Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue is a term which is used often in the functional health world, but which still meets with skepticism in the allopathic medical world. There seems to be a lack of evidence to show a specific adrenal disease of disfunction beyond the life-threatening adrenal failure associated with Addisons’s Disease. Nonetheless, thousands of people have experienced profound exhaustion which was eventually helped through support of the adrenal glands. I am one of those people.

The adrenals do not need to be in complete failure for a person to experience the syndrome which has been loosely named “Adrenal Fatigue.” In fact, when a body is stressed, the adrenals may be in one of several states of stress, some of which include excess output of the adrenal hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This is actually an opposite state to Adrenal Failure (Addison’s Disease) where the adrenals have ceased to function or put out these hormones at all. At a later stage in Adrenal Fatigue, the body has a difficult time regulating electrolytes in the body, and electrolytes are lost in the urine, and then the body struggles to make cortisol and adrenaline in smooth patterns each day.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms which as a collective have been termed Adrenal Fatigue:

• Persistent tiredness
• Fatigue during exercise, or “paying for it” the next day
• Sleeplessness, or trouble falling or staying asleep
• Feeling unrefreshed by sleep
• Weight gain, specifically around belly (high cortisol stage)
• Inability to gain or lose weight (low cortisol stage)
• Crave foods high in salt and/or sugar (signaling electrolyte loss, and relying on easy carbs for energy)
• Body aches, especially joints
• Low blood pressure/lightheadedness/blacking out (sign of electrolyte loss and possibly blood sugar lows)
• Difficulty regulating blood sugar, nausea

Adrenals and Sex Hormones

In addition to a stressed state affecting the management of stress hormones, other hormones such as the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone may be negatively affected because of stress. Some practitioners note that these are the hormones of fertility, and it is hardwired into the female body to downregulate fertility when experiencing stress as a way to protect future infants from threatening environments, but the reality is that we as women rely on these three sex hormones to feel optimal at every stage of our lives! Figuring out our stress responses and optimally supporting our adrenals bolsters our wellbeing.

Pregnenolone and DHEA are two precursor hormones which are made by the adrenals and then converted into sex hormones as well as cortisol. These hormones are made from circulating cholesterol in the body. DHEA production generally is at its height around age 20, and decreases slowly after that time. Although other glands in the body, such as the ovaries and testes, do impact hormone balance, the adrenals play a major role in sex hormone creation from infancy through old age.

Thriving adrenals set us up for smoother puberty and menopause changes and undergird our fertility. Knowing how to support them is important for everyone at any age!

Adrenal Support for Healthy Adrenals

So how can we support our adrenals? Here is a list of things which adrenals love:

Restful sleep, and lots of it (11-13 hours in childhood, 9-11 hours for teens, 7-9 hours for adults)

Saturated fats, especially ones which contain fat soluable vitmains A, D, K: egg yolks, beef with the fat, beef liver, fatty fish, fish organs/roe, grassfed butter, cream, whole raw milk. Many of these foods also contain B vitamins. (Please note I do not ever recommend synthetic D3 supplementation.)

Vitamin C, but not the isolated ascorbic acid, which leaves a good deal of nutrition behind, including hormone loving copper. Instead, look for whole foods which are high in vitamin C, or supplements based on these whole foods: many fruits such as citrus fruits/juices, kiwi, cherries, peppers, kale, broccoli, acerola cherry, camu camu, plums.

Electrolytes, especially sodium chloride and magnesium chloride. Potassium is also vital as an electrolyte, and is needed to utilize sodium and magnesium for making cellular energy. However, if you suspect you have adrenal fatigue you will want to keep an eye to raising potassium only as you raise sodium; if your blood pressure is low, increasing your ratio of potassium to sodium will worsen this. On the other hand if your blood pressure tends to be high, you will want to watch to make sure you do not raise your sodium higher than potassium, and adding a bit more potassium while onboarding both will likely work to balance your blood pressure. (If you are on medication, always check in with your practitioner before making changes.)

Trace Minerals, which can be taken with electrolytes and vitamin C in an Adrenal Cocktail.

Stress Release, or finding ways to manage stress in your lifestyle. This includes sleep, but also should be bolstered by habits such as: walking barefoot on the earth (or by the ocean or a lake), walking in general in nature, being outside to soak up the light rays at sunrise and sunset (it’s ok if it is cloudy, the light still penetrates), red light therapy, breathing exercises such as Wim Hof, talking with a friend, prayer or talking to God, journaling, meditation on uplifting ideas such as reading or memorizing scripture, laughing and scheduling silly times with loved ones, singing especially singing with abandon, smelling essential oils which calm the mind, hugging and other forms of extended touch with loved ones, enjoyment of beautiful things, processing grief within supportive community. Wow, this kind of sounds like a vacation from modern life, so it is our challenge to work these activities into our life, find/build community which also values this lifestyle, and turn away from the fast-paced frenzy which is all around us. Note that all of the above are also excellent for mental health.

