If you have adrenal fatigue, recovery is so important since the constant tiredness can be debilitating to your work, family, health and social life. You wake up tired in the morning, you feel like you need a nap around 3pm and you feel wired but tired at night rendering yourself unlikely to sleep well during the night. Does this scenario sound familiar to you? This is all too common for those suffering with adrenal fatigue.
Stress is Very Common
It is estimated that 75-90 percent of visits to primary care physicians is related to either acute or chronic symptoms of stress. (1) Stress is the natural response of the body when it feels that it is in danger. For example, imagine that you are about to be attacked by a bear. The body shuts down processes like digestion and pumps out stress hormones to make you more alert to run for your life. Once the danger has passed, the stress hormones decrease and everyday processes like digestion resume.
This scenario is called the “fight or flight” response and it is critical for dangerous situations. However, in today’s fast-paced society with long commutes, deadlines, financial obligations, sedentary lifestyles, constant access to the internet, marketing messages and social media and overuse of computers and mobile phones, the “fight or flight” response is happening all day, every day. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for developing adrenal fatigue, which is the underlying culprit to many chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and immune insufficiency. (2)
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
The adrenal glands, walnut-shaped organs that are found above the kidneys, are responsible for producing stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine. When released in the right amounts, all of these hormones serve a useful purpose. For example, cortisol is naturally high in the morning, as one of its purposes is to keep you alert. It continues to decline throughout the day and cortisol is lowest at night, when you want to wind down to sleep.
When you have adrenal fatigue, however, the production of cortisol could be too high or too low at different times of the day. For example, if you feel wired at the end of the day and cannot fall asleep, this is because cortisol is too high at night. This causes a vicious cycle in which you wake up feeling tired with decreased levels of energy throughout the day.
Feeling tired is only one of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue. Other symptoms include:
Overeating/eating unhealthy foods
Craving salty foods
Waking up feeling tired in the morning
Increased energy at night
Overuse of stimulants like caffeine
Inability to handle stress
A weakened immune system
Before you start taking sleeping pills or other medications you typically use to calm your nerves, there are natural supplements you can try, along with dietary changes, that will boost optimal adrenal functioning. This will help you to sleep better, gain energy and enhance immune function.
The 6 Best Supplements for Adrenal Fatigue:
1. Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera)
Ashwaganda, also known as Indian ginseng, is an adaptogenic herb known to decrease symptoms of stress.
In animal studies, ashwaganda counteracted the symptoms associated with extreme stress, including changes in blood sugar, adrenal weight and cortisol levels. (3,4). It also decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety-associated behaviour. (5) Ashwaganda is being studied as a means to counteract stress stemming from chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Results look promising in that the herb stimulates stem cell proliferation and improves red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet parameters. (6,7)
Since ashwaganda seems to have a calming effect, it is recommended to take this supplement before bedtime. Get quality ashwaganda here.
2. Rhodiola rosea
Rhodiola rosea is another adaptogenic herb that is known for its ability to affect hormones like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
In a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, sixty subjects with stress-related fatigue were given a standardized proprietary Rhodiola rosea product (576 milligrams of Rhodiola rosea) or placebo in two daily doses (morning and lunchtime) for twenty-eight days. The Rhodiola group experienced improved concentration associated with decreased stress related fatigue and significant decreases in salivary cortisol compared to the placebo group. (8)
Other studies have shown Rhodiola to improve fatigue and mental performance in physicians on night duty as well as improved physical fitness, psycho-motor function, mental performance and general well-being in students. (9,10) Get quality Rhodiola here.
3. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis)
Licorice may work synergistically with cortisol. In other words, this may be an ideal herb for people who do not produce enough cortisol. (11)
Since licorice can boost cortisol production, this supplement is best taken in the morning when cortisol levels should be at their highest. However, for some people licorice can be too energizing and affect sleep. So it can be important to know your cortisol levels with salivary testing to see where you are at and look over it with a naturopathic doctor or experienced nutritionist. Get licorice here.
