Risks And Side Effects
First, remember that any new dietary regimen or addition of supplements in your lifestyle should be implemented under the supervision of a physician/naturopath you trust.
In general, introducing more plant-based foods into your lifestyle and eliminating stimulants, sugary foods and processed items with a ton of sodium or chemicals added to them is going to help you feel and live better, regardless of conditions you may or may not have.
The larger concern comes when referring to herbs, spices, supplements and essential oils used to combat adrenal fatigue. Dont blindly use any new supplements, herb or essential oil without medical supervision or proper education on how, how much, how often and how long to use these supplements.
There are several herbs that should not be used when pregnant or breastfeeding. This includes medicinal mushrooms, adaptogenic herbs and some essential oils.
Origins Of The Myth Of Adrenal Fatigue
The website of chiropractor and naturopath James L. Wilson, DC, ND, PhD, says that he coined the term adrenal fatigue in 1998 to identify below optimal adrenal function resulting from stress and distinguish it from Addisons disease. As many other naturopaths have taken up the diagnosis, it has spread widely across the Internet. Wilsons website notes that conventional medicine does not yet recognize it as a distinct syndrome.
That rather understates the attitude of conventional medicine. A literature review published last year in BMC Endocrine Disorders found no substantiation that adrenal fatigue is an actual medical condition. Therefore, adrenal fatigue is still a myth.
Adrenal fatigue is not recognized by the Endocrine Society or any other endocrinology society, but adrenal insufficiency is. One glaring problem for the adrenal fatigue concept is that the reported symptoms dont match those from adrenal insufficiency, although there is some overlap. The adrenal fatigue symptoms are mostly nonspecific including being tired or fatigued to the point of having trouble getting out of bed experiencing poor sleep feeling anxious, nervous, or rundown craving salty and sweet snacks and having gut problems, says Nieman. For the most part, these do not match symptoms of chronic adrenal insufficiency, which is characterized by weight loss, joint pain, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dry skin, low blood pressure, and fatigue.
Baby Steps Make A Commitment To Yourself That You Deserve A Happy Joyful Life That Is Deliciously Divine
My post publishing schedule is super random
So if you dont want to miss new articles, feel free to enter your email address below and well shoot you a message when new posts go live 🙂
*No boring spam, I promise! 🙂 Just fun mind-body-spirit stuff!
*Please note: Youll receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Make sure you open and click confirm otherwise, you wont get updates! 🙂
You can also find Prayers and Apples on the social media sites below!
You May Like: Swollen Feet And Ankles Fatigue Weight Gain
This Is How To Recover From Adrenal Fatigue
Recovering from adrenal fatigue depends upon you. It means changing your lifestyle, changing your relationships with other people, and taking good care of yourself. I tell my patients to treat yourself just like you would a newborn babywith a lot of loving care and attention. When you are tired, go to sleep. When you are hungry be sure you have plenty of healthful, nourishing food. When you are stressed by someones demands, learn to say no, at least temporarily. In this way, you will slowly learn to take the stress off your adrenal glands and allow them to heal.
What Do The Adrenals Do
The adrenal glands are the bodys emergency system. When the body is under chronic stress, the adrenals will send out cortisol into the bloodstream. Over time, chronic cortisol output can weaken the endocrine system, immune system, liver, digestive system, and brain. It can also cause the thyroid to slow down and in some rare cases, it will speed up . So, if you are wanting to reduce your thyroid symptoms, start with healthy adrenal glands.
Read Also: How To Explain Lupus Fatigue
Q: What Is Adrenal Insufficiency
A: Adrenal insufficiency is a state in which your adrenal glands dont function properly and cannot secrete the vital hormones your body needs to function normally.
Adrenal insufficiency can be caused by Addisons disease, a pituitary disorder or another disorder. Some symptoms of this life-threatening dysfunction include extreme exhaustion, lack of appetite , diarrhea, nausea, low blood pressure and low blood sugar.
All About Your Adrenal Glands
Your adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys, like little kidney baseball caps. They regulate many critical hormonal jobs in your body, but one of their primary jobs is to control the release of your main stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is essential for survival.
