Do you crave salty foods? You might have been consulting with different doctors, and none of them can identify the condition through which you are suffering. If you visit a naturopathic or medicine doctor, they may say that you are suffering from adrenal fatigue. So, what is it? Let's have a look into this in detail.
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
James Wilson, Naturopath, in the year of 1998 discovered the term Adrenal Fatigue. As per the expert, it is a group of symptoms and signs which develop when the body's natural adrenal glands operate below their required level. In general, the condition is associated with chronic infection, for example, flu or bronchitis and high level of stress.
When you are in such condition, you may not have any physical illness but can feel tired. Besides, it will not get over even after a sound sleep.
Understanding the theory behind it
In general, the immune system of the body responds by providing necessary strength under stress. The adrenal glands, located above the kidney, release cortisol and adrenaline-like hormones. They are a significant part of the body's flight response. Besides, these hormones increase heart rate as well as blood pressure. So, if you are suffering from a massive amount of stress, the adrenal glands will release more cortisol. This will lead to adrenal fatigue. There is no such full proof test for this. So, if you are feeling tired, and then it can a sign of adrenal fatigue. Consult your doctor for necessary help.
Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue
- Feeling of fatigue even if you are sleeping for 7 to 8 hours.
- Fluctuations in blood sugar level- It can include a lower level of tolerance to salty food, frequent feeling of hunger, and more.
- Lower immune resilience level- You may suffer from frequent illness.
- A feeling or wired tiredness.
- Frequent mood swings, depression, anxiety, and irritability.
- Increase in caffeine consume level.
- Carving for sugary and salty foods.
- Insomnia.
- Low libido.
- Dizziness.
- Weight gain, weight loss, and other metabolic issues.
- PMS.
- Back pain or body pain.
- Hair loss, and more.
Most of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue are quite general. That's why it is difficult to detect the condition. So, it will be better for you to take the necessary steps as soon as you discover such symptoms.
To make sure that you are suffering from adrenal fatigue, you can go for a cortisol test. Most of the standard doctors reject cortisol test as they came within the normal range. But when you feel fatigued, you should conduct a test from an experienced functional medicine doctor. A professional, functional medicine specialist will analyze your cortisol level and can say whether you have adrenal fatigue or not.
What can Cause Adrenal Fatigue?
In general, adrenal fatigue mainly comes from a high-level of stress. The reason is, under stress, the adrenal release a high level of cortisol. If you are in stress for a longer time, your body will constantly produce cortisol. With time the cortisol rhythm will become irregular, and you will feel mood swings and more. However, here are some common causes that you can consider.
- Lack of proper sleep.
- Poor diet quality.
- Working more than the average level.
- Emotional trauma.
- Mold exposure.
- Excessive exercise and more.
All such things are led to more level of stress and affect the adrenal. So, be careful about this.
Treatment Options for Adrenal Fatigue
If you want to prevent adrenal fatigue completely, then you need to manage your stress level. Well, stress management is a skill and ad with little practice you can learn it. However, here are some options that you can try.
- 1.Control your diet
You need to completely cut out alcohol, refined carbs, sugar, and other different inflammatory foods. Try to replace those foods with veggies, wild-cut meat, grass-fed, and more. You need to follow a low-inflammation and low-toxin diet plant.
- 2.Improve your sleeping quality
If you have adrenal fatigue, then you should be very careful about your sleep. You can face issues when there is a high level of cortisol in your body. This can lead to more stress. Don't get confused with sleep quantity and quality. Instead of quantity, you need to consider the sleep quality.
- 3.Try to decrease your stress
By lowering the stress level, you can altogether avoid adrenal fatigue. How to reduce stress? Well, it is quite easy. Practice exercises, meditation, deep breathing exercise, and stay away from electronic devices. Keep yourself calm as much as you can.
- 4.Try our herbal supplements
There are Chinese herbs for adrenal fatigue which can help you in such case. Consuming herbal supplements is good for health, and they don't develop any side effects. Some supplements are golden root, licorice root, maca root, and Siberian ginseng.
Conclusion
Now, you have a clear idea about adrenal fatigue, its causes, symptoms, and treatment options. Recovering from this condition requires a holistic approach. Prevention is better than cure, so it is important to understand the causes and symptoms very well to protect yourself from Adrenal Fatigue. So, keep all these things in your mind to prevent such condition and enjoy a better lifestyle.
Besides, always try to change your lifestyle to keep yourself healthy!