Healing Adrenal Fatigue Long Term
TRANSCRIPT EPISODE 099
Last week we talked about how to help adrenal fatigue if you are suffering from it. You may be suffering from adrenal fatigue if you feel a lot of tiredness if you have trouble getting to sleep and waking up if you are craving salt and sugar if you have unexplained weight loss or gain if you have to rely on stimulants such as caffeine, energy drinks, or pills/patches to keep you alert throughout the day.
Conventional medicine calls adrenal fatigue a “myth” and only acknowledges the extremes of adrenal problems such as Addison’s Disease where the adrenals are barely functioning or Cushings Disease where they are producing WAY too much cortisol. But like everything else - there is an entire spectrum in between of adrenals being taxed and tired and over or underperforming.
Adrenal Review
In the functional and integrative world, we know that this spectrum of trouble leads us to so many issues like fatigue, digestive troubles, chronic illness, repeated illnesses (like colds, flu, allergies), and triggers of autoimmune disease or flares.
As with most chronic issues, the path to relief and remission depends on your individual root cause - but there are some principles that benefit all who suffer AND help to prevent issues in those at risk.
In the last episode, I taught that the adrenals sit right on top of the kidneys and that a good way to think of them is like little power packs that help your human suit adapt to stress and maintain your energy levels.
These little adrenal glands produce several powerful chemical messengers in your body that control your fight or flight mechanism and stress reactions, including the one you have probably heard of, Cortisol. Cortisol gets a super bad name - but if you listened to episode 098 you know the shiny side of cortisol is that it is necessary because it is a chemical messenger that helps to regulate our daily energy needs.
We also learned last week that the number one way to help heal existing adrenal fatigue is through STRESS REDUCTION. I gave you a few strategies in meditation, energy medicine, and a favorite powerful essential oil protocol. Be sure and check that episode out if you haven’t yet.
I also told you about Energy Medicine to use with your meditation practice with the K27 massage and Kidney Meridian Flush. As the final ingredient we talked about essential oils for adrenal fatigue and I gave you a little info one of my fav combos for that with Basil Essential Oil, Grapefruit Essential Oil, and Rosemary together to make a BIG impact on your cortisol.
As with most things - the most effective strategy is a multi-pronged approach focusing on reducing your physical, mental, and energetic stress- Meditation, Nutrition, Movement, Essential Oils, Supplements. So let's talk piece 2 of the puzzle - Nutrition, Movement, Supplements to help prevent AND heal adrenal fatigue - depending on where you are in your journey.
Boring Disclaimer...
Remember two things - first, there is no one protocol that works for all people because you are unique! So these strategies work but they aren’t always the lock and key for each person, you may require something else to help you get over the hump or prevent this. Second, I am not a doctor, I am not even your practitioner and even if I am - this episode is for your education only. Ultimately you are responsible for your own health and wellness, so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t and if you have questions ASK.
Nutritional Support for our adrenals
As with all things - eating more plant food will help adrenal fatigue, but it can be difficult to make good nutrition choices while actively fatigued... If we zoom in, what we are trying to accomplish here is blood sugar balance. Avoiding heavily refined sugar and processed foods full of sugar and sugar substitutes. We know that these foods and sugars, in particular, are heavily associated with increased cortisol cascading to all of the problems we discussed at the top of the episode.
Something to help both the originating organ of adrenal stress, the brain, and the sugar cravings themselves are to increase the healthy fats in your diet, with omega 3 fatty acids, and other good fats found in coconuts, avocados, and nuts. (all plants!)
One thing I want you to know, when it comes to adrenal fatigue (and any other health condition) is that you cannot out supplement poor nutrition. You might be able to for a brief period of time but in the long run - just doesn't work. Supplements are good for correcting nutrient deficiencies in a hurry but they are not a long term solution.
The best way to look at it is that you need all the plants AND good healthy fats. Statistically, we know that we need a minimum of 31 DIFFERENT plants in our body each week in order to have the BEST gut health. There is no pill or powder that fixes that. PERIOD.
We know through the studies that came out in the Gut Health Project in 2018 that the number 1 best predictor for a healthy gut - is eating a diversity of whole plant foods.
Why did nutrition make the "B Team" when talking about adrenal fatigue?
Nutrition falls below all the other steps in healing because if we are stuck in that fight or flight mode then we can really struggle to find that nutritional balance. If you are constantly in a fatigued state its virtually impossible to avoid those temporarily energy-boosting foods. If we zoom in to what we need to accomplish nutritionally (outside of a healthy gut with 31 plants per week), what we are trying to accomplish here is blood sugar balance. Avoiding heavily refined sugar and processed foods full of sugar and sugar substitutes. We know that these foods and sugars in particular are heavily associated with increased cortisol cascading to all of the problems we discussed at the top of the episode.
Supplements for Adrenal Fatigue
Supplements aren't the lock and key to fixing adrenal fatigue but they can certainly play a significant role in supporting your adrenals get back to functioning so you can make the necessary lifestyle changes. Think of supplementation like medication - not a long term solution but it CAN help us get over the hump so you can implement improved nutrition and more movement. Generally there are basic nutrient supplements, adaptogenic herb supplements, and glandular supplements.
The best options over supplementing with glandulars - is adaptogenic herbs because they are working beyond the adrenals.
Adaptogens
Adaptagens are herbs and because of their nature are multisystems - they are nourishment as well as “plant medicine” historically they have been woven into daily life and there is something to be said for including that in your life for your biggest expression of wellness. Adaptogens help us adapt to stress. My favorites for the adrenals are Ashwagandha and reishi with some Motherwort (herb) sometimes combined with holy basil.
Nutritents
Consider replenishing nutrient deficiancies here:
B complex vitamins
Magnesium
Vitamin C
Movement for adrenal fatigue
Moving your body has been shown to be a highly effective way to manage stress and improve adrenal fatigue. In real life - its hard if you are fatigued to make yourself exercise. The important thing to remember, when using movement to help adrenal fatigue is to not over-do it. Otherwise, you are creating a stress response in the body. If you are able to easily and joyful perform more strenuous movements - make sure those happen before lunch and any afternoon/evening movement is more gentle in nature.
Wrap Up
To wrap this up, I want to give you 1 thing you can do today to help improve your adrenal fatigue...when you get out of bed in the morning - don't touch an device or electronic until you have completed 1 item of self care.
Next week we will dive into healthy skin from the inside out!
Thanks for listening to the Naturalistic Nurse Podcast, if you’d like to contribute to this podcasting effort of getting the work out about how to shift your practice to ditch the bandaid fixes and shift to root cause resolutions that stick be sure and subscribe, rate and leave a review - I’d be oh- so grateful.
Be well,