Shield Your Adrenals From The Stress Of Exercise
In the state of adrenal fatigue, the body does not have the supply of hormones expected to maintain energy, performance, and to just adjust to the request of rigorous exercise. Running, Spinning, and every single other form of endurance activity will only compound adrenal fatigue. Choose activities that will not pressure your body and that will refill liveliness holds rather than continue to drain them.
Is Adrenal Fatigue Real
- By , Contributor
Low energy and tiredness are among the most common reasons patients seek help from a doctor. Despite being so common, it is often challenging to come up with a diagnosis, as many medical problems can cause fatigue. Doctors engage in detective work, obtaining a medical history, doing a physical exam, and doing blood tests. The results often yield no explanations. It can be frustrating for clinicians and patients when a clear-cut diagnosis remains elusive. An attractive theory, called adrenal fatigue, links stress exposure to adrenal exhaustion as a possible cause of this lack of energy.
The Cause Of Chronic Fatigue
Officially the cause of Chronic Fatigue is unknown but many theories exist. Many of these are discussed below. We find in practice many chronic fatigue patients may have a number of issues combined which could include:
Pathogens Numerous studies have demonstrated a high incidence of chronic infections in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. These include viral infections of Epstein bar , Barmah Forest virus, cytomegalovirus , human herpes virus-6, , and bacterial infections such as mycoplasma, chlamydia pneumonia and Borrelia burgdorferi . Unfortunately standard tests which look for an elevation of IgG and IgM antibodies, is not a sensitive means of detecting chronic infections in these patients. Chronic infections are almost always present in those whose symptoms started very acutely, especially with an infection, those whos symptoms were ever associated with swollen lymph nodes or sore throat and those with significant cognitive dysfunction or flu-like symptoms.
Toxins exposure to environmental chemicals including pesticides, heavy metals or copper toxicity, intoxicants, neurotoxins, etc can poison mitochondrial function and thus affect energy production.
Allergies/Intolerances -certain food allergens are able to cause a variety of symptoms including fatigue. Many of our patients have been found to have an intolerance or allergy to a number of foods they consume in their diets that they were unaware of due to the delayed reaction often seen with intolerances.
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Adrenal Fatigue Vs Chronic Fatigue
- Are they the same condition?
There are a lot of similarities between Adrenal Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
The end result and symptoms seem identical for both CFS and AF.
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But do they have different root causes?
The chart below shows the number of times people search for certain terms in Google. It shows a 10-year trend, up to October, 2014.
The number of searches for Chronic Fatigue
has been decreasing.But the number of searches for Adrenal Fatigue
Google Search Trends in USA
Search Trends from Google
How likely is it the prevalence of Chronic Fatigue is at thesame time that Adrenal Fatigue is increasing?
It more likely that desperate people are starting to find out about Adrenal Fatigue first, rather than Chronic Fatigue.
The term Adrenal Fatigue has been growing in alternative medicine.
So it is not surprising that once people have given up looking for solutions from conventional doctors, they turn toa Naturopathic Doctor, Nutritionist, etc., who now use the term Adrenal Fatigue.
Up until the early 2000’s, chronically sick people came to the conclusionthey had something called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
More and more, people are coming to the conclusion that they have something called Adrenal Fatigue.
But …. are they the same condition? Other than the above chart …. are thereother hints that they are one in the same?
The Key Supplements For Fatigue
- B12 best used in a sublingual form 1000 ucg of methylcobalamin
- Folate as methyl tetrahydrafolate 1-2 mg
- B complex with methyl B12, folate, B6 as pyridoxal 5 phosphate 25-50mg
- Magnesium either chelate, glycinate, threonate or citrate, 400-600mg
- Zinc as picolinate 25-50mg
- EPA-DHA 1to 3 grams
- L-carnitine, CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid as mitochondrial support
- Curcumin, ashwaghanda, adaptogenic herbs
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Which One Do I Have
While reading the back and forth on adrenal fatigue vs. chronic fatigue, you may suspect that you have one of these conditionsor even both. To begin, you may decide to visit an integrative medicine practitioner who can provide you with salivary cortisol tests.
