Edit: There are now over 50 symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue that you can have for free. There is also a free report for what you can do to help heal the issue. Click on the Adrenal Fatigue book to the left and get your symptoms today.
Do you feel tired all the time? Maybe you get plenty of sleep and just don’t feel rested. Or maybe you have trouble sleeping. Low energy? Difficulty thinking or focusing? These are all symptoms of adrenal fatigue. This article explores the adrenals and the causes of adrenal fatigue. Included is a simplified explanation of how diet affects the adrenals and some suggestions for what you can do to restore them, and you to health.
The 30 symptoms include, but are not limited to:
1. Excessive fatigue and exhaustion, chronic fatigue
2. Non-refreshing sleep
3. Sleep disturbance, insomnia
4. Feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope
5. Craving salty and/or sweet foods
6. Sensitivity to light
7. Low stamina and slow to recover from exercise
8. Slow to recover from injury or illness
9. Difficulty concentrating, brain fog
10. Poor digestion
11. Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS
12. Low immune function
13. Premenstrual syndrome
14. Menopause symptoms
15. Low blood pressure
16. Sensitivity to cold
17. Fearfulness
18. Allergies,
19. Frequent influenza
20. Arthritis
21. Anxiety
22. Irritability
23. Depression
24. Reduced memory
25. Low libido, sexual drive or interest
26. Lack of lust for life and/or food
27. Excess hunger
28. Low appetite
29. Panic/anxiety attacks
30. Irritability, impatience, quick to anger.
If quick to anger, the person will often tend to back down quickly if confronted.
Many of these symptoms have other causes, so just because you have one or more symptom doesn’t necessarily mean that you have adrenal fatigue. On the other hand, adrenal fatigue is so prevalent that if you have even one of these symptoms, it is likely that your are at least a bit run down.
Almost every client I have ever seen has come to me because of one or more of these symptoms. Stress is a major contributor to adrenal fatigue. We live in a busy world that offers little relief from stresses of life. Toxicity contributes to adrenal fatigue as well. But by far, adrenal fatigue is caused by a diet high in sugar and processed foods. And, the same dietary factors that contribute to adrenal fatigue are at the root of most of our major health issues today. Most major diseases start with the same factors as adrenal fatigue, and adrenal fatigue can lead to many serious conditions.
What are the adrenals?
The adrenals are two walnut sized glands that sit on top of the kidneys. They produce three different classes of hormones at the rate of about a quart (liter) a day. One class is stress hormones like adrenalin and cortisol also called hydrocortisone. Another class of adrenal hormones affect mineral metabolism especially the sodium/potassium balance. And, they produce sex hormones and their precursors. These hormones are some of the ones that make us feel good. They give us energy and a lust for life — and sex.
A simple test for adrenal fatigue
There are many tests for adrenal fatigue. Lab tests are expensive and take time for the results. However, there is a simple self-test that can be done with a flashlight and a mirror. Start in a darkened room so that your pupils dilate but have it light enough so that you can see your eyes in a mirror. Allow enough time in the dim room so that the pupils dilate fully, about ten minutes. Next, shine the flashlight into one of your eyes from the side so that the light causes the pupil to shrink down to a pin point. Do this in such a way that you can still watch the pupil as it reduces in size. If your adrenals are strong, the pupil will most likely shrink down immediately. If there is any hesitation before they react, then your adrenals are probably fatigued. I use the qualifier probably here because there are other reasons eyes may not react like this though they are not common.
Dietary causes of adrenal fatigue
As mentioned earlier, sugar and refined carbohydrates are the main cause of adrenal fatigue. Sugar includes honey, maple syrup, fructose, dried fruit, fruit juice and just about anything that is sweet. Refined carbohydrates are grains that have been ground up or have had the bran removed. This include products like bread even whole wheat bread, noodles, corn chips, white rice and pretty much anything that comes in a package. Refined foods are broken down by grinding and concentration. Refined grains have more surface area exposed to digestion, so they digest more quickly. They release their sugars quickly into the blood stream causing blood sugar to go up too high too fast.
