After eating a meal with both fat and other nutrients, cortisol levels in healthy men drop to their lowest point at 4 hours and stay low for 6 hours. After eating a meal with only fat, cortisol drops faster—to its lowest point at 2 hours—and stays low for the full 6 hours. The timing and duration of cortisol suppression differ based on the type of fat-containing meal consumed.

After eating different types of meals, healthy adult men show different patterns in cortisol levels over time: glucose causes a temporary rise followed by a drop below normal, while protein and fructose cause a steady decline over several hours, suggesting that the type of nutrient affects cortisol dynamics differently.

In healthy adult men, levels of free fatty acids and cortisol in the blood rise together at certain times after eating a high-fat meal, and these changes are statistically linked.