Are the supplements you’re taking working for you or are they burning a hole in your wallet?
This blog post explores the most common errors we see in our adrenal fatigue community when it comes to choosing supplements to EFFECTIVELY support you adrenal fatigue recovery.
We get asked questions about fasting and adrenal fatigue all the time.
Is it safe? Will it help us recover? What about my blood sugar issues?
On today’s blog we are sharing our thoughts on time restricted eating or intermittent fasting and how to do it effectively so that it supports your adrenal fatigue recovery instead of doing the opposite.
Some of the symptoms are often so common that we come to see them as normal— fatigue, feeling tired in the morning, anxiety, sleep issues, etc. While others are less common and a bit more worrying.
Today, I want to address some of the most common complaints we hear about in our Adrenal Fatigue Community on Facebook and give you a few supplement tips that you can use to help with them.
When you have adrenal issues, capitalizing on a blissful, yoga filled morning routine sounds nice in theory, but can be hard to implement. Mornings are far and wide, one of the hardest points in the day for those struggling with adrenal issues. If you can relate, this morning routine can be completed in under 10 minutes and is one that will nourish you up and put you in the right headspace, while letting you capitalize on extra sleep and minimal energy expenditure.
We’ve been getting email after email from our community and question after question popping up in our membership group from people struggling with gut issues. They are experiencing symptoms like bloating, constipation, acid reflux, food sensitivities, blood sugar issues and so much more.
And the sad thing is, many have eliminated so much already, so restricted in their diet (some down to just meat and vegetables) and they still haven’t seen much progress. They don’t know where to go next.
It’s so unbelievably frustrating isn’t it? You put so much effort in for what feels like nothing in return.
So today, I’m going to share 3 common misconceptions that people have about digestion and gut issues and offer 3 proven solutions.
Probiotics have been all the buzz lately, which is understandable. Probiotics make perfect sense to help your gut flora, right? Our guts need more support than ever. They are getting quite the workout these days.
1) Our diets consist of so many different ingredients and types of foods
2) Many of us take (or have history of) antibiotics, killing all the bacteria in the gut, good and bad
3) Many of us take (or have history of ) NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and Aleve for the aches and pains
4) There are plenty of chemicals in our food, air, and water
5) Lack of nutrients in the soil or people not eating from the soil at all
All these factors affect our gut flora. The gut flora is the environment inside our gut made up by trillions of microorganisms.
Probiotics are something that can certainly help with creating a healthy gut flora (in some situations) but they aren’t always the answer or the end-all. Too many people jump to probiotics because it’s easy to pop a pill. (not always easy on the pocket book though).
What you need to know is probiotics can - not only be a waste of money if you have deeper gut issues going on, but they can actually be detrimental too, particularly if you have Intestinal Permeability aka Leaky Gut or Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO)
In these cases, there is some balancing/repairing that we recommend happen first before throwing probiotics into the mix, this is why adding probiotic supplements are one of the last steps of our 5-step gut healing protocol. These are taken once you’ve taken measures to address issues like SIBO and repair the gut lining.
Probiotics are not just a one sized fits all either. Many issues do better with certain strains in certain doses. Quality products can be quite expensive and it is not uncommon to see people throwing their money into cheap products when they could be investing in something better that is more likely to help get them the results they’re looking for. We recommend you get advice from a professional if probiotics are best for you at this particular stage of your gut healing and let them give you some suggestions on the best one for your condition.
Yes, eliminating common allergens like dairy, gluten, eggs, nuts and soy is a popular step in the adrenal recovery process for many and we’ve given this advice to many of our clients. In many cases, eliminating common allergens like these can be helpful and even transformative for some. However, we find with many of our clients they find themselves at a sticking point where their diet is limited and they are still struggling with symptoms— they feel stuck.
In these cases, the root of the problem must be addressed. Eliminating these problem foods is just the first step in a deeper exploration and trial and error process for gut healing.. but it doesn’t STOP there.
