Last week I looked at how tiredness and losing motivation to carry out even the smallest of tasks can affect our lives. Hypo-thyroidism is well known for causing exhaustion. However, last week I looked at the findings of Barry Durrant-Peatfield, who has written a book about how adrenal exhaustion, together with an underactive thyroid, can cause continued lethargy.
The adrenal glands are pyramidal in shape and sit on top of each kidney, like a little hat. Although they are small, they still have a lot of work to do. In fact, if they do stop working altogether, a person would be lucky to survive for three days.
The hormones produced through the centre of the adrenal glands are adrenaline and noradrenaline. These are the two hormones that deal with immediate stress. You may remember me writing in the past about the ‘fight or flight syndrome’ when we have a surge or anger or fear.
That is the exact time that these hormones are released into our system. They go into the bloodstream, where they mobilise extra blood sugar and increase the blood pressure and heart rate.
This fight or flight syndrome has been with us since we were living in caves. At that time, our stress was related to being attacked by a wild animal or chasing an animal for our food. Today it is more likely to be road rage or anger at work, at home, or even just daily stress which is much more prevalent. Other stress/trauma factors can be death of a family member or marital separation.
This adrenaline surge provides an immediate increase in energy and muscle strength. The thinking speeds up and you are able to cope with the massive energy demands of dealing with a crisis.
The outermost layer of the adrenal gland produces glucocorticoids such as cortisol and cortisone.
These enable the body to mobilise, make glucose from fats and proteins and maintain arterial muscle tone to regulate blood pressure. This is the way the body is protected from long-term moderate and chronic stress.
Our ability to produce this hormone depends on our capacity to fight off the effects of environmental challenges such as injury, illness, deprivation and work-related or personal stress.
Cortisol is the stress buster of the body. Levels are at their highest in the morning, decline as the day progresses and build up again in the small hours. Normally, we continue to make this, with a minimal falling as we age.
An adrenaline surge provides an immediate increase in energy, the thinking speeds up and you’re able to cope better with a crisis
However, when the adrenals malfunction, problems begin to arise. Unfortunately, many of the symptoms of low adrenal reserve overlap with those of hypothyroidism. It is hardly surprising, as the thyroid and adrenal glands work together to maintain the metabolism. Constant fatigue is always a feature. The batteries seem to run out quickly and patients may even faint or collapse with little cause.
The process is explained in much more detail in Durrant-Peatfield’s book Your Thyroid and How to Keep it Healthy, published by Hammersmith Press.
Let’s look at some of the lifestyle changes we can incorporate into our lives to avoid this adrenal health problems. Speaking personally, this can affect you literally out of the blue and usually just after a lifestyle trauma which has taken so much out of you that your body just can’t cope any longer.
Durrant-Peatfield always asks his patients about recent, and even distant, traumas, stress and life difficulties.
The main suggestion (and a difficult one to adhere to) is to avoid emotional, work and financial stress as much as possible. Going to bed early (by 10pm) is helpful to the body. Cortisol is mostly produced at night, especially just before waking. This slowly tails off during the day and is then replenished during sleep.
You can wake feeling exhausted, usually because your body has not had the time to replenish the cortisol. You could then feel more and more exhausted as the day goes on, again because the cortisol is being used up.
According to Durrant-Peatfield, your exposure to computer screens and television doesn’t help. He suggests using de-stressing techniques such as yoga and meditation. I must endorse that, as, on the days I do group meditation, I sleep like the proverbial log.
Again, exercise is essential. Even walking for 30 minutes every day will help quiet the mind.
It is also worth looking at diet. To kickstart the repair mechanisms, the following guidelines for dieting are worth following:
Avoid long periods of fasting and ideally eat perhaps four times a day. This is very relevant to our lives today, as we often don’t eat during the day and eat late at night on our return home.
Sharply reduce the intake of refined, processed carbohydrates such as bread, cakes and sweets. Avoid coffee, cigarettes and other stimulants. Those with adrenal insufficiency can be markedly intolerant of even small amounts of alcohol.
Finally, make sure you are getting the correct potassium to salt ratio, which is ideally 5:1. Good sources are bananas, potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruit including avocados.
It is vital to work with a qualified practitioner who is experienced in natural adrenal support to help you if you have a serious adrenal problem. Otherwise, just be aware that this could happen to anyone if their lifestyle is too stressful.
kathryn@maltanet.net