In a fast paced world where we are tied to every form of computer communication available such as e-mail, cellphones, or laptops, we are submitted to stress. Most people's bodies have the ability to recover from long periods of stress and fatigue without any adverse effects. Although not recognised by the medical community as a disease, millions of people are being diagnosed by alternative medicine specialists with a syndrome known as Adrenal Fatigue.
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
The onset of adrenal fatigue is often associated with long periods of emotional and/or physical stress that has been placed on the body. When our bodies become stressed our adrenal glands are responsible for keeping our endocrine system working smoothly and balancing the effects of stress.
The adrenal glands are responsible for balancing cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone. When the body is subjected to long periods of stress our adrenal glands are unable to keep these hormones regulated properly, causing them to begin to function poorly causing an adrenal imbalance.
What are the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?
Perhaps one of the reasons that adrenal fatigue is dismissed is that its symptoms are vague and can be signs of other medical issues. Many people who are suffering from an adrenal imbalance report that they feel tired all of the time. This fatigue feels unnatural to them and some people have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. They may feel easily overwhelmed by stress, or have a general feeling of being rundown or experience burnout. Another common symptom of people suffering from an adrenal imbalance is that they feel like they are more alert and awake at night. This can sometimes be aggravated by a need for caffeine to make it throughout the day.
Adrenal fatigue can often make people feel as if they are unrested despite an adequate sleep schedule. There are some people with adrenal fatigue that find it difficult to get more than seven hours of sleep.
In addition to sleep related symptoms, sufferers of adrenal fatigue may also crave salt and sweet foods. An adrenal imbalance can cause symptoms which lead to extreme health issues such as Addison's Disease (low cortisol) and Cushings Disease (high cortisol).
Help for Adrenal Fatigue sufferers
For the millions of people who have been suffering from adrenal fatigue there is hope. There are many alternative therapies that can be used to try to combat adrenal insufficiency by reducing stress, getting adequate sleep, making dietary changes, and monitoring hormonal levels. It is recommended to speak with your personal care physician about your symptoms so that they can run any necessary tests to treat this syndrome and/or rule out other possibilities. Treatment for adrenal fatigue is relatively simple.
Lifestyle modifications can be initiated to treat this condition. Simple changes such as more laughter (increases the parasympathetic supply to the adrenals), small breaks to lie down, increased relaxation, regular meals, exercise (avoiding any highly competitive events), early bedtimes and sleeping in late whenever possible can all benefit those experiencing adrenal fatigue. A diet that would be conducive to treating adrenal fatigue includes one that combines unrefined carbohydrates (whole grains) with protein and oils (nuts and seeds) at most meals-olive, walnut, fiber, flax and high-quality fish oil.
It is also important for patients to eat regular meals, and chew food well. Patients should look to avoid any hydrogenated fats, caffeine, chocolate, white carbohydrates, and junk foods. Diets should have a heavy emphasis on vegetables. It may be of additional benefit that patients add salt to their diet, especially upon rising and at least a half-hour before their lowest energy point of the day. The addition of nutritional supplements may also offer additional benefits to patients experiencing adrenal fatigue. Some herbal remedies that have been noted as possible therapies include licorice, ashwagandha, maca, Siberian ginseng, Korean ginseng.