The body responds to high blood sugar by releasing insulin. Insulin is a hormone that causes sugar to move into the liver, muscles and fat tissues. The problem is that the body evolutionarily isn’t designed to deal with the large amounts of sugar in the blood that are caused by sugar and refined foods. Evolution has designed us to eat animal protein, whole grains (not chopped up), vegetables and fruits. So, the body tends to overreact to this fast sugar by releasing too much insulin. This article is about the adrenals, but high blood sugar, high levels of insulin and constant exposure to stress hormones cause their own problems that will be covered in the future.
The release of too much insulin causes the blood sugar to go down too far. Most everyone has experienced getting sleepy after a large meal of pasta, rice or some other carbohydrate. Or, the drop in energy that follows a candy high. That’s what happens after the large release of insulin. The blood sugar goes down too far. The brain eats mostly sugar, so it gets sleepy from lack.
Now we get into the adrenal involvement. One of the stress hormones they release is cortisol. In ancient times stress meant that we had to fight or run away, the fight/flight response. The muscles that move quickly use sugar, and cortisol causes blood sugar to increase. There is also a cortisol release anytime there is low blood sugar. You know how you can be really hungry, then after awhile you aren’t so hungry anymore? That’s cortisol doing it’s job. The same thing happens when low blood sugar happens because of an over-release of insulin.
The adrenals are constantly being assailed by the above reactions. Processed foods and snacks are available all the time, and they are hard to resist. Our ancestors survived because they had a sweet tooth. They craved the sweet fruits that were available at the end of winter. Insulin caused that extra sugar to be stored as fat for the lean times of winter. The ones that didn’t desire sweet fruits didn’t survive, so we inherited that craving for sweets and other foods that turn into sugar. The problem is that we eat as though it is the end of summer all the time!
The adrenals are constantly being called on to produce more and more cortisol in response to the stress caused by sugar and processed food. Eventually they become exhausted. And, so does the indulger.
What you can do
The obvious thing to do is to stop eating sugar and refined foods. A lot of people will do great just by modifying their diet alone. There are lots of products on the market for treating the adrenals, but which ones really work? This is very individual, but I will give you some suggestions in part two.
Be well, and remember: the body wants to heal, all it needs is the opportunity.
it’s time to detox again. my adrenals are sluggish and need some help. i went to montana for 1 week, ate very little processed foods, even the meat was not from store. drank well water. i stopped all meds late september. i have fibromyalgia from too many years on depo provera, now i have the mirena iud and am experiencing some of the same side effects so i know it is effecting my hypothamus gland and my adrenals….. so i lost 14 lbs in the last month just by trying to eat less processed junk! more water, more water, more water to help flush my adrenals….i have learned that anything synthetic will slow them down. that means synthetic meds, synthetic food. i also had malrotation of the intestines/appendix in wrong location and doctors say my cleansing routines on and off may have helped to save my life…. text books says babies with malrotation of intestines have life expectancy 15-20 years without surgery…. i am almost 30. this wasnt discovered untill this year so i decided to have surgery….. the last 10 years i have tried every cleansing thing i could get my hands on and some improvement was noticed. if i didnt cleanse my adrenals i could have had organ dysfunction and or organs could have shut down from the toxins stuck in intestinal blockages. cleanse your adrenals people!!! at least every 9 months…. if you slip up make a u-turn and go back to eating naturally, your body with thank you in so many ways words can not describe the bennefits of cleansing your body.
Due to skipping meal and or excess diamicron, I developed reactive hypo. I could no go below 10 mmol/l. It used have sudden drop of sugar below 10, but not really a too low. Still I would feel hypo. I started to eat every three hours. I improved a bit. But I have lot of eye blurriness, probably stress hormone imbalance. Diastolic pressure is low. Now sugar is not dropping quickly, but going higher. But if I do exercise, sugar goes below 9, I feel trouble, not really a hypo feeling but something else. I cannot miss food, I feel very trouble, not exactly hypo or low sugar, probably fatigue or something else. No doctor treat me. I am taking Vitamins and Mineral supplement for adults fover 50. I am not taking any diabetes medicine. I do not know what to do.
