5 Simple Ways to Love Up Your Adrenals Daily

When we are stressed and operating from a place of chaos, it can be easy to neglect self-care.

In fact, many of the clients we work with and the people we talk to in our Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Community are the type who put everyone else’s needs before their own.

Over time, this is part of the problem that leads to Adrenal Fatigue and the cascade of symptoms that go along with it— in a nutshell— being high-strung, exhausted and straight up BURNT-OUT.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, diet and supplements can support you but if you don’t address your nervous system and the lifestyle that burnt you out in the first place, you will be stuck “supporting” your adrenals forever as you try to recover but never quite get there.

Supplements are easy…especially when working with a qualified practitioner who can help you pick ones that will help you streamline your goals.

Diet is a bit more challenging because it takes work and it takes a commitment to choosing better, and sticking with it. Click here if you need help getting your nutrition on point.

Lifestyle is the tough part. Changing habits that we’ve had most of our lives is NOT easy. This is often the work that we sometimes KNOW we should be doing, but RESIST because it is hard work.

Today we want to share 5 simple lifestyle tips you can incorporate into your regular routine to help you support your adrenals and manage day-to-day stress on an ongoing basis.

5 Simple Ways to Love Up Your Adrenals + Help You Manage Stress Daily

1. Start your day with warm, salted lemon water

   Upon rising, pour yourself a 8oz glass of tepid water with a sprinkle of quality salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Re-hydrate, re-mineralize and invigorate all in one go.
   Click here to check out our other adrenal loving morning cocktails.
   

2. Stay organized by prioritizing + staying focused on one thing at a time

   When you are in control of your tasks you can control your time. When you control your time, you reduce one of the biggest stressors we tend to face on a daily basis.
   Click here to learn how to manage your day like a champ.
   

3. Prepare healthy snacks and keep them on hand

   When you have healthy snacks that are ready to go, you’ll eat heathy snacks.
   When you eat healthy snacks WHEN you need them, you’ll be supporting your blood sugar and supporting healthy hormonal response throughout the day while providing quality nutrition that will actually ENERGIZE and FUEL your body (and not the opposite).
   

4. Spend 10 quiet minutes alone to focus on calming down your nervous system

   We need to escape the noise and the chaos of our lives, at least for a little, every day.
   Part of the problem with the miscommunication between our brain and our adrenals that leads to adrenal fatigue is the fact that our brain is constantly feeling threatened by stress. We need to take time to let our body know that it’s safe and allow ourselves to BE calm— and then hopefully take those calm vibes with us into our day.
   

5. Commit to doing ONE thing that brings you joy and pleasure every day

   It’s incredible how when we get into the thick of things, we can forget about the things that we love to do.. the things that help FILL our cup back up. Make a list of the things you love to do (in all shapes and form, without judgment) and commit to making time to do something from that list every day. TIP: Make it part of #2.

We know you’re tired, both physically and mentally.

We know you’re tried of being held back by adrenal fatigue and your hormonal issues, tired of missing out the fun in life.

We know they are incredibly frustrating, but THIS does not need to be your new standard of life. YOU’VE GOT THIS IN YOU, we believe that 100%.

If you need a community, resources and accountability— we’ve got you and we’re here to help you turn this around once and for all.

xo Danielle

Understanding Your Thyroid and How It Connects to the Adrenals

The thyroid tends to get a lot of flack.
We often call it out as the blunt of blames and frustrations when it comes to different health struggles...especially weight related, but also hormonal. 

The thyroid may not necessarily be the root cause of your weight or hormonal issues,  of course it could be contributing to them, but people are quick to blame the complex thyroid for their difficulties.. but most of the time, there is more to the story.  

In this post, we hope to offer some understanding around this often misunderstood gland so we can cut it a bit of slack and gain a better grasp on how best to support healthy thyroid function on a daily basis.

It is important to understand how the thyroid connects to the rest of your body and to remember how innately intelligent your body is. Everything that is happening to you hormonally right now, is happening protectively and intelligently in your body's attempt keep homeostasis/balance. We sometimes forget that. 

