Store
Home > Blog > Adrenal Health > Ditch The Coffee And Try These Adrenal Support Suggestions Instead

Ditch The Coffee And Try These Adrenal Support Suggestions Instead

It’s not normal to need stimulants, like caffeine, to get through the day. No matter your age or situation, it’s not a sustainable option. This means one of two things (or both). First, your lifestyle needs adjusting so that you can handle your daily life. Second, you need adrenal support because your body is unable to handle all the stress you’re under. Let's talk about these adrenal support tips.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

An image of a woman with her head down and her hand supporting her headAdrenal fatigue is a condition that the majority of adults will suffer from at least once in their lives. And that’s because of the stress of modern life. Eating unhealthy diets, having unmanaged chronic conditions, getting recurring infections, taking different medications, consuming drugs and alcohol, and suffering from mental and emotional pressure all contribute to this stress.

Your body is capable of handling acute stress once in a while. That’s what your “fight or flight” response evolved for. To help you fight off or run away from a predator, for example. But these mechanisms were not built to handle chronic stress. Even low-grade chronic stress. Chronic stress depletes your adrenal glands, which have to keep producing more and more cortisol, your body’s main anti-stress hormone. Until they can’t anymore.

And then, your entire NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response dysregulates. Your NEM is your body’s global response to stress, and it’s composed of six circuits: the Hormone, the Bioenergetics, the Cardionomic, the Neuroaffect, the Inflammation, and the Detoxification Circuits. The adrenals are part of your NEM’s Hormone Circuit. They are also its first line of defense. So when they dysregulate, the rest of the NEM is more susceptible to dysregulation as well.

Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include fatigue, insomnia, weight gain, brain fog, anxiety, mild depression, hair loss, dry skin, loss of libido, PMS, and infertility. Furthermore, one may experience hypoglycemia, salt and sugar cravings, lowered immunity, recurring infections, an inability to handle stress, and heart palpitations.

The reason these symptoms are so varied is that cortisol modulates many different physiological processes. From immunity to inflammation, to blood sugar levels, to blood pressure, to sleep/wake cycles. And because the adrenals are part of the Hormone Circuit alone with the thyroid and reproductive organs, these components are also involved when the adrenals are responding to stress. So they are also at risk of dysregulating and adding to the symptoms.

Differential Diagnoses

Many of our clients come to us as a last resort after having been looked at by many doctors and not getting the right diagnosis. But, it’s still important to rule out any other condition that can account for these symptoms. Some adrenal fatigue symptoms can often be seen in the following conditions:

  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Depression and anxiety disorders
  • PTSD
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Diabetes
  • Liver disease
  • Kidney disease
  • Heart disease
  • Lung issues
  • Anemia
  • Autoimmunity
  • Stealth infections

If you do have one of these issues, you may also suffer from adrenal fatigue since they add to your stress. But because adrenal fatigue is not yet widely recognized by mainstream medicine, you will not usually get treated for it. But by addressing the other issue, you may improve the state of your adrenals anyway.

The problem usually happens when you do have adrenal fatigue and you can’t get proper answers from your healthcare practitioner. You may end up getting treated for something you don’t have, or not treated at all. That leaves you helpless to the progression of adrenal fatigue and the worsening of its symptoms. Those are the types of patients that we see most often.

Different Forms of Adrenal Support

An image of a woman holding her hand in front of her stomachAdrenal fatigue recovery consists of a two-pronged approach:

  1. Eliminating or reducing the pressure on your adrenal glands.
  2. Strengthening your body with adrenal support supplements, diet, and lifestyle habits.

The first means exactly what is says. You need to eliminate the stresses that you can and reduce the ones you can’t eliminate. This requires that any physical stressors, such as having recurring infections, should be addressed. This also means you need to manage any psychological stressors that you have and reduce your workload and to-dos for the duration of the recovery period. Therapy and support groups can come in handy for dealing with either.

The second part will require proper guidance from a health professional with experience in adrenal fatigue. That’s because it should be individualized to your needs and condition, and adjusted along the way as your body adapts.

The Different Components of Adrenal Support

  • An adrenal fatigue diet that is anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense and that stabilizes your blood sugar levels throughout the day. We recommend eating organic whenever possible. We also recommend eliminating foods that you may be sensitive to, such as gluten and dairy. Good sources of protein, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats like nuts and seeds will be your foundation. You can then add in some gut-healthy foods like bone broth and fermented cabbage.
  • Adrenal support supplements that will fill in any nutritional gaps and give you a therapeutic boost when you need it. Those usually include vitamins and minerals, as well as adaptogenic herbs, different antioxidants, and sometimes certain types of hormones and glandulars. This is where you will need expert help the most because if you don’t do it right, you run the risk of getting paradoxical reactions or even adrenal crashes. And if you take adrenal support supplements like hormones and glandulars when you don’t need them, you may end up harming your adrenals.
  • A lot of rest and sleep. Recovery is a long process and you will need to make the time for it. Sleeping and resting as much as possible will make recovery easier and even faster. This means taking up some good sleep hygiene practices, like not looking at a screen before bed, making sure your room is cool and dark, and having a small snack before bed to stabilize your blood sugar.
  • Gentle forms of exercise can also be a great adrenal support. Do not attempt to do your usual exercises or take up any new ones that are not recommended by your health professional. You need to stick with very gentle forms of exercise specific to adrenal fatigue, like adrenal breathing exercises.

Conclusion

Adrenal support is an essential component of your recovery process. You should eliminate or reduce the sources of stress and use other interventions to improve your health. However, only take adrenal support supplements and make dietary changes with the guidance of a health professional trained in managing adrenal concerns.

If you have questions about adrenal fatigue or adrenal support you can contact the Dr. Lam Coaching team. We can offer you a free** no-obligation phone consultation at +1 (626) 571-1234 where we will privately discuss your symptoms and what your options are. You can also send us a question through our Ask The Doctor system by clicking here.

© Copyright 2022 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Lam’s Key Question

The first thing you need to do for adrenal support is to address any other conditions you might have. Then, you’ll need to take a two-pronged approach for adrenal fatigue recovery. There are things you need to eliminate and the things you need to add. Read the article for details.

Ready to Start Your
Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Journey?
FREE HEALTH CONSULTATION
Dr. Lam Coaching is rated 4.7 / 5 average from 70+ reviews on Google
userphone-handsetmap-markermagnifiercrossmenu