Adrenal Fatigue Is Stealing Your Energy: Here’s How to Get It Back

Stress is a major contributor to premature aging. In fact, chronic stress can even make you look and feel older. One of the biggest ways you can support your body as you get older is by making sure your adrenal glands have exactly what they need to help you deal with stressors and reduce adrenal fatigue.

High or chronic stress negatively affects your adrenal glands, which play a big role in overall hormone balance and anti-aging. If you’re struggling with stress management, having trouble sleeping, and experiencing other adrenal fatigue symptoms, keep reading for how to restore that youthful vitality by treating adrenal fatigue naturally.

What is adrenal fatigue and how does it make you feel older?

Can your adrenal glands actually get worn out and start making you feel old?

First, it’s important to understand that the term ‘adrenal fatigue’ isn’t the best name for what’s actually going on with your adrenal glands when there’s a problem. Your adrenals control your body’s response to stress, and production of the stress hormone, cortisol. But as a result of a poor diet, a high toxic burden, and chronic stress, their role in the complex hormone symphony can be compromised.

Trouble with the adrenal glands–and the hormones they produce–can and does contribute to signs of aging.

Cortisol production happens in the adrenal glands, along with the release of other hormones. When you’re under stress, your adrenals release more cortisol to help your body deal with whatever problem it perceives. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels, metabolism, inflammation, mood swings, and sex drive.

However, what became known as ‘adrenal fatigue’ occurs when the communication between the brain and the adrenals is dysfunctional, leading to your stress response being stuck in the ‘on’ position.

Over time, this leaves you feeling tired and anxious

Feeling overwhelmed by life and the toll it takes on your body is one of the most common causes of accelerated aging. The effects are often subtle at first but dysfunctional cortisol levels usually become more noticeable over time.

Signs of adrenal fatigue include weight gain, fatigue, and trouble sleeping

How do you know your adrenals need extra support? First, it’s always something you want to think about when you’re going through times of extra stress where cortisol levels are high.

And if you’re a woman in your mid-to-late 30s, this is the age where you begin to notice the subtle side effects that we’re having a harder time coping with stress. Other signs or symptoms of adrenal fatigue might be:

weight gain
low energy levels
hormonal imbalance
increased feelings of anxiety
brain fog or difficulty concentrating
fertility issues (early menopause)
increased blood pressure
caffeine, sugar, or carbohydrate cravings
frequent illness, poor immune health
decreased sex drive or libido
craving salty foods like chips, nuts, or pretzels

Feeling tired after you eat a meal might also be a sign that your adrenals need extra support. Junk food and a poor quality diet are a contributing factor to adrenal fatigue.

All of these can be signs that your adrenals need extra support and cortisol levels may be triggering a hormonal imbalance. As a result, other hormones like estrogen and progesterone might also be affected, which creates a vicious cycle of hormonal imbalance.

What you can do to improve adrenal function

As a woman, there are several lifestyle changes that help support adrenal health and hormone levels.

First, you’ll want to manage stress. This is often one of the root causes of adrenal fatigue. How are you coping with stressful events? Are there things you can remove from your to-do list right now that will ease your mind? How supportive are your personal relationships with your partner, friends, or family?

Then, you’ll want to look at foods to add to your diet. Healthy fats and plenty of protein are key for adrenal health and hormone function. These help keep blood sugar steady. Many women aren’t getting enough protein, but don’t realize it.

And most important, get plenty of sleep and–if you need to–schedule time to recharge. Stick to a nighttime routine and optimize sleep, while adding active relaxation like yoga or meditation to your week.

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The trouble with many adrenal fatigue symptoms is that they’re so common, we often see them as normal–especially in women.

When a busy mom complains she’s exhausted, her friends, spouse, and even her doctor may assure her that it’s “normal” for women her age.

Or when belly fat accumulates around the middle, with trouble falling asleep, she might attribute these to increased anxiety or just changes in mood. And while these symptoms are very common–it doesn’t mean they’re normal.

Healthy cortisol production supports a better stress response, and you’ll know this when:

you’re sleeping well
you feel refreshed when you wake up
you don’t have intense cravings for salty snacks or sugar
you feel like you have good energy
you’re not anxious
you can focus on work, school, or your kids (most of the time)

Healthy adrenal glands play a big role in regulating other hormones as well, which are responsible for youthful benefits like energy and the ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Trouble losing weight? It might be time for a holistic liver detox.

The connection between aging and adrenal fatigue

How does adrenal fatigue impact signs of aging?

As adrenal hormones decrease, signs of aging will begin to occur more often. Estrogen levels are lower–so your skin may suffer from decreased collagen production and elasticity (1).