Today, I want to share a really simple overview of how the thyroid is controlled and some of the things that influence it-- with the goal of connecting a few dots for you-- it's funny, sometimes when you simplify this picture-- the optimal starting place for balancing presents itself.. and it's often way less complex than you thought. 

Let's jump in! 

What controls your thyroid?

In short-- the Hypothalamus.

"Oh snap, Danielle... the Hypothalmus.. you mean that thing that's part of the HPA axis (Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal axis) that all you adrenal experts are talking about all the time?"

Yes, babe. That thing that links your nervous system to your endocrine system.
That thing- the Hypothalamus. 

How does that control work?

The hypothalamus acts like a sensor inside the nervous system. 

It sends signals to the pituitary gland (yes, that other part of the HPA axis) letting it know if it should make MORE or LESS of certain hormones, including an important one called Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). 

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone is a hormone that then tells (or STIMULATES) the thyroid to make more or ease up on the production of different hormones; two important ones are T3 and T4.  These hormones help control how your body stores and uses energy and they are largely made up of the mineral, iodine. 

KEY TAKE AWAY: 
TSH gets its instructions from the hypothalamus and is made in the pituitary gland.  TSH then stimulates the thyroid to make essential thyroid hormones, T3 and T4.  This all happens along the Hypothalamic Pituitary Thyroid Axis (HPT).

Our bodies make much more T4, but T3 is the more potent and active hormone of the two.
When needed, T4 can be converted by the body into the active form, T3 . This occurs in organs like the liver, intestines, kidneys, and lungs.  This is important to be aware of because, for many, this conversion can be impaired if these organs aren't doing their thing as optimally as they could be (...leaky gut sufferers, take note!). 

MAKING SENSE OF YOUR LEVELS: hypo or hyper THyroidism

Okay, so maybe you got your blood work done and are wondering how it's being looked at. 
Blood tests are looking at the levels of thyroid hormones like T3, T4 and TSH, and what these levels are like- relative to one another.

Hypothyroidism

If your TSH is high (which essentially means the brain is telling the thyroid to make lots of thyroid hormones-- T3 and T4), and if your thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) are low.. then this appears that the TSH is yelling at the thyroid for more hormones to be made, but the thyroid isn't making enough to keep up with the demand... so it will appear like your thyroid is under-functioning (HYPOthyroidism).

Hyperthyroidism

If your TSH is low compared to the amount of T3 and T4 your thyroid is making, it's the opposite situation-- it's like TSH is saying "no more" but the thyroid isn't listening... making MORE hormones than demanded by the brain,  which then appears that the thyroid is actually over-active (HYPERthyroidism). In this case you'll have HIGH thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) relative to TSH, so it appears the thyroid is making TOO much. 

Make sense?

Okay, there's another important hormone to throw into the mix.. 

Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG). 

TBG is important because it's a carrier protein. It binds with T3 and T4 and brings these hormones to the tissues that need it via the blood. Essentially, it brings the thyroid hormones to where they need to go.

Most of the T3 and T4 made will be bound and carried to the tissues via TBG-- so you can see why the amount of TBG and the ability of T3 and T4 to bind to it would be important for bringing usable hormones to the tissues that need them, right?

Here's the thing:
The production of TBG and the ability for thyroid hormones to bind to TBG can be influenced by other hormones such as estrogen..and dun dun dunn... cortisol. Interruptions from factors like this can confuse the thyroid and can influence how much and how effectively thyroid hormones are carried in the blood to the tissues that require it and this can effect how things appear on our blood test... and of course, how we feel. 

What this means: sex hormone imbalance (like estrogen dominance) or stress hormone imbalance (due to adrenal overwhelm) can throw off the efficiency and effectiveness of how this all works. 

CONNECTING THE DOTS- WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

To summarize, here are some common reasons why your levels might not be not be showing up properly on your blood tests or why you are showing signs and symptoms of thyroid imbalance. 

