How to Measure Free Cortisol

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The adrenal system is the one for which we can get virtually no information from a blood test. Total cortisol, just as we'll talk about when we talk about testosterone, is actually kind of unhelpful because it's all of the cortisol, including that which is bound. The majority of cortisol is bound to a carrier protein known as cortisol binding protein. It's also bound to albumin and other proteins as well. So we really need to understand how much cortisol is unbound, what's called free cortisol.

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In this special episode of The Drive, Peter provides a comprehensive overview of the various endocrine systems: the thyroid system, the adrenal system, and the sex hormone system (for both men and women). He walks through the basic biology and the feedback cycles that regulate the production of these hormones and discusses the various options for the treatment of hormone deficiencies. In addition, Peter delves into hormone replacement therapy (HRT), providing nuanced insights into its appropriate usage and the clinical approach he adopts when working with patients.

Peter supplements these explanations with whiteboard illustrations. For a more complete understanding, we highly recommend watching these videos over just listening. The videos can be found on our YouTube channel or on the show notes page.

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