Are Supplements Holding You Back From Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue?

When it comes to all the puzzle pieces that go together when taking a holistic approach to addressing adrenal fatigue I always say that supplements are the easy part.

I don’t mean they are easy in the sense that they are easy to pick out or necessarily easy to afford, that part can be tricky sometimes—- but when I say easy, I mean it in the sense that they are something that you can just ADD to you current lifestyle without much interruption to business as usual.

After working on the floor in a busy supplement shop when I was studying nutrition, I saw the pattern of people coming in looking for that one silver bullet— that one supplement that was going to make all the difference in the world— to help them lose weight, to help them balance their hormones, clear up their skin, improve their sleep or all of these things put together and the some.

The truth is, I used to be like this too…spending whatever I had to on things I had heard were really effective for certain things. I was right there with ya, I wanted it to be that easy too.

Perhaps you can relate to the disappointment that crept in when you were done a bottle and you literally didn’t notice anything different.. or maybe a bit, but you still didn’t feel fully fixed… and this is something we see ALL THE TIME in this community and with the clients we work with.

Here are 3 common mistakes that can actually sabotage your results

MISTaKE 1: You think a supplement alone is going to be that silver bullet that heals you.

• If it were ONLY that easy… and yes, in some cases we HAVE seen that a supplement can be enough to bring someone back into balance simply and easily. For instance, this is commonly seen in cases where someone is deficient in a certain nutrient and starts supplementing it, but there is almost always more to the picture.

• When it comes to adrenal fatigue, there is more often than not, a lifestyle behind the fatigue that has been supporting the burnout for sometime. Supplements can be supportive and help us feel better day to day— but dealing with the lifestyle and the way the body is perceiving stress on an ongoing basis MUST be addressed if you really want to address this long term. Click here to learn our 7 step system to adrenal fatigue recovery!

KEY THING: DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE LIFESTYLE CHANGES NEEDED!

Mistake 2: You are using supplements to put a band-aid on an issue that is not the root cause

• This is another really common situation and with adrenal fatigue, there are 2 layers to this mindset we want to shine a light on.

  • Layer 1: You are using supplements to support your adrenals but there is another, deeper and larger root cause to your adrenal issues that is being looked over. This is common because for many, adrenal fatigue is much more complicated then simple fatigue and simple burn-out—there is often mineral imbalance, heavy metal toxicity, underlying infections or bacterial overgrowth, auto-immune conditions, etc. In these cases, if you aren’t sure, when it comes to supplements- there is likely a lot of guessing going on. This can draw out the process for a long time in an expensive and frustrating way. We recommend working with a professional who can run the appropriate tests and help you target the right root cause so that all your supplement efforts can be more targeted and more effective.

  • Layer 2: You jump straight to adrenal formulas or adaptogens without addressing an anxious, wound up nervous system that needs calming. You can support and stimulate the adrenals all you want, but if you neglect to address the overdriven nervous system that is keeping the demands on the adrenals high, then you’ll be supporting the adrenals forever. This requires lifestyle adjustments (more deep breathing, more meditating, more sleep) and when it comes to using supplements, think about supplements that are calming and rejuvenating to the nervous system—instead of stimulating or energy producing.

kEY THING: FIGURE OUT THE ROOT CAUSE and ADDRESS iT FIRST!

mISTAKE 3: LACKING PATIENCE

• Patience is a virtue, but when we are burnt-out, exhausted and tired, sometimes we don’t want to wait. We wanted results yesterday! However, we have to remember (especially with hormones) things take time and a supplement may be providing tremendous benefit but the results won’t really be seen or felt for a good few weeks or even months. For this reason, it’s common to see people jumping from one supplement to the next month after month, bottle after bottle, because they aren’t seeing the desired result quick enough.

• We encourage you to think about how you can gauge small and subtle changes that might be showing up along the way—sometimes we are so focused on going from 0 to 100, that it’s easy to discredit or disregard the progress being made along the way.