We believe getting testing or having a professional analyze your situation to determine which gut issues you are most likely dealing with (different gut issues listed below). Getting this clarity first will save you money, time and a bit more sanity. There will always be a bit of trial and error involved, but working with a professional will help you streamline the process…and your dollars.
For many it takes time and a more thorough protocol that lasts about 2-3 months to get to the deeper issue and heal the gut.
We know these short cleanses are popular these days and seem a bit more doable, right?
They can help the body a bit depending on what you’re struggling with. However, for most a week long juice or gut cleanse is not an adequate gut repairing protocol and won’t have lasting results. Why, because most likely the wear and tear on the gut has been years in the making and it will take some time.
For example if you have a parasite, you will need longer than a week or two to kill those bugs.
So if you’ve been approaching gut healing from any of these angles only…
Taking Probiotics
Eliminating so many common allergens without understanding the root issue
Not following an extensive gut healing protocol
...and you haven’t had much improvement, you’re not doing anything wrong. It just means you haven’t quite got to the root of it all. Don’t worry because it hasn’t all been a waste of your time and energy. This process takes a lot of trial and error and it just means you’re closer to figuring this all out. Yay!!!
So, to wrap this up here are 3 solutions to take your gut healing to the next level and support great digestion.
Before you stress yourself out by doing too much, get clarity on the very root of the symptoms with the help of a professional.
There could be other things going on besides a basic gut imbalance issue like; mineral or nutrient deficiency, gut infections, heavy metal toxicity or fungal or bacterial overgrowth. The symptoms of these conditions can often look very similar to adrenal, hormone and other gut related issues and you want support to figure it all out.
Here are the various gut related conditions people are commonly dealing with:
Leaky gut
Fungal overgrowth, Candida
Dysbiosis
Parasites
Bacterial overgrowth, SIBO
Food allergies
The recovery approach you take will be slightly different for each of these conditions so that’s why you want to work with a professional and/or get tested. They can get clarity based on your symptoms or get further confirmation through testing.
Many of the gut related symptoms we experience are because we don’t have enough stomach acid (HCL) or digestive enzymes in our gut. These acids and enzymes break down the fats, proteins and carbs in food, properly.
When the body can’t break down our foods properly that’s when we experience all the symptoms and reactions like irregular bowel movements, constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, acid flux and more.
Adding digestive enzymes help you tolerate more foods and stop the ongoing stress happening every time you eat, meaning less inflammation, which allows more healing to occur.
Just like probiotics, it’s important that you get a quality formula and do a little trial and error to get the right dosage.
If you can’t afford digestive enzymes, you can see if taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a bit of water before a meal helps you. It has been known to do the trick for many.
When taken at the beginning of a meal, enzymes help ensures that foods are fully digested. This decreases the chance that partially digested foods particles and proteins are damaging your gut wall. They also help to relieve digestive discomfort like bloating and gas.
A few of our favorite brand suggestions are Digestive Enzymes SAP by NFH or BioGest by Thorne
Don’t expect everything to change overnight. Follow a proven system for AT LEAST 6 weeks and see the process through until you get the results you seek.
Many of us, are ADDICTED to getting stuff done... and many of us, are addicted to social media that is constantly reminding us of all the things we SHOULD be getting done.The combination easily leads to a feeling that we call “productivity guilt” which is a relentless feeling of not doing enough or not functioning at an optimal level.
When we live this way, nothing is enough and we can slip into a space where we constantly feel overwhelmed by the pressures we put on ourselves. When we live this way, how can we expect to feel at ease?
Energy affects everything in our lives, right? And today, I'm not talking about the amount of physical energy you have exactly,
I'm talking about a different type of energy.
I'm talking the energy that we ALL ARE. Everything in life is ENERGY. The plants, animals, rocks..
This is SCIENCE, not woo-woo stuff. This energy is like a vibration.
Energy affects everything just as our energy or vibration affects everything around us and what we experience in our lives.
Why am I mentioning this? Well because the energy that you put out in the world, comes back to you.
