Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms and Signs

Do you sleep 7-8 hours a night, but still wake up exhausted? Do you often feel exhausted and weighed down by your responsibilities? Is your recovery from an illness or a stressful situation take longer than it should? If you answered yes to any of these statements, you could be suffering from adrenal fatigue. This condition is not something you want to ignore.  It's important you understand adrenal fatigue symptoms and signs so you can identify if you have it or not.

Remember symptoms are an important messenger system of the body. Symptoms tell us when something isn’t working quite right.

Here are the most common adrenal fatigue symptoms and signs so you get a better idea if what you’re experiencing is actually adrenal fatigue or something else?

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Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms and Signs

Weight Issues:  Tendency to gain weight in the abdomen and/or have a tough time losing weight

Food cravings: Cravings for salty or sugary foods, sometimes feeling uncontrollable?

Energy: Wired and Tired. Constantly exhausted. You’re tired even without having indulged in vigorous activities. You feel exhausted and weighed down by your responsibilities. You seem to “wake up” after 6:00 pm and feel like the day has just begun

Sleep: Have trouble falling asleep or suffer from insomnia. Wake up frequently through the night or sleep 7-8 hours a night, but you wake up feeling exhausted

Blood pressure:  High or low blood pressure can both be indicators. Getting lightheaded when you get up quickly is associated with low blood pressure

Thinking:  Brain fog.  Hard to stay focused on one task, racing thoughts constantly

Immunity: Recovery from an illness or a stressful situation takes longer than it should

Food Sensitivities/Allergies: Can’t seem to digest certain foods although you have never had food allergies before

Libido: Reduced sex drive

Hormones: Experience severe PMS

 

Additional symptoms include:

• Numbness in your fingers

• Cold hands and feet

• Frequent urination

• Poor circulation

• Allergies worsen or develop allergies later in life

• Asthma

• Hair loss

• Constipation or diarrhea

• Low Body Temperature

• Heart palpitations

Again if you have adrenal fatigue, this is not something you want to ignore as it can lead to many long-term health consequences, if left untreated.

Now that you know the adrenal fatigue symptoms and signs, take a simple DIY adrenal fatigue test.

Now we'd love to hear from you in the comments below. What are your biggest symptoms right now? What is your biggest burning question? This is a healing community and your comments could be just what someone else needs to hear. So take a moment to drop us a line below.

Treat Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms Naturally - 5 Kitchen Remedies

What if I told you, you don’t have to buy expensive supplements or go on crazy elimination diets in order to heal your gut, detox your body or improve your digestion. Would you want to know more? It took me years and thousands of dollars before I realized that some of the most powerful and inexpensive remedies to treat adrenal fatigue symptoms were right under my nose. I am going to share with you 5 kitchen remedies to treat adrenal fatigue symptoms and my favorite ways to easily incorporate these into your diet.

#1 Turmeric

This vibrant colored and highly aromatic spice used often in Asian cooking belongs to the ginger family.

The main active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin which gives turmeric many of its healing and cleansing properties.

To start, turmeric is a potent antioxidant packed with vitamins A, C, and E.

Vitamin C is key for adrenal fatigue sufferers because the more cortisol you make the more vitamin C is used. During the stress response the body burns up many times the daily requirement of vitamin C. So as stressful events increase, the need for vitamin C also increases.

Another reason turmeric is a great remedy for adrenal fatigue is because of its anti-inflammatory effects.

As you probably already noticed, inflammation is common with adrenal fatigue and autoimmune diseases. Inflammation is the result of an overactive immune system. Particularly with chronic autoimmune disease, the amount of inflammation present is determined by the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands, so when the adrenals are weak your body is more prone to inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory potency of turmeric has been compared favorably to anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical drugs…minus all the side effects.

Ways to Consume Turmeric:

1. Add small amounts (a teaspoon) to your daily smoothies

2. Make a yummy dish, once or twice a week that uses turmeric. My favorite is a red lentil curry dish like this one

#2 Clove

Clove has been used for thousands of   years in India and China as not only a spice and condiment, but as medicine.

Like Turmeric, clove is a powerful antioxidant. It is also anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiseptic and a natural pain-reliever.

Inflammation and digestion are common issues for most adrenal fatigue sufferers and clove comes to the rescue as it’s capable of addressing both.

For example, clove relaxes the smooth lining of the GI tract and stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes. As a result, clove helps alleviate vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal gas, irritability and stomachaches.

Clove is also a good source of manganese, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.

Ways to Consume Clove:

I prefer to consume clove by incorporating it into my food and drink. It’s not something I want in my smoothies, but that’s just me. Here are a couple great recipes to try. If you like chai tea you can make a big batch on Sunday and enjoy a cup each morning.