Adrenal Cocktail, which is a drink to be taken in the morning, with a second one optionally taken in the early afternoon. It supplies vitamin C, electrolytes, and trace minerals. I usually recommend it as the first step in supporting the adrenals, since we need these nutrients to begin making cellular energy. Without enough cellular energy we feel sluggish, but also nothing is going to improve, heal, or cleanse unless we have the energy to do those processes!

SuperFood Adrenal Cocktail Recipe

2 oz Ningxia Red (supplying 417mg potassium, trace minerals, some whole food vitamin C, B1, and high amounts of antioxidants which stabilize blood sugar)
1/4 tsp fine-ground, raw salt (look for a non-bleached salt such as himalayan, celtic, Redmond’s Real Salt, which supplies about 460mg sodium, plus other electrolytes and trace minerals)
1 dropper of YL Mineral Essence, supplying magnesium chloride, trace minerals, and nourishing royal jelly
1/8 tsp acerola cherry powder (about 70mg vitamin C) OR a food based vitamin C supplement such as YL Super C Chewable

Please onboard this recipe slowly: start with a half dose and increase slowly over several days so you do not develop edema or gastrointestinal issues.

For other recipes for making an adrenal cocktail, see this page.

For links to supplements, please see Best Bets.

Misguided Support

I decided to include a section on misguided support, because I personally experienced “natural mono-therapies” (meaning nutrients which are naturally derived BUT divorced from their cofactors). Basically trying to use isolated nutrients like medications. I experienced years of boosts then crashes as my body was not receiving enough of the deep nutrition it needed, and was being stimulated by high levels of these nutrients:
High-dose B vitamins (synthetic or high-dose isolations)
Magnesium Citrate (which is very acidic, breaking down copper proteins over time. Many women with AF end up anemic or with fibromyalgia after years of copper damage.)
Ascorbic acid, isolated and high-dose (it does the same type of damage over time as Magnesium Citrate and Citric Acid)
Adaptogenic herbs (which are wonderful for the adrenals, but only if there is already enough nutrition, ie Adrenal Cocktail, on board so they can function)
Allergy testing (Discovering the foods your body thrives on can be fantastic for your long term health, however, far too much importance has been placed on testing for food allergens. The IgG allergens are transitory, meaning that after 6 weeks of avoiding reactive foods, the entire test is invalid. If a test brings up many food reactions, this is more likely a reflection of the state of the gut lining, not a long term prediction of incompatible foods. Too often I see people put 90% of their energy into avoiding specific foods, to the detriment of the things they could do to truly lower stress and heal. And then the restrictions on the diet turn into long-term obsessions which are by that time completely invalid, not to mention that eating becomes so difficult that food alone becomes a stress rather than a healing therapy. I’ve had many tests, and read many tests for others, and I no longer recommend them as a general need for good health. There are better ways to discover what foods are best for you.)

If you’ve been using a combination of the above without getting truly well (still having crashes), then read on for my best recommendations for fully supporting the adrenals, both “stressed” and “exhausted.”

Adrenal Support for Stressed Adrenals

If you believe you are now experiencing stressed adrenals (belly fat weight gain, more anxious feelings, more struggle to sleep, little stressors now feel like a big deal), you’ll want to kick it up a notch by adding the following:

Adrenal Cocktail (see above) daily to create cellular energy.

Magnesium: malate form in the morning, glycinate form in the evening. Magnesium Chloride is an excellent form at any time, but you will need to onboard this slowly to avoid getting the runs. Magnesium chloride is very well absorbed through a hot bath (or tepid foot bath if you cannot bathe); look for a product called magnesium flakes by Ancient Minerals.

Cortistop (Young Living) will lower cortisol, which can assist falling asleep or staying asleep if taken before bed, while also supplying pregnenolone and DHEA to support creating sex hormones, and supportive herbs. This is contraindicated during pregnancy.

Apply Endoflex essential oil over adrenal area daily, then inhale this blend from your palms. This is an adaptogenic blend, and helps the adrenals to feel less stressed. You may also benefit from inhaling Lavender, Frankincense, or any other essential oil which helps you feel grounded and centered rather than chaotic; tree oils like Idaho Grand Fir or Cedarwood are good choices. Keep the bottle in your pocket and inhale it throughout the day with a breathing practice.

Beef Liver in capsules, since this is a superfood with the highest amount of retinol (true vitamin A, which the adrenals love so much). It is also a fantastic source for copper, other trace minerals, iron if you are anemic, and many be vitamins. I consider Beef liver to be nature’s multivitamin. Thank goodness we can get it in capsules.