  KEY THING: Consider how can you track your progress more objectively and less emotionally?

When it comes to using supplements to support your adrenal fatigue, think about what’s causing the imbalance in your body carefully and intuitively. If you aren’t sure, working with a professional who can help make this clear for you can make a huge difference and can really help get you our of a rut if you have felt stuck with the progress you have made up to this point.

Supporting Adrenal Fatigue with Supplements: 3 Common Mistakes

In a perfect world, there would be a magic pill to help us recover from adrenal fatigue instantly.

In the fast paced world we live in, this is something many are searching for.. and in attempt to support and repair their adrenals, many spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on natural health products.

Here at HealYourAdrenalFatigue.com (HYAF), we are big proponents of a holistic approach to recovery.
The truth is that though in some cases a major trauma can fatigue the adrenals very quickly, for the majority, the path to burnout has been a slow and steady build over a longer period of time.  Of course, we each have a different story, but my point is that when it comes to adrenal recovery-- there is no magic pill and it can take a while for things to come back into balance. 

There is no magic pill. 

Even though there is no quick fix, supplements can be a wonderful way to help support and nourish a depleted body. They can be a helpful tool to incorporate into your holistic recovery plan.

Today, I'm excited to share with you some supplement tips and tricks to optimize their effects and also, to highlight some of the common mistakes I see occurring all the time with our clients in practice. 

Mistake #1: absorption is hindered by gut health issues

I see this all the time, people with all sorts of adrenal fatigue symptoms taking various supplements in tablet, capsule or soft gel form. 
I'm not saying that this in itself is a bad thing, but many AF sufferers struggle with the integrity of their intestinal health, hence all the digestive issues we experience.
To maximize the bang for your buck, you want to make sure that you're able to breakdown, absorb and metabolize the supplements you are taking. Makes sense right? 

Recommendation: acknowledge gut health situation and start there first

When considering starting a supplement plan, first check-in with your gut health. How has your digestion/elimination been lately?
If you suspect this needs attention, then I recommend starting with some gut health focused supplements and dietary tweaks first.
Examples:

• Have a glass of lemon water before meals

• Focus on chewing food very well to take stress of the digestive process

• Supplementing L-Glutamine Powder (5 grams mixed with a glass of water before bed) to help with repair of the intestinal lining

• Digestive Enzymes (take with each meal to help with breakdown and absorption)

• Try taking a combination powder supplement that helps restore gastrointestinal integrity such as this one.

• If you are anxious to add some sort of adrenal support to the mix, you could start lightly with some ashawaghanda root powder, which you can add to smoothies, chia puddings, elixirs and more.

Mistake #2:Not using the right type of supplement for your stage of adrenal fatigue

This is another big one. We can easily read suggestions and success stories on forums of Facebook groups from others who have or are struggling with adrenal fatigue, but every body is different and the stage of adrenal fatigue you are in makes a big difference in the way that natural compounds (like certain herbs and glandulars) behave. The way you want these compounds to behave will depend on what your cortisol picture looks like.   For instance, if you find struggle to get out of bed in the morning (a sign that your cortisol is too low when it is supposed to be high), then you will want to avoid herbal formulas that are created to help reduce cortisol.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you're tired but wired at night, it could mean your cortisol level is too high when it should be low-- and using adaptogenic herbs of stimulatory nature at this time can actually exacerbate this issue.  Certain adaptogenic herbs like maca, panax ginseng, licorice and holy basil have their time and place, but when used at the wrong stage of burnout can result in a completely opposite reaction to what was desired in the first place. This is because they stimulate a cortisol boost which is not good for over active adrenals or adrenals that are burnt-out. 

Recommendation: Know your stage or start with simple nutrients instead of herbs

I recommend professional testing to get a baseline of where your adrenals are at and clear insight on what's going on hormonally. Though an investment up front, this will take out the guessing component and help you create a plan that is specific and tailored to your needs. If I had done this from the get go when I was struggling, I would of saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars that I spent experimenting with different supplements. Working with a professional can make all the difference in selecting the right supplements, at the right doses for your body, to help you see and feel the results of your recovery efforts more effectively. 