1. Chili Recipe

2. Homemade Chai Tea

#3 Garlic

Garlic is a plant in the same family as the onion. The compound allicin is responsible for garlic’s many health benefits.

Garlic is a potent natural antibiotic and boosts the function of the immune system. Garlic is high in vitamins and minerals, many of which are on the recommended list of vitamins important for those suffering from adrenal fatigue. To name a few: manganese, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Selenium and fiber. Garlic also has decent amounts of copper, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1.

High doses of the allicin compounds have been shown to protect against organ damage from heavy metal toxicity.

For example, a 4-week study of employees of a car battery plant who had excessive exposure to lead, found that garlic reduced lead levels in the blood by 19%.

Toxicity is an issue for adrenal fatigue sufferers because the body has a hard time cleansing and detoxing when digestion is slow, the lymphatic system is sluggish, inflammation is high and blood flow is compromised.

Ways to Consume Garlic:

1. Chopped up fine and sprinkled on toast with butter or olive oil

2. Chopped up fine in fresh, homemade guacamole or salsa

3. Add chopped up garlic to almost any savory food recipe, soup, pasta sauce, curry, chili, roasted vegetables or stew

4. If I’m suffering from a severe cold, I’m not afraid to throw a whole clove in my mouth, chew it up and swallow

#4 Ginger

Traditional Chinese medicine has relied on ginger for more than 2,000 years. Ginger is a pungent spice known historically for increasing blood flow and for its anti-inflammatory properties. It is especially known for its effectiveness in eliminating intestinal gas and for treating chronic ingestion, common issues for adrenal fatigue sufferers.

Ginger also has the ability to reduce muscle pain and soreness and menstrual cramps.

It is also known to help fight the flu and common cold. Adrenal fatigue sufferers typically have a compromised immune system. Having a cheap and easy remedy like ginger for these seasonal bugs, is key.

Ways to Consume Ginger:

1. Chai Tea (already mentioned)

2. Make a Wintery Tonic by adding a chunk of ginger to boiling water, add honey and fresh lemon

3. Red Lentil Curry (already mentioned)

4. Try other recipes with fresh ginger like yummy soups or stir-frys

#5 Thyme

For many of us who suffer from adrenal fatigue, getting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals for healing and optimal health can be challenging. Luckily, thyme is packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

If you feel a cold coming on and your immune system needs a boost, thyme is a perfect supplement.

Thyme is also a good source of copper, fiber, iron and manganese.

Way to Consume Thyme:

1. Homemade Pasta Sauce

2. Make your own Thyme Tea recipe here

I just shared with you the top 5 adrenal fatigue remedies already in your kitchen and my favorite ways to incorporate them into your diet.

 Now, I would love to hear from you. Share a comment below. Have you tried these magical herbs or spices as healing remedies? If so, what was your experience? And what are your favorite ways to incorporate these herbs and spices into your diet? Your comments could help someone else on their healing journey.

All my best,
Angela

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Treat Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue with Magnesium

Whether you’re here because you’ve heard about the importance of magnesium with adrenal fatigue, but you’re not sure why or how to use it. Or maybe you’ve taken magnesium and it didn’t help with your insomnia or other symptoms as promised and you're trying to get more information. Don’t completely rule out magnesium for treating your symptoms of adrenal fatigue just yet. Even if magnesium didn’t help with your insomnia it doesn’t mean you still couldn’t benefit a great deal from this amazing mineral. Today, we are answering 5 important questions about magnesium.

The truth is studies show 50% of Americans are deficient in magnesium.
Magnesium deficiency is not something to ignore since it contributes to many health problems and diseases such as heart disease, stroke, adrenal fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia and infertility. Also, it is important to consider that maybe the reason you didn’t notice any benefits was because you weren’t able to properly absorb the magnesium. Absorption of magnesium is an issue and I will address a solution in a minute.

This mineral is powerful, so powerful that hospitals use it regularly for life-threatening and emergency situations like seizures and heart failure. It’s so important that it is a critical “medication” on the crash cart.

Watch this video or continue reading.

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1. Why are 50% of Americans deficient in magnesium?

Even though the RDA requirement for magnesium is only 300 mg a day, some doctors believe this requirement is low.

Most people would benefit from 400 -1000 mg a day. It is said that the average person gets less than 200 mg a day. Why is our magnesium intake so low? First, the American diet is made up of highly processed foods and foods high in white flour, dairy and meat. Each of these common foods have no magnesium.

Second, magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. Sometimes our bodies are able to absorb certain forms of magnesium easier than others, so it’s important to try several forms before ruling it out.

