No matter what you do you can’t get energy, stressed and your health progress stalled, or still waking up feeling fatigued?

When we are stressed out, our body releases cortisol as a natural response to elevate blood pressure, and gets us prepared for the fight or flight response. I know, everyone hates that word “cortisol” because of its relation to fat storage, but the truth is, cortisol is important for the body because it gets the adrenalin up and gets us ready to take action when necessary. Unfortunately, in this society, we are in a constant state of stress, constantly fatigued, constantly using stimulants to keep up with the day to day life. It doesn’t allow our bodies to recover from the stressed out state which can wreak havoc on our adrenal glands, causing adrenal fatigue.

The adrenal glands are also responsible for the creation of certain hormones such as epinephrine, nor-epinephrine, and nor-adrenalin which are important for survival. If they are constantly pumping out adrenalin, your adrenal glands get fatigued like any other muscle in the body. When they are stressed out, and not working effectively, they no longer produce the hormones you need. This means you can end up having trouble sleeping, have a hard time waking up, or having low energy after a nights rest. You end up feeling constantly fatigued, your strength in workouts decrease because of lack of epinephrine output, you have regular sleep problems, unable to produce energy, have decreased sex drive, and a lack of motivation in general. If you have any of these symptoms and you’re trying to lose weight, lose body fat, trying to build muscle, or trying to perform better in a sport, that adrenal fatigue can decrease or put a halt in that process.

If you ever woke up in the morning and felt like you “have” to have that cup of coffee and that it’ll help you to get out that slump, that’s what it’s like to have adrenal fatigue, except it’s constant. Sometimes it feels like the only way to fix it is to have a stimulant like caffeine (coffee, tea, soda, energy drink, etc.).

There are ways to stimulate the adrenal glands so you don’t have to rely on caffeine and put yourself in a continuous cycle of stress through the day. There are some key ingredients that help the recovery process of your adrenal glands. Vitamin C, Potassium, and Sodium, we can use a combination of orange juice, cream of tartar, and Himalayan pink salt. Cream of tartar is full of Potassium, and combining it with the vitamin C in the orange juice helps to alleviate the stress off the adrenal glands. Vitamin C has been known to lower cortisol levels, and Potassium just increases the affect and absorption of the vitamin C. Himalayan salt is also going to help replenish the Sodium your body typically excretes when stressed by way of urine. This takes some stress off the adrenal glands, but you should take it when your cortisol levels are at its highest, and that would be first thing in the morning. Take fish oil in clinically proven doses has also been shown to decrease cortisol along with stress reduction techniques.

Adrenal Recovery Cocktail:

• 4 oz. Orange Juice,
• 1/4 teaspoon Cream of tartar,
• Pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Omega 3 Supplements:

• 7.2 grams per day

It is fact that taking fish oil helps decrease the levels of cortisol especially as it relates to mental stress. Here is a study about Omega 3 and reduction of cortisol within a 3 week period:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12909818

Reduction of Stress:

Unwinding at the end of the day by writing down your thoughts and feelings can significantly affect your mental state. It tells your subconscious mind that you have gotten out your thoughts, therefore there is no need to keep revisiting them. Even more, if you take a few 15 minute breaks throughout the day to get your thoughts out on paper, talk about it, or just do something that soothes you like listen to your most uplifting music can make a big difference in your recovery.

Reduction of Stimulants:

Stay off the stimulants! If you have an over-abundance of coffee, caffeinated tea, etc., your adrenal glands will be in a constant state of fatigue. Everything in moderation but until you recover, give your body a break and allow it to heal itself.

Speak with you again when you’re full of energy and awake =)!

To your best body and health,

Clifton Palmer