Adrenal Fatigue
WHY AM I SO EXHAUSTED?
Did you know that statistics show that over 90 percent of Americans suffer from a condition known as hypoadrenia?
What this means is that people are so exhausted and overstressed that their body shuts down as it is unable to find homeostasis through all the demands. Remember the hormone cortisol? It's a beautiful thing. But under prolonged exposure it can turn nasty. Too much cortisol coursing through your body for too long can disrupt many of your normal bodily functions including - chronic fatigue, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, lower blood sugar, cause muscle atrophy, etc.
When we start to "rely" on our cortisol reserves to get us through each day, we are damaging our adrenal gland. Using external sources, such as caffeine, sugar, energy drinks, to help us stay "on top" of things is doing more damage than good. So we first have to ask ourselves,
"WHY AM I SO EXHAUSTED."
Let's cut the fluff.
No - you're not lacking a magic nutrient causing you to tire faster. No - God did not create your body with a deficiency of caffeine or coffee. No - being overstressed, overworked, and overcommitted is not a healthy way to live. We were made to have everything we need within ourselves to thrive.
So the root answer is seeing that we are living in a constant state of stress. The best things to do are to SIMPLIFY our lives as much as we possibly can. Decrease stress on the body by eating mostly unprocessed food and getting enough sleep at night. Decrease stress on the mind by picking up yoga, getting outside, or exercising regularly. Decrease stress in your lifestyle by working less, or saying "no" more to those things that aren't on your same life path.
However, there are going to be times where you will not be able to slow things down and you will need help with building up your adrenal gland to handle everything. Here's how:
Take 500 mg/day of Vitamin B5
Take 1,000-3,000 mg/day of bufference Vitamin C
Use a B Complex (whole food) supplement
Eat celery!
Salt food with sea salt liberally
Avoid milk, chocolate, white flour, processed sugar, and caffeine
Drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily (i.e., if you weight 150 lbs, drink 75 oz. of water/day)
Doing these things, in addition to getting at the roots will help you to build your adrenals back up and have more energy!
Check out my supps (hyperlink) to get your energy back!