Your body also has a harder time regulating blood sugar because cortisol helps control the release of insulin into the bloodstream in response to carbohydrate intake–and that can lead to weight gain.

Cortisol also plays an important role in the release of adrenal androgens like DHEA-S–which can help slow down aging, but levels naturally decline as you age (2). It’s one reason why some women experience signs of early menopause or infertility problems around this time.

When adrenals are dysfunctional, it often negatively affects estrogen and progesterone. This is why women going through adrenal dysfunction often experience amenorrhea or irregular periods.

Ways to get your body back into balance with food, exercise routines, and holistic supplements

Nourishing your adrenal glands begins with the basics: reducing stress, eating the right foods, and sleep.

You can also incorporate the right adaptogenic compounds, adrenal supplements, glandulars, and holistic herbs. More on these in a moment.

B vitamins and vitamin C help support cortisol production, as well as fighting brain fog and supporting hormonal balance. Optimize your B vitamins here.

Exercise routines for women with adrenal fatigue should include low intensity activity like yoga, qi gong, or walking.

Reduce chronic stressors so that it doesn’t interfere with adrenal health or healthy hormone balance. This may include setting realistic boundaries and saying no to commitments that overwhelm you right now.

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Anti-aging adrenal health foods

Healthy adrenal glands need:

Quality fats from nuts & seeds, grass-fed butter or ghee, egg yolks, coconut, or avocado.
Plenty of nutrient dense plant foods including leafy greens and other vegetables.
Nuts & seeds.
Fruits for adrenal health should be organic and high in antioxidants–berries and pomegranate are excellent choices.

Herbs for adrenal health and anti-aging include:

Holy basil. Also known as tulsi, a useful adrenal adaptogen. It pairs well in green or black tea, or you can take as a supplement in capsule form.

Maca. Sometimes called Peruvian ginseng, this root has been used for centuries to support vitality, energy, and hormone balance.

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What to avoid when your adrenals are fatigued

Sugar and high glycemic foods–instead, choose sweet vegetables like carrots or beets which have low net carbs but lots of beneficial nutrients.

Caffeine & alcohol can interfere with adrenal function so it’s best to avoid these when adrenals are fatigued.

Stressful situations, relationships and work environments–while not always easy to change if you’re experiencing adrenal fatigue, it’s an important part of maintaining hormone health.

Adrenal supplements to keep you feeling young

A category of herbs or extracts called adaptogens can help adrenals regulate cortisol and other adrenal hormones more efficiently.

rhodiola rosea is a powerful adaptogen that’s considered to be one of the best natural adrenal fatigue supplements available.
ashwagandha is another popular adrenal adaptogen which supports your body’s response to stress

Other useful adrenal extracts can include ginseng (Asian or American), Siberian Eleuthero, and maca.

Vitamins & minerals that can help adrenals stay healthy and combat adrenal fatigue include:

B vitamins (especially B6)
Vitamins C, E and A for antioxidant support
Magnesium

Your doctor may also suggest DHEA, which is a precursor to other adrenal hormones–it’s also converted to estrogen and testosterone. DHEA may be helpful for adrenal insufficiency.

While you can take DHEA supplements, your doctor should monitor your health regularly because too much of this hormone can lead to other serious problems.

When your adrenals are fatigued you may also benefit from adrenal glandulars which include adrenal tissue or extracts–ideally pasture raised organ glands that have been properly prepared for maximum nutrient content. These can be found in supplement form at most health food stores or online.

How to diagnose if you have an issue with your adrenals

A qualified integrative or holistic doctor can test adrenals to evaluate hormone function.

Blood, saliva, and urine tests can all be useful but the best way is a simple adrenal stress index saliva test which measures cortisol levels in your mouth throughout the day. Tests may include:

DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) to examine hormones and their metabolites
Saliva testing for DHEA and cortisol
ACTH stimulation test

How to Use Holistic Medicine to Look and Feel Younger

The adrenal glands are important to help you feel your best as you age. But because our modern lifestyles are hard on adrenal function, we begin to notice the negative side effects of an imbalance as we get older.

This results in an imbalance of hormones and energy production that keep us looking and feeling like our youthful selves. Our ability to make beneficial hormones can decline significantly as we age–causing fatigue, weight gain, and a low sex drive. Get back on track by lowering your stress levels and supporting healthy adrenal function.

Get your health and hormones back on track with 10 days of clean eating and detox inside the 10-Day Jumpstart.

Resources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685269/
https://www.huhs.edu/sites/default/files/files/DHEA%20and%20aging%20article.pdf

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