When it comes to treatment, our office offers safe cell therapy for both chronic and adrenal fatigue.
Curious about cell therapy? Call us at 1-800-826-5366 or email us here.
Asian Ginseng/panax Ginseng For Adrenal Fatigue
Asian ginseng or panax ginseng is a herb thats been used for thousands of years. Its been shown to improve stamina of your nervous system and mental clarity for people who suffer from mental fatigue, brain fog and emotional stressors. We highly recommend Asian/Panax ginseng for patients who experience chronic stress.
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Adrenal Fatigue Is More Than Adrenal Fatigue
If youve been suffering from the debilitating effects of Adrenal Fatigue for 6 months or more, you know by now that its not just a passing illness or a condition that will just run its course. Its stubborn and seems here to stay. Many Adrenal Fatigue patients try several western and alternative treatments, desperate to reverse Adrenal Fatigue and their whirlwind of mysterious symptoms. And yet, any relief they do find is short-lived.
It is possible to reverse Adrenal Fatigue successfully and recapture your zest and energy for life. It just takes focused guidance and dedication.
They first key is understand: Adrenal Fatigue is not really Adrenal Fatigue. Its actually a dysfunction of the crucial Stress Response System. Thats why it affects the whole body, in so many mysterious ways.
Thus, treating Adrenal Fatigue effectively requires healing the entire stress response system, not just the sluggish adrenal glands. The first step is a careful, individualized assessment of what parts of your Stress Response system are particularly out-of-balance.
Any attempt to treat Adrenal Fatigue without addressing whats occurring in the rest of the Stress Response System, including the brain , is ultimately designed to fail.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Symptoms can be very similar to the ones experienced by Fibromyalgia sufferers and up to 70 percent of the patients actually suffer from both conditions. Symptoms include: fatigue that doesnt go away with sleep, difficulty getting restful sleep, pain, stiffness, tender spots in muscles and/or joints, headaches, sore throat, flu-like feeling, weight gain, digestive problems, mental fog, and poor concentration. Unfortunately, many individuals and physicians continue to deny that this syndrome is a legitimate disease. The medical literature is, however, very clear in proving the opposite individuals with this disorder have measurable hypothalamic, pituitary, immune, and coagulation dysfunction. These abnormalities then result in a cascade of further abnormalities, in which stress plays a role by suppressing immunity and hypothalamic-pituitary function.
The pituitary and hypothalamic dysfunction result in multiple hormonal deficiencies that are often not detected with standard blood tests. The immune dysfunction, which includes natural killer cell dysfunction, results in opportunistic infections and yeast overgrowth, resulting in worsening of symptoms.
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Who Is At Risk Of Developing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
People of every age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic group can have chronic fatigue syndrome. This illness affects women at four times the rate of men.
Research indicates that chronic fatigue syndrome is most common in people in their 40s and 50s. Although it is much less common in children than in adults, children can develop the illness, particularly during the teen years.
My Doctor Said Adrenal Fatigue Wasnt Real
If youve been dealing with chronically low energy levels, dont expect your family doctor to diagnose you with adrenal fatigue. As far as the conventional medical community is concerned, AF is not a real condition.
Heres why:
The condition known as AF describes a state where your adrenal glands stop producing cortisol. One of the main symptoms of low cortisol is fatigue. It was thought that when the body is exposed to a long term or very intense level of stress, the adrenal glands fatigue. The fatiguing of the adrenal glands results in lowered cortisol production.
This sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation. And Im sure thats why so many people have been diagnosed with AF. But when you look at the research, theres not much to support the theory of fatiguing adrenals. This is why your family doctor wont get behind the adrenal fatigue diagnosis.
