Too Much Stress Can Lead to Adrenal Fatigue

Are you constantly tired and fatigued? Do you lack motivation and don’t know why? Have you been to the doctors several times and nothing they do seems to help? Are you chronically sick? We’ll you may have an undiagnosed case of adrenal fatigue. Don’t feel too taken back the information. Lots of people, in my opinion, suffer from adrenal fatigue, especially Americans and not a lot of people know what it is or how to go about addressing it. No worries – The Verbal Herbal to the rescue!

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

When you don’t keep your stress levels at a minimum, stress hormones, mainly cortisol, is released for long periods of time at high levels. After a while, the body can’t keep up with the constant stress demand which causes the body to produce less adrenal hormones. This is known by many as adrenal fatigue or hypoadrenia. The long term effects of adrenal fatigue can lead to a lifetime of illness, making it extremely important to recognize the signs of adrenal fatigue and know how to combat it.

Symptom Picture of Adrenal Fatigue

The main symptom of hypoadrenia is fatigue and low energy. These individual may seem lazy and unmotivated but, in fact, they have to work harder to maintain “normal” functioning. They find it very hard to get out of bed in the morning and when they do, stimulants like coffee or tea are usually needed. They feel more alive after meals, usually craving salty, fatty foods and needing more protein. They have low blood pressure and low blood sugar with a decreased sex drive. They often get sick and tend to gain midsection weight that is hard to get rid of.

History of Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue was recognized in medical texts dating back to the 1800’s and continues to be one of the most prevalent medical issues of the last 50 years; however, adrenal fatigue is not currently recognized as a medical diagnosis. Medical institutions say that because there is no blood test to soundly prove that the adrenal glands can decrease in functioning, then there is no justifiable reason to claim it as a medical diagnosis. I feel that the main reason it isn’t a medical diagnosis is because there are no pharmaceuticals claiming to treat adrenal fatigue. If they can’t make money from it, what’s the point of diagnosis it? Instead, they can diagnosis and treat the problems that result from adrenal fatigue, always treating the symptoms and never addressing the cause. As a result, adrenal fatigue is one of the most common syndromes to be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Other Issues associated with Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue, if untreated, can be the cause of many problems including:

• A higher likelihood of hypoglycemia
• An increased tendency to allergies and arthritis and having on overall decreased effect on immune function
• Causing varied emotional states leading to cases of anxiety, depression and difficulty concentrating
• Insomnia
• Decreased sex drive
• Changes in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism
• Changes in electrolyte balance
• Negative effects on the cardiovascular system
• Other chronic illnesses of varying degrees

Treatment Plan

First and foremost, it is of utmost importance to get your stress levels under control. This link provides natural ways to cope with stress.  http://theverbalherbal.blogspot.com/2012/08/natural-ways-to-cope-with-stress.html Remember to take a multidimensional approach to treating stress, addressing physical, emotional and physiological issues.

Adaptogenic Herbs

Adaptogens are, perhaps, the most effective way to address adrenal fatigue. Adaptogens work by increasing the body’s own resistance to stressors. They do not block the stress response, but, instead, help to level out the highs and lows of stress. This helps to normalize the body and decrease our inclination to extreme stress. Some adaptogen herbs that can be beneficial include:

• Ginseng (Panax Ginseng)
• American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium)
• Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera)
• Schizandra (Schisandra chinensis)  
• Siberian Ginseng (Eletherococcus senticosus)
• Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)
• Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)
• Suma (Pfaffia Paniculata)  
• Reshi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum)

Overall, don’t let stress take over your life. Start helping yourself before you reach the point of adrenal fatigue. If you find yourself too far gone and feel that adrenal fatigue is already an issue, then your main goal should be to get healthy because if untreated, adrenal fatigue can lead to a lifetime of illness. Contact you local herbalist to help you get back on track.

Sources:

Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: the science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003088.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fatigue/MY00120/DSECTION=causes

http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/articlearchives/adrenalfatigue.shtml

http://www.jonbarron.org/diabetes/nl100726/natural-health-newsletter-adrenal-fatigue

http://tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html

Natural Ways to Cope With Stress

Yesterday I spoke about the adrenal glands and the details of the stress response. This is our body’s normal response to a perceived stress. The problem with this system is we are now rarely stressed about survival or bears eating us and stressing more about our job, money, our future and a long list of other things. If we do not have a way to cope with these perceived stressors, it cause our bodies to be in a constant state of stress, keeping the fight or flight system activated and the stress hormones flowing. This can lead to long term emotional, physical and psychological problems. So today, I’d like to offer some coping mechanisms and ways to keep stress at bay via herbs, nutrition and essential oils. It is important to realize, that because stress is a multifaceted issue, affecting many different areas of health, a multifaceted approach to treatment needs to be taken, including options that address physical, emotional and psychological issues.

