Ways To Reduce Stress Lower Cortisol Reduce Adrenal Fatigue & Stop Hair Loss
I encourage a root cause approach that has us look inward and evaluate our daily habits and stressors, and seek to understand how they are impacting our overall health.
A few habits that are important to implement and can nourish adrenals and thus support hair growth include:
- Avoid long periods of fasting.
This can cause a dip in blood sugar and a spike in stress hormones. Aim to eat every 3-4 hours to keep stress hormones calm.
- Balance the plate with nutrient dense protein, carbohydrates and fat.
- Eat enough calories!
MANY women dont even realize they are underating for their metabolism. A 1200 calorie diet is NOT ENOUGH fuel to support thyroid, adrenals and overall metabolic health. Consider tracking your calorie intake & macros to ensure you are consuming enough calories.
- Avoid PUFAS .
PUFAs are known to slow the metabolism, can be inflammatory to your gut and hinder thyroid hormone production. PUFAS are found in most nuts, seeds, legumes, cold water fish, industrial seed oils such as sunflower, soybean, palm, vegetable, canola, corn and more.
- Enjoy exercise but not too much.
Over-exercising is extremely stressful to the adrenals. Long periods of HIIT workouts and intense cardio/weight training paired with a high stress day and/or lack of nutrient dense food/under-eating is a recipe for adrenal fatigue. With that said, exercise is a fantastic way to offload stress as it can promote happy hormones such as endorphins!
How Long Should It Take To See Improvements
It can take some time to naturally heal your adrenal glands and start to feel more energetic, clear-headed, and in control of your hormones, weight and appetite. Everyone is different and reacts to lifestyle changes in unique ways. Some people will need to take medications to ultimately heal their problems, while others can feel drastically better by simply paying attention to their diets, stress levels and lifestyles. Either way, following the recommendations for natural remedies listed above is definitely still the way to speed up healing time and prevent the problem from worsening.
While there isnt necessarily one tried-and-true way to recover from adrenal problems, heres what you can expect in terms of timing:
- 69 months for minor adrenal issues
- 1218 months for moderate adrenal insufficiency
- Up to 24 months for severe adrenal insufficiency
If you visit a doctor about adrenal insufficiency , she or he might recommend you take medications to help speed up the healing process and reverse cortisol deficiency symptoms. Taking glucocorticoid medications like prednisone or hydrocortisone are the most common treatments, and the dosage of these depends on your level of stress, any present infections, medical history and injuries. The primary reason for taking hormonal replacement medications is to bring your cortisol and other hormone levels up to normal as quickly as possible.
Reset Your Stress Response
Some tips for managing stress:
STEP #1 Recognize the Feeling
The first step to overcoming anxiety is to recognize it for what it is a set of feelings that are the result of a series of biological responses to a perceived threat. Pay attention to what happens when you become anxious: Your heart rate increases, your breathing accelerates, you may start to sweat, and your mouth might get dry. You may feel that you are going to pass out. Or you may have an urge to run, flee. You may have difficulty concentrating or experience memory lapses. You may experience nausea, chest pressure or pain. At bedtime you may be unable to fall asleep. You may feel a sense of impending doom even that you are going to die. But you are not. These are the signs of anxiety. It is your bodys flight-or-fight response kicking in.
STEP #2: Have an Emergency Response Practice
One of the quickest ways to reset your response from going down an anxiety pathway is to learn to use your breath for a quick reset. The quickest reset comes from doing a technique such as tapping or breathing exercises. You can retrain your brain to reduce negative thoughts with apps like Calm and Headspace.
For more advanced practice in learning to use your mind and breath to get and stay out of anxiety, check out HeartMath an affordable and effective biofeedback device that we can teach you in the office, and you can easily use at home.
STEP #3 Create Safe Space for Your Brain
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What Supplements Are Best For Adrenal Fatigue And Hair Loss
Supplements are a great way to bridge the gap in our diets. While I do think its important to focus on high quality, nutrient dense foods as a means of supporting our body, we must acknowledge the reality that our fruits and vegetables are not as nutrient dense as they once were.
