Adrenal Fatigue: What It Is and How to Heal From It

cochranmorg

Jul 27

3 min read

Role of the Adrenal Glands

The adrenal glands play a vital role in helping the body manage stress and maintain overall health. They release precise amounts of steroid hormones that affect various physiological processes, such as carbohydrate and fat utilization, energy conversion, fat distribution, blood sugar regulation, and more. These hormones also influence physical, emotional, and psychological aspects, including sex drive and weight management.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Since the adrenal glands are intended to be acutely responsive to changes in the ambient or internal environment, any number of factors can interfere with the intricately-tuned balance of adrenal hormones. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands struggle to maintain hormonal balance in response to stressors. Factors such as cumulative physical, emotional, and psychological stress can lead to a state of hypoadrenia, where adrenal hormones, especially cortisol and aldosterone, decrease rather than increase.

Who Suffers from Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue can affect individuals who lack sufficient rest, constantly push themselves, experience chronic stress, or have undergone trauma or illness. It is prevalent across various demographics and can manifest through symptoms such as fatigue, salt cravings, lethargy, decreased sex drive, and more.

Signs and Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

While no single symptom is definitive, a combination of three or more suggests the likelihood of adrenal fatigue.

Continued fatigue not relieved by sleep
Craving for salt or salty foods
Lethargy
Easily fatigued
Decreased sex drive
Decreased ability to handle sex
Increased recovery time from illness, injury, or trauma
Less enjoyment or happiness with life
Mild depression
Increased PMS
Symptoms increase if meals are skipped or inadequate
Thoughts less focused, more fuzzy
Light-headed when standing up quickly
Memory less accurate
Decreased tolerance (more irritable)
Difficulty getting up in the morning
Afternoon low between 3-4:00pm
Feel better after evening meal
Decreased productivity
Increased effort to do every day tasks
Hypoglycemia

How To Heal From Adrenal Fatigue

Recovery from adrenal fatigue involves both lifestyle changes and nutritional support.

Lifestyle Changes

Avoid Adrenal Stimulators: It is important to avoid certain foods and chemicals in order to avoid excessive stress on the adrenal glands. To normalize the adrenals, not only is nutritional support required, but the removal of stimulants and sources of adrenal stress need to be eliminated as well. Patients who do not avoid stimulators will have minimal results. When attempting to normalize adrenal function, seek to avoid the following: concentrated sugars, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, allergic foods (histamine is an adrenal stimulant), partially hydrogenated fats (inhibit steroid hormone synthesis), artificial sweeteners, overtraining, inadequate sleep.
Stabilize Glucose Levels: Stabilizing blood glucose is crucial for effective adrenal correction. Particularly concerning are patients with reactive hypoglycemia symptoms, such as irritability before meals, shakiness when meals are missed, and fatigue relief through eating. Healthy adrenals restore blood sugar levels, but without alleviating adrenal stress, rebuilding is hindered. Besides providing adrenal nutrition, addressing dietary guidelines is essential for day-long blood sugar stability.
- Do not skip breakfast
- Eat a high quality protein-based breakfast
- Eat every 3 or so hours. Do not wait until you are hungry.
- Snack with low-glycemic foods such as nuts, seeds, hard-boiled eggs, etc.
- Avoid fruit and carrot juices
- Never consume high glycemic fruits (foods) without a source of protein
- Eat a well-balanced diet of mostly vegetables, quality grains, and lean meats
Exercise in the Aerobic Heart Range: Patients with hyperadrenia (high cortisol) or hypoadrenia (low cortisol) should prioritize aerobic exercise within the heart rate range. Unlike anaerobic exercises (e.g., weight lifting, sprinting) that stress the adrenals by relying on sugar burning, aerobic activities (e.g., walking, slow jogging) use the fatty acid system, reducing cortisol levels and avoiding additional stress on the adrenal glands to normalize blood-sugar levels during and after the workout.
Relaxation Techniques: Simple and quick relaxation and mental imaging techniques can be very helpful in reducing the mental effects of stress on patients with adrenal stress syndrome.

Nutritional Support

Corticosteroids are synthetic cortisol, serving to replace the natural hormone. However, upon entering the body, they suppress adrenal function, shutting down all hormones secreted by the adrenals.

Cell extracts are not replacement hormones, but contain all the components of the adrenal cell in the proportions in which they naturally occur. This means they contain only a tiny amount of the actual hormone. Their action supports, fortifies, and restores normal adrenal function, enhancing adrenal activity rather than suppressing it. These extracts rarely have side effects and have been used orally and as injectables since the end of WWI.