Our bodies are built for stressful events. When our ancestors were chased by predators, the sympathetic nervous system responded by switching the body into fight-or-flight mode. During this stress response, the adrenal glands release cortisol, which increases blood pressure and blood sugar for faster response and better survival. When the predators were gone, cortisol decreased, and so did blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Normal balance was restored. However, ongoing stress doesnt turn it back off.
Recommended Reading: Anti Fatigue Memory Foam Kitchen Mat
How Is Adrenal Fatigue Diagnosed
There is no test which can tell whether or not you have adrenal fatigue. A 24-hour salivary adrenal test has been used to check the function of the adrenal glands. However, many doctors, including adrenal gland specialists, do not consider that this test is appropriate to measure the function of the adrenal glands.
A 24-hour salivary adrenal test involves taking saliva samples four times during 24 hours. The samples are usually taken at 8 am, 12 noon, 4 pm and midnight. The early-morning steroid level should be the highest level of the day but may be reduced if the adrenal gland is not working properly.
You may need blood tests to make sure there are no other reasons why you feel very tired, such as anaemia or an underactive thyroid gland. Further tests will also be needed if there is any concern that your adrenal glands are not working properly.
Recovery From Adrenal Fatigue: Treatments
As mentioned, we use a variety of tools and techniques to treat the whole body and help support your bodys natural recovery process. Some of the following methods are used on a consistent basis, but each patient is unique and treatment is only prescribed once we have gathered the correct data for diagnosis.
You May Like: What Helps With Fibromyalgia Fatigue
What Do You Eat
While a lower carb diet is fabulous to reduce inflammation and many symptoms of thyroid disease, eating this way for too long can put stress on the adrenals and cause hormonal imbalance. So its important to get good, healthy carbs into your diet each day such as: potatoes , root vegetables, peas, properly prepared legumes or gluten-free grains , apples, pears, berries, and beets.
I like Dr. Christiansons idea of eating one golfball-size portion of carbs at breakfast, two golfball-size portions of carbs at lunch, and three golfball-size portions of carbs at dinner. Using this method, dinner should be the largest meal of the day. And most importantly, dont stress about your food. Do the best you can, and let the rest go.
Tip #: The Value Of Potatoes
How to lose weight when you have adrenal fatigue all starts with a simple potato. Its like I always say: a potato a day keeps the inches away!
Studies have shown that boiled potatoes are in a class of their own when it comes to foods which curb appetites11.
Working more of these ingredients into your diet, in quick and simple ways, can help you combat adrenal burnout for good. The resistant starch in potatoes, in particular, will also help to heal your gut lining12.
There are so many superfoods out there, but potatoes can call themselves one of the original ones. They have loads of health benefits and can help you jumpstart your adrenal fatigue weight loss. Easy to prepare, easy to enjoy and youll be reaping the benefits in no time.
When it comes to balancing out the relationship between cortisol and body fat, potatoes are a great place to start. Heres how it could look as part of your day-to-day routine
Your Diet and Potatoes for:
- Breakfast: serve a boiled potato beside your scrambled eggs.
- Lunch: another boiled potato compliments any salad.
- Dinner: enjoy a baked potato alongside a lean cut of meat.
- No matter the meal, you can easily work more potatoes into your diet.
Don’t Miss: Low Carb Diet And Exercise Fatigue
*you Cannot Recover From Adrenal Fatigue If You Have Stress Coming From Every Area Of Your Life*
So we need to figure out where we can cut some stress out, where we can learn to manage unavoidable stress, and build in some stress-relieving practices.
Chill the f*ck out. PRACTICE SELF-CARE. Do some yoga, or meditate for 5 minutes in the morning with an app. Get a massage. Take a walk in the park with your dog. Listen to a podcast or some calming music.
Eat More Green Superfoods
Leafy greens
Plant foods like Swiss chard and spinach are rich in magnesium, the original nutritional chill pill, which helps to regulate and optimize communication in the brain-adrenal axis.
Asparagus
This sulfur-rich vegetable also contains the beneficial B vitamin folate. Low levels of folate are linked to neurotransmitter impairment, which can lead to brain-hormonal problems.
