Suggested diet
and treatment for adrenal fatigue Part 2 of 2
The diet should
be free of sugar, white flour, caffeine, refined carbohydrates,
alcohol, hardened fats, soft drinks and other junk food.
It should be
organic and include three meals or five smaller meals a day filled
with an abundance of nutritious foods such as fresh vegetables and
fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy oils such as walnut oil and olive
oil.
A diet for
adrenal fatigue should be high in meat protein such as chicken,
turkey, beef, or other meat such as pheasant, duck and ostrich. Eggs
are also good.
Furthermore, the
diet should contain lots of water, which is preferably filtered and
free of chlorine, fluoride and other impurities.
Some people find
it beneficial to take 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a glass of water upon wakening,
unless you have high blood pressure. This helps those who have a low
level of aldosterone. If you have a worsening of the symptoms when
you try this technique, then you should stop.
Avoid eating
fruit on an empty stomach. Eat protein and possibly a
little healthy fat at the same time (this causes the fruit sugar to be absorbed more
slowly). Try to stick to fruits that have less sugar, such as
raspberries, blueberries, black berries, strawberries, apples, pears,
plums and kiwi. Avoid fruit juices.
Salt your food
to taste, but use sea salt or other real mineral salts.
Complex
carbohydrates should also be limited, as they are rapidly broken down
into sugar in the body and can therefore cause damage, as previously
explained.
The best adrenal
fatigue diet is a slightly modified version of the paleolithic diet,
which contains a generous amount of meat protein and healthy fats, lots of low carbohydrate vegetables with a small amount of fruit, nuts
and seeds.
Corn, beans and potatoes should be completely restricted
or avoided. This will help to provide a fine even amount of energy
throughout the day and provide the body with the types of different
foods it is intended to eat. This will nourish the adrenal glands and keep them more balanced and not over stimulated.
Adrenal fatigue
treatment may consist of providing support through various lifestyle
changes, diets, dietary supplements, glandular extracts and adrenal
hormone therapy.
But the steps
you take to recover will depend on the phase of adrenal fatigue you
are in, and how your body reacts. Again, it is really important to
seek guidance from a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner who has expertise in
adrenal fatigue treatment, and who is also knowledgeable about the advanced stages of adrenal fatigue.
For a person who is suffering from adrenal fatigue, it is very important that the right steps are taken in the right order, and not to hurry.
The dosage of nutrients must
be right for each individuals body, and some herbs and/or nutrients that stimulate the
glands might only make matters worse.
The plan and treatment that
works will be unique to each person depending on their particular situation.
For example,
someone who is at an early stage may notice that gland extracts can
be very beneficial, but someone who is already in the adrenal fatigue
phase is likely to have worsening symptoms from glandular extracts.
For example, people
in the early stages will need a different dose of vitamin C and
Pantethine (form of B5 vitamin) than a person with advanced adrenal fatigue.
Someone in the
earlier stages can benefit from i.e. liquorice root, while the person in
exhaustion will be more incapacitated by this.
Reduce
unnecessary stress and rest as much as possible. This is the crucial
first step.
No caffeine
No alcohol or
drugs - alcohol is a very refined sugar.
No sugar, white
flour or refined foods.
Get regular
exercise - easy going (!).
Exercise that is
too demanding, extreme or strenuous will put too much stress on the
adrenal glands and break them down. However, easy training can help
them work better.
Make sure you
get enough sleep and go to bed no later than eleven o'clock, the
adrenal glands (and some other organs) make the majority of their "repair work" between 10pm and 1am (according to Chinese medicine principles)...
Use
stress-relieving and relaxing activities regularly such as
meditation, deep-breathing exercises, soothing music, writing, going
out in nature, art or any other outlet for creativity and relaxation.
Add 1/8 to 1/4
of a teaspoon of sea salt to your drinking water - not if you have
high blood pressure or experience negative symptoms.