To further complicate the issue, magnesium levels decrease with excess coffee, alcohol, soda, stress, diarrhea, antibiotics, and medications to treat acid reflux, which are common substances we consume in this culture.

Also, to properly absorb magnesium we need quite a bit of magnesium in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to work with in order for us to properly absorb magnesium. 

2. How to tell if you’re deficient?

Do you have difficulty falling asleep? Do you wake up easily?

Do you get cramps or stiffness regularly?

Do you find fluids pass through you easily?

Do you often have cold hands and feet?

Do you get muscle twitches?

If you answered “yes” to most of these statements, chances are you aren’t getting enough magnesium in your diet.

Common symptoms of mineral deficiency are anxiety, adrenal fatigue, acid reflex, infertility, high blood pressure, constipation, migraines, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), inflammation and insomnia.

3. Why is magnesium so important particularly for adrenal fatigue sufferers?

Magnesium is important in order to achieve optimal health for anyone, but particularly important for those suffering from adrenal fatigue. Here’s why… Stress is a common issue for adrenal fatigue sufferers, right? It’s the root cause of adrenal fatigue, whether we are talking about physical stress, emotional stress, chemical stress or mental stress. Stress causes the adrenals to become fatigued and work less optimally, making it harder for you to handle more stress.

As adrenal fatigue sufferers, we need all the help we can get to counteract the chemical effects that stress has on our bodies, particularly our adrenals. This is where Magnesium comes in.

Magnesium is a relaxing mineral that allows the chemicals in our bodies to come back into balance after the hormone surge of the stress response. The flood of hormones created by the stress response is great for survival but is only meant to be short term. Magnesium can help the body, particularly the muscles relax and heal after the stress response.

Stress isn’t the only thing magnesium is good for. According to Dr. Hyman “This critical mineral is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in all of your tissues — but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax”. We all know that having enough energy to get through the day is one of the top symptoms of adrenal fatigue.

4. Why in theory magnesium can help improve your sleep.

There are receptors in the brain and nervous system called GABA receptors. The GABA receptors are neurotransmitters that the brain needs to switch “off”. And guess what mineral allows these GABA receptors to function properly? You guessed it, magnesium. If we don’t switch our brains to “off” then we remain tense and our thoughts race, keeping us up at night staring at the ceiling. Sound familiar?

I just shared with you why you should consider using magnesium to treat your symptoms of adrenal fatigue. Now we want to help you incorporate this important mineral easily into your diet.

5. How do I use magnesium effectively?

Discover how to use magnesium effectively in our Magnesium InfoSheet. All you have to do is enter you name and email below and we will send the infosheet right to your inbox. The infosheet includes a list of magnesium-rich foods and magnesium supplement recommendations from our team of specialists.

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Have you used magnesium? What did you notice? And what has been the most helpful piece of information shared here? This is a healing community and your comments could be just what someone else needs to hear. So take a moment to drop us a line below.

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How Adrenal Fatigue Changed My Life

My struggle with adrenal fatigue was a big wake up call for me, one that I needed so desperately. Adrenal fatigue saved me from the mediocre and unconscious life I was living. By saying this, I don’t mean to undermine the struggle that you are going through right now; because, I get it. It sucks! I remember the sleepless nights, the debilitating exhaustion, the fear that I wouldn’t get better, the digestion issues, the food sensitivities, the mood swings, the dry skin, not being able to eat anything but vegetables, having to pee every 20 minutes…

But I also know my suffering was a true awakening for me. Without this illness I would not have gotten so low and hit rock bottom. It was hitting rock bottom that really made it clear that I had two choices; I could let this condition take over my body and my life or I could choose to keep fighting and believe in my healing.

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I didn’t exactly like life I was leading before adrenal fatigue or the person I was becoming.

Let me give you a glimpse of my old life. Ever since I can remember I loved getting things done. I loved accomplishing things and as a result I learned at an early age to never slowed down. I started working when I was 14 and never stopped. I was putting myself through college working 2 jobs with a full load of classes. When I wasn’t working or going to school I was filling my time with working out, trying to finish my to-do list, trying to do everything and be everywhere. This incessant doing followed me into adulthood and I continued this same pattern. I would never take time out for lunch breaks, self-care and always chose to fill my free time with busy-ness.

I know now that me, my A-type personality and addiction to incessant doing is what got me sick in the first place. And all the things I was doing to be “happy” wasn’t making me happy at all infact, I was miserable. Even when I was doing something I should “enjoy”, I was constantly focused on the next thing really missing out on being in the moment and being “in joy”. I didn’t want to keep living that existence.

So once I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, it all started to make sense. The root cause of my condition was my chronic stress and addictive to incessant doing. It made me really stop and think about the choices I had made. I realized that if I kept on living like this, I would miss out on my life completely. Does this sound familiar? If so, I want to give you a great tool that helped me break the vicious cycle of busyness so I could finally LIVE more and heal my adrenals for good.

