Dear Reader,
You might be among the millions of people in the U.S who suffer from adrenal fatigue.
Prolonged periods of stress wreak havoc on your adrenal glands, causing adrenal fatigue—which makes you susceptible to disease and creates hormonal imbalance. Many cases of adrenal fatigue go undiagnosed, leaving thousands of people scratching their heads as to why they feel tired most of the time. It’s because we live in a modern world…but are still living in an ancient body.
Today I’ll let you in on what you can learn from our ancient ancestors to cope with the stresses our modern day world poses—reversing adrenal fatigue, and keeping your adrenal glands in top shape.
Our ancestors led a much more easy and relaxed lifestyle than we do today.
They would experience many lulls between stresses. This gave their bodies a chance to relax and allow the adrenal glands to release DHEA, before the next stress came along, creating hormonal balance.
But, because the stress in today’s world can be constant, your adrenal glands are constantly in “stress” mode and release cortisol. The problem is they never get a chance to balance your body out with DHEA.
Think about it…most of us stress out about our finances, our health, relationships, traffic—the list is endless. What this means to you, is that you end up in hormonal imbalance.
In the early stages of adrenal fatigue, your cortisol levels become raised and your DHEA levels drop, causing a severe hormonal imbalance in your body that leads to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and a suppressed immune system.
As it progresses, the adrenal glands can’t cope with the stress. They become unable to release enough cortisol or DHEA. Studies confirm this, stating that environmental illnesses (such as adrenal fatigue), are responsible for low output of the adrenal hormones cortisol and DHEA. 1, 2
Having too little or too much of either adrenal hormone is a recipe for illness and disease.
Sadly, the medical establishment doesn’t recognize adrenal fatigue as a true disorder. Instead, they only consider severe abnormalities in the adrenal glands when diagnosing patients—a big mistake. That’s why so many people go undiagnosed and never get any better.
So how can you tell if you have adrenal fatigue, and if you do– combat it, ensuring those little glands over your kidneys are pumping out the right amount of hormones?
Usually, a simple cortisol saliva test is effective in testing for adrenal fatigue.
Treating adrenal fatigue is even simpler–you’ve got to reduce your stress as much as possible.
First, you need to eat and exercise properly. Eating right ensures your body is getting the nutrition it needs and exercising helps relieve stress, in addition to all the other health benefits it provides…check out past issues or my PACE program for great advice on how to do this.
Supplements will also improve your adrenal function and help reduce stress. Licorice root improves adrenal function, and studies have proven ginkgo biloba and panax ginseng as great stress reducers that help improve the ratio of cortisol to DHEA.3
Finally, take time out for yourself. Participate in a meditative practice like yoga or tai chi to release any pent up stress and emotions. Laugh a little more often. Smile more. And above all else–
Relax.
Do whatever it takes to reduce your daily stress, and you’ll lead a happier, healthier life.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Srp Arh Celok Lek. 2003 Sep-Oct;131(9-10):370-4. Disorder of adrenal gland function in chronic fatigue syndrome Harkovic M, Pavlovic M, Pokrajac-Simeunovic A, Ciric J, Beleslin B, Penezic Z, Ognjanovic S, Savic S, Poluga J, Trbojevic B, Drezgic M.Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Diseases of Metabolism, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade. mzarkov@eunet.yu
2 . Endocr Rev. 2003 Apr;24(2):236-52. The neuroendocrinology of chronic fatigue syndrome. Cleare AJ. Section of Neurobiology of Mood Disorders, Division of Psychological Medicine, The Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AZ, United Kingdom. a.cleare@iop.kcl.ac.uk
3. J Pharmacol Sci. 2003 Dec;93(4):458-64. Anti-stress effects of Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng: a comparative study. Rai D, Bhatia G, Sen T, Palit G. Division of Pharmacology, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India.