Cortisol - A
therapeutic dose of natural hydrocortisone (Not Prednisone) is
often used as a treatment to support the adrenal glands and give some relief from fatigue, but it acts only as a temporary band-aid. The adrenal glands have to be nourished back to health.
You can do a saliva
test (ex. ZRT labs / USA) to measure your cortisol levels, morning,
noon, afternoon and evening. Then, depending on what your results
are, cortisol can be supplemented accordingly. Usually only physiological doses of 5 or 10 mg of cortisol, administered for each time slot indicating low
cortisol production (according to saliva lab test).
Low, therapeutic doses, of natural
hydrocortisone, do not have the adverse health effects of other
cortisone products such as Prednisone.
Repeating- it is important to be
aware that supplemental cortisol does not heal the glands, it acts as a band-aid, and
the adrenal glands can continue to deteriorate if not nursed back to
life.
Dietary
Supplements, Herbs and Glandular Extracts - There are many dietary
supplements and herbs that are used. It will vary among healthcare practitioners and with each individual.
The two most important nutrients for someone
with adrenal fatigue or adrenal fatigue are vitamin C and pantethine.
Pantethine is the more readily absorbed form of pantothenic acid (B5).
Others may include B vitamins complex, D-ribose, licorice root,
siberian ginseng, rhodiola rosea, adrenal glandular extract,
magnesium, chromium and glutamine.
It is important
to note that although d-ribose is considered to be one of the most
beneficial nutrients for someone with adrenal fatigue, though for some
people suffering with Candida (fungus) over growth it may be contraindicated . You may find that some of the adrenal fatigue specialists will argue
that d-ribose will not worsen candida, but that is not necessarily true.
In theory it
should not happen, but what happens in real life is often different
than in theory.
Rehabilitation
of the limbic system - and restoring the balance of the autonomic
nervous system, so that the adrenal glands are not constantly forced
to work, is the most important component of recovery.
Another very
important point to consider is that the treatment protocol for all
adrenal fatigue should be individualized, based on the
unique needs of each person. What works for one person can be harmful
to another. It is always recommended that you work closely with a
knowledgeable person who can help you determine which measures are
best for you, and find the right balance of nutrients and supplements
needed for your biochemistry.
The worse off you are, the more important
this is.
The road to
recovery is usually not a fast, nor a straight road, it takes time
and commitment. The road is usually lined with a lot of setbacks, and
progress is a slow process. This is especially true if you are in the
adrenal fatigue phase. The recovery must include addressing and
creating a hormonal balance and also addressing any imbalance of the
thyroid gland.
Do you have
adrenal fatigue?
This is one fairly accurate way to test for
(advanced) adrenal fatigue:
Take your blood
pressure(or have someone take it for you) lying down, and write down the numbers.
Hold the cuff around the arm and stand up. Take your blood pressure
again immediately after standing. In a healthy person, the blood
pressure will rise as they stand. In a person with adrenal fatigue,
the blood pressure will fall when they stand up.
However,
the most common method, that I am aware of, is the cortisol saliva test. Blood samples are not reliable because they
also show "bound cortisol" while the saliva test shows what
is unbound and circulating (biologically active), which is what we need to know. Many
people show a normal blood test, but lower than normal in saliva
testing.
Saliva testing
can be done very easily with a simple home test kit. You collect your
saliva, according to the instructions and send it back to the lab and
they return your results. I use ZRT labs.
Hormones and neurotransmitters
The adrenal glands work with hormones
and neurotransmitters. When there is depletion or failure in one of
these areas, there are usually problems in other areas, so it is
recommended to evaluate these levels as well. The adrenal glands need
balanced hormones and neurotransmitters to function properly and the
neurotransmitters are also affected by hormone levels and adrenal
glands. It is a mutual relationship and in order to restore the
balance, all must be remedied.
I have written about other hormones in my original blog from 2013 and I will slowly get to the english translation - soon.
Best Regards and A Happy Healthy New Year!
Barbro Kravetz
Bachelor of Science in Natural Health
