Are You Suffering From Adrenal Fatigue?

You may have heard the term “adrenal fatigue” as it is slowly gaining popularity in the media, but what is it? How can we fix our adrenals? Today we will briefly be discussing just that!

The purpose of the adrenal glands is to respond to stressors. This includes all types of stress whether it be physical, emotional, or environmental. The adrenals enable your body to deal with stressors ranging from the common cold to relationship problems. Your energy, endurance, vitality, and your very life depend all on well-functioning adrenals.

Underactive adrenals can be labeled as “adrenal fatigue”. While not generally considered a life-threatening medical emergency by conventional doctors, there are still a handful of side effects that can significantly decrease quality of life. It is often caused by an excess of stress over a period of time. Stress can be cumulative, and everybody has a different tolerance to stress.

Some of the symptoms include generalized extreme fatigue (despite adequate sleep), general feeling of unwellness, eyes that are sensitive to light, fluctuating blood pressure (often too low), mood swings, suppressed immune system, weight gain, excessive perspiration, prone to crying, and emotional upset causing complete exhaustion, the list could go on and on. However, if that list sounds like you, the good news is with proper guidance and nutrition the adrenals can be repaired to a highly functioning state. You may want to try some of these suggestions:

• Remove caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

• Make sure you are getting adequate sleep. The more sleep the better.

• Talk to a nutritionist or naturopath about trying restorative supplements like ashwagandha, rhodiola or acerola cherry for adrenal health.

• Exercise! The key here is balance as both over and under exertion can act as a stressor. Moderate exercise like walking, swimming and biking would be beneficial choice.

• Limit or remove dairy, processed foods, white sugars, artificial sweeteners, and fried foods. Swap them out for a diet filled with fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats and lean protein.

• Add adequate salt into your diet. Sprinkle it on top of your food and add a pinch or two into your water for proper hydration. (Notice I said salt not sodium! This means it is coming from pink Himalayan salt or natural sea salt!)

• Stay hydrated. Aim to drink 1.5-2L of water a day.

• Focus changing your attitude and having a positive disposition on life!

Adrenal fatigue may sometimes be scary, but restoration is possible with a little time and dedication to healing. It is a condition far more common than you may think, you are not alone! Once again, my biggest recommendation is taking guidance from a professional (a nutritionist or naturopath) and educating yourself on adrenal health. One of my favorite resources for all things adrenal health is the book “Adrenal Fatigue – The 21st Century Stress Syndrome” by James L. Wilson. It is an easy yet informative read. I have also recently uploaded a full length podcast episode on adrenal health. It is the vastly extended version of this blog post, you will find it at The Holistically You Podcast episode #15. It is posted wherever you may listen to your podcasts, hopefully the episode can act as a beneficial resource as well. Please contact me or book an appointment if you would like more information on this important topic and remember healing is possible.

In Wellness,

Jill Jackson, CNP, NNCP