I covered 30 symptoms of adrenal fatigue in an earlier article, so I’ve been asked what to do to heal adrenal exhaustion. Adrenal stress is one of the biggest issues in peoples health that I have seen in my practice. It isn’t hard to bring them back up with proper care. The hard part for most people is the change in diet that is necessary.
There are different levels of what you can do for the adrenals. It depends on how bad things are, what you can afford — some of the better supplements are expensive, and what you are willing to do.
Adrenal dysfunction primarily comes from diet and emotional stress. We’ll start with diet.
Adrenal Dysfunction And Diet
The adrenals are the base line energy for the body. In Chinese medicine they call it kidney chi. They also say that cold food and drinks are hard on kidney chi and should be avoided.
One of the most important avoidance’s is processed foods which includes all forms of sugar (there are exceptions, I’ll talk about theme another time). Sugar includes honey, maple syrup, fructose, dried fruit, fruit juice, carrot juice, sweet fruits like red apples, oranges and bananas, and any other kinds of ‘natural sugar.’ The body metabolizes all of these sugars the same way it does white sugar. And, all put severe stress on the adrenals.
All processed foods like bread and noodles, even whole wheat or other alternate grains are also to be avoided. If grains are ground up they are processed and will metabolize in almost as bad a way as white sugar. It doesn’t matter if the original form was whole or not. White rice is also out unless you get the low glycemic kind. Thick whole oats are okay, but the steel cut ones aren’t.
If you’re really committed, you could give up grains all together. That will help a lot. This is really hard for most people to do, so only try this if you are really ready for something like that. Minimizing grains is another option. Eating boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes (not baked) can help you too feel full.
I’ve made it a life practice to not eat grains at all. I only eat animal protein, vegetables and a little fruit. This is called the paleolithic diet since that is what our most early ancestors ate. It is what our bodies evolved eating, and it’s what is best for optimum health.
Animal protein is essential to bringing up the adrenals. If you are vegetarian then things are going to be much harder to correct and will take much longer. I’ll write on how to do that if anyone wants me to.
Animal protein means fowl (chicken, turkey), eggs, fish and limited red meat like pork and beef. Different bodies can tolerate different types of animal protein, but that is a long discussion. Most body types do fine with fowl, eggs and fish, but rotate the types of fish you eat.
You can also use protein powders like whey and egg white protein. These are really good for when you are in a hurry.
It is stressful on the adrenals to go hungry, so it’s important to eat when your body asks for food. The problem happens an hour or so after hunger hits, when you stop feeling hungry. It’s an adrenal hormone that brings up the blood sugar causing you to not feel so hungry anymore.
Also, you should have animal protein every time you eat anything. The only exception might be if you were to have nuts as a snack to keep from being hungry. Almonds are the best as they are mostly fat, and the little bit of carbohydrate they have in them won’t cause a spike in the blood sugar. Cashews are not as good as they have a high carbohydrate content. Peanuts are not nuts, they are carbohydrate. They should only be eaten with protein.
Adrenal Supplements
Adrenal support in the form of supplement adrenal is a big subject. Here are three protocols with a little variation.
If your adrenals are in really bad shape you can take whole desiccated adrenal cortex, but only for a short time. Taking it for too long causes the adrenals to burn out even more. One an hour for five to seven days is one protocol that will kick start the adrenals. Stop taking it three or four hours before bed so you can sleep. You’ll feel pretty good in a day or two, but the adrenals are not yet in good shape. They need more nutrition to heal completely.
If you use the desiccated adrenal, take it for a few days, then switch to another protocol. I know this is repeating myself, but it’s important.
The cheapest nutrition is a few B vitamins and an amino acid. B6 is probably the most important one since most people in the world have a deficiency in it. The reason is that the body doesn’t have the necessary enzymes to convert B6 into its usable form. Red bell pepper has those enzymes if you juice or eat a lot of raw vegetables. About a half of a medium sized pepper a day is what it takes. The seeds are even higher in the enzymes. Otherwise, you can get pyrodoxyl 5 phosphate, or P5P. This is the enzyme activated form of B6. Five tablets a day with food in two doses is optimal. The ingredients on most will say either 50 or 34 mg, or something close to that. The numbers are the same, different parts are measured.