Even wonder why when things are going bad, they seem to get worse for awhile before they get better? Or what about that clique about things happening in threes?
Think about it another way, if you’re going on a first date to meet your dream partner, you would want to bring a high vibration and energy into the date, right?
So if you want to recover or experience any transformation in your life, in this case your health you have to be able to change your energy or vibration to match the health you desire. Make sense?
Your vibration is your greatest source of power.
When we function from a place of doubt and fear (a low energetic vibration) the same low energy we put out will come back to us (not to mention this low energetic vibration will also pollute our mind and our body). But don’t worry because....
Today I'm sharing 3 steps that make it easy to adjust and raise your energy or vibration to shift the state of your health and finally have the health you desire. If you practice this you will not only feel better, you will start to see positive things happening in your body and in every area of your life.
So let’s do this...
The first part is to begin to become aware of when your vibration is low. Usually it’s when you have negative thoughts and feelings that come like fear, doubt, anger and sadness.
Most likely if you have adrenal fatigue it’s safe to say you have some negative thoughts and feelings about your health and your body, that often lead to a low vibration. You might feel like changing this area of your life has been hard.
Can you see how the thoughts and feelings you have about your health (that are at a low frequency) could be perpetuating your situation?
This leads me to step 2 to raise your vibration. Once you become aware in the moment of your low vibration.
Most often comes after we become aware is (we as humans) immediately JUDGE ourselves or the situation, but guess what? The judgement is what keeps us stuck there and doesn’t allow anything to change. Isn’t that interesting?
So instead of judge just be thankful for your new level of self-awareness. If you acknowledge it without judgement you can easily change it.
The another thing we all tend to do is push the feelings away because they are uncomfortable, which you can probably guess isn’t a good solution either.
What if you didn’t judge yourself and instead you just reacted like this...
Oh, that’s an interesting awareness, I’m having these thoughts and I’m making conclusions about my recovery based on the past and my vibration is very low. I know now that this low vibration is not supporting my healing. So I’d like to choose to raise my vibration.
This honoring of what’s coming up without judgement is so powerful, my friend.
So, here’s what you need to do next to raise your vibration...
Asking a question or repeating an affirmation is like sending a wish out into the universe, the higher power, spirit….asking for support. What does this do exactly? This is actually so important, so really get this.
The question or affirmation acts as a pattern interrupt for the brain to stop going down the rabbit hole of thoughts you go down every single day (most likely). You know what I mean right? And even more key is to...
When you’re asking the question or affirmation you MUST (for it to work) tap into the energy or frequency of what you want to create (like what would it actually feel like in your body to have great health, 50% more energy, a calm, peaceful mind?). Thinking of those things you want and tapping into that high frequency, will raise your vibration, no doubt (if you’re willing to receive it).
When I say ask a question, these aren’t “Why me?” questions. These are typically conclusions and have a very low vibration attached. Here are a few examples of questions that will immediately raise your vibration and create new possibilities…
“What would it take for me to heal my body and have great health?”
“What choice do I need to make today that will lead to my healing right away?”
Or if you like affirmations instead you can say....
“Each day I’m getting closer and closer to my recovery.”
“I know my recovery is right around the corner.”
“I’m so grateful for the amazing healing that is coming to me this year.”
Whichever question or affirmation gives you chills or makes you feel lighter, that’s the one you should go with.
And my love, here’s a bonus tip if you need a bit more something to raise your vibration.
When you become aware that you’re in a low vibration state consider changing your physical environment.
Go outside for 5-10 minutes to soak up the sun or take a walk. Even a few minutes can make a world a difference.
If you have to stay home, put on some pleasing music, rub on or diffuse an essential oil that lifts your mood. Some of my favorites are Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Peppermint and Frankincense.
So there you go, 4 steps to raise your energy or vibration.
Any questions? Did reading this blog spark something for you? What came up, I’m open to it all. Please feel free to comment below.
Xoxo,
Angela