Nutritional Deficiency: Sometimes our bodies lack the building blocks to make hormones like T3 and T4 effectively.  Iodine and selenium are key minerals used by the thyroid to make them.  

Conversion Issues: Sometimes it's issues with the conversion like I mentioned above.
When T4 can't be converted to the active form T3, it leads to demands for more hormones from the body. This keeps the thyroid working hard to make more thyroid hormones to keep up wiht the demands, but due to an imbalance in usable hormones due to conversion issues you can see how things can start to get messy. 

Binding Issues: Other times, it's that thyroid hormones can't BIND to the TBG carrier protein because of sex or stress hormone imbalance and/or influences from diet or our environment -- factors such as excess fluoride or bromine consumption, heavy metal toxicity, adrenal stress, high estrogen, certain medications, and high stress hormones. 

"High stress hormones", she says... hmm. 
I see where this is going... 

THE IMPACT OF THE ADRENALS ON THE THYROID

In many cases... or dare I say, MOST cases, the communication occurring along the Hypothalamic Pituitary Thyroid Axis (HPT).. is being disturbed by the messages being delivered along the SOS Hypothalamic Pituitary ADRENAL (HPA) axis.

Which one do you think will take precedence-- the survival response or the metabolic response? 

.... Right.

Saving your life and surviving is always a priority.. so the HYPOTHALAMIC PITUITARY ADRENAL axis communication takes the reigns in this situation. 

The adrenals come into play when there is stress present that the body needs to deal with, whether that stress be physical stress, inflammation, work stress, emotional stress, life-threatening stress, lack of sleep stress, etc. 

The adrenals are also told what to do based on what that bossy pituitary gland is telling them to do. 

How the Thyroid is Affected

Oh wait, double edge sword here---
When stress hormones like cortisol are elevated and our body is in a perceived state of stress, metabolism regulation from the thyroid is no longer a priority to the body--  in this case the pituitary gland will tell the thyroid to ease up on making more thyroid hormones (it's got bigger fish to fry right now), add this to underlying issues with conversion or thyroid hormone binding issues and you can see how this can be a bit of a cascading disaster. 

The bottom line is that your adrenals come into play with this whole thyroid cascade.
Regardless of what type of thyroid issues you are experiencing, the adrenals are worth addressing, paying attention to and giving some TLC to. Sometimes when you do this, everything else has a funny way of working itself back into balance. 

Are you wondering how to support your thyroid by calming down your adrenal response and regulating this hormonal cascade once and for all? Self care and balanced, clean nutrition are vital.

Click the button below to get our free Recovery Starter Kit to set you up with all you need to know to get this Thyroid/Adrenal loving balance party started! 

Feeling "unfixable" or like a slave to your chronic condition

This has been coming up a lot for us lately. 
The idea of feeling "unfixable" or feeling "stuck" with your health. 

Many in our community are just beginning to learn about adrenal fatigue, but for many the reality is that adrenal fatigue is another "condition" on top of many-- from sneaky, hard to pinpoint viral or bacterial infections, addictions, cancer, MS and much more.

We get feedback from those suffering that "adrenal support alone-- can't FIX me" and we totally understand why you feel that way.

But if we may, we want you to know why having strong, supported adrenals is important when recovering from something bigger than "hormonal imbalance".

YOUR ADRENALS = YOUR RESILIENCE GLANDS.

When I was working my way through nutrition school we went over protocols for supporting all sorts of different conditions-- literally ALL the different conditions. The thing that blew me away all those years ago and part of the reason I am so passionate about this topic today is because the number one recommendation mentioned, protocol after protocol was --- MANAGE OR REDUCE STRESS.

Let's face it, when your body is facing something huge-- an addiction,  cancer, a stealth infection like LYME or Epstein Barr Virus) or even emotional trauma, or surgeries…-- your body is doing what it can to regulate and survive, it's actually amazing what the body does to PROTECT us.  ** insert time for a quick, big self-hug**

And if you're NOT facing something huge at this time, then think of how important the health and resilience of your body is to prevention. 