Two other B vitamins are pantothenic acid and niacinamide. The dossage is 300 mg per day with food, morning or evening, just pick the time you’d like to take it. Both usually come in 500 mg tablets, it’s okay to take the whole tablet.
Note: Be sure to get niacinamide and not niacin. The later causes a skin flush that is rather unpleasant and not necessary.
Vitamin C is also needed. 5000 mg a day. Break this one up into three or four doses, with food.
B12 is the final one. 400 to 600 mcg a day in two doses, also with food. Get the enzyme activated form if you can, it just works better.
The amino acid that helps the adrenals is found in mushrooms, so you can eat them raw or supplement with tyrosine. 500 mg in the morning will probably make you feel great.
These supplements are available in most health food stores for a reasonable price. You might not be able to find the adrenal cortex though. I use one from Standard Process called Whole Desiccated Adrenal. You can probably find it online even though it goes against Standard Process’s terms to sell over the internet, but people do it anyway.
The best supplements for the adrenals are from a company called Apex Energetics. It is against their terms to sell their products unless you are a licensed medical practitioner, but again, people do it anyway. Adrenastim and adrenacalm are the main ones. They are in a cream form which you apply topically. They come with a little spoon for measuring, a slightly rounded spoon full is a dose. In other words, not much. Apply it to an area where there isn’t any hair to impede absorption. Use the adrenastim twice a day, morning and around noon. It can keep you up at night, so avoid taking it too late. And, use adrenacalm three times a day.
If the adrenals are in pretty bad shape you will need adaptocrine. Four tablets a day in three doses if you can remember, two if you have trouble remembering to take supplement three times.
Another good protocol is herbal. I only use the highest quality herbs, and the only two companies that have good herbs that I know of are MediHerb and Kroeger Herbs. I’ve only used MediHerb, so I’ll give those dosages.
Use the liquid herbs from MediHerb, not only are they better, but they are more cost effective. Licorice root, the high grade, 4 ml per day, and Siberian Ginseng 11 ml per day. You can just mix them up and take them in two dosages on an empty stomach is best. This is for the first few weeks. After you feel better you will want to change the herbs, usually in four weeks or so.
Ashwaganda (withania) and Rehmannia are for when the adrinals are a little stronger but not yet fully healed. Mix the two with just a little more ashwaganda than rehmannia and take 15 ml per day, also on an empty stomach.
That’s the basics. There is a lot more to the subject, but you could easily get yourself back in decent shape in one to six weeks. Twelve weeks at the most. It all depends on age and how desperate the adrenals are.
Feel free to ask questions about this. Using the comment box with this post is the best as I’ll get those sooner than an email.
You can learn more about the adrenal glands from wikipedia.
dear kalidissa i have purchased your self adjusting book and i practising it to self adjust. for years know i have been visiting chiropractors spending lots, i always wondered why my neck and upper back were always going out i never thought my diet was to blaim i do eat to much bread and processed food,could it really improve if i cut these out. i always thought the way i sleep is the problem and i am a big worrier.i have ordered three adrenal supplements from the alternative pharmacy in the us to see if these help.sometimes after visiting a chiropractor to have my neck put back it goes again in a week or so i am looking forward to adjusting myself. i am having some trouble with the collar bone one should i hear something click, thanks again jean
Hi Jean,
Worry and other emotions is another cause of adrenal stress. Brain chemistry is often the culprit there. I’ll write about that sometime.
Eating processed foods, especially bread, almost killed me. The problems processed foods cause vary from person to person. Mine manifested as a blockage in the intestines. They really are that bad, and are the main cause of most major illensses like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.
You are not likely to hear a click or pop when adjusting with this gentle method. Some really sensitive types might feel something move or even feel a little click when it goes back in.
Thanks for the adrenal info. I’ve been realizing over the last few months that i’ve probably got adrenal issues. I’m wondering what you think of the adrenal extracts? You briefly mentioned to not use them long term. Why is this? A lot of people have said that you need a long term treatment with these sometimes to give your adrenals a rest. I’ve been debating starting Isocort (adrenal cortex) but I think I’ll wait till I get my cortisol saliva test figured out.