You May Like: Upper Back Pain And Fatigue
Can Poorly Controlled Blood Sugar Cause Adrenal Fatigue
Yes, one common cause of adrenal fatigue is out of control blood sugar. Low blood sugar makes the adrenal glands work hard to make cortisol which raises blood sugar levels. During severe adrenal fatigue, the adrenal glands cannot produce enough cortisol. The symptoms of low blood sugar are dizziness, shakiness, and irritability. These are also symptoms of adrenal fatigue.
But What If I Have Symptoms Of Adrenal Fatigue
If you have tiredness, brain fog, lack of motivation, among other symptoms, you should first have a thorough evaluation with a medical doctor. Anemia, sleep apnea, autoimmune diseases, infections, other hormonal impairments, mental illnesses, heart and lung problems, and kidney and liver diseases are just some among many medical conditions that could cause similar symptoms. If the workup from your medical professional turns out normal and you believe you might have adrenal fatigue, I would recommend you consider a fundamental question: Why would your adrenals be drained? Take a better look at what types of stress might be affecting you. For many, the hectic pace of modern life is to blame.
The lack of a biological explanation can be disappointing. To make things worse, its not unusual for doctors to say “there is nothing wrong with you” or “this is all in your head.” The overwhelming amount of information on the Internet that recommends many types of treatment causes even more stress. Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, may have symptoms similar to adrenal fatigue and may not respond well to antidepressants and counseling. And some patients do not believe that a mental health concern is the primary cause of their symptoms and many refuse medications due to concerns about their side effects.
Don’t Miss: How To Combat Fatigue From Birth Control
How To Reverse Adrenal Fatigue: Treatments To Fight Adrenal Fatigue
Are you familiar with the feeling of being so exhaustedto the point you cant do daily activities without getting out of breath?
If you cant trace your chronic exhaustion to any other medical condition, you may be suffering from a condition known as adrenal fatigue.
Adrenal fatigue is a collection of symptoms such as body aches and fatigue that is caused by an imbalance in the hormones produced by your adrenal glands.
These adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys, are responsible for releasing a range of hormones in response to stress.
If youre suffering from adrenal fatigue, there are both lifestyle changes as well as medical treatments that can work together to help restore balance to your adrenal glands.
What Are The Four Stressful Situations
Scientists who study stress say that the things that cause the most mental and emotional stress usually have four similarities:
First, people are stressed by things which are new to them. First-time experiences cause you to worry about how you will feel during that event. This causes a stress response.
Second is unpredictability which heightens the stress response. The unknown causes anxiety and stress.
Third is a threat to you physically or emotionally. You may feel threatened by being judged by someone else.
Fourth is not having control over your situation. A perfect example of this is the person in middle management. They have the responsibility of performing new tasks. The results are often unpredictable. A bad result threatens their job approval. Most of the time, they dont have control over the results. Not surprisingly, middle managers are often considered to have the highest stress in most corporations, leading to high turn-over, burnout, and poor job satisfaction.
Read Also: Clarins Anti Fatigue Eye Serum
How To Combat Adrenal Fatigue
What can you do to help re-establish homeostasis and hormone balance or avoid adrenal fatigue all together? Well, assuming its not the result of underlying health or genetic condition, there are a few ways to bring the body back into balance.
Its important to keep in mind that most cases of adrenal fatigue occur during long-term, high-stress situations. So if you are currently experiencing such a situation, do your best to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Dont worry if youre not getting as much sleep as normal the practice of resting can still be beneficial to your overall health. Studies show that just laying in bed, even awake, allows for your body to recover and heal.
A healthy diet can also be instrumental in avoiding or recovering from adrenal fatigue. Our stress response can often result in reaching for comfort food that doesnt have much nutritional value compounding an already precarious situation. Having a vitamin-rich diet and sufficient water intake can ease the burden on both your adrenal glands and kidneys. Others may find they lack any appetite at all, in which case it may be time to look into vitamins and supplements as an alternative.
The Myth Of Adrenal Fatigue
When patients present claiming that stress has worn out their adrenal glands, it can be easy to discount their belief in adrenal fatigue but they often have real symptoms that require treatment.
