We’ve all experienced fatigue and stress on various occasions in our lives. For many people, the condition resolves within a relatively short period. Most often, both adequate sleep and sufficient rest are advised. However, there is a close link between AFS and your immune system.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is a condition that occurs due to prolonged physical and/or psychological stress. Some of the common symptoms that occur with this condition include stress, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, among others. The condition is also said to have a slow and insidious onset.
Furthermore, studies have established AFS as one of the leading health conditions with increasingly high prevalence rates. On top of that, over 90 percent of chronic health conditions have AFS as a factor.
On one hand, when your body is stressed, your inflammation circuit becomes activated. This, in turn, triggers the immune system response for the purpose of eliminating the invading pathogen.
On the other hand, an untamed inflammation reaction leads to a negative health impact on your body: your immune system response becomes dysregulated due to overload. Inflammation becomes rampant, and chronic inflammation leads both to autoimmune disorders and increased risk of acquiring infections due to weakened immunity.
To start with, AFS is neither a genetic nor a contagious condition. Normally, this condition results when adrenal glands become unable to control stress and thus succumb to severe stress.
The condition is defined as acute, severe, chronic, or excessive, depending on the level of progression.
In addition, the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response is the survival mechanism your body adapts.
The NEM Stress Response consists of six systems and organs that are integrated and work together to fight stress, as well as maintaining their organ functions. The six circuits are inflammation, detoxification, neuroaffect, metabolic, cardionomic, and hormonal.
Dietary supplements that boost the immune system play a vital role both in maintaining immune function and alleviating symptoms of AFS.
The most essential thing about probiotics is that they contain “good bacteria” and yeast. Both optimize health in your gut. When “good bacteria” are in low numbers, your gut has high chances of attack by “bad bacteria.” So “good bacteria” works as a defense mechanism. Also, probiotics digest nutrients and detoxify your colon. Examples of probiotics include:
Again, probiotics have more health benefits, such as for skin conditions (e.g. eczema), vaginal and urinary health, and in preventing allergies and colds.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is obtainable in fruits and vegetables. This vitamin has a powerful antioxidant effect in your body. It also aids your body in forming and maintaining connective tissues, such as your skin, blood vessels and bones.
Other benefits attributable to vitamin C involve the prevention of heart diseases, increased absorption of folic acid, and reduction of low density lipoprotein (LDL, also known as “bad” cholesterol) and triglycerides.
Vitamin C supplements cut down on the duration and symptoms of the common cold, and support healthy immune system function.
This vitamin is cheaply available from sunshine. The vitamin can also be obtained from foods and supplements.
Vitamin D has several important roles in your body.
It maintains the health of your bones and teeth. It backs up your immune system, brain, and nervous system. It also regulates insulin levels and controls diabetes.
By taking garlic, you are in a position to better combat illnesses like the common cold.
You also can reduce your blood pressure if it is at all high.
Garlic also helps you regulate your cholesterol levels. Again, your heart and bones are kept in good health.
Garlic has antioxidants that help to prevent dementia and Alzheimer's.
Studies have revealed that garlic has antiviral as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Garlic has the ability to improve the immune system also.
You can get omega-3 fatty acids in fish, some sea foods like algae, and in some plants, as well as nut oils.
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and lower risks of chronic conditions like heart problems, cancer, and arthritis.
Omega-3 fatty acids also improve memory and brain performance.
Similar to humans, plants also produce steroids.
Studies have established that 70 percent of sampled plant species have steroids similar to testosterone in them.
It’s easier to boost your natural steroid level by including the following items in your daily diet:
Low inflammation levels makes the immune response weak. This exposes the body to bacterial, fungal, and viral infections.
On the flip side, chronic inflammation, due to prolonged low-level release, sets the immune response on overdrive. Due to continuous overworking, immune response dysregulates, leading to a host of adverse health conditions in your body as inflammation becomes rampant. The possible health conditions include:
The most common signs that signal chronic inflammation are bloating, food sensitivities, brain fog, depression, anxiety, and leaky gut (or IBS).
However, by taking dietary supplements that boost your immune system, the body benefits from restored immune response and improved health conditions.
The detoxification system consists of the immune system, liver, extracellular matrix, kidneys, and the lymphatic system which facilitates effective removal of excessive wastes.
When the system gets overworked due to continued inflammation, the organs start to slow down. As a result, toxicity levels in your body increase due to an accumulation of reactive metabolites.
Some common signals that occur due to increased toxicity levels are constipation, brain fog, insomnia, electrolyte imbalance, food sensitivities, anxiety, and gastric bloating.
It is vital to support your immune system and rid your body of any infections that may be increasing the toxic load on your detoxification circuit.
The cardionomic response system prepares the heart, blood vessels, and lungs by providing more blood filled with oxygen for the fight-or-flight response.
This response is regulated by both the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal gland hormones — adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol.
With continuous chronic inflammation, the fight-or-flight response is also continuous. Supporting the immune system can help to reduce inflammation and the stress on your adrenal glands.
Dietary supplements that boost the immune system can be life changing in AFS recovery. The supplements have incredible power in resolving many conditions which result from AFS. Moreover, they have the ability to re-energize your body and enhance your health.
© Copyright 2018 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
In fact, dietary supplements have been found to have the ability to boost the immune system. For ages, these supplements have been used as therapy among people who are battling a low immune system and the results were nothing short of awesome.
