Feeling tired all the time? You may have "adrenal fatigue."

What is adrenal fatigue? It has been a trendy term as of late that implies that your adrenal glands are exhausted and can no longer perform properly. Your adrenal glands are tiny triangle shaped organs that sit on top of your kidneys. Why are the adrenal glands so important? Because they are essential to many important functions for your everyday life.

Your adrenal glands produce hormones that help your body regulate stress. These hormones are epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine, and cortisol. Epinephrine and Norepinephrine are involved with your “fight-or-flight” response. This is the same response that kicks your rear into gear if you were being chased by a bear. It is a quick surge of adrenaline to get you the energy you need to survive.

Another stress hormone the adrenals are responsible for secreting is cortisol. This takes a few minutes to release as opposed to seconds like epinephrine and norepinephrine. Your body reacts by increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar while simultaneously shutting down your digestive and reproductive systems.  This is all great for when you are being chased by a bear, but not so great on a daily basis, let alone several times a day, which is what can happen when you are under chronic stress.

And stress can come in many forms. Whether this is the stress of work demands, children, health obstacles, illness, intense workouts, etc., most people are bombarded with tons of different stressors every day. The more stress you are under, the more cortisol you will produce. This eats up a lot the nutrients meant to nourish the other parts of the body because survival is #1 priority.

In fact, chronic elevated cortisol levels are responsible for a lot of undesirable symptoms such as trouble falling or staying asleep, increased blood pressure and blood sugar, anxiety, digestive problems, weight gain, and compromising your immune system. It can also lead to something called cortisol resistance.

Cortisol resistance happens when your body decreases its sensitivity to cortisol to protect itself from the harmful effects of too much. Unfortunately, this can end up causing low cortisol over time. And what is the problem with low cortisol?  A lot. Low cortisol is responsible for symptoms such as chronic fatigue, loss of vitality, sugar and salt cravings, inflammation, mood swings, and brain fog. This is what people are referring to when they talk about “adrenal fatigue.”

Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to remedy cortisol problems:

·      Eating a low carb, low sugar, nutrient-dense diet will provide your body the fuel it needs to handle the daily stressors of life.

·      Daily physical activity will also combat the harmful effects of stress, produce endorphins, and improve other important health markers.

·      Incorporating breathwork on a daily basis can hit the “reset” button on your stress response and restore a sense of calm.

·      Cut out the caffeine.  Caffeine only enhances cortisol and although it may provide short-term energy relief, it can be detrimental in the long run.

·      Using adaptagens to help nourish the adrenal glands. Adaptagens are a select group of herbs or mushrooms that support the body’s natural ability to deal with stress.

 If you are finding that your symptoms have not subsided after implementing the above solutions you can always work with a functional health practitioner who can help you identify the stressors that are negatively impacting your adrenal health.

This is a big part of the work I do with all of my clients since it is often the root cause of many symptoms and dysfunction. If you’d like to learn more, you can book a free 20 minute consultation with me to discuss what plan is best for you.