Thanks
Thank you for writing all these wonderful articles on adrenal health. I’m 28 yrs old and I’ve been experiencing a lot of the symptoms associated with hypothyroidism and adrenal exhaustion and I was looking for natural remedies. This article and many of your others really helped to clear up many of my questions. My next step will be to research a naturopathic or homeopathic physician. Again thank you for this information.
Hi Finn,
Too much adrenal cortex can cause the adrenals to over amp which will burn them out in a different way. The highest dosage I’ve given is one per hour for up to a week — usually for five days. At that level, the adrenals will come up very quickly and you’ll probably feel great in a very short time. Then switch to a different protocol that is less intense. Another way to take adrenal cortex is three a day for up to a month. One thing you may notice if you do either of these is that you feel like you have more energy than you actually do. You may find yourself overdoing it and feeling really tired afterward.
If you have sleep issues, then your cortisol is probably off. Either it is high when you go to bed — trouble getting to sleep, or it is low in the night — waking and not able to get back to sleep.
Hi Angela,
Homeopathy won’t work with adrenal fatigue as it’s a chemical issue, specifically a deficiency. This can be helped only with herbs and/or supplements. I find that using both is the best.
Hypothyroidism happens automatically when the adrenals are low. Actually, I need to write an article on this. The main cause isn’t the thyroid, it’s a deficiency of selenium. The thyroid probably works fine, putting out plenty of T4, but the usable form is T3 which is converted by an enzyme that cleaves off a section of T4. That enzyme is selenium dependent. The maximum safe dosage for selenium is 400 mcg a day though more is often needed.
Thanks for the input, Kalidasa. Just to clarify a little bit: In your opinion are adrenal cortex products helpful in healing the adrenals overall? Or do you recommend other protocol? Especially on the “Stop the Thyroid Madness” website, people seem to have good results with physiologic doses of cortisol (cortex) or hydrocortisone. I’m a little hesitant because I don’t want my adrenals to become dependent on anything, I want to heal them. I should mention also that I’m hypothyroid as well, and I started a small dose of Naturethroid a few weeks ago. It makes a difference, but it’s not the whole picture for me. When I take Naturethroid regularly and try to ramp up my dose a bit, I start to feel kind of hyper, and this is partly why I suspect adrenals. They aren’t strong enough yet to support the thyroid hormones I need.
Thanks
Finn
Hi Finn,
My mentor puts it this way though the analogy is a bit intense. Say you’re driving a horse pulling something heavy and you come to a hill with railroad tracks at the top. You get the horse to the top and he collapses right on the track, and there’s a train coming. That’s the state some people’s adrenals get in — a big train wreck about to happen. What you have to do first is get the horse off the tracks, and the only way to do that is to whip him. That’s what the adrenal cortex does, whip the adrenals.
Now that you’ve avoided getting hit by the train you no longer have to whip the horse. What the adrenals need now is rest and support. Supporting herbs and supplements, like those mentioned in the article, are what’s needed next.
I only have to know that someone’s adrenals are down to know that they are hypothyroid, that is automatic. Simple biochemistry, adrenals down = thyroid down. Always. (I don’t say always very often.)
BTW, if you take adrenal cortex, be sure to stop taking it a few hours before bed or you might not be able to sleep.
This is interesting, thanks for the responses. Do you have a certain way of telling whether or not the adrenals need this “whipping” or not? I think I’ll probably try a very low dose of cortex for a few weeks and see how I feel.
On a side note: have you ever heard of twitching or sudden jerk movements of the body to be symptoms of adrenal or thyroid problems? I’ve been experiencing this for several months and it is pretty unsettling, not knowing if this is a sign of a serious neurological problem or an easily fixable problem.
Thanks
Finn
Hi Finn,
There are ways to tell what the best protocol for your adrenals might be, but I’d have to see you to tell. There is also a saliva test that shows the levels of circulating cortisol at different times of day that can indicate the level of adrenal exhaustion. However, a low dose of adrenal cortex for up to four weeks probably won’t hurt and is at least worth a try.