Muhit
Muhit, One of the best things anyone can do for their blood sugar and general health is to stop eating all sugars, even the “healthy” ones, as well as all grains. I can almost guarantee you’ll feel 100 percent better within two weeks. I say almost because there could be complications because of the long term nature of what you have going on. I’ll try to write on the elimination diet soon to give more info on this method of healing.
Great information, Joyce, thanks for writing.
I recently learned of a method of “resetting” the adrenal glands with HCG, the hormone that signals pregnancy. I plan on looking into it and writing something if it looks good. So far it does look good, but still not totally convinced.
A fascinating article, and very accurate.
Reading the comments I came to realize how many people suffer from this.
Just wanted to point out that many people affected by adrenal fatigue who also happen to have other serious health issues such as autoimmune disease (thinking about ampickert here), hyper- or hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia or others should look for a common cause. I don’t want to generalize but if you have ever had exposure to heavy metals through dental fillings, house paint or contaminated water, I would look into this first as it can cause all of the things above and your adrenal fatigue will not resolve until you detox your brain (see more on noamalgam.com). I’ve been there and if you want to hear my story, it is here: ontohigherlevel.com.
By the way, chemical poisoning can cause your pupils to dillate too much and shrink too little in response to light. It goes to show how one simple test can point you in the right direction of adrenal fatigue combined with a chemical poison such as mercury.
All the best!
@ontohigherlevel Yes, heavy metal poisoning causes a lot of intense issues including adrenal fatigue. I have seen cases that were caused completely by mercury. Sonic foot baths, chelation therapy and sweats are good techniques. A good friend uses cold laser tuned to the metals frequency on the area that holds the metal — maybe the adrenal glands or their lymphatics, then uses a sonic foot bath to clear the blood and lymph of the released metal. He has a very high success rate healing metal related illnesses.
An unfortunate but interesting fact is that mercury poisoning is a big issue in the San Francisco Bay Area due to its presence in the ground water from the old gold mining days.
Been looking for a good adrenal supplement, not just to support, but to help restore and replenish the adrenals, on your email i received theres two supplements you mention that are important when the adrenals are in bad shape the dessicated adrenal cortex, and the Adaptocrine from Apex energetics, which of the two is best if your adrenals are in poor shape?
Hi Its me one more time. I forgot to mention a couple things. I have a rapid heart rate, and my heart also beats quite hard too. I know Im not having a heart attack or panic/anxiety attack because those are sudden and my symptoms have been around for 2 weeks. I have “labored” breathing, not like I cant breathe, but if I talk too long or get excited when I talk I have to calm down, take a deep breath and relax for a second. Im even nervous right now while Im typing this. The best way to describe it is nervous trembling. Im not scared or anything, and I get more and more nervous the longer the symptoms stay. I dont know what to do…
Thank you for your article. It was helpful – Im researching as much as I can since I learned about all my conditions. I failed the pupil test too… took 2 seconds for them to react from complete darkness to light.
Thank you so much!
Hello, I was just wondering…
I think I may have adrenal fatigue, but I know it is not due to my diet. I’m an amateur athlete and I eat as healthy as I can, but I think I may adrenal fatigue due to simply overworking myself in training. Is there a way to treat the problem naturally without taking a great deal of time off from training?
Thank you for the article, it was really helpful!
If the adrenals products whipped my adrenals how can I get them to calm down but heal. Can I do colon cleansing safely
I suspect adrenal fatigue after 4 years of prednisone for asthma. I am down to 2 mg now and am very fatigued. 5 hour naps in the day and an 8:00pm bedtime besides. i too have begun to eat lots of sugar after a very long abstinence. Carboshave returned to my diet. I don’t know how much of this fatigue is low adrenals or candida. Is there anyway to tell with testing of some sort. Fibromyalgia is also a part and so is rheumatoid arthritis. How can I separate these to know what is the cause of the present fatigue.
