Adrenal Fatigue

      

      Adrenal Fatigue is when a person is exhausted 1st thing in the morning, even after being able to sleep the night before, and exercise makes them more tired. It results from over taxing the adrenals. The adrenals kick in when people are under physical, mental or emotional stress. 

       Pain, inflammation, lack of nutrients, due to diet or inability to assimilate food, low thyroid function, are a few of the physical causes of Adrenal Fatigue. Drinking coffee, eating sugar, eating wheat and for most blood types, corn are other contributing factors. 

       Caffeine in coffee, or many teas, triggers the flight or fight syndrome, where the adrenaline gets pumping to combat, or flee from, a threatening situation. Running, biking, or other forms of extreme physical activity, expel the adrenaline from the body. But most people aren't running marathons after drinking coffee, they just sit, forcing the body to reabsorb the adrenaline, which is hard on the body and the adrenals. Even decaffeinated coffee or tea still has quite a bit of caffeine in it, more than the body needs to deal with on a regular basis.

       Sugar and other foods high on the glycemic index (foods that are quickly converted to sugar/glucose in the body) cause peaks and crashes in energy all day long. The typical quick fix is to grab a soda, sugary snack, or 'energy' drink, or one with caffeine, which just temporarily peaks the energy again and sets people up for a bigger crash. 

      Wheat and corn cause insulin insensitivity, also resulting in peaks and crashes of energy throughout the day. Blood type A can usually handle corn better than other blood types. 

       Emotional and mental stress compound the problem. Like the little boy that cried wolf, asking the adrenals to kick in and kick in, without breaks, for every little thing, and those poor adrenals finally say, " That's it! You are on your own. I'm on vacation!"

        Luckily, by working on diet, food assimilation, health problems, and life style, with a licensed health care practioner, usually Adrenal Fatigue can be improved in just a few weeks. I typically see improvement the first week. The good news is, the majority of people don't have to live with Adrenal Fatigue.  

                                            Health & Happiness,

                                                      Nancy Burton, L.Ac.
                                                              534 Washington, St. Ashalnd, OR 97520

                                                                             (for appoinment call:  541-646-0134)