Slow down & Stop the stress!

It’s often hard to find the time to get everything done!  We all have such fast paced lifestyles, with work, home life, social lives, exercise & general day to day occurrences. It can be stressful, but with fear of missing out on the excitement we push ourselves to keep going. We want to be part of it all, but sometimes it’s too much – we get tired and we can’t keep up. Why? It is said that at one time or another, adrenal fatigue effects an estimated 80% of people living in industrialized countries – so what is it, & how do we treat it?

The Adrenals

Your adrenal glands are two tiny pyramid-shaped pieces of tissue situated right above each kidney. Their job is to produce and release, when appropriate, certain regulatory hormones and chemical messengers.

Adrenaline is manufactured in the interior of the adrenal gland, called the adrenal medulla. Cortisol, the other chemical from the adrenal gland, is made in the exterior portion of the gland, called the adrenal cortex. The cortex also secretes androgens, estrogens, and progestins. Cortisol, commonly called hydrocortisone, is the most abundant - and one of the most important - of many adrenal cortex hormones. Cortisol helps you handle longer-term stress situations. These two primary adrenal hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, help control body fluid balance, blood pressure, blood sugar, and other central metabolic functions.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

The adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol in response to stress, temporarily increasing the body's ability to deal with whatever is causing it stress. Modern life can be so full of stress that the body overproduces adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones. 

Adrenal fatigue often develops after periods of intense or lengthy physical or emotional stress, when overstimulation if the glands leave them unable to meet your body's needs. Constant stress and poor nutrition can weaken the adrenal glands.

Adrenal fatigue is your body's attempt to shut itself down long enough to recover from all those stress hormones. The overproduction of adrenal hormones caused by prolonged stress can weaken the immune system and inhibit the production of white blood cells.

Signs of Adrenal Fatigue

·      excessive tiredness

·      overwhelmed by or unable to cope with stress

·      feeling rundown

·      craving salty and sweet foods

·      energetic in the evening

·      not feeling rested after a full night's sleep

·      interrupted sleep

·      low stamina

·      difficulty concentrating

·      poor digestion

·      low immune function

How to treat Adrenal Fatigue

Listen to your body. Not every case of adrenal fatigue presents the same symptoms, and as such it will need to be treated differently.  It is important though to reduce stressors & to take some time out to relax.  Equally important is SLEEP! Most adults need eight hours of daily sleep, and trying to make up for all your lost sleep once the weekend rolls around is counterproductive, get yourself into a good sleep schedule to help the body restore its equilibrium.

Exercise resets the biological systems, increasing pleasure hormone levels in the body and increasing its ability to metabolize the waste products of adrenal hormone production, you don’t want to over do it though – try walking or yoga.

Nutrition & Adrenal Fatigue

The cortisol produced by the adrenal glands has a significant effect on blood sugar levels, and so eating habits play a major role in moderating the condition. Balance Your Blood Sugar With Your Diet. To minimize stress on the adrenal system, and ensure maximum energy, you should consider a low-glycemic (low-sugar) diet, consisting of sufficient protein and fat, low-glycemic carbohydrates, eaten in smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Sugar and simple carbohydrates put stress on the adrenal glands due by rapidly shifting blood sugar levels. By switching to vegetables, fruits and proteins, and high fiber carbohydrates, blood sugar remains more stable, providing less strain on the adrenal glands.

Coffee can stimulate the adrenal glands, only worsening your adrenal overload & should be avoided at all costs!  Instead try Yerba Mate, a herbal tea native to South America.  Yerba Mate is considered far more nutritious than black tea or coffee, and though it also has some caffeine, it's effects are energizing & nourishing.

A Vitamin B complex is also extremely important with stress management. When we ‘stress’ our body leeches high levels of mineral and uses up vitamin stores to manage excess hormone levels.  Bee Pollen is a rich source of B vitamins & is a rich source of enzymes & other vitamins & minerals.  The reason why bee pollen is a better choice over other B Vitamin supplements is that it is a food substance that is easily absorbed, it is also high in protein & essential amino acids.

Adequately feeding your immune system boosts its fighting power, Vitamin C is a great way to do this. Vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and increases levels of interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces, preventing the entry of viruses. A great source of Vitamin C is Camu Camu. Camu Camu contains more vitamin C than any other known plant, with Camu Camu powder containing up to 60 times more vitamin C than an orange, it also contains phytochemicals including serine, amino acids, valine.

The benefits of Maca can definitely not be overlooked when trying to treat adrenal fatigue.  Being an adaptogen, Maca redresses balance where imbalance exists within the body.  Its going to balance out excessive hormonal levels, combating the high levels of Cortisol & Oestrogen & assist with regulating insulin release.

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