Adrenal Fatigue... Yay or Nay?
Are you...
Feeling stressed?
Run down?
Exhausted all the time?
Having trouble sleeping?
Craving salt or sugar?
Relying heavily on stimulants just to get through the day?
You may have adrenal fatigue!
...or wait, do you?
That rather non-specific list of symptoms describes damn near every red blooded adult in the free world, I'm sure. But what causes it? I say crappy diet and sedentary lifestyle, but that's a topic for another time and I digress.
The term "adrenal fatigue" is one you tend to hear a lot about lately but what is it REALLY and could it be affecting you?
Let's start by taking a very quick look at the adrenal glands to better understand how they impact us.
Adrenal glands are located on the top of each kidney and produce several important hormones that our bodies can not only not live without, but aid in responding to stress and many other functions.
Cortisol - cortisol's main role is helping the body respond to stress and affects almost every organ and tissue in the body: maintaining blood pressure and cardiovascular function, slowing the inflammatory response of the immune system, maintaining blood glucose levels and regulating the metabolism of the protein, fat and carbs we consume.
Testosterone - Testosterone is the main male sex hormone and an anabolic ster
oid that is secreted not only from the testes in men and ovaries in women but also the adrenals. It plays the main role in development of the male reproductive tissues and increased muscle and bone mass and hair growth. Further, it is essential for health and well-being as well as preventing osteoporosis.
Aldosterone - this critical hormone aids in maintaining blood pressure, water/salt balance and helps the kidneys retain sodium and excrete potassium.
Epinephrine (aka adrenaline) - Epinephrine has affects the central nervous system by enhancing respiration and increasing muscle activity. It stimulates smooth muscle cells and blood vessels in organs and tissue, as well it increases heart rate and enhances the force of muscle contractions. Epinephrine also plays a role in regulation of insulin.
Norepinephrine (aka noradrenaline). Norepinephrine also increases blood pressure and stimulates respiration and gastrointestinal contractions. The two chemicals actually work to balance each other. Norepinephrine decreases heart rate and constricts blood vessels. It constricts blood vessels in the muscles and skin, and decreases stimulation of the bronchial airways in the lungs as a means of returning the body to a state of homeostasis (it's happy place) or of basic daily functioning.
Several recognized disorders can occur if your body produces more or less of these hormones than it needs. Two such conditions for example are Cushing's Disease in which too much cortisol is produced and Adrenal Insufficiency (also called Addison's Disease) with too little cortisol being produced.
One that seems to be getting more and more attention recently is adrenal fatigue--although depending on who you ask this may or may not even be an actual condition.
Proponents of adrenal fatigue claim it's a result of adrenals not being able to sufficiently handle the demands of everyday stressors.
When we experience stress our adrenals produce adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol in an effort to respond help the body return to and maintain a state of homeostasis... that is, keep it in it's happy place. It works well in short, acute periods of stress but those who believe Adrenal Fatigue to be an actual condition believe that when stress is constant they become overloaded and cannot produce enough to adequately keep up. Levels are not low enough that it's considered Adrenal Insufficiency, they are simply on the low end of normal. Saliva tests are generally used by compounding pharmacies or alternative healthcare practitioners to determine where your levels are and they will give a recommended treatment plan with supplements they provide.
Traditional medicine claims, quite matter of factly that it just does not exist and there is no proof that it does. There is no listing Dorland's Medical Dictionary, nor does the ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) classify it.
The Endocrine Society says about Adrenal Fatigue:
Whether or not you believe it's a real condition; the reality is we're eating more crap, we're busier, more stressed, less rested and more sedentary than ever before. Our bodies are ravaged daily by all those factors and it is most definitely negatively affected by every one of them.
So what should you do?
CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE.
Seriously. I know most people are probably sick of hearing that because it's pr
obably one of the most difficult things in the entire world to manage to do successfully. It's preached so much that it's almost becoming cliché but it truly is the single most important thing you can do for your health, energy levels and your quality of life. Our bodies are designed for activity! They crave it, they need it and function SO much better when they get it. They also need good quality and nutritious whole food, not the sugar/trans fat laden chemical crap storms that most Americans live on.
If you're still experiencing the same symptoms after those changes I'll eat my hat, as they say. ;) But seriously though, if you still experience symptoms see your doctor and if you feel like adrenal fatigue might be an issue, also visit your nearest compounding pharmacy or alternative medicine practitioner.
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