We can't deny these little glands are flippin' important, can we?
NOT ANYMORE!

Anyways, what I'm getting at is the more we can reduce the overall stress load on our body and keep our adrenal function as optimal as possible, the better equipped and energized our body will be to do its thing to help fight off or process what it's dealing with. Make sense?

We know that working on the adrenals might seem like small fish to some of you when you've got bigger fish to fry, but...we urge you to consider the following when moving forward with your recovery plan: 

Follow a holistic protocol

Often when we think of stress, we think of bills, traffic, overwhelm that comes with parenting or a job, but the truth is the stress we are talking about has the potential to come from all the main areas of our lives.

Stress is cumulative. Here are some other areas it can come from: 

• Sleep

  • Are you sleeping at the right times?

  • Are you getting optimal sleep?

  • If you aren't sleeping well, it becomes hard to repair your tissues optimally... and many aren't sleeping well due to out-of-rhythm hormones from stress in their daily lives.
    

• Diet/Nutrients

  • Are you giving your body the nutrients it needs to heal and be super resilient?

  • Are you eliminating those things that stress the body and the digestive tract?

  • If the body is operating in a state of deficiency, it will be operating under a constant state of stress every day until that deficiency is corrected.
    

• Digestion

  • Are you releasing and detoxing properly to keep the body working optimally?

  • Are you getting optimal assimilation from the food you eat?

  • If digestion is impaired of overburdened, it has the potential to add stress the body every time you eat, often sparking a hormonal response that involves stress hormones.
    

• Exercise

  • Are you moving the body in a way that is honoring of what you’re going through?

  • Is your workout routine contributing to your condition or helping you get your life back?

  • Certain exercise can cause tissue damage and oxidative stress in the body, this is totally fine if you have the capacity to recover and repair from your workouts with good self-care, but if not, the wear and tear on the body can be extremely stress inducing.
    

• Mindset

  • Are the thoughts going through your head keeping you stressed, thinking negatively about everything your body is experiencing and extra sensitive?

  • Are you constantly finding yourself in the same toxic thought patterns?

  • The way our brain perceives what we are experiencing orchestrates a wave of hormonal response to accommodate what the brain is perceiving. Whether we are consciously or unconsciously trapped in fearful or depressive though patterns, it resonates deeply on a physical level.

So when we’re talking about reducing the stress load on the body to heal our adrenals and have more resiliency, we need to address all these areas, not just one or two of them.

The magic that happens when you shift your thoughts, patterns and habits in each of these areas and actually STICK with them long enough for results to show up-- is pretty incredible.

So, if you've ever felt unfixable or just flat out STUCK, then it's time to ensure you're tackling this from a holistic angle..  because I promise you, miracles are happening every damn day.

If you need help implementing this, if you need a clear plan on how to move forward, or a support community to help get you through this, then click here to download the free Recovery Starter Guide.

Is Adrenal Fatigue Real?

Is adrenal fatigue a real thing?

Despite the obvious fact that millions of people are suffering from the built-up toll that stress can put on the body with clear signs of hormonal issues and fatigue that just won't quit, the term "adrenal fatigue" is still considered with scrutiny by many. 

The thing is,  we get the scrutiny. In fact, "adrenal fatigue" isn't a defined medical condition and technically, doesn't actually exist.. but that's not to say the symptoms and feelings you have been should be discredited, not at all! Today we want to share our thoughts on this popular (and highly frustrating) topic. 

ABOUT THE ADRENALS

The adrenal glands are, by nature, tough and mighty little things. 
These little powerhouses are two walnut-sized glands that sit comfortably on top of the kidneys. They secrete hormones involved with all the major physiological processes in the body and are there to help our body adapt, adjust and survive the events the day may bring us. 

You know that rush of adrenaline you feel when something scares or excites you? 
Yup, that's your adrenals prepping your body to take flight or to fight if that's what the situation may entail. 

