What is Adrenal Fatigue

Before we dive into adrenal fatigue. Let’s start out on where the adrenal glands are located. They sit right top of your kidneys.

They produce serval hormones: cortisol, aldosterone, androgen, epinephrine and norepinephrine. Most of these hormones regulate your stress levels, blood pressure and sex hormones.

Adrenal fatigue is when your glands cannot function properly that prevents this small but might organ to function properly and regulate our hormones.

What Causes Adrenal Fatigue

Prolonged stress. Simple as that. Be aware that stress can cause many other health issues as well. 

What health issues are related to adrenals

1. Fatigue
2. Sleeping Issues
3. Weight Gain
4. Lack of Focus
5. Reduce Immune Function (Getting sick more often)

What Are Some Home Remedies For Adrenals?

1. Fix Your Diet - Eliminate caffeine, sugar hydrogenated oils (vegetable oil found in processed food).

Adrenal friendly foods - coconut products, olives, raw dairy, organic meats, vegetables and seaweed. 

2. Sleep - Get quality sleep

3. Stress - Identify your stress source. Recognize the issue and take steps to reduce the stress levels.

4. Exercise - Can’t get quality sleep? You need to move your body. Probably a bit more than you’re used to. It may help you reset your sleep pattern and get back into a health cycle. 

5. Yoga / Meditation - Some people shun this. A lot of studies shows it helps with reducing stress levels. Give it a try!

6. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) - Important for adrenal gland function. And probably why the gland itself is great as a vitamin source for people who eat organ meat. Dr. Janelle Sinclair (See reference section for video) suggests 250 - 500 mg per day. 

7. Vitamin C - Like Vitamin B5 is essential for adrenal hormone production. And a potential antioxidant. Dr. Sinclair recommends 2000 - 5000 mg per day. 

Dr. Weston Price in his book, “Nutritional and Physical Degeneration”, observed North American Indian eating adrenal glands for its Vitamin C content that prevented them from getting scurvy while living close to the frozen tundra. 

8. Adrenal glandular supplements - They help rebuild the adrenal glands. Make sure you use a clean source.

9. Phosphatidylserine - Helps with sleep and anxiety especially those with high cortisol levels at night. Dr. Sinclair recommends 200 - 300mg taken 30 minutes before bed. Phosphatidylserine helps with cell signaling, memory & attention function and numerous other physiological activities. 

The best natural source is liver. If you aren’t keen to eat liver, you can always take a beef liver capsule. Or try other sources such as fish or meat.

What supplements are great for Adrenal support?

Herbs like ashwagandha, holy basil, licorice root, and ginseng, which help the body adapt to stress. In addition to Vitamin B, magnesium, vitamin D and selenium.

Liver meat is one of the nest natural sources for the Vitamin B complex. 

What Can You Do To Maintain Adrenal Health?

Lifestyle changes is the best way to maintain adrenal health.

1. Reduce stress, 
2. Adopting a positive attitude, 
3. Adequate rest, 
4. Engaging in enjoyable activities
5. Appropriate diet

Bonus: How to Test Your Adrenals

1. Ragland's Test: Measure blood pressure while lying down and then immediately upon standing up. Adrenal fatigue may cause the blood pressure to either decrease or increase significantly upon standing.

2. Iris Test: Shine a light into one eye and observe the pupil's response. In cases of adrenal weakness, the pupil may have difficulty maintaining constriction or may exhibit abnormal movements.

3. Hold Your Breath: Hold your breath and see how long you can comfortably do so. Weaker adrenal glands may result in a shorter breath-holding time.

4. Recovery After Exercise: Observe how well you recover after exercising. Adrenal fatigue cases may experience slower recovery and elevated pulse rate.

5. Ability to Tolerate Stress: Evaluate your ability to handle stress without becoming irritable or overwhelmed. Difficulty tolerating stress can indicate adrenal fatigue.

6. Ability to Go Up Inclines: Assess how well you handle activities involving inclines or exertion. Adrenal fatigue may make inclines challenging and cause dizziness or fainting upon standing up.

7. Ability to Sleep All Night: Monitor your sleep pattern, specifically if you wake up around 2 a.m. or have trouble sleeping through the night. Cortisol levels and adrenal function may influence sleep disruptions.

Sources:

Dr. Janelle Sinclair 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UieAJ_Wy8

Dr. Eric Berg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvBi5A6iS9I