4. Holy Basil Leaf
Holy Basil leaf is another herb that is documented for its stress-relieving, neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing effects in animal studies.
In a human study , participants given 300 milligrams of Holy Basil extract over thirty days saw marked improvement in cognitive function as well as salivary cortisol levels. (12) Get holy basil here.
5. Phosphatidylserine (PS)
Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid found in cells that plays an important role in muscle metabolism and immune function. It has been shown to balance cortisol overproduction, especially following intense exercise. Several studies done on male athletes showed that PS decreased the production of cortisol after intense exercise. (13, 14) Get phosphatidylserine here.
6. Tyrosine
Tyrosine is an amino acid that is a precursor to neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine. Stress causes the depletion of these neurotransmitters. This is associated with a stress-induced performance decline in animals. Supplementing with tyrosine will reduce the decline of dopamine and norepinephrine and can improve performance in times of stress. (15) Get quality Tyrosine here.
How To Eat To Enhance Optimal Adrenal Function
In addition to supplements that can help with adrenal fatigue, you can also tweak your diet in order to be cohesive with the natural cycles of adrenal hormone release.
Here are tips for how to do that:
1. Eat a high-protein, low carbohydrate breakfast. Although we have been taught to eat the most carbohydrates at breakfast, when it comes to adrenal health, the opposite is true. Carbohydrates decrease the production of cortisol in the morning, which is counter-productive to optimum cortisol production. Remember that cortisol levels should be at their highest in the morning to wake you up and keep you alert. Therefore, eating a high-protein breakfast with minimal carbohydrates is warranted. An example can be poached eggs with ½ a cup of berries.
2. Eat every 3-4 hours to maintain optimal blood glucose control. Cortisol helps to regulate blood sugar levels within the body. If you have adrenal fatigue, this is also negatively affected. Therefore, it is recommended to eat every three to four hours, mixing a protein source with a high-fiber carbohydrate, to maintain blood glucose levels within a healthy range. An example of a snack would be an apple with a few almonds.
3. Eat the highest quantity of carbohydrates at dinner. Again, this is opposite to what most people have heard in the past. However, eating more carbohydrates at dinner than at breakfast will decrease the level of cortisol, preparing you for a healthy night’s rest. Do not misunderstand this advice and think that eating a plateful of pasta is ok. You can add more sweet potatoes, carrots and squash to dinner to increase carbohydrates at dinnertime.
4. Know which foods to avoid. Click here to read 6 Foods to Avoid on an Adrenal Fatigue Diet to stay away from foods that can actually make your condition worse.
Stress is a ubiquitous ailment that plagues almost everyone at one point or another in a lifetime. Taking measures to keep stress under control like exercising, connecting with nature, good sleep, meditation and good nutrition are critical to improving symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue. Remember that real food and natural supplements can be game-changers to improving your health. Take the time to improve your diet and reap the benefits of decreased stress.
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About Tina Christoudias of My Nutrilosophy
Tina Christoudias is a Harvard-trained registered dietitian with nearly 18 years of experience as a nutrition counselor. Having had personal experience with hypothyroidism, she specializes in diet protocols for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism and has recently finished her book, Tired of Feeling Tired, A Nutrition Solution To Treating Hypothyroid Symptoms. She is a strong advocate of the Paleo diet and is co-founder of My Nutrilosophy, a website dedicated to providing the latest science-based nutrition information on topics like hypothyroidism, infertility, cancer, gut health and general wellness.
References:
http://www.stress.org/americas.htm [Accessed March 13,2009]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9629292
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10075127
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9582008
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18476388
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Kuttan+G.+Use+of+Withania+somnifera+Dunal+as+an+adjuvant+during+radiation+therapy.+Indian+J+Exp+Biol+1996%3B34%3A854-856.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8866726
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19016404
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11081987
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10839209
http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/14/2/114.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26571987
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1997116/
Monteleone P, Beinat L, Tanzillo C, et al. Effects of phosphatidylserine on the neuroendocrine response to physical stress in humans. Neuroendocrinology 1990;52:243-248. 89.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1599383
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