Adrenal Fatigue- Is stress causing you
to Gain Weight?

What are the Adrenals?
The adrenal glands, or “adrenals”, are two small glands that sit on top of each of the
kidneys. They are responsible for producing a whole host of hormones and other
chemicals that regulate many of the basic processes in your body as well as your ability
to lose weight.

Here are some of the chemicals produced in the adrenal glands include along with their
basic functions:

  • Cortisol- the basic stress hormone in the body that regulate sugar metabolism,
    blood pressure, inflammation, immunity, liver function, memory and more.
  • DHEA- the building block of testosterone, estrogen, and other sex hormones.
  • Adrenaline (epinephrine/nor-epinephrine)- another stress chemical; adrenaline
    increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels, dilates air ways in the lungs and
    prepares the body for the flight of flight response.
  • Aldosterone- Controls sodium, water and potassium levels in the body through
    activation of the kidneys.  See full list of Adrenal Gland Chemicals and Functions

Is high cortisol bad?
Cortisol gets a bad rap. When cortisol is chronically high, cortisol gets blamed for belly
fat and all sorts of other health problems. And while chronic high cortisol levels can lead
to weight gain, osteoporosis, illness, fatigue and other undesirable health issues,
cortisol is not all bad. In fact at our clinic, we see many issues resulting from excessively
low cortisol levels including difficulty losing weight. I will explain why.

Cortisol is a hormone that is released when your brain determines that you are in
danger. It prepares you to run or fight for your life. In fact, the response to stress has
been appropriately dubbed the "fight or flight response" since it's job is to prepare you
to do just that. It triggers events in your body that give your arms and legs energy so
you can run as fast as possible or fight as hard as possible in order to survive an
attack. Remember, attacks from animals and/or rival village members was not
uncommon a few years back, and our genetic makeup has not changed a bit since
those more wild days.
These days, every time we experience a "stress," regardless of what type of stress, our
bodies respond by releasing cortisol to trigger the fight or flight response. The problem
is, we don't need a lot of cortisol to deal with traffic, deadlines or relationship issues (the
modern version of stress) because fighting or running are not the best ways to deal with
those issues. This will lead to high cortisol levels and weight gain, primarily in the belly
and around the mid-section. And if this cycle doesn't stop, it will lead to a situation that
is even worse than high cortisol levels- adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal Fatigue- how does it happen?
If we constantly tax the adrenal glands with our constant demand for cortisol, eventually
the adrenals will lose some of their ability to produce the proper amount of cortisol and
other important hormones and chemicals. This situation is called adrenal fatigue, also
known as adrenal exhaustion or adrenal gland burn-out.  It simply means that the
adrenal glands are sluggish and unable to fully produce the chemicals that the body
requires from it. If you have adrenal fatigue cortisol, and possibly DHEA and adrenaline,
will usually be low on lab tests and you will not feel good.  In fact, you will feel much
worse with excessively low cortisol than with high cortisol. Excessively low cortisol
(adrenal fatigue) is one of the most common
causes of weight gain.

What are the Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?
When your adrenal glands are shot you will have a whole host of symptoms including:
  • weight gain all over your body (not just in the belly)
  • fatigue
  • wake-full/restless sleep
  • allergies
  • salt cravings
  • dizziness
  • low sex drive
and many other symptoms that are often thought of as symptoms of low thyroid. This is
because the
thyroid and adrenals rely on each other in their functions. Both must
function well, otherwise neither will work well. In fact, every thyroid patient that comes to
my office gets tested for adrenal function. And amazingly, correcting the adrenals can
often make the thyroid symptoms go away! That is because there is often nothing
wrong with the thyroid itself, but rather a problem with the adrenals that turned into a
thyroid problem. Read more about the
symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue.

Is Adrenal Fatigue common?
A better question might be "Is chronic stress common?"  The answer is obviously YES!  
Can you imagine if our ancestors were being attacked by tigers all day, every day? Of
course not- we would not even be alive to contemplate the scenario if that were the
reality. They were under occasional stress, such as tiger attacks, but those dangerous
situations were very rare. And when they did happen, our ancestors ran for their lives.
So their brains learned that running really, really hard meant that we were trying to
survive. And if we lived through the attack, our brains new that the attack was over and
that it could shut the stress response off.

Our modern lifestyle, while very convenient and luxurious in many ways compared to
our ancestors, is not what our bodies are designed for. We are far too sedentary and
we are bombarded with
stress all day, every day. Unlike our ancestors, our stress is not
rare and when we do encounter stress we rarely run for our lives. So the stress
response never quits and the adrenal gland is the organ that suffers the most from this
chronic stress. What we are left with is a society of individuals with adrenal fatigue.  

Can you test for Adrenal Fatigue?
It is simple and non-invasive to test basic adrenal gland function. I often send patients
home with a simple saliva collection kit that they can perform in their own home. The
test can tell us several things. It can tell us if you have adrenal fatigue, excess cortisol
production, or a number of other adrenal abnormalities such as reversed cortisol

If I have Adrenal Fatigue, is there anything that will help it?
We see patients with adrenal fatigue or adrenal dysfunction of some variety almost
every day and there is nothing more rewarding than to help our patients restore optimal
adrenal function. When the adrenals regain their function, so does the whole person.
The patient often reports more energy, improved mood, deep sleep, better digestion,
enhanced immune function, and best of all
weight loss that was previously
unattainable no matter how much they dieted or exercised. We use a combination of
customized lifestyle changes including diet, nutrition, burst training and stress relieving
techniques to help the patient heal. No two people are alike so we feel like the individual
approach is best when determining the best program for each person.

The two best products I have found for rejuvenating the adrenal glands are
Complex and Adrenotone. They work well individually and can work very well together
for those who need extra adrenal support.  

If you have any of the following symptoms you may have adrenal fatigue:
  • Trouble Losing Weight
  • Fatigue
  • Poor Sleep
  • Salt Cravings
  • Get Sick a lot
  • Bloating
  • other symptoms discussed above

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Call for an appointment today. 972-735-0707  

Do you possibly have adrenal issues but you don't live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?
We can still help you through phone consultations.  

Complete Health and Weight Loss
5000 Legacy Dr. #240 Plano, TX 75024
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