Theres no scientific evidence to support the existence of adrenal fatigue.
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What Is Adrenal Fatigue
In common with people coping with chronic fatigue, sufferers of adrenal exhaustion may not display any obvious outward signs of ill health. They may get up and go to work like everyone else, but underneath theyre living with persistent lethargy and feelings of being generally unwell.
The difference for adrenal fatigue sufferers is that their constant tiredness is caused by an inability of the adrenal glands to cope with chronic, prolonged stress.
Unlike CFS which is often triggered by a viral infection and can come on quite suddenly, adrenal fatigue usually takes years to develop. Continual stress takes its toll on the adrenals by putting the body into a state of perpetual fight or flight. This forces the adrenals to make ever increasing supplies of cortisol and other stress hormones to bring the situation under control.
Eventually the natural sleep / wake cycle is disrupted, and other unpleasant symptoms such as weight gain and even hair loss begin to creep in. Sufferers can function in this way for many years before they finally seek help.
Adrenal Insufficiency: What It Is And The Most Common Causes
It is important to note, Adrenal Fatigue is not adrenal insufficiency. But, its good to understand some of the causes of primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency so you can distinguish between this and AFS.
Primary adrenal insufficiency occurs when the adrenal cortex is damaged, and that usually happens due to an autoimmune attack. Also, primary adrenal insufficiency can be caused by cancer of the adrenal glands, severe infection in the adrenal glands, tuberculosis, or bleeding into the adrenal glands.
Secondary adrenal insufficiency occurs when the pituitary gland doesnt produce enough ACTH to stimulate the adrenals into producing enough adrenal hormones. This usually happens when something affects the pituitary gland itself, such as a tumor, surgery, or inflammation, rather than the adrenal glands. Taking corticosteroids to help with another condition can also lead to secondary adrenal insufficiency.
This, as noted above, is distinct from what happens when chronic stress causes the body to produce too much or too little adrenal hormones due to overwork as in Adrenal Fatigue.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Adrenal Fatigue:
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An inclination to gain weight and inability to lose it. Particularly around the waist.
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High recurrence of getting the flu virus and other respiratory diseases with symptoms that tends to last longer than common.
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The tendency to tremble when underweight.
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Lessened sex drive.
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Lack of energy in the evening.
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Dependence on coffee to get through the day.
None of these signs or symptoms by themselves can definitively point to Adrenal Fatigue. However, as a group of symptoms, in the context of a generally healthy person, they do form a specific Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome or picture, that is, of a person under pressure and the body is failing physiological response to manage such a burden. Adrenal Fatigue, as a debilitating condition, is not recognized by conventional medicine and is hence missed by most conventionally trained physicians.
What Are The Adrenal Glands And What Do They Do
You have two small adrenal glands that lie just above each kidney. Each adrenal gland has an outer part and an inner part . Cells in the adrenal glands make various hormones. A hormone is a chemical which is made in one part of the body but passes into the bloodstream and has effects on other parts of the body.
Cells in the outer part of the adrenal glands make the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. The amount of cortisol that is made is controlled by another hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone . ACTH is made in a small gland that lies just under the brain . This in turn is stimulated by another hormone which is produced by another part of the brain called the hypothalamus. ACTH passes into the bloodstream, is carried to the adrenal glands and stimulates the adrenal glands to make cortisol.
- Cortisol is a hormone that is vital for health. It has many functions which include:
- Helping to regulate blood pressure.
- Helping to regulate the immune system.
- Helping to balance the effect of insulin in regulating the blood sugar level.
- Helping the body to respond to stress.
Cells in the inner part of the adrenal glands make the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline . These have various actions throughout the body.
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Tired But Wired Top 5 Tips To Heal The Adrenal Glands Naturally
Exhausted despite a full night of sleep? Feeling stressed, overwhelmed and forgetful? Relying on coffee for energy? Constantly hungry and craving salty, crunchy foods? Bloated and gaining weight, especially around your midsection? Feeling lightheaded or dizzy upon standing? If so, your adrenal glands may be to blame.
