The adrenals glands are small, triangular-shaped organs that sit on top of each kidney and produce over 50 hormones that drive almost every bodily function, many of which are essential for life. They are considered your “lifesaving” organs because they control your body’s hormones and help you survive stressful situations. They act as the control organs for your “fight or flight” response and secrete many of our most important hormones, including pregnenolone, adrenaline, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA.
When your adrenals are constantly stressed, this creates an autoimmune, inflammatory response in your entire body. The adrenal-hypothalamus-pituitary feedback loop called the HPA axis, regulates cortisol secretion. All of your organs and your immunity are impacted negatively by the resulting constant assault of cortisol. Low adrenal function can also cause someone’s thyroid problem to be much worse than it would be otherwise.
The adrenal glands are composed of two parts–the cortex and medulla–that produce hormones (chemical messengers that regulate body functions). The medulla, or inner part of the adrenal glands, stimulates the hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine. These hormones regulate the “fight or flight” response in the body and its reaction to stressful events. In addition, the cortex, the outer portion of the adrenal glands, produces several hormones that affect blood pressure and blood sugar levels, growth, and some sexual characteristics.
Cortisol calms down the excessive activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This is important because your adrenal gland produces adrenalin, a stimulating neurotransmitter when you are under mental or physical stress. This becomes a significant cause of emotional outbursts if your cortisol levels are low. Consequently, people who lack cortisol often have high levels of adrenaline. The situation arises because they are not experiencing the mood-calming action of cortisol.
Cortisol Levels
- Cortisol produces energy in emotional, mental, or physically stressful situations to calm you down. For example, when you exercise, you make extra cortisol. The reason? Physical exercise is stressful to the body. If your cortisol levels remained low, it would be impossible for you to deal with activity without suffering debilitating fatigue and exhaustion.
- Insufficient cortisol can also cause you to react to stress with inappropriate and excessive emotions. Most of us have “drama queens” or “stress messes” in our friends or family circle. They probably get that way from inadequate cortisol. Also, cortisol supplements can ease excessive cravings for sweet or salty food.
- Even depression, extreme moodiness, memory loss, confusion, absentmindedness, outbursts of anger, excessive anxiety, and panic attacks have been seen to resolve with cortisol supplementation.
- Besides, there is a possible link between low cortisol levels and low blood pressure. When blood pressure is 100/60, some people who lack cortisol suffer a significant drop in blood pressure when they suddenly sit up. This low blood pressure effect can contribute to feeling tired, empty-headed, easily distracted, absentminded, lightheaded, or faint. It can even contribute to excessive daydreaming.
SIGNIFICANCE
Because the hormones released from the adrenal glands are crucial to your body’s overall functioning, adrenal disorders can have severe consequences for your health. Tumors of the adrenal glands can secrete excess hormones, increasing blood pressure or heart rate and reducing immune function. Disorders that result in decreased adrenal gland function, such as autoimmune diseases or cancer, can lead to low blood sugar and heart failure.
Risk Of Long-Term Stress on Adrenal Glands
Cortisol continually released from the adrenal glands in response to chronic stress can damage body tissues. In addition, long-term adrenal stimulation can lead to high blood pressure and stomach ulcers and deplete white blood cell levels, increasing your risk of infection. Over time, the adrenal glands cannot produce sufficient cortisol levels to deal with the constant stress you are experiencing. Symptoms of low adrenal function include fatigue, muscle aches, and low blood sugar.
- Cortisol continually released from the adrenal glands in response to chronic stress can damage body tissues.
- Long-term adrenal stimulation can lead to high blood pressure and stomach ulcers and deplete white blood cell levels, increasing your risk of infection.
Control Stress To Maintain Adrenal Gland Health
Unfortunately, many of us experience chronic stress due to our hectic lifestyles, either because our anxiety does not end quickly or quickly followed by another stressor. This state of chronic stress puts your adrenals on overdrive for extended periods, continuously flooding your body with cortisol until your adrenals can no longer keep up the constant demand for more and more stress hormones, leaving you in a state of fatigue.
Cortisol is secreted from your adrenal gland into your bloodstream in the highest amounts in the morning when you need it to get going with your day. There is a regular drop to a low level in the evening so your body can prepare for sleep. But if you are under continual stress, your cortisol level stays elevated, keeping you in a constant fight or flight mode.
Depression, extreme moodiness, memory loss, confusion, absentmindedness, excessive anxiety, and panic attacks have been resolved with cortisol supplementation.
There are many physical effects of cortisol imbalance. For example, when your cortisol levels are off, you may suffer the following:
- Your ability to handle stress decreases; you are less productive at work.
- You don’t think as clearly as you used to, especially when hurried or under pressure.
- You tend to shake or get nervous stomach indigestion when under pressure.
- Your sex drive is noticeably less than it used to be.
- You feel lightheaded when rising quickly from a sitting or lying position.
- You may experience difficulty waking up in the morning, much more energy after the noon meal, and an afternoon energy lull from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- You suffer from being chronically fatigued and cannot relieve tiredness by sleeping.
- You need to lie down after mental or emotional stress.
- Your muscles are weaker than they should be.
- You have an increased frequency or severity of allergic reactions.
- When you scratch your skin, a white line remains for a minute or more.
- Your blood pressure is low.
- You get low energy or moody if you do not eat regularly.
- Feelings of hopelessness or despair increase.
- You have decreased tolerance; you get more easily irritated by people than you used to.
- Sweet and salty food cravings strike you.
- Stress and headaches interrupt your day.
- You break out with skin rashes, eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo (white spots), keloids (thick scars), or irregular brown spots.
- You experience heavy sweating in the armpits.
Adrenal Fatigue Testing
The adrenal stress profile, which measures free or total cortisol levels in the morning or afternoon, usually offers the most definitive diagnosis. Even when your levels are in the bottom third of the reference range, you can make the diagnosis if you have many symptoms of the condition. Don’t rely strictly on lab testing to establish this diagnosis. You should also be tested for other adrenal gland hormones: DHEA-sulfate, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogens.
Nutrition For Adrenal Support
For dietary starters, avoid hydrogenated fats, caffeine, and junk foods. Instead, consume at least half of your food from raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and sprouted grains. The rest should be from whole food sources as much as possible.
For optimal healing of the adrenal glands, replace white-flour foods, table sugar, and refined carbohydrates with natural sugar from whole fruits or Stevia (from stevia leaf). Cold-pressed oils (almond, walnut, and flax), nuts, seeds, and other whole foods are also essential.
You can help ease the burden on your adrenal glands by learning how to better deal with stress. For example, take a yoga class or learn some meditation techniques to calm your mind and take you out of the “fight or flight” response. In addition, practice slow, deep breathing techniques to slow your heart rate and ease any tension or anxiety in your body.
If you think you may be suffering from adrenal gland issues, get a FREE Consultation with one of our doctors (D.C) here.
