Adrenal Fatigue and recognizing the Adrenal Body Type

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Do you have trouble sleeping?  Do you wake in the morning feeling exhausted and flat with no motivation for the day.  Drag yourself through your day, need some type of “pick me up” in the mid-afternoon to get you through to the evening and then find yourself at night time before bed tired but “wired”?  If you answered Yes to any of these then don’t worry.  You’re not alone and it is fixable!

You may have what is termed “Adrenal Fatigue”. 

The adrenal gland controls stress.  If it produces too much cortisol then belly fat can develop as a hormonal factor.  The adrenal glands are the backup glands to the ovary glands in women.  When people have adrenal fatigue, they can’t sleep and they don’t have enough energy to generate fat burning because fat burning occurs in the deep sleep stage.

The adrenal gland sits on top of the kidneys.  They have one job to do and that is to counter stress.  Emotional stress and physical stress and yet emotional stress can actually deplete the adrenal glands 1000x times more than physical stress!  That is why the loss of a loved one can turn into a major problem with your health.

The Adrenal Body Type person is quite specific in that they will almost always have belly fat.  Or at the very minimum, have more belly fat than they once used to in their younger days.  The fat in the belly comes from cortisol which is the hormone that makes it.  Why does the Adrenal Body Type always gain weight in the belly?  Because that is where our vital organs are in the mid-section of our body.  As a survival mechanism back when we were hunters and gatherers the belly fat would increase so as to protect ourselves during war and starvation.  We hold it as a way of feeding ourselves should the worst happen.  This is a potential energy source that is stored around the organs.

When you’re 18 cortisol is at its lowest.  When you’re 58, that is when it is at its highest because it accumulates over time.  All stress is accumulative.  So basically, we are like a bucket and it builds up over time.

Then the next major issue with adrenal fatigue is the effect on cognitive function.  The person will always be thinking and thinking and not be able to turn off that thinking mind.  Especially when they are meant to at sleep time. It affects excessive thinking, memory, focus (brain fog!).  Less tolerance for certain personality types.  For example, slow drivers, incompetence, will drive an Adrenal Body Type crazy.  Even to the point that some people are so burnt-out that even the sound of a ticking clock drives them crazy and they can’t tolerate it.  These are some very extreme cases yet, don’t be fooled because they are actually very common. I see many people in my practice with these symptoms.  Some of them realise it and some don’t even know that it is not normal and that it is actually a symptom of a very debilitating health issue which needs to be treated effectively to bring their body back to a natural state of being. 

Unfortunately, Adrenal Fatigue is a process that can happen over a long, slow period of time without the sufferers even realizing what is happening.  The symptoms will just be seemingly unrelated issues that are one of many.  Other symptoms can include dizziness, depression, gut issues, constipation, dry skin and hair, brittle nails, indigestion, a feeling of “on edge” but “no edge” or “motivation”, etc.  They may go to their family doctor who will announce that there is nothing wrong with them, maybe do some blood tests and pronounce all is OK.

Now there are many wonderful treatments that are effective, gentle and very specific for Adrenal Fatigue that a well-educated, experienced Naturopath will be able to put into place for quick, effective treatment. 

In the next month we will discuss some at home treatments that can be done straight away to turn Adrenal Fatigue around and start sleeping and feeling better as soon as possible and taking your motivation and enjoyment for life back!

Original Article written by Trudy Kither, Naturopath, Nutritionist and Herbal Medicine Practitioner.  Owner of Nature’s Temple, Palmwoods, QLD 4555. www.naturestemple.net.   naturestemple.net@gmail.com