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Video summarized in article below.

Letā€™s take a deeper look into how the adrenals and cortisol, in particular, affect the body.

The Adrenals

The adrenal glands are actually made out of two parts: the outer layer, which is the adrenal cortex, and the inner layer, which is the adrenal medulla. The adrenals are really a wonderful organ. They produce many hormones such as cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, and pregnenolone. These are just some of the hormones that the adrenals produce. We'll talk about cortisol first.

Cortisol

Cortisol is the main anti-stress hormone that the body has. Itā€™s the main weapon. Cortisol is also a miracle hormone because it does so many things.

It is anti-inflammatory. It helps your sugar balance. It helps the body to produce more sugar when you need it in times of stress. Itā€™s able to put on the braking mechanism when youā€™re overstressed. At the same time, it helps you with the energy that you need.

The problem with cortisol is that it is so universally useful that, when it fails, then you have a big universal problem. Itā€™s like you have a big benefit and you also have a big weakness. This is one of the key problems with cortisol imbalances.

Now, weā€™re not talking about medical conditions such as Addisonā€™s disease where the body intrinsically has improper production of cortisol.

Weā€™re talking about when, on the surface, everything is fine. The body is working well, but somehow the cortisol output does not match the bodyā€™s need at every point in time, whether itā€™s chronic stress or acute stress. So, when that happens, thatā€™s when the problem begins.

Feed-Back Loops and Restoring Self-Regulation

Of course, like many hormones in the body, there are feedback loops involved. Normally, these feedback loops are automatic. You donā€™t have to touch it, and you donā€™t want to touch it. Thatā€™s why sometimes we donā€™t want people to just try to manipulate too many hormones because itā€™s like a moving target 24/7.

The body has the ability to self-regulate. Itā€™s built-in, but you have to let the body do the job. You cannot manipulate it too much. Thatā€™s why patching symptoms doesn't work. Whether itā€™s too high or too low, you donā€™t want to do too much of that. You must give the body the tools for it to kind of repair itself, and cortisol is one of the most important key antistress hormones in the body.

Signs and Symptoms of High Cortisol

Signs of high cortisol can happen in the early stages of adrenal fatigue when your bodyā€™s really trying to push very hard to create cortisol to match the demand of your stress. So, what you might be seeing are high levels of sugars or obesity starting to creep up. Your muscles might feel weaker. You might have some increased insulin resistance and higher blood pressure, lower potassium levels, and increased body hair. Those are some of the signs of high cortisol.

Signs of Lower Cortisol Levels

So, when adrenal fatigue advances, your cortisol level canā€™t keep up with the amount of stress that your body is going through. So, then you might get some signs such as low trending glucose levels and blood sugar. You might have a low level of sodium. You find yourself having more fatigue. You might have low trending blood pressure as well.

You could find that your appetite is actually decreasing and then you might actually be heading to a point where you might actually be getting weight loss and then also feeling your muscles just being quite weak.

The Cortisol Continuum

Your cortisol output during the stress response is a continuum. Itā€™s not absolute. Itā€™s not like a light switch you turn on and turn off. As the body needs more, it goes up, but as the body needs less, it also goes down. Itā€™s dynamic.

In adrenal fatigue, what you have in the early stages is the cortisol rises and you have those symptoms, but interestingly, as the body kind of burns itself out at the adrenal fatigue level, then you start having an awful set of reactions. Thatā€™s why people get very confused and why sometimes I have a salt craving. Sometimes I have a sugar craving. Sometimes I feel great. Sometimes I feel terrible. It this kind of happens like a yoyo throughout the day or it could happen throughout a long period of time depending on the stressors.

Aldosterone

Of course, in particular, aldosterone is one that a lot of people complain of when they have low blood pressure. They feel a little lightheaded when they stand up. They feel breathless when they go up the steps. A large part of it has to do with aldosterone which is a salt-regulating hormone which is also, in addition to cortisol, made and then regulated in the adrenal glands.

Of course, signs of low aldosterone are very common, but sometimes they are so subtle that you donā€™t really see it. Itā€™s like whispers. They can include muscle twitches, confusion, fatigue, feeling a little nauseated. You can even have some heart palpitations, an irregular heart rate, and then because you have less ability to regulate electrolytes, your sodium-potassium becomes off even though the lab results can show up normal.

 
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