Tools and Techniques to calm and relax the body

There are so many different techniques that you can use to help you deal with stress. Below are a few options that work well for me, but make sure you find something that works well for you.

• First and foremost, find out what is causing your stress and address it. Is it work? Maybe it is time for a change of careers or at least time to draw lines about work time and home time. Is it family? Make time for you, separating from your family. This can be hard, especially for moms, but how can you help others, including you children, when you are struggling to help yourself. Sometimes there is nothing you can do to make the problem go away but just being conscious about its affects on you can make a difference.
• Relax! This is advice given to most people that are stressed out. Yoga, meditation, tai chi, reading a book or taking a bath can all be helpful.
• Make sure you are getting adequate sleep.
• Positive self talk and affirmations can help you from feeling out of control in the face of stress.
• Find a hobby. Sometimes finding something that you like to do and making time for it can help to balance out the stress of other areas of your life.
• Exercise! Get out side and move. Walk, run, hike, bike, play tennis or flag football doing any of these thing will help calm the body and the mind.
• Laugh loudly and often J

Herbs

There are many different herbs that can help the body deal with stress.

• Nerve Tonics, being high in calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and protein, help to nourish and tone the nervous system. This includes herbs like Oatstraw, skullcap, chamomile, hops and lemon balm.
• Nerve Sedatives help to ease tension and stress by soothing and nourishing the nerves and tissues. They can help to induce sleep and put the mind at ease at the end of a long day. This includes herbs like California poppy, passion flower, catnip, valerian, lemon balm and skullcap.
• Adaptogens help to increase the body’s ability to deal with stress. They will be discussed more at length in tomorrows post. This includes herbs like eleuthero, reishi, ashwaganda, nettles, schizandra and astragalus.

Nutrition

Nutrition is wonderful treatment approach that is, recently, gaining more ground and popularity. It is important to realize that eating certain food puts stress on the body and, whether you realize it or not, you will feel more stressed as a result. Before I realized I had a gluten sensitivity and was still eating wheat, I was stressed all the time! Giving up wheat and gluten really lightened my stress load. Here are some nutritional guidelines you may wish to follow to help keep your body less stressed and therefore you mind clearer:

• Decrease or eliminate your intake of caffeine, alcohol, soda and junk food. You may think that it helps you deal with mental stress, however, it only puts more stress on the body, making thing worse.
• Decrease your intake of refined carbohydrates and processed foods. -Increase your intake of a variety of different fresh fruits and veggies, preferably organic. This will help to provide your body with the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for proper functioning. Again, the less stress we put on the body, the better.
• Make sure you are maintaining proper electrolyte balance. This doesn’t mean to drink one of those sugary sports drinks. Instead, try one of the recipes listed here http://theverbalherbal.blogspot.com/2012/06/rehydrate-with-homemade-electrolyte.html
• Supplement with B vitamins. Vitamin C may also be helpful.  

Essential oils

Essential oils can be extremely effective at helping individuals reduce their stress. They work by, not only, their constituents having a pharmacological effect, but also by smell through the olfactory system’s link to the limbic system, thus affecting our emotion state. There are many different essential oils that can be beneficial for stress:

• Essential oils to induce relaxation include bergamot, chamomile, lavender, sandalwood and ylang ylang.
• Essential oils to relieve tiredness include basil, black pepper, ginger, rosemary, peppermint, pine and thyme.
• Essential oils to lift the spirit, helping with depression and melancholy include bergamot, mandarin, melissa, neroli, rose and jasmine.

Stress is becoming an overwhelming epidemic in our culture. Even though some stress is normal and needed, in my opinion, for healthy functioning, the amount of stress that Americans deal with every day is sickening. Literally, it is causing people to become sick. So today I have provided tools to help combat stress and tomorrow we will talk the effects that stress have on the body if you do not keep it in check.

Sources:

Battaglia, S. (2003). The complete guide to aromatherapy (2nd ed.). Brisbane: International Centre of Holistic Aromatherapy.

Cohen, B. J., Taylor, J. J., & Memmler, R. L. (2009). Memmler's structure and function of the human body (9th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott William & Wilkins.

Gladstar, R. (2001). Rosemary Gladstar's family herbal: a guide to living life with energy, health, and vitality. North Adams, Mass.: Storey Books.

Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: the science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press.

Wildwood, C. (1996). The encyclopedia of aromatherapy. Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press.