These days, more than the need to fight or run away from threats, our bodies are pumping out stress hormones as we worry about things at work, as we deal with the complexities of different relationships, family stuff, financial things and so on and so forth.  The problem is the stress we're tackling today isn't fleeting like that moment when you see a bear in the woods is. These days we're stressing all the time about different things and if we aren't mentally stressing, sometimes the stress comes from dietary things, physical things, immune conditions, digestive problems, sleep schedules or general inflammation in the body. There are many different forms of stress. 

WHAT IS ADRENAL FATIGUE?

Adrenal Fatigue is commonly thought of as a condition when the adrenal glands get "fatigued" or "collapse" from excessive wear and tear. After enduring periods of chronically high stress demands (or short periods of extremely high stress) these glands take a physical hit and can no longer produce stress hormones at the rate they used to. We agree that excessive wear and tear can implicate these glands to an extent.. but that's not the entire problem. 

Adrenal issues stem from these two places: 
the adrenal glands and the brain. 

The adrenal glands don't just produce stress hormones blindly or intuitively.
They get their instructions from signals and communication from our brain through the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis (the HPA Axis).  When the adrenal glands are making too much cortisol or not enough cortisol, the communication along the HPA Axis between the brain and the adrenals must be considered... because more than just a fatigued glandular issue, there typically is a signaling problem between the brain and the adrenals.  Signaling issues between the two have a direct effect on how the adrenals behave and how the body responds to circulating cortisol too. 

So to be clear, when we say adrenal fatigue.. we are using a popular term for this greater idea of adrenal dysregulation. 

SOME SIGNS OF ADRENAL FATIGUE OR ASSOCIATED HORMONAL IMBALANCE: 

• Auto-immune conditions

• Fibromyalgia

• Anemia (iron deficiency)

• Weight gain in the belly area that you can't seem to lose

• Decrease or loss in muscle mass

• You wake up in the early hours of the morning (between 3-5am)

• Brain fog

• Increase of energy in the evening after dinner

• Anxiety or depressive thoughts

• Eyes are sensitive to the light

• Easily startled

• Feeling dizzy when you stand up too fast

• Slow wound healing or slow to recover from illness

• Difficulty waking up in the morning

• Feeling constantly tired- a tired that is not relieved by sleep (CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME)

• Feeling like you can't relax

• Cravings for salt or salty foods

• Easily irritated or intolerant to stress

• Digestive issues and sudden new food intolerances

• Dependence on stimulants to function (coffee, colas, energy drinks, ect.)

• Decreased libido

• Exaggerated menopausal symptoms

• Irritability if a meal is missed aka "HANGRY"

• Blood sugar imbalances

• Hypothyroidism (low thyroid)

• Decreased immune system

• Increased or exaggerated PMS symptoms

• Fibrocystic breasts or fibroids

• Polycystic ovarian syndrome

• Fertility issues

• Low blood pressure

So, how do you fix the dysregulation?

When it comes to fixing the signaling issues mentioned above and nourishing up a depleted body that is suffering from exposure to chronic or excessive stress, it really begins with a self-check-in... with asking yourself where you could start respecting your body and its boundaries a little more.  It comes back to simple self-care, good food, making sleep and yourself a priority.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?

So why are so many people stuck struggling for so long?

The thing is that hormonal issues can feel really complicated.... 

there's a tonne of conflicting information in books and on the internet, 

one doctor says one thing, another says another, 

and changing the way you live can be really flippin' hard!

Slowing down and making changes like nixing the people pleasing attitudes, changing your work and lifestyle habits, making key dietary changes and setting boundaries for yourself isn't always a walk in the park... especially if you are super type A (like so many of us struggling with adrenal issues are). On top of that, just because you're wanting to stress less doesn't mean that the things that stressed you out before are going to necessarily go away--  so a whole mental shift needs to happen. The way we perceive stress and handle it needs to be tweaked, and yes my loves... it's challenging! It takes practice, it takes patience, it takes a lot of conscious effort.

