Category 8: Stress/Adrenal
If you took the SymptomQuiz and this is one of your major issues, here are some ideas and approaches that will help. We are not treating disease, just offering some basic support to improve your Wellness Score. If you want the full SymptomQuiz guide covering all categories, click here.
Quick Cookbook
Follow the Roadmap to Health diet; it is a low glycemic diet that is high in antioxidants, low in toxins and contains trace nutrients that will help with blood sugar control. Take a B complex (follow manufacturer’s instructions) and magnesium (300-400 mg right before bedtime on an empty stomach—anything other than magnesium oxide).
Stress Damages Multiple Organs and Systems—Starting with the Adrenals
Stress is a common reason for a high score here. You may have issues with too much or too little cortisol. Our ideas about adrenal function began with Hans Selye. Hans Selye conducted some experiments that involved creating stress in rats. The rats were made to tread water with their legs tied until they became exhausted and died. Dr. Selye took the rats at various stages of their ordeal and dissected their adrenal glands. He found that the adrenal glands responded to stress in three distinct stages. In the initial stage, the adrenal glands enlarge and the blood supply to them increases (alarm phase). As the stress continues, the adrenal glands begin to shrink. Eventually, if the stress continues, the adrenal glands reach the third stage, which is adrenal exhaustion.
Our Bodies Are Not Designed to Deal with the Kinds of Stress We Face Today
The fight or flight response is meant to be short-lived. When primitive man walked through the forest, he’d see a wild animal or other threat. His heart rate would increase; his pupils would dilate; his blood would go out of his digestive system and into his arms and legs; his blood-clotting ability would improve; he would become more aware, and his blood pressure would rise. The physiological changes brought on by the adrenal glands would make the body more efficient at fighting or fleeing.
At that time, dealing with stress was focused on adrenal support (which did help people). Dr. Selye’s research was in the 1940s, but it is the 21st century and a lot more research has been done. Dr. George Goodheart talked extensively about hyperadrenia and hypoadrenia. Research has since provided us with a more nuanced view of stress (see this article:) Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology volume 30, pages 1433–1440 (2010)).
Although archaic, the terms hyperadrenia and hypoadrenia are still a useful way to communicate about this. Getting better is not simply a matter of adrenal support. You need to address the damage done by the stress.
Addressing Stress and Adrenal Issues
Two issues need to be addressed. First, adrenal support, which includes removing stress and nutritionally supporting the adrenal gland. Second, supporting the organs and systems that have been damaged by excess adrenal hormone production. Stress affects the cardiovascular system, the immune system, the musculoskeletal system, and the digestive system. Supplementation may be used to directly address stress and the adrenal glands. It may also be used to support the organs and systems that have been affected by stress.
Lifestyle Changes to Help the Adrenals
There are supplements that can help keep excess cortisol production in check as well as supplements to help the adrenal glands to heal.
- Meditation: Meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, or simple deep breathing exercises can help you bring stress under control. Much of the damage that stress does to your health is not due to any external factors, but rather how your mind interprets those factors. Meditation and other techniques help to reduce the harm of stress by quieting the mind.
- Sports and hobbies: Meditation and yoga may be a little “New Age” for some people. Hobbies are a good solution for these people. Most hobbies are relaxing; your mind has to focus on a simple task rather than on sources of stress.
- Exercise: Moderate aerobic exercise is good. This is exercise that uses large muscles repetitively and is mild enough that you can carry on a normal conversation during the activity. Anaerobic exercise (working so hard that you can’t carry on a normal conversation) can be stressful and should be limited while the adrenal glands are recovering.
- Diet: There are many types of stress. Chemical, physical, thermal, and mental stresses can all cause harm to the body. Stress is cumulative. A stressful job situation is compounded by a poor diet. Avoid chemical additives and sugar, refined carbohydrates, and hydrogenated oils. Eat plenty of vegetables and make sure that you get enough protein. Reducing carbohydrates is often a good strategy. At mealtime relax and focus on enjoying your food; don’t eat on the run. Follow the Roadmap to Health
What to do: This is not treatment. It is a way to support adrenal health and improve your Wellness Score over the next 30 days.
- Follow the Roadmap to Health
- Light exercise every day. You should be able to hold a normal conversation while working out. More intense exercise will further stress the adrenals.
- Meditate or take up a hobby. Some people will have trouble making this big of a change in their lifestyles. If this is you, a simple breathing exercise will do. Simply relax, close your eyes and think of nothing but the breath going in and the breath going out. Do this for five minutes, several times per day.
- Take magnesium: Stress depletes magnesium, and magnesium is necessary for coping with stress.
- Take a B complex: B vitamins are essential for stress management because they act as “anti-stress” nutrients that regulate the nervous system, reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), and produce brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine that enhance mood.
- Adaptogenic herbs, like Ashwagandha.
