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If you've been looking for ways to treat adrenal fatigue, there are some natural things you can do. Some people may have symptoms of adrenal fatigue and go to their doctors to get tested for adrenal insufficiency or Addison's disease.
When blood tests don't confirm an actual disease, they may get told their adrenal function is normal. That leaves many people feeling frustrated because they can tell something doesn't feel right.
Adrenal fatigue can present itself in different ways. Some people have difficulty stabilizing their blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Some may think it is a thyroid problem because they have chronic fatigue and brain fog. A doctor may even refer you to an endocrinologist to make sure there's not an adrenal dysfunction.
If you have experienced any of these symptoms of adrenal fatigue, you are not alone. Let's look at some natural things you can do to help your adrenal glands function properly and help you have the energy levels needed to feel your best.
Relaxation may not seem like something that would affect your adrenal function, but many of us live with chronic stress. When that happens, our cortisol levels skyrocket and can tax our adrenal glands. That can lead to weight gain and an unhealthy immune system. Relaxation techniques reduce many health issues because it keeps our stress response out of that fight or flight mode, and keeps our cortisol levels down.
Daily stressors can't always be avoided, but we change how we react to them. Learning to stay calm and relaxed during stressful situations can help alleviate high blood pressure and promote overall wellness.
There are many natural ways to relax. Some people find meditation helpful. If that's not something you enjoy, a warm bath with some essential oils and Epsom salts can be very soothing. Some functional medicine doctors recommend deep breathing to help maintain healthy stress levels.
With the Standard American Diet, many of us eat processed foods and way too many unhealthy carbs. That can be especially hard on people with an autoimmune disease or other medical condition.
Changing the way you eat can dramatically improve the way you feel. Nutritional deficiencies can negatively impact your endocrine system. When that becomes unbalanced, your adrenal function will get compromised and not work efficiently. Consume real, whole foods. Cut out sugar and all processed foods. Sometimes tweaking your diet removes brain fog and most of your fatigue.
Eating a diet with healthy fats can boost your energy levels and leave you feeling satiated. Many naturopaths recommend a low-carb diet to help decrease inflammation and improve overall wellness. When people consume a diet high in healthy fats and low in processed foods, they often report that tiredness gets better within a couple of weeks.
If you have adrenal fatigue, it may seem counterintuitive to exercise. You don't have to do a crossfit workout to reap the enormous benefits of exercise. Walking is a great way to increase movement and decrease chronic stress. It also helps emotional stress because it increases dopamine, our feel-good hormone.
Exercise helps our bodies in numerous ways. It rejuvenates us and helps our energy levels increase. It also reduces depression and stress hormones. If you suffer from adrenal fatigue, implementing an exercise routine could drastically improve how you feel. Start slow and build up as tolerated. Our bodies are created for movement!
Many people suffer from seasonal allergies and that can leave you feeling tired and run down. Yet, many of us don't realize we may have allergies to foods and certain ingredients. Many people are allergic to gluten and don't realize it. One of the key symptoms of gluten sensitivity is chronic fatigue. Another issue with gluten is often painful inflammation.
The easiest way to test for this is to remove all products containing gluten from your diet. Give it a few weeks and see if your adrenal fatigue symptoms have improved. If they have, you could be sensitive to gluten and need to remove it from your diet to feel your best.
To know for certain what foods you may be allergic to, you can take a food sensitivity test. That will pinpoint the exact foods you should avoid that make you feel bad.
When you work on healing your body from the inside, you will likely reduce inflammation and bloating. To make your healthcare a priority, you want to try to lose any weight you may have gained due to poor diet and illness.
That doesn't mean that everyone who has symptoms of adrenal fatigue is overweight. When we get sick and feel unwell, we tend to eat more processed foods that are high in carbs. These food tend to promote weight gain and make us feel tired and lethargic. Getting the extra weight off can increase energy levels and help with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
You don't have to make dramatic changes to your diet to drop a few pounds. There are lateral shifts that can keep you eating the foods you enjoy with some small modifications. Today it's easier than ever to get healthy substitutions for the foods you love so you never have to feel deprived, and you get to maintain a healthy weight.
In our busy culture, sleep has taken a backseat when it comes to healthcare. Many of us live in a state of chronic stress and don't get adequate amounts of restorative sleep. When you don't get enough sleep, your body creates more cortisol. That leads to weight gain and unhealthy adrenal glands. Many people report hair loss when they live with too much stress.
Sleep is crucial for being able to function at your highest level. Cognitive processes and physical abilities are affected when we get too little sleep. In functional medicine, sleep is one of the first things often checked. When you fix your sleep you often help solve the adrenal fatigue problem.
Quality sleep promotes healthy cortisol levels. It regulates the parts of your brain that affect emotions, so your stress responses are more likely to remain intact when you sleep well. Many people feel sleep solves most of their health issues!
Sometimes we can't get everything we need from our diets. Even if we eat healthy most of the time, we can still lack important nutrients. Adding in the proper supplementscan make a powerful impact on our overall wellness.
Magnesium is critical to over 300 processes in the body. It helps to reduce stress levels and produces a calming effect. A magnesium deficiency can lead to symptoms of adrenal fatigue, so having adequate amounts is critical to healing our adrenal glands.
B vitamins are well known for increasing energy levels. If you don't get enough vitamin B you will feel tired and run down. B vitamins directly affect how your adrenal glands respond to stress. Adding in a quality vitamin B supplement can make you feel better by lowering cortisol levels.
Vitamin C helps keep our immune system at peak wellness levels. When our immune system is strong, we can fight off viruses that deplete necessary nutrients. Some studies show Vitamin C plays a critical role in the adrenal cortex, making it crucial for proper adrenal function.
Rhodiola is an amazing herb for people who have chronic stress. It has gotten used for centuries to relieve anxiety and help with concentration.
A functional medicine doctor may perform a saliva test to check your cortisol levels at different times during the day. That can help determine the exact supplements may work best for your specific needs.
Some of us may rely heavily on our daily doses of caffeine to feel alert and keep us going. Some caffeine can be a part of a healthy routine, but too much can wreak havoc on our adrenal glands.
Getting too much caffeine can make you jittery and can overwork your adrenal glands, making them produce more cortisol. That increases the need for more and more caffeine to sustain energy. Cutting out some of your caffeine may improve your energy levels.
People with adrenal fatigue have many different symptoms. These can also get combined with other health concerns like low blood pressure and thyroid issues. With a few small lifestyle changes, you can feel better than ever.
There are natural protocols you can use to reverse your adrenal fatigue. For many people, the symptoms they experience can be debilitating and reduce their quality of life. It's important to know that you do have control over your health.
Functional medicine uses an integrative approach to improve healthcare. Your body is designed to heal itself with the right tools. If you suffer from symptoms of adrenal fatigue, give these natural approaches a try and see how they can work for you. In many cases, it won't take long to see enormous improvements in your health!
References :
https://www.healthline.com/health/adrenal-fatigue-diet#overview
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371989
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17502/9-steps-to-heal-adrenal-fatigue-naturally.html
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18787373/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/fatigue-caused-by-gluten-how-you-can-cope-562318
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sleep-deprivation-obesity/
