Thursday, March 28, 2024

How To Heal Adrenal Fatigue

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Supplements To Improve Fatigue

How to Naturally Heal Adrenal Fatigue

Trusted SourcePubMedGo to source, 42 Trusted SourcePubMedGo to source] have been shown to benefit fatigue. Supplementing daily for a short while may improve your fatigue.

Low blood levels of vitamin D have been proposed as a contributor to fatigue in a number of autoimmune health conditions, including lupus . However, there are few studies that confirm the relationship. So, though there are numerous reasons to take vitamin D, fatigue isnt one of them.

Warning Signs You Have Adrenal Fatigue And How To Beat It Forever

The easy, relaxed lifestyle experienced by our ancestors no longer exists, and we’re not even aware of how much stress we’re under. The problem? “Our lifestyles have changed, but our bodies haven’t,” Dr. James Wilson said in his November lecture at the First Arizona Choices Exposition in Tucson, Ariz. A large portion of our population is feeling tired and stressed out, and we want to know why.

The adrenal glands sit over the kidneys, where they play a significant role in the body, secreting more than 50 hormones necessary for life, including epinephrine , cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone , progesterone and testosterone. Since they produce so many essential hormones, the adrenal glands are responsible for many of the functions we need to stay alive and healthy, including:

  • Energy production – carbohydrate, protein and fat conversion to blood glucose for energy
  • Fluid and electrolyte balance
  • Fat storage

One hormone in particular, cortisol, is extremely important for keeping our body systems in balance, as well as protecting our cells. For example:

  • It controls the strength of the immune system: Too much cortisol weakens the immune system, setting the motions for increased susceptibility to infections and cancer, while too little leads to an overactive immune system and autoimmune disease.
  • It normalizes blood sugar.
  • It regulates blood pressure.

Why Does Adrenal Fatigue Happen

Adrenal fatigue might be attributed to prolonged physical, emotional, and mental stress. In turn, this can give rise to a variety of health issues like poor sleep quality, inflammation, or even blood sugar spikes. Adrenal fatigue is believed to be caused when the adrenal glands become incapable of meeting the demands of a constant fight or flight response attributable to chronic stress. When you are subjected to stressful situations, your adrenals react by releasing cortisol to help your body prepare for a dangerous predicament. However, if such a situation is for one reason or the other prolonged, your adrenals will in the long run become worn down. This makes them unable to respond to stressful circumstances.

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Can You Get Tested For Adrenal Fatigue

The best way to get test for adrenal fatigue is via a saliva cortisol panel. The panel looks at your cortisol patterns throughout the day versus a blood test that only tests at one time during the day. Seeing the pattern of cortisol during the day will give you and your practitioner a good idea of whether adrenal imbalance is a factor for you.

As you read the list below, remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. Fully healing the adrenals usually takes a minimum of 6-9 months and for some it can take up to 12 months. The good news is that even making just a few changes can help you feel better within weeks or even days.

Hydrate Your Body Well:

12 Steps to Heal Adrenal Fatigue Naturally ...

Water is extremely critical for balancing stress hormone production. When you are dehydrated, you will naturally stimulate stress hormone production. Drinking 8oz of water can be one of the best ways to tone down the stress response and put you back into a state of rest and repair.

On a daily basis, I recommend starting your day with 16-32 oz of water first thing in the morning and consuming a minimum of 8oz of water every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Your goal should be a minimum of half your body weight in ounces of water each day.

It is also great to add in fresh squeezed lemon or lime, essential oils or apple cider vinegar to add more anti-oxidants and enzymes.

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How I Healed From Adrenal Fatigue

A bit of a happy dance for me today! Last year was incredibly hairy. I actually did a bit of a number on myself and hit total burn out. Not fun, at all. The positive is, that after a fair bit of work, the adrenal fatigue I was diagnosed with is now a thing of the past. I thought I would share some of what I did to get on top of things.

First of all, adrenal fatigue is the curse of the A-type personality. The perfectionist who seems to think they can do it all, always stressed, always full of energy, until eventually, things catch up, and you crash and burn. Your body simply cant sustain the long-term stress and the adrenals start to protest. Cue a whole host of awful symptoms:

  • Trouble dragging yourself out of bed in the mornings
  • Waking up feeling exhausted
  • Craving sweet or salty foods
  • Feeling like rubbish if you skip or miss a meal
  • Lack of energy throughout the day, a real need for Nana naps, especially around 3pm
  • Loss of mojo
  • Terrible PMS
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Fuzzy memory
  • Absentmindedness
  • Feeling light headed when you go to stand, low blood pressure
  • Feeling down in the dumps, and teary
  • Feeling like you have a short fuse, and even the smallest of things bother you
  • Panic attacks

First Change Your Lifestyle

The two most important steps to take are: 1) Change your hectic lifestyle and 2) learn stress reduction techniques.

