A single meal high in animal protein can nearly double the level of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood within a half hour of consumption, more than twice that of a meal closer to the recommended level of protein.4827 Give someone a meal of crabmeat, tuna, and cottage cheese, and the level of cortisol in their saliva shoots up within the hour. Instead, give someone some barley soup and a vegetable stir-fry, and cortisol levels drop down after the meal.
