Stimulant Sabotage

In the past, I’ve picked on various stimulants quoting research on coffee, cigarettes, as well as the e-cigarette.  Other popular stimulants include energy drinks, gluten and dairy based foods, excessive sugars, artificial sweeteners, processed and frozen foods along with various medications and hormones.  We crave these foods and pseudo-foods to get a quick lift or pick-me-up often not realizing that all stimulants tax the adrenal glands and fatigued adrenals are often the ultimate cause of general fatigue and malaise.  This viscous cycle is the root cause of a host of symptoms and illnesses that plague people and often goes undetected.

Common signs of adrenal fatigue include trouble falling or going to sleep, salt cravings, difficulty waking and getting started in the morning, afternoon fatigue and headaches, depression, weak nails, excessive perspiration and urination, weight gain, blood pressure problems, joint pain, arthritic tendencies, and muscle pain.  Obviously, these are merely symptoms that could relate to many conditions, but someone who has severe adrenal fatigue knows that something is simply not right.  One of the most common findings with adrenal fatigue is dizziness upon standing from a seated or lying down position.  The reason for this is that the adrenal hormone, adrenaline, is supposed to be released upon standing to increase blood pressure approximately.  When the adrenals are exhausted, this simply does not happen.  The best way to diagnose adrenal problems is through an Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) test where saliva hormones are collected and measured at a lab.  The main reasons doctors aren’t running this test regularly is either that they don’t know about it or that insurance typically doesn’t cover the test. If you’re worried about adrenal fatigue, request the test from your doctor because adrenal problems often result in thyroid, pituitary, and other endocrine (hormone) problems.

There is not really one individual cause to adrenal problems.  I look at it as the perfect storm.  The stimulants mentioned above, coupled with the typical American diet, poor sleep habits, and sympathetic overflow from chronic low (or high) stress levels make the perfect recipe for adrenal failure.  Even physical traumas/accidents, excessive exercise training, and viral, bacterial, or fungal infections can affect the adrenals.  Our job is to support the critical glands and allow recovery.  You do this through proper sleep, a healthy, low-carb and low sugar diet, exercise, and regular stress reduction.  Nutritionally, the adrenals require abundant B-vitamins, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils).  Surprisingly, one of the most important requirements for adrenal function is adequate water intake (½ your body weight in ounces).  If you ask me, I would say that adrenal fatigue affects nearly all Americans at some level and it is a complicating factor with most conditions and disease processes out there due to the adrenal glands’ role in regulating the stress response in the body.  However, with the proper testing, the proper interventions and most importantly, the proper lifestyle choices it is a factor that can be treated and prevented.