What Is Adrenal Fatigue? Are We Really Listening To Our Bodies?

Abstract

Stress seems to be the root cause of all evil these days. Whether you have Diabetes, Weight gain, Blood pressure or Depression – every health specialist’s advice to you will be to first decrease your stress levels.

Interest Category

what is adrenal fatigue, stress management, adrenal gland

What is adrenal fatigue? Is it real?

Adrenal fatigue is not an accepted medical diagnosis. There is no scientific evidence to support its existence. It is a condition in which your adrenal glands produce low levels of hormones mainly because it was overworked.

Adrenal fatigue is a term that applies to a collection of symptoms like fatigue, nervousness, sleep disorders, digestive problems, and body pain. The adrenal gland produces hormones that are necessary for the body to function. When there is an inadequacy in the hormone production of the body, it is called adrenal fatigue or insufficiency.

What are the signs of adrenal fatigue?

Body pain. Fatigue, hyperpigmentation, digestive problems, loss of appetite, depression, irregular menstruation in women, depression, headache,  low blood pressure, and hair loss are some of the common symptoms or signs of adrenal fatigue. It is majorly caused by stress, which hinders the production of hormones in our body.

There are 3 stages of adrenal fatigue:

1. Hyper-cortisol
2. Cortisol dominant
3. Hypo-cortisol

Adrenal fatigue treatment

Adrenal fatigue is diagnosed by checking the cortisol levels with the help of a blood test. Based on the requirements, your physician would prescribe hormone replacement medicines. Cortisol is a hormone that is responsible for metabolism and immune response. It is also called the stress hormone.

If you have high levels of stress in your life, it results in a higher level of cortisol in your body. When high levels of cortisol are released for a prolonged period of time, this makes you weak – physically, emotionally, and mentally. Also, high cortisol gets stored in your body as fat in your tummy and increases the risk of heart disease.

Apart from prescribing hormone replacements, your physician may put you on a diet and an exercise plan that will help you control your hormonal imbalance.

Adrenal fatigue diet

The treatment also includes dietary changes. A doctor would prescribe high protein and organic food, which includes healthy fats, whole grains, and low sugar. Vitamin C, B complex, magnesium, sea salt are some of the supplements that are required to help your adrenal glands. A person with adrenal fatigue should avoid caffeine, alcohol, sugar and refined carbs.

Stress management and adrenal fatigue

Stress is the main cause of adrenal fatigue. The best way to deal with adrenal fatigue is by reducing the factors that contribute to your stress. There are various methods to combat adrenal fatigue, which are explained in detail in this article – What are the supplements, dietary requirements and many other ways to handle adrenal fatigue?

Read more about adrenal fatigue by Dr. Diana Pinto and Barria Qureshi.