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Understanding The Endocrine System – Adrenals

Vaughn Lawrence

Having healthy adrenals may be the most crucial hormonal factor for overall health. If you struggle with fatigue, stress, anxiety, blood sugars, low blood pressure, or poor concentration, adrenal fatigue is likely a component. Strengthening the adrenals is important for ANY healing program. If you have energy, clear thinking, and can handle the stresses of life, it makes it easier to eat healthily and follow a good healing program. When the adrenals are weak, people feel like quitting or giving up.

Basic Responsibilities:

  • Blood Sugar Metabolism

  • Neurotransmitter Regulation

  • Controls Autonomic Nervous System (digestion, heartbeat, breathing)

  • Anxiety

  • Fear

  • Worry and Handling the Stress Response (fight or flight)

  • Mineral Utilization

  • Energy

Symptoms of Adrenal Weakness: 

  • Fatigue: Often okay in the morning, but have a PM crash (3-5pm) or overwhelming fatigue

  • Difficulty with focus, concentration, memory, and willpower (ADD/ADHD)

  • Hyperactivity: Hyperactivity is actually a lack of energy because we are exhausted, and we push life to continue

  • Depression: As you get more tired, you start to focus on the negative

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Difficulty handling stress/anxiety, sometimes as extreme as panic attacks

  • Feeling easily worried, fearful, overwhelmed, and struggling to deal with basic life situations

  • Major uncontrollable cravings for sugar or caffeine

  • Low blood pressure and low blood sugars and difficulty managing blood sugars

  • Abnormal cravings for salt

  • Weight gain around the middle

  • Loss of libido/sexual function

  • Allergies, asthma, eczema, and psoriasis due to weakened adrenals (inability to properly produce steroid hormones)

Lifestyle Factors:

  • Deep breathing into the diaphragm turns off the stress response

  • Prayer and quiet time must be a part of your life as it promotes peace

  • Getting to bed between 9-10pm at the latest. Sleep is crucial for the adrenals

  • Sunshine heals the adrenals, especially sun in the eyes. Avoid sunglasses and toxic sunscreens

  • Light candles after dark, avoiding electronics as much as possible

  • Incorporate light exercise, walking, and connecting to God through nature

Nutrition Factors:

  • Avoiding grains and sugars (complex sugars and starches stress the adrenals)

  • Choose fruit as your primary fuel source, but also ancient seed grains in moderation like quinoa, millet, amaranth, and buckwheat

  • Healthy fats (in moderation) help the adrenals and blood sugars such as coconut, avocado, olives, nuts, seeds, and fish

  • Minerals and hydration are important. Add minerals to drinking water; salt can be especially beneficial

  • Avoid coffee, energy drinks, sugar, and all other "stimulants" which block the adrenals from healing and cause a hyperactive nervous system response

Herbs & Supplements for the Adrenals: