Quick anatomy lesson
Our adrenal glands are triangular-shaped organs located just above our kidneys, like a Top Hat. The photo above depicts them in neon purple.
The adrenal glands are often forgotten or undervalued in conventional healthcare. However, in root-cause healing systems such as naturopathic and functional medicine, the adrenals are powerful healing all-stars of the endocrine system (i.e. hormones) and are revered like the Liver, Kidneys, Gut, Brain, and Heart.
Adrenals help regulate and maintain the balance of many bodily functions but some of the most important include:
Stress response
Reproductive system
Metabolism
Blood pressure
Immunity resilience
Mood and Emotional well-being
The adrenals are strong little glands, but they are also quite prone to the effects of chronic stress. Meaning, recurrent and long-term periods of trauma, stress, exposure to toxins, lack of sleep, and low nutrient diet can cause adrenal imbalance and dysfunction, which will impact the whole body.
Since we can all agree that the Westernized lifestyle as we know it today is highly toxic and stressful for our health, most of us are walking around with some level of adrenal dysfunction. Even if you eat healthy and practice yoga, the mainstream lifestyle still leaves you exposed to daily anxiety-provoking situations, air pollution, noise pollution, food pollution, and systemic gaslighting making you believe Lexapro and Trazadone are the best solutions to why you feel overstimulated, tense, confused, and not fully within your body.
If this culture valued and adored Adrenal Health as much as it does sex, genocide, and money, then maybe we could eliminate at least 70% of modern-day diseases.
In the last few weeks, my medical readings have highlighted the kidneys and bladder. Well, the adrenals are a missing key we cannot neglect. The adrenals support the kidneys and bladder energies, and by focusing on our adrenal health during times of crisis, transition, and manifestation we access untapped energy potential to bring forth our truest dreams, desires, and fates.
In alignment with the work we’ve been doing on nourishing our sun centers, adrenal support is another aspect of it.
Here is the previous post for reference:
What Hurts The Adrenals?
Unfortunately, we live in a very stressful and toxic society, so just existing in this world at times can be enough to hurt our adrenals. We’ve also been programmed to say “yes” to situations and people even when we know better or experience a nervous gut feeling that something is incompatible. Thus, appropriate discernment and compassionate boundary-setting are necessary skills for protecting the adrenals, and your overall health. In other words, it’s OK to say “no” and protect yourself from what you know will harm you, but do so with wisdom and accountability.
For many, the solar plexus region, which houses the adrenals, has also incurred damage from transgenerational trauma and survivorship. Failure to acknowledge trauma and survivorship becomes suppressed resentment and fear that hurts the adrenals. As a result, there might be an inability to speak up in stating our needs or taking self-loving actions when it matters most. Rather, as a culture we’re intentionally cultivated to wade in our misery, anxiety, and anger, then act perplexed when we don’t feel good or imbalanced. If you try to ring the alarm bells and get help, then the next unfortunate commonality experienced is being gaslighted or told what you’re feeling is normal.
To normalize terror and trauma hurts our adrenals!
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is not helping the adrenals either. High-sodium and refined sugar foods can cause damage to the adrenals over time due to increased metabolic activity, kidney filtration, and gut health alterations. Additionally, drinking high amounts of caffeine, alcohol, and beverages with artificial coloring, preservatives, and other synthetic additives can contribute to adrenal dysfunction. Eating processed foods daily can overstimulate the nervous system and cause nutritional deficiencies that negatively impact adrenal function.
Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis Dysfunction is the current terminology used in functional and naturopathic medicine to describe adrenal burnout. This is when the adrenals have been cranking out high levels of stress hormones for so long that they start to decline in function. It is not just an imbalance with the adrenals, but with the brain as well. Similar to the analogy of a car driven hard over 200,000 miles, the poor little glands struggle to keep up with supporting your daily biological needs. Thus, the common presentation of adrenal dysfunction is quite literally experiencing “burnout”.
Definition of Burnout: Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships. (Psychology Today)
The symptoms of HPA-axis dysfunction typically include:
Chronic fatigue and Daytime sleepiness
Lack of pleasure or joy
Easily irritated or annoyed
Strong Salty or Sugar Cravings
Abnormal weight gain or weight loss
Lack of energy to do daily tasks or exercise
Hangry - otherwise known as blood sugar imbalances
Low or high blood pressure
Anxiety
Trouble falling and/or staying asleep
Waking up and never feeling rested
Difficulty concentrating and memory recall
Headaches
Digestion issues
Once again, this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a point of reference to understand how crucial the adrenals play a role in general well-being and health. Some of my patients with adrenal dysfunction, myself included, have experienced at least some if not all of these signs and symptoms. But a note of caution, other health issues can cause similar symptoms, thus expert support from a board-certified naturopathic doctor (ND) or functional medicine provider is necessary to obtain a proper evaluation and diagnosis.
