Everyone talks about cortisol going up. Nobody says what brings it down.
Two years of ashwagandha, magnesium, and every article about cortisol going up — and not one of them mentions the off-switch.
Because there is one. It’s an enzyme called HSD2, and its whole job is turning active cortisol back into a harmless form once it’s done. In fat tissue, it’s the difference between cortisol that rises and falls — and cortisol that just sits there.
The question was never only how to lower cortisol. It was what’s stopping it from coming down on its own.