reduction of stress-anticipating anxiety,' she says.
As for the citrus elements of the cortisol cocktail, 'the lemon juice and orange juice both contain vitamin C, assuming they're fresh, and vitamin C has been shown to have an antioxidant effect which can improve your state of stress,' Storoni says. 'Antioxidants are always good for stress because when you have physiological stress you are also increasing oxidative stress at a cellular level, which they will then combat. And coconut water contains them too.'
So when these wellness influencers swear this drink is regulating your cortisol, they're not wrong? 'If you get stressed your cortisol level rises,' Storoni says. 'Anything that has a calming effect, reduces your stress reactivity, will end up regulating your cortisol. All those TikTokkers may be on to something.'