Where do I begin?
Hi! Thankyou for your website! I became hypothyroid after RAI Grave Disease. I take thyroxine ( same as synthyroid?) and natural thyroid extract. Over the past few years my weight is out of control and have suffered through fatigue, muscle weakness, insomnia and irritable bowel sysdrome. I suffer through any form of excersize as I fatigue quickly. When I eat certain foods I bloat, feel heavy and disgusting. I constantly went back to my GP and asked for a higher dose of thyroid medication thinking this will solve all this! I now realise that I may have andrenal fatigue! It now makes sense. I have now made an appointment with an endo to do a test and put me on the right meds to get my adrenals back to a normal level. I eat healthy and are hoping, once my adrenals are good I will be able to lose weight as I believe the adrenal fatigue has hindered my thyroid medication. I hope this is the case!! Thanks!
George, I need to change those emails a little. The dessicated adrenal cortex is good for short term to get things started. Better are licorice 4ml and Eleuthero (Siberian Ginseng) 10 ml from MediHerb. Mix them and take morning and noonish on an empty stomach if you can remember. I haven’t seen the same results from other products although dried herb powders in capsules may be a good money saving alternative.
Rachel, Rapid heart rate can be from several things. If you are very overweight I would recommend getting your blood sugar levels checked — not usually a symptom, but I’ve seen it be a serious problem especially with palpitations, so it’s good to eliminate. Otherwise I would try some calming herbs like Kava or hops. Better are herb combinations, the synergistic effects are great. Ground herbs in capsules are best, most tinctures are worthless.
Rhodiola & Ginseng complex by MediHerb is really good for adrenal fatigue and arrhythmias.
I used to have the same problem when I was a young athlete. The problem went away when I quit eating grains completely, and that was many years later. It can be an allergy to one specific food too, you might want to try the elimination diet to see if you can find the culprit.
A great herb for stamina is Tribulus. Rhodiola & Ginseng Complex is a great synergist. MediHerb is the best in my experience. Drenamine from Standard Process is a really good adrenal long term support.
Mel, Calming herbs are one of the best things you can do for the adrenal glands.
If the colon cleans is a dietary one then I’d say yes. Plenty of protein, most include whey protein — don’t use vegetable protein at all, and vegetables. A hydro cleans would depend on your general health. A good practitioner should advise you if you should not do one.
Pat, Actually, all the things you mention are connected. Drugs have very powerful effects, fake energy, hidden symptoms, they can even make you not want the carbs! The main problem is that you are coming off a long addiction which usually wants to be replaced by another. If you stop carbs again you may want to smoke or drink. But, you have to stop all those things in order to heal. The real root issue is brain chemistry imbalance likely brought on by the long use of steroids. Once your brain chemistry starts to come into balance you will be able to stop the carbs. Exercise, plenty of animal protein and vegetables, minimum if any grains, no sugar, alcohol or other damaging substances, amino acids and probably tryptophan should get you started. I’d have to talk with you to find the specific supplements you might need for your brain chemistry issues.
Andrea, I hope you have good luck with your indo. Most doctors don’t recognize adrenal fatigue. Ask for a saliva test, if they refuse or say that a blood test is all you need then you won’t get satisfaction from that doctor. The info in my adrenal fatigue book will tell you how to get the test done yourself and what supplements and herbs work well for most people. This will get you started on treating adrenal fatigue if you want to wait on the book.
I just want to sing the praises of this article. After seeing countless doctors for heart palps, depression, hormone therapy, etc. – finally one doctor recommended changing my diet. My life has completely changed. Hoping to correct my mood, one nice side effect was improved physical condition as well. I’m a believer.
I counted myself as having a few of these symptoms, so tommorow I’ll ask at the herbal supplements shop what they might recommend.