The twitching/jerking can be caused by many things. Adrenal exhaustion is one. Let me know if taking the adrenal cortex doesn’t clear that up. One of the other main possibilities is a calcium issue. That’s much more complex than just taking more calcium though that wouldn’t hurt.
Kalidasa, thanks so much for the responses. I actually have a saliva test coming in the mail soon, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
-Finn
Hi Finn,
Glad to hear you’re getting that test done. It’s really the only way to know for sure what’s going on. There are other tests, but they only indicate that the adrenals are probably deficient.
I am having problems with mild dehydration and weight loss related to my adrenal fatigue. In the morning, until afternoon or evening, I seem to urinate as much as I drink. How can this be rectified? Why the weight loss, although my strength doesn’t seem to be decreasing, yet? How can I tell if I’m getting too much salt?
HI Kalidasa,
I read your article in adrenal exhaustion and felt you hit the nail on he head. I have had periods of being quite sick sporadically thru the last few years and recently realized it was stress related. It always started with a digusting taste in my mouth, like feces, then within 12 hours I would be sick vomiting or diahrrea or both at the same time, for hours at a time. I would miss work for a minimum of 2 days every time this happened.
I have been a proponent of Mediherb and Standard Process Products and some of those helped a bit. I haven’t seen a dr since I realized it was stress related but just finished taking the adrenal dessicated tablets from Standard Process. I am trying to take the licorice root and siberian ginseng but honestly cannot stand the taste and can’t get it down.
I am hoping you can offer some suggestions in pill form (I know the Siberian Ginseng (Eulethro) comes in pill form. Since I don’t feel sick and actually feel well should I move on to taking the Withania Complex along with the Rehemania Complex?
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Hi Tom,
It isn’t that easy to tell from your symptoms what you have going on. It could be a toxicity issue, probably heavy metals or excess acid.
Salt is needed by the body. The issue with salt isn’t the excess sodium, but not enough potassium to balance it out mostly by eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
Jeff,
Try Tribulus from Mediherb. It’s for phase three adrenal exhaustion — the worst. Withania is for phase two adrenal exhaustion, really good for people who get that 3 or 4 in the afternoon sleepiness.
Kalidassa,
Thank you again for the info. How long do you recommend I take the Tribulus for?
Thanks,
Jeff
Kalidassa,
With the research I’ve done and the great help you have provided me, I have a question for one of my cousin’s who is very sick.
For about a year or so now, he frequently gets attacks where he essentially starts suffocating and ends up in cardiac arrest. At that point he has to stab himself with multiple Epipens just to stay alive. He has been to multiple hospitals across the country and participated in different studies with no luck. He has been told that he has a very high level of aluminum but that is it…..no solution. He has lost his job, benefits, everything. The stress all throughout his life has been at an extreme for a long time now.
Through talking with you about my issues, I started thinking about him and if anything could be done to help him. Obviously, he is not going to make it very long with the frequency of cardiac arrests.
Any advice you could provide would be appreciated beyond belief.
Thank you,
Jeff
Jeff,
Tribulus for at least a month. Start with one or two in the morning, and build to between three and five. It can be pretty intense, that’s why you want to start slow.
Your cousin obviously has some very serious issues. Aluminum tends to go to the lungs, so that could be the issue. Impossible to tell without seeing him. There are lots of chelation agents available, but it’s hard to know which one to use. In general I like fulvic acid, not a typo, it’s spelled fulvic. And, it’s not too expensive, about $30 a quart. The dossage is one ounce a day for most people, however very toxic individuals can not tollerate near that much, a detox reaction happens. This can be just about anything. One client gave it to her husbnd after chemo got rid of his cancer, and only one teaspoon a day caused his skin to itch unbearably.
Almost definitely he is overly acidic, another toxicity. There is a calcium water from Water Oz that will bring down acid levels very quickly. The issue with it is that you can’t go too fast. a quarter cup twice a day is the max, and only for very acidic bodies. Again, I can’t give you better suggestions without seeing him. He might not be able to tolerate more than a tablespoon full a day.
These are only general guidelines. I can not possibly give good recommendations without seeing people. And, these statements are not by any means a prescription, the FDA hasn’t approved any of them. Had to do the disclaimer on this one.