Articles

Adrenal Fatigue

Are you feeling tired and stressed out just waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop?  These symptoms and others that cause women to think of themselves as being on a emotional rollercoaster yo-yoing between being wired and tired at the same can be from adrenal fatigue.

Living with high stress, poor nutrition and inadequate sleep can take its toll on those mightily unrecognized and unappreciated adrenal glands, that is until the symptoms begin to pile up: low energy, anxiety, fatigue, mood swings and yes even food cravings!  It does not have to be that way as it is simply not normal even if you are in the throes of menopause.  Taking the once applauded and regularly prescribed and now heavily decried hormone replacement therapy is no longer an answer so what is?

There are natural solutions in the form of medicinal plant extracts, herbs and possible bio-identical hormones  that can offset the stress and relieve the symptoms of adrenal fatigue.  Herbs called adaptogens are called such as they adapt to the personal needs of your body.  Adaptogenic plants are defined as:

• harmless to the host
• have a general, rather non-specific effect
• increase the resistance of the recipient to a variety of physical, chemical, or biological stressors
• act as a general stabilizer/normalizer for the user

The adaptogenic herbs that have been found to be the most supportive to the adrenals are as follows:

Astralagus which aids in the body's natural ability to adapt to stress, build the immune system, helps regulate blood sugar and prevents insulin resistance.

Cordyceps which slows aging, helps the immune system by supporting and balancing its inflammatory response and helps to stabilize the blood sugar.

Eluethero "Siberian Ginseng" helps protect against the negative effects of stress while decreasing fatigue, increases mental clarity, helps balance the blood sugar and some studies have found might be able to support bone remodeling.

Rhodiola Rosea "Golden Root" helps prevent stress related fatigue and "burnout" increases mental clarity, has immune and blood sugar support, acts as an antidepressant and helps with anxiety.

Licorice Root support adrenaline balance, increases energy and endurance. While it qualifies as an adaptogen due to its ability to elevate blood pressure this herb in particular should be used with caution and under the care and guidance  of a medicinal plant practitioner .

At the same time you are investigating which or if an adaptogenic herb might be an answer for you a close examination of your diet is needed.  How many  refined carbohydrates are you consuming throughout the day?  What about caffeine?  Are you continually reaching for a cup of coffee or caffeinated cola in the afternoon just to get through the rest of the day?   When you try to press on by using caffeine and or refined carbohydrates this only adds more stress on the already extremely overworked adrenals. Are you living with extreme amounts of stress and feeling overwhelmed by your inability to deal with it?

If you are continually "running on adrenaline" it will eventually bring you to a quick and very unhappy halt in your fast paced daily routine. The adrenal glands  balance more than 50 different hormones in the body, have to synthesize  their own hormones including both sex and stress hormones.  They also help regulate blood pressure, heartbeat regularity, help balance blood sugar levels,  influence the amount of inflammation in the body and support nervous system function(behavior, mood, excitability, memory and clarity of thought).  When the adrenals become exhausted this leaves you with foggy thinking, insomnia, severe fatigue, thyroid disorders and accelerated aging.  There are many books written on this subject which can be a guided reference through the hormonal maze of symptoms.  Dr. Christine Northrup well known author and founder of the Women to Women Clinic in Portland, Maine has written several books on this subject.  She has just written another  book The Time to Listen to Your Body's Wisdom is Now.