Protein at every meal, and every snack. Don’t specifically look for low fat versions of protein, the fat is also helpful (remember your adrenals need the saturated fats). This helps to stabilize blood sugar swings, and lets your body know that it has enough calories and nutrition to survive in a stressful world. This will also help you avoid the 4am wake-up from crashing blood sugar.

Weight lifting and walking instead of cardio, which raises cortisol.

Remember, you will need to change lifestyle to actually be less stressful, so look back at the suggestions under Adrenal Support for Healthy Adrenals.

Adrenal Support for Exhausted Adrenals

If a person is in severe adrenal fatigue (can’t make enough cortisol, feels drugged until 10am, struggles to gain or lose weight, often lightheaded/blackouts, low blood pressure, loss of humor, feels numb to the joys of life, feels exhausted just thinking about tasks), they will need a different protocol than those with high cortisol. It is important that they do not take supplements such as CortiStop which contains phosphatidylserine which very effectively lowers cortisol. Instead, they may find help with the following:

Adrenal Cocktail (see above) daily to create cellular energy. Work up to taking 2-3 of these per day. That extra Ningxia Red will help to nourish and stabilize blood sugar. The sodium will help to gently stabilize blood pressure.

Magnesium: malate form in the morning, glycinate form in the evening. Magnesium Chloride is an excellent form at any time, but you will need to onboard this slowly to avoid getting the runs. Magnesium chloride is very well absorbed through a hot bath (or tepid foot bath if you cannot bathe); look for a product called magnesium flakes by Ancient Minerals.

Apply Endoflex essential oil over adrenal area daily, then inhale this blend from your palms. This is an adaptogenic blend, and helps the adrenals to feel less stressed. You may also benefit from inhaling En R Gee, Frankincense, Valor, or any other essential oil which helps you feel grounded and strong. If you feel particularly weak, you can put a drop of Nutmeg under your tongue, which is an analog to cortisol.

Beef Liver in capsules, since this is a superfood with the highest amount of retinol (true vitamin A, which the adrenals love so much). It is also a fantastic source for copper, other trace minerals, iron if you are anemic, and many B vitamins. I consider Beef liver to be nature’s multivitamin. Thank goodness we can get it in capsules. Enviromedica is my favorite brand, although I’ve seen good success with most brands out there if it is grass-fed, un-defatted, freeze dried beef liver.

Protein at every meal, and every snack. Don’t specifically look for low fat versions of protein, the fat is also helpful (remember your adrenals need the saturated fats). This helps to stabilize blood sugar swings, and lets your body know that it has enough calories and nutrition to survive in a stressful world. This will also help you avoid the 4am wake-up from crashing blood sugar.

Adrenal glandular, such as found in YL Thyromin. This can help the body repair stressed tissue.

Deep Night Essence or diffuse at night or whatever it takes to support better sleep

Walking instead of cardio, which is exhausting.

See the Dawn and sunset

No blue lights past 8pm (blue blockers would be ideal)

Aim for 9 hours of sleep.

Laugh on purpose (even if you don’t feel like it) and do fun things on purpose (they won’t feel like fun is fun…do it anyway)

Release emotions and past traumas using a combo of self talk, counseling, talking to a friend, scheduling “fun”, diffusing EOs while sleeping, applying Joy or Frankincense over heart or Stress Away on shoulders, meditation (not emptying mind but focusing on something positive like an uplifting scripture), crying as needed, going for walks (no strenuous exercise when adrenally compromised), stretching or low impact exercise, lymphatic movement, scheduling times in nature, near infrared sauna light in winter, changing thoughts like “I’m tired” or “I’ll always be sick” to “I trust my body” “I’m taking good care of myself” “I’m worth taking care of” and “I’m doing the work to support myself.”

A Few More Stressors to Consider

Occasionally, a person finds that their body keeps running into a stressor which blocks them from regaining their energy. So much energy is expended with managing this stressor that they can’t rebound. Addressing the stressor, and removing it, then allows them the energy to heal.

Below are some of these types of stressors to be mindful of and avoid or remove as able:

Reduce xenoestrogen exposures, including in your personal care products and home products

Parasites are a drain on the body. These can include intestinal parasites but also liver, etc. Farmers regularly deworm their animals to keep them healthy; we need to consider this for ourselves as well. Diotomacious earth is a good first step in this process; herbals and intestinal fiber such a psyllium husk are excellent as well.

EMF and blue light are modern stressors. Check to make sure you are removed from all lights and electrical devices when sleeping.

Reduce exposure to toxic people

Drink purified water, make sure fluoride is removed, add back in minerals which the filtering process removed

Avoid foods cooked in plastics

Heavy metals can lower energy in exposed individuals