We know you have it in you, though! 

Ready to break through the patterns that are keeping you stuck and to get a clear personalized plan to recovery?

The 5 Step System for Repairing a Leaky Gut

Good digestion is a prerequisite for good health.

As we continue living with chronic stress in our life, an abundance of toxins in our environment, poor diets, bacterial imbalance, and gastrointestinal issues are becoming more and more common. One of the most common issues we see with adrenal fatigue sufferers is intestinal permeability.

What is Leaky Gut Exactly?

Intestinal permeability also known as "leaky gut" is a condition when essentially, the intestines become damaged and are unable to protect foreign invaders or larger food particles from the digestive tract, from leaking into the bloodstream. The intestines are typically lined with tight junctions that carefully protect what makes it through to the rest of the body.  When damaged, these loose junctions begin to let bacteria, incompletely digested food matter or waste through to the blood, setting off an immune alarm in the body. Cortisol and histamine surges are part of this alarm.  This scenario leads to increased food sensitivities, digestive issues, auto immune conditions and a plethora of symptoms. 

Click here to learn more about the symptoms of leaky gut and why it's important to adrenal fatigue recovery

The symptoms of leaky gut are vast, and the truth is that gut health issues could very likely be a root level cause behind many of today's common health issues. 

Just like the symptoms of leaky gut, figuring out the cause can be quite complicated. 
Luckily, the body has an incredible ability to heal itself if you provide the right environment for it to do so.  

When it comes to repairing a leaky gut, there are 5 steps, that when followed correctly will support creating an optimal environment for healing to take place. 

THE 5 STEPS TO REPAIRING A LEAKY GUT

1. REMOVE

Remove anything that is creating to inflammation or negatively affects the digestive tract. 
This starts with removing problematic foods, any common or known allergens, processed foods and excessive sugar.  It also includes removing unwanted microflora like yeast (candida), parasites or unfriendly bacterial overgrowths. 

2. Replace

This stage begins with replacing problematic foods in the diet with nutrient dense, whole foods. 
It also includes restoring the naturally occurring digestive aids that may be lacking, things such as hydrochloric acid, bile acids and digestive enzymes.

3. Repair

In this phase, the focus is on restoring the mucosal lining of the G.I. tract.
Food plays a large role here, focus on eating foods that are easily digestible like smoothies, soups and cooked vegetables and quality proteins. Foods that are high in healing vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, zinc and other antioxidants, along with fatty acids like omega 3. Bone broth is a particularly gut loving food and is a wonderful addition to a restorative diet. Supplements can also be used to help repair the lining more quickly, to help protect and soothe the lining and help ensure there are no nutrient deficiencies that could be slowing down the recovery process. 

Wondering the top healing foods you can eat and where to start with supplements? We're breaking it all down in this week's freebie! Grab it below! 

4. REINOCCULATE 

In this phase beneficial bacteria are re-introduced. Ideally, this is done with a high quality probiotic supplement, but naturally occurring probiotic rich foods like kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha can be consumed to help support this via food as well. 

The correct balance of healthy flora supports more than just digestion. 
Click here to learn how our microbiome affects the brain, behavior, mood, and more.

5. REBALANCE

The rebalance phase is one that is on going, one that will help support a healthy and happy gut long-term.
This phase largely correlates with general good health practices such as mindfulness practice, sleep, healthy exercise, good food, and finding time for fun. 

When combined and worked on consistently, these 5 steps will guide you well on your way to abundant energy, easy digestion, a flat tummy, glowy skin and so much more.  Leaky gut recovery does not need to be a lot to swallow- it comes back to changing the GI environment and creating one that allows the body to recover, repair and come back into balance. 

Knowing the steps to healing your gut is one thing, but implementing them is a WHOLE OTHER THING...So, if you want SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE implementing these steps into your life, you need to know about this training: http://bit.ly/2iRSQAT