If more proof is needed that the Internet provides a wealth of information and misinformation, endocrinologists need to look no further than the increasing number of patients who claim a diagnosis of adrenal fatigue.
Although current medical science recognizes no such condition, physicians need to take the complaints and symptoms of these patients seriously, according to Endocrine Society President Lynnette Nieman, MD, who is a senior investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Our role is to be good active listeners to determine if there is a true medical disorder lurking among the complaints. It is very important to take the person seriously, not to brush them off and say there is no adrenal fatigue. These people are suffering from something, so we need to take the suffering seriously.
The patient may have already been to see a naturopath who promotes the condition, so may be taking supplements of unknown formulations to treat it.
Read Also: Timberland Pro Work Boots Anti Fatigue
It Is Possible To Recover From Adrenal Fatigue
Yes, it is! Finding a functional medicine practitioner is the first step. As already stated, it can take one to two years to recover from adrenal fatigue. It may even take longer for some people. You must be gentle with yourself. You must be kind to yourself. Dont be too hard on yourself. Dont be excessively demanding on yourself. Give yourself a break. If you give your body and your mind the opportunity to rest and recover, you will heal.
Tip #: Meal Replacements For Adrenal Fatigue Weight Loss
The formula is simple: 2 shakes + 1 meal. The effects of meal replacement strategies have been well-researched and is a proven way to safely remove those unsightly pounds from your belly6.
Two low-carb, high fiber shakes per day, followed by a low-calorie meal is all it takes. This will help keep your adrenaline surges in check, and will help you manage your cravings with ease.
Meal replacement plans help speed up weight loss and create a large amount of it at the same time. While also providing improvement in weight management, inflammation and oxidative stress7.
Basically, it is a way of giving your body what it needs. All done without giving into the tried-and-true cravings which keep us from cutting those inches from our waistline.
Key Insight: 2 shakes + 1 meal = an effective weight loss strategy.
Read Also: Frequent Urination Blurred Vision And Fatigue
Eat Healthy Fats Every Day
Avocados
Avocados contain beneficial B vitamins and monounsaturated fats that boost neurotransmitter production and brain health. This fatty superfruit also contains potassium, which naturally helps to lower blood pressure.
Full-fat kefir
Bacterial imbalances in your gut can contribute to brain problems because the gut and brain talk to each other through the vagus nerve. Kefir is rich in beneficial bacteria for your microbiome and also has fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2, which are important for brain health, so it helps out from both ends of this critical connection.
Coconut oil is super versatile you can cook with it, put it in smoothies, or just eat it off a spoon as I do. It offers good fats like medium-chain triglycerides that can help with brain function.
Wild-caught fish
Omega-rich foods like Alaskan salmon can help decrease inflammation, which is crucial for brain and hormonal health.
Eating Out Cheatsheet What To Drink During A Night Out Cheatsheet Travel And On
We live in a society where its okay to work ourselves to death. We know no other way were always working towards exhaustion. Thats kind of the goal, but what a lot of us dont realize is that by working ourselves so much, we may not be working ourselves to death, but were definitely working ourselves into something called adrenal fatigue.
And I wanted to do this video because I want to share with you three simple, yet effective ways that you can combat adrenal fatigue, but I also want to explain what adrenal fatigue really is, and how its affecting your day-to-day life, not only in the office, not only at home, but in the gym, and when it comes to getting in the best shape.
You see, when were stressed out, our bodies have a natural response, and like you see in many of my other videos, our bodies release that hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is fine and dandy, it does what its supposed to do it elevates our blood pressure, and it gets us prepared for that fight or flight response, that adrenaline response, that noradrenaline response.
Now, those neurotransmitters and those hormones are imperative, theyre crucial to our success and survival. We really need them, but the problem is when we have these chronic bouts of stress, when were constantly exhausted, were constantly fatigued, and were constantly stimulating ourselves with caffeine and other stimulants, it makes it so that our bodies cannot really recover from being in that stressed out state.
No Comments
You May Like: Widespread Body Pain And Fatigue