If you'd rather not get tested or if you just want to start somewhere, then I recommend opting for basic co-founding nutrients that the body can use (and needs to use) in any stage of adrenal fatigue. 
Examples:

• Magnesium

• Vitamin C

• B-complex (especially B5 and B6)

• Zinc

Mistake #3: doing too much at once

Being over zealous and going out and purchasing a whole bunch of different products and superfoods at one time can be over stimulating for the body. 
Without understanding what to take, how and in what form to take it, and at what dose you should take it in, can actually impede your recovery and in some cases, when taking too much of something at the wrong time, even make things worse.  This can occur for instance, if you are over stimulating your adrenals in the early stages of adrenal fatigue when they are already in over drive, or again in the later stages when they are burnt out. 

When you jump into taking numerous sorts of adrenal support at once, it's hard to tell which is causing which benefit/reaction you may be experiencing and the truth is, when you start taking something new, your probably won't notice any benefit for at least 2 weeks. 

Recommendation: Start start slow

I know I've said it before, but for best results, I will have to recommend working with a professional. The time, money and guess work it will spare you is truly significant.
I know you though, you're antsyin the meantime right? Wondering what you can do right now?  If you're wanting to start somewhere today then I recommend considering the tips I have laid out above, and starting with one herbal or adrenal nutrient complex formula that makes sense for you. I encourage you to do your research. 

By starting slow,  you can pay close attention to how your body feels and how it feels with what you have added. 

Example: After checking in with your gut health and determining what stage of adrenal fatigue you are in, you can start with a one adrenal focused herbal or glandular supplement/formula and see how you feel while on it. 

• Start with co-factor nutrients as mentioned above or an adrenal formula that includes these nutrients along with some sort of adaptogenic properties

  • ake note of certain symptoms you are experiencing and gauge them between 1 and 10 so you can look back and see how these change after taking the supplement for a few weeks. For example, you can note questions like the following:

    • How tired are you in the morning on a scale of 1 to 10?

    • How tired are you in the afternoon at 3:00 on a scale of 1 to 10?

    • How wired are you in the evening on a scale of 1 to 10?

• Re-assess after 3 weeks and see how things are going

• Remember that with the adrenals finding the right support for you can be very much a trial and error process, this is enhanced by the fact that as your support your body in "adapting" to stress and situations with "adaptogenic herbs", that sometimes they adapt to the supplements you are taking. On this note, adrenal support formulas need to be monitored and assessed and re-interpreted fairly regularly to help keep them effective. We recommend sticking with some sort of adrenal supportive supplement regimen for at least 3 months when it comes to working towards recovery, and if further support is needed after 3 months you can re-asses and re-structure the regimen as needed.

Supplements can be confusing in general on a good day, but throw something complicated like adrenal fatigue into the mix and it seems like it gets a whole lot more complicated doesn't it?  I made you a quick guide to help bring more clarity on how to use supplements to support adrenal fatigue effectively (and safely).   I hope this brings a If you have yet to be tested and want to start supporting your adrenals with supplements- this list of herbs and nutrients that you can use in the various stages of adrenal fatigue are all laid out for you in the guide below! 

As I mentioned, though this is just one part of the recovery puzzle it can be a great help and an awesome support to the rest of your self care and recovery steps. 
I have seen clients eating all the right food and taking all the right supplements, but not progressing with their recovery at the level that they were hoping because of the fact that they were neglecting the mindfulness component and self-care in other areas. The needs and care each body needs is unique, just like us. 

Wishing you all the best on your path to recovery and if you have a supplement that has absolutely been a life saver along your recovery journey, please share it in the comments below along with what stage of adrenal fatigue you used it in. 

All the best,
Danielle

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY SUPPLEMENT PROTOCOL OR MAKING ANY CHANGES 

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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