How to Adore the Adrenals?
There are many ways to support our adrenal health.
Mindfulness:
At the most basic level, identify your biggest stressor and find a way to address it. Sometimes you have to get through something first while knowing there is a light at the other end of the tunnel. Other times, it might be recognizing that what is for you is for you and what is not needs to be dropped.
Please don’t allow the Ego to sabotage your health by pushing for beliefs, goals, habits, or ambitions causing irreparable harm to you. Dream and Live BIG, but also know that constant struggle, suffering, and misery indicate misalignment or ill-manifestation. Be able to take a step back and evaluate what actually serves your Highest good.
Taking deep breaths as often as you remember fosters calm and safety in the body-mind-spirit. If you don’t already have one, pick up a daily meditative or mindfulness-based practice to reduce stress levels (1, 2).
Rest:
If you’re feeling tired all the time, then you may need more rest. Learn to spend more time in quiet, calm spaces and watch how you give away your energy. Overexertion and doing the MOST is a fast way to push yourself into adrenal dysfunction. It’s OK to safeguard your energy and evaluate which actions help to restore you versus which actions cause depletion.
Herbal Medicine:
A great natural way to support the adrenals is to add adaptogenic herbs to your daily regimen. If self-initiating, start with using a small amount of herbs in your food or drinking them as tea.
My favorite gentle adaptogenic herbs include:
Scented or Holy Basil
Oat straw or old-fashioned rolled oats (organic and glyphosate-free)
Ashwagandha
Lavender
Lemon balm
Jujube
Mushrooms - chaga, shiitake, reishi
Of course, there are more potent herbal options, however stronger doesn’t mean better. Safety should be considered at all times by working with an expert who knows drug-herb interactions and can help you avoid adverse effects or injury.
There are other over-the-counter options such as supplements, tinctures, and powders for adrenal support, but be careful because even those formulations may not be the right fit for your body’s needs. Again, it’s best to partner with a medically-trained expert, especially for moderate to severe cases.
Cautionary note: Avoid buying herbs from Amazon or cheaply because you are at higher risk of contaminated or adulterated products, which can lead to adverse reactions or inefficacy. “Natural” doesn’t mean 100% safe because herbs are powerful medicines to be respected and used judiciously. Be safe, not foolish.
Nutrition:
Foods high in antioxidants, protein, and fiber are great for supporting the adrenals. Specifically, foods that are great sources of B vitamins, serine, magnesium, and vitamin C will nourish the adrenals.
My favorite adrenal-loving foods include:
Super whole grains - quinoa, millet, oats, buckwheat, etc.
Fruits & Veggies - the more the merrier!
Nuts and seeds - pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachios, peanuts, etc.
Mushrooms
Grass-fed and free-range meats and poultry
Pasture-raised organic eggs
If you are a fast eater, try slowing down and chewing more thoroughly to extract greater nutrients from your food. If you don’t cook, maybe it’s time to learn! Even better if you can grow some of your foods or get them from a local farmers market. Start simple and build where you can.
Lab Testing:
If you’re experiencing multiple symptoms, research finding a naturopathic doctor or functional medicine provider to test your adrenals. The standard of care is 24-hour salivary and urine testing. Lab testing confirms if your cortisol and DHEA levels are within normal range.
Side note: many health insurance plans in the United States do not cover salivary adrenal testing unless you see an endocrinologist and they suspect Cushing’s disease or Addision’s disease. However, independent functional lab companies now offer self-pay lab testing to the general public and work with functional medicine providers who can help you order the correct lab test and interpret the results. I offer adrenal testing to my patients and you can learn more here. Or, find a doctor to help you here and/or here.
Joy:
One of the best ways to adore your adrenals is to find and hold onto Joy. Joy and laughter are excellent healers for tired and depleted adrenal glands. Let this be your reminder to smile and laugh this week no matter what!
When you protect your joy, you protect your adrenals and overall health!
1.) Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, Zhang H, Duan NY, Shi YT, Wei GX, Li YF. The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Front Psychol. 2017 Jun 6;8:874. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874. PMID: 28626434; PMCID: PMC5455070.
2.) Koncz, A., Demetrovics, Z., & Takacs, Z. K. (2020). Meditation interventions efficiently reduce cortisol levels of at-risk samples: a meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 15(1), 56–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2020.1760727