The idea here is to lower the demands on your adrenal glands. If you continue an exhausting and demanding way of living, your adrenal glands will be constantly struggling to catch up. Full recovery will be difficult if you dont deal with stress.

For stress reduction, yoga, tai chi, meditation, prayer and deep breathing are proven to be effective.

For stress reduction, yoga, tai chi, meditation, prayer and deep breathing are proven to be effective. They are simple, and available. Other ways of lowering stress are being out in nature or doing gentle exercises such as walking. There are also many phone apps for guided imagery and meditation. All these things get you out of the high alert mindset.

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Focus On Deep Breathing:

Improving your posture, seeing a high quality chiropractor and optimizing your breathing patterns is highly recommended. Take time every day to breath long and deep and allow the rest and peace that comes with this practice to come over you.

Follow these tips here to improve your breathing patterns.

Create A Regular Early Bedtime

How to Use The Power of Prayer to Support Adrenal Fatigue Recovery

Go to bed early, before you get a second cortisol surge after 11 pm. Aim to get to bed at 10 pm or before. Practicing proper sleep hygiene is an idea thats become increasingly important in our fast-paced world, and part of that means keeping a regular bedtime so you train your body to sleep better.

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Address The Root Causes Of Your Fatigue

Overcoming your fatigue is about addressing the true underlying causes. You may need some help figuring out what these are. Once you know where your fatigue is coming from, focusing on your digestion, your thyroid health, your iron levels, your diet, or your unique stressors can have you feeling energetic again in no time.

The Hardest Part Of All

The hardest part of all of this, was that my learning and the information I needed was scattered and not all in one place. For this, I spent years of my time suffering and spent thousands of dollars that in hindsight, I now see I should have been spending on vacations .

I kept thinking, it shouldn’t be this hard.

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You Should Eat Foods That You Add To Your Diet Including:

Coconut

healthful fats, such as avocado

cruciferous veggies

olive- or coconut-based fish dishes

Free-range chicken and turkey, often known as Cage-free

Liquor extracted from bones.

Walnuts and almonds are both crunchy and healthy.

pumpkin, chia, and flax seeds

Seaweed and kelp

Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

probiotic-rich fermented foods

Medicinal mushrooms from the genus Chaga and the genus Cordyceps

Because they are nutrient-dense, low in sugar, and contain healthy fat and fibre, these meals assist the adrenal glands recuperate.

Nootropics and herbs

For breaking through adrenal exhaustion, another critical step is ensuring that the appropriate supplements are used together with supportive herbs. Supplements may be used to ensure that you get the vitamins and minerals your adrenal glands require to function well.

For a more active, vibrant existence, herbs, spices, and essential oils may assist to support adrenal exhaustion, while some herbs, spices, and essential oils are beneficial for fighting tiredness.

Research indicates that adaptogen herbs such as ashwagandha, rhodiola rosea, schisandra, and holy basil may aid to decrease cortisol levels and assist in the regulation of stress reactions in the body. To relieve some of the pressure on your adrenal glands, you may use these herbs in meal preparation.

Vitamin C is referred to be a stress-busting nutrient. Studies show that it helps the body deal with stress as well as recover from stressful situations faster.

A Guide To Healing Adrenal Fatigue With Emoting And Herbs

Adrenal Fatigue Diet Do
  • Secrets To Health
  • Your adrenals are small glands that sit on top of your kidneys, much like ice cream atop a sugar cone. At first glance, they might look like two old, hump-backed men, their backs to the camera, crouched over a table playing chess. Found within your endocrine system and comprised of two parts, the adrenal cortex, and inner adrenal medulla, these glands look similar to brains, which is probably the best metaphor.

    Your adrenals fuel and run your bodys operations by producing then releasing hormones into your bloodstream, without which, youd soon expire. Here are your bodys essential hormones that your adrenals produce:

    • Adrenaline: also known as epinephrine, is both a hormone and a medication. In partnership with noradrenaline, it helps you prepare your fight or flight responses.
    • Aldosterone: a steroid hormone that helps you conserve sodium in your kidney, salivary glands, sweat glands, and colon.

    Without these musketeers, youd find it difficult to think, move, or breathe. This triune of energy and life are vital to remaining alive. When our adrenal glands are out of balance, they can fall into patterns considered to be adrenal gland disorders. Our bodies find it difficult to break out of these types of patterns.

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    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.

    Increase Your Stress Tolerance

    Though stress doesnt fatigue your adrenal glands, it does have documented effects on your mental wellness, memory, immune system, digestion, sleep, and hormones, and can absolutely cause fatigue .

    Adaptogens are herbs that help your body tolerate stress better and support good energy levels. Rhodiola , Eleuthero , and Ginseng have been shown to help reduce fatigue, stress, and exhaustion . Licorice root is commonly recommended to help with fatigue, but there is virtually no research to confirm this.

    Lifestyle changes to increase your sleep, and to manage your stress can help you feel less overwhelmed and fatigued by day-to-day stress. Going to bed early, handling sleep problems like sleep apnea, and practicing stress reduction activities like yoga, meditation, exercise, and time in nature can help too.

