“ADRENAL FATIGUE IS A COMMON CONDITION AFFECTING MORE THAN 66 PERCENT OF THE WORLD POPULATION IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER. … HOWEVER, A POORLY FUNCTIONING ADRENAL SYSTEM LEADS TO AN IMBALANCE OF HORMONES THAT IMPACT IMMUNE FUNCTION, SLEEP, MOOD AND ENERGY LEVELS.”
So how can we combat adrenal issues from not wrecking our lives? Whole, nutrient dense foods, some serious gut love, stress reduction and supplements when needed.
Healing with Nutrition // What to Avoid:
Avoid Sugar: Sugar strips your adrenals of more vital nutrients
Caffeine: This can interfere with your sleep cycle and make it hard for your adrenals to recover. {don’t worry, I have tasty substitutions}
Hydrogenated Oils: Vegetable oils like soybean, canola and corn oil are highly inflammatory and can lead to adrenal inflammation.
Processed Carbohydrates: If you’re dealing with anxiety, try kicking the gluten and starchy carbs for a period of time to see if that may regulate your tiredness and energy levels.
Protein: Don’t consume too much. An overload of protein can stress your hormones more than you might think, not to mention added hormones.
Healing with Nutrition // What to Eat:
Healthy Fats: Coconut, Olives, Avocado (my fave), raw nuts & seeds such as pumpkin, chia and flax
Vegetables: Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.
Fish: Wild caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna. Mackerel and herring contain an ingredient known as phosphatidyl serine. Phosphatidyl serine helps to bring down cortisol levels in the body via the hypothalamus – adrenal chain, known as the HPA (hyper thalamic pituitary axis).
Meats: Free-range, grass fed & organic chicken, turkey, beef & bison.
Fermented Foods: Sauerkrat, kefir, kimchi, 4g or less kombucha, probiotic yogurt.
Broths: chicken, beef or vegetable broth
Seaweed: Seaweed such as nori, kelp and wakame are loaded with vitamins and minerals, specifically magnesium.
Sea Salt: This helps add back essential minerals to your adrenals, I recommend putting a pinch in with warm water + lemon in the mornings.
My go-to supplements/nutrients:
Fish Oil: Fish oil can help with mental dysfunction, immune system function, skin issues, cortisol, weight gain and anxiety/depression, and also balance blood sugar.
Vitamin C: Flood the adrenals with Vitamin C before bed.
B Vitamins: Take B6 & B12 two hours before bed to help nourish the adrenals.
Magnesium: I highly recommend topical magnesium or using magnesium citrate as it is the easiest form for the body to absorb, or just take a bath in some high quality epsom salts. Magnesium has been proven to relax muscles and often, the nervous system.
Phosphatidyl Serine: helps to bring down cortisol levels in the body via the hypothalamus – adrenal chain, known as the HPA (hyper thalamic pituitary axis).
Liquid Herbal Tinctures: My favorite mixture is 2 dropper-fulls of each from
HERB PHARM: St. John’s Wort, Better Sleep & Chamomile. If you struggle with anxiety at night with sleep, mix in 2 dropper-fulls of Herb Pharm’s Anxiety Soother.
CBD/Nanoenhanced Hemp Oil: It is understood according to research that the calming effects of CBD can increase overall sleep amounts, reduce sleep difficulties (trouble falling asleep), improve sleep quality, and reduce insomnia.
Amino Acids: My favorite sleep supplement ever that put me on track with my sleep is called Kavinance Ultra PM, a blend of amino acids and melatonin.
Pro Gad Enhancer: was created to assist people who have difficulty producing adequate amounts of GABA, an important brain neurotransmitter. GABA plays the principal role of reducing excitability throughout the nervous system, as well as, regulation of muscle relaxation
Probiotics: can help with your cortisol levels and help nourish your gut. (You should also be getting probiotics through fermented foods.
Young Living Essential Oils: Lavender, cedarwood, grounding, surrender, valerian, chamomile, peace & calming, sleepyize.
Self Care:
Meditate: I love the app Headspace
Yoga: Putting your legs up against the wall {Viparita Karani is often called Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose} this will help to lower cortisol around nighttime.
Adrenal issues are often caused by blood sugar problems, and this is one of the most common reasons you might be having unrestful sleep. When your blood sugar dips too low during the night, it can wake you up. You might wake up feeling anxious or hungry or feel your heart pounding. These are all signs that you’ve awoken during a blood sugar drop.
To promote restful sleep, try eating a snack consisting of healthy fat, no later than one hour before bedtime, You shouldn’t feel like you’re going to bed too hungry or too full. This has helped me immensely, especially with sleep interruptions. By balancing your blood sugar, you are promoting and increasing your chances of a full night’s sleep.
Some snack ideas to stabilize blood sugar:
- Banana and raw, creamy almond butter
- A cup of herbal chamomile tea with honey and coconut cream
- Frozen berries with heavy cream, topped with pecans or almonds
- Apple and raw, creamy almond butter
- Half a sweet potato with grass-fed butter
- Probiotic rich, raw yogurt. I love the brand Mother Culture