I didn’t get this realization overnight, but it was a process.

I started to work with a spiritual mentor. With her guidance, I started incorporating a simple gratitude exercise which little did I know at the time was going to transform my life.

Every night before bed I would write down 3 things I was grateful for from the day. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that this simple practice was not only changing my perspective, but had a positive impact on my body’s ability to heal as well. This practice quickly started to trickle into more of my day. I started to think about gratitude more often, not just at night.

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I began to recognize in the moment when something magical happened, even something really small and felt grateful. Also, with this shift in perspective, I started to notice I had more energy throughout the day. I started to look at life through a more positive and healthy lens.

So for me it was such an important lesson in life, that my health crisis was an opportunity for me to make a have more awareness, fill my life with gratitude and that all I needed to do was choose healing and happiness. I chose to believe in my healing and trust my process and my body.

So now you know my story and how adrenal fatigue changes my life -  for the better.

Now we'd love to hear from you in the comments below. How has your struggle with adrenal fatigue shaped your life? What are the biggest lessons you have learned? You are part of our healing community and your comments could be just what someone else needs to hear. So take a moment to drop us a line below.

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Treating Adrenal Fatigue Naturally with Meditation

What if I told you there was something you could do for just a few minutes every day that is proven to decrease your stress and anxiety, reduce pain, cure insomnia and boost your energy. Would you do it? I’m talking about meditation. And in this blog, I'm going to tell you exactly how meditation works for treating adrenal fatigue naturally. Why is only 8% of the population meditating despite all the great research of its health benefits?

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gPLrnnEaEc 

When I mention meditation to my clients they say “I can’t meditate, I have a hard time sitting still” And to be honest, I felt the same way and for years I was trying to meditate like a monk. Then I realized I was doing it all “wrong”. Mediation is fairly new to the western world so no wonder there is some misconceptions out there. Well, I want to help set the record straight because these myths are causing most people to give up after the first try.

We are going to debunk 4 myths about meditation and give you 5 easy steps to start meditating right away, even if you’re never meditated before.

Now let me explain how meditation is effective in treating adrenal fatigue naturally.

#1 Meditation Decreases Stress and Anxiety

When we are anxious our minds constantly race. Most often we are lamenting about experiences of the past or fearfully anticipating the future. As a result, we become prisoners to these thoughts and feelings. And we replay them over and over in our minds. Meditation, on the other hand, teaches us how to slow down our “monkey” mind and connect to the present moment. When we focus on the present moment we have less time to be anxious. Also, through meditation, we learn how to observe what is happening in the moment rather than judging ourselves, others or fearing everyone or everything.

#2 Meditation Reduces Pain

It is important we first make the distinction between physical pain and emotional pain, known as suffering. A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center discovered 2 fascinating effects of meditation. Meditation allows us to 1) activate higher-order brain regions associated with attention control and enhanced cognitive control and 2) deactivate the thalamus, which acts as the gatekeeper for pain to enter the brain. So when we meditate we learn how to feel less pain and suffering.  How does it get any better?

#3 Meditation Cures Insomnia

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Research shows that an overly stimulated sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) is a major contributing factor in chronic insomnia. A fast-paced and overstimulating lifestyles can be part to blame: staying up late, the overuse of TVs and computers, especially before bed, along with our dietary vices of too many stimulants, coffee, sweets, etc.  or maybe it’s more so that your current life situations are stressing you out and keeping you up at night. Although meditation can’t directly change the issues you are having at work or troubles in your relationships, or having to take care of a sick relative, meditation CAN definitely help you change how you react to these various stressors. Meditation gives us the time and space in our busy lives to get a fresh perspective on tough situations and allow us to have new insights to solve these issues.

#4 Meditation Boosts Energy

Many of us want more energy to get through the day. Unfortunately, we turn to stimulants that give us quick energy which then leads to an energy crash. Calming and focusing the mind with meditation is a highly effective way to increase energy and with no negative side effects.

Also, it’s important to realize that when it comes to energy, our reaction to stress can drain us much faster than even an intense workout. It less about how much you do in a day and more about HOW you do it.

And chemically, DHEA a steroid hormone made by the adrenals in charge of energy levels. If you suffer from adrenal fatigue you might have low levels of DHEA. If so, it feels like you’re operating from rock bottom each day. Meditation luckily is a very healthy and natural way to stimulates the production of DHEA.

Now we’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Have you tried meditation? What was your experience? And what was most helpful piece of information shared here? We are a healing community and your comments could be just what someone else needs to hear. So take a moment to drop us a line below.