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    The Connection Between Adrenal Fatigue And Fibromyalgia

    Cortisol, your main stress hormone, serves as your bodys primary anti-inflammatory function. Your adrenal glands produce that cortisol. If the adrenals are taxed, and you cannot produce adequate anti-inflammatory cortisol, you will be overly inflamed.

    It creates tremendous wear and tear in the body. And we know that cortisol and adrenaline will hit nerves throughout the body, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, throughout the body, and it sensitizes those nerves, it makes them trigger happy.

    People with Adrenal Fatigue develop chronic fatigue, chronic pain, or both.

    If this continues to occur over time, people with Adrenal Fatigue over time will develop chronic pain, chronic fatigue for others, and both for many.

    For those with chronic pain, its sometimes significant enough to be diagnosed as Fibromyalgia. The official diagnosis is important for research and studies. The diagnosis is also important for insurance and medical coding, so doctors can get paid.

    But while the word Fibromyalgia acknowledges your pain, why is it that cant doctors tell you what this pain is from? A simple diagnosis code doesnt really speak to the root cause.

    What Are Mental And Emotional Stressors

    How to heal adrenal fatigue by working with stress organs

    Research tells us what causes a stress response. The stress response happens when peoples lives are disrupted. It does not matter if it is physical, like a car accident or emotional, like the death of a loved one. Stress is stress no matter what the cause. Constant stress that is has bad health effects. Your healthy stress responses become unregulated and exhausted. And, sometimes, they fail altogether.

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    What Is Adrenal Fatigue & What Causes It

    Your adrenals are two glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They help regulate nearly every hormone in your body, one of which is cortisol, the stress hormone. When you undergo a period of heightened stress, your adrenals can potentially become too overwhelmed to properly regulate your hormones, including cortisol. This causes what is known as adrenal fatigue.

    The Mayo Clinic reports that chronic, long-term stress is the most likely cause of adrenal fatigue. Other potential causes of adrenal fatigue may include:

    • Chronic stress the most likely cause
    • Surgery, trauma, or injury
    • Muscle weakness
    • Suppressed immune system, noticing you get sick more often

    Note: Some people dont medically recognize adrenal fatigue, but they do recognize adrenal insufficiency, or Addisons Disease. Addisons Disease is a long-term endocrine disorder where your adrenals dont produce enough hormones. Some medical professionals view adrenal fatigue as a milder, more temporary form of Addisons Disease.

    Eat Lots Of Good Fats

    Enjoy healthy saturated fats from coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee, pasteurized egg yolks, and grass-fed meats. You can also enjoy monounsaturated fats from virgin olive oil and avocado. Healthy fats are a good source of long-burning oil which keeps your blood sugar level in check. It is also important to strictly limit seeds and nuts because the anti-nutrients and fatty acid profile impair digestion and thyroid function. Avoid plant oils such as sunflower oil, canola oil and grape seed oil.

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    How Is Adrenal Fatigue Treated

    Your alternative health practitioner may treat adrenal fatigue by recommending that you quit alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and cigarettes, eat certain foods, exercise more and get more sleep. All of this advice should make you feel better.

    Some practitioners may recommend you take supplements and vitamins for adrenal fatigue. Always check with your doctor before you take supplements in case they are harmful for you or might react with your other medicines.

    If you have unexplained fatigue or exhaustion that doesnt go away, see your doctor. Your doctor will probably ask you about your symptoms and run some tests to rule out other health problems. Treating an underlying issue, such as iron deficiency or a low thyroid level, can help reverse fatigue.

    Eat These 6 Things To Boost Adrenal Health

    How To Manage The Effects Of Adrenal Fatigue

    This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you start by focusing on these six areas, youll be well on your way to better adrenal health.

  • Lean, high quality protein. Protein is essential in supporting your adrenal glands. But the type of protein you choose matters! Dont rely on processed nut butters filled with sugar or cheap cuts of meat laden with fats and chemicals from the way the animals are fed. Instead, focus on high quality protein such as organic turkey , grass fed beef, wild caught seafood, nuts, beans, seeds, and eggs. Organ meats, in particular, are great for supporting adrenal health. Though far less commonly consumed than muscle meats, organ meats are full of essential nutrients, such as vitamin B12, zinc, and vitamin D.
  • Carbohydrates. So many people think that carbs are the enemy but you need carbohydrates as part of a healthy, balanced diet. When your adrenals are out of whack, however, it is best to limit carbs to 66 grams per day, eat them with healthy fats and proteins instead of on their own, and avoid anything processed.Great complex carb choices include fresh fruit, legumes, wild rice and quinoa .
  • Oysters. Like organ meats, oysters can be an acquired taste. But theyre packed with zinc, which your body needs to help balance neurotransmitters and adapt to stress more easily. Theyre also a great source of vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
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