Highlights:
- The adrenals are two small glands approximately the size of a walnut that sit atop each of your kidneys. Their primary function is to process all incoming stress, but they also play a role in hormone production, digestion, the metabolism and fluid balance.
- When stress is high, the adrenals get overworked and extreme exhaustion, impaired memory, bloating, insatiable cravings and dizziness upon standing may ensue. Healing the adrenals is a critical piece to weight loss, energy, immune health and a well-functioning brain.
- Top tips include: eat a protein-rich breakfast, swap coffee for matcha, avoid intense workouts, upgrade the quality of your salt and experiment with adaptogens.
- To learn more, join us for the Thyroid-Adrenal Reset Lunch & Learn where we provide a deeper understanding of the adrenal glands and additional tips to re-balance naturally.
The good news: the body is a miraculous, self-healing mechanism. With the right support, you can heal your adrenals and regain energy, mental clarity, strength and hormone balance. Here are our top tips:
Understanding Your Stress Response System
The stress response system includes three important system:
All three systems must be rebalanced to restore adrenals. But healing Adrenal Fatigue effectively all starts with repairing the damage thats taken place at the brain level.
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What Is The Connection Between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Adrenal Fatigue
While CFS and adrenal fatigue are not the same, adrenal function may play a role in it. Those with CFS are often found to produce a low amount of the hormone cortisol, which is produced by the adrenal glands. Furthermore, CFS is a malfunction of the pituitary, a pea-sized gland at the base of the skull, which regulates all our hormones. The pituitary, hypothalamus, and adrenals all work together as part of the HPA axis to regulate our health and hormones. Analysis of the data in over 50 studies that assessed adrenal function in CFS and fibromyalgia patients demonstrates that the majority of these patients have abnormal adrenal function due to hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction.
Deficiencies in hormones like cortisol, DHEA, aldosterone, pregnenolone, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and growth hormone are often missed or poorly treated because doctors have come to rely on standard blood tests that require an intact pituitary and hypothalamus for diagnosis and dosing of hormone levels. There is, however, severe hypothalamic and pituitary dysfunction with CFS, making the standard blood tests inadequate. Evaluating hormone function, not just hormone levels, can help diagnose CFS and adrenal fatigue and when properly treated and balanced, tremendous results can be achieved.
To learn more, watch this short video with Dr. Kent Holtorf explaining the symptoms, diagnose, and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Move Your Body Gently
When it comes to adrenal fatigue, its often helpful to stick to moderate exercise in place of strenuous activity. Sometimes its best to just take a breather, and give your body the rest it needs!
Try focusing on mild movements that get the blood and lymph nodes moving gently. This could range from walking, hiking, yoga, dancing, or simply stretching. Pay attention to how you feel and make sure not to overdo it when your muscles feel weak and tired.
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Dynamics Of Cortisol Response
We found that in 16/91 tests the peak response was reached at 10 min, in 31/91 at 20 min, in 36/91 at 30 min and in 8/91 at 60 min. Using a previously defined cutoff value for a response to the awakening stress of a 2.5 nmol/l rise above baseline we found that 61/90 of subjects overall showed this response, 25/35 in the controls and 36/56 in the patients 4/35 controls and 12/56 patients showed a fall in cortisol values after awaking .
Questionnaires For Fatigue Assessment
Among all studies included in this review, nineteen different types of questionnaires and scores were reported. The most commonly used were: the Maslach Burnout Inventory , SF-36 , the Chalder Fatigue Scale , the General Fatigue Scale of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and the Shirom Melamed Burnout Questionnaire . In ten studies, more than one type of survey was performed. In four studies, the methods to assess fatigue were not specified or assessed. A summary of the assessed questionnaires is shown in Table .
Table 6 Assessed questionnaires employed in the selected studies
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