Unfortunately, the nature of modern farming practice is that the quality of vitamins and minerals in the soil have been gradually degraded over hundreds of years, meaning that less and less of these vital micronutrients are making their way into the food we eat. In fact, to get the same amount of vitamin A from an orange as our grandparents would have done, we would need to eat eight oranges today.
The following is a list of supplements that support adrenal health, thyroid, overall metabolism and thus hair regrowth! Please consult your doctor before starting new supplements.
Magnesium glycinate
Many of us are deficient in magnesium. This is the number one supplement I would recommend to someone starting out! This has a slew of health benefits including promoting better sleep, calming, can help with muscle/body cramps, supports healthy blood sugar levels, blood pressure, nerve function and more. Click here for a magnesium recommendation.
Adaptogens
Heres a few supplements/tinctures that are worth looking into. These are ones that I have tried personally and have enjoyed.
Hydrolyzed collagen powder
Beef Gelatin powder
Dessicated oyster capsules
Dessicated beef liver capsules
Is Adrenal Fatigue Real
- By , Contributor
Low energy and tiredness are among the most common reasons patients seek help from a doctor. Despite being so common, it is often challenging to come up with a diagnosis, as many medical problems can cause fatigue. Doctors engage in detective work, obtaining a medical history, doing a physical exam, and doing blood tests. The results often yield no explanations. It can be frustrating for clinicians and patients when a clear-cut diagnosis remains elusive. An attractive theory, called adrenal fatigue, links stress exposure to adrenal exhaustion as a possible cause of this lack of energy.
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The Complete Guide To Adrenal Fatigue Supplements
One of the most frequent questions AFS sufferers ask is: What adrenal fatigue supplements should I take? This is a very good question that we hear often from our nutritional coaching clients, but unfortunately, the answer is not simple.
First, if you are asking this question, you need to consider how you are expecting supplements to fit into your overall health goals. Do you only want fast relief? Does it seem easier than changing your diet? Or do you truly do have a strong foundation for recovery and supplements will just be an added support?
As you consider taking supplements, make sure that you are not taking the shotgun approach. This is by far one of the most common yet biggest mistakes we see people make in their effort to feel better faster. Its basically where you take a bunch of different supplements, without planning or research, hoping that some combination will work. This poses two problems:
How Is Adrenal Fatigue Treated
Your alternative health practitioner may treat adrenal fatigue by recommending that you quit alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and cigarettes, eat certain foods, exercise more and get more sleep. All of this advice should make you feel better.
Some practitioners may recommend you take supplements and vitamins for adrenal fatigue. Always check with your doctor before you take supplements in case they are harmful for you or might react with your other medicines.
If you have unexplained fatigue or exhaustion that doesnt go away, see your doctor. Your doctor will probably ask you about your symptoms and run some tests to rule out other health problems. Treating an underlying issue, such as iron deficiency or a low thyroid level, can help reverse fatigue.
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It Is Possible To Recover From Adrenal Fatigue
Yes, it is! Finding a functional medicine practitioner is the first step. As already stated, it can take one to two years to recover from adrenal fatigue. It may even take longer for some people. You must be gentle with yourself. You must be kind to yourself. Dont be too hard on yourself. Dont be excessively demanding on yourself. Give yourself a break. If you give your body and your mind the opportunity to rest and recover, you will heal.
How To Reverse Adrenal Fatigue
If you constantly feel tired with sleep disturbances, digestive problems, body aches, and nervousness, you could be suffering adrenal fatigue.
But dont confuse it with adrenal insufficiency, a medical condition referring to inadequate production of one or more hormones from the adrenal gland. This can be a result of medical or surgical problems.
Adrenal fatigue is considered a milder form of adrenal insufficiency but without the underlying conditions. Adrenal fatigue has often been linked to chronic stress and burnout.
Learn more about adrenal fatigue and how to reverse it for health and wellbeing.
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So Why Do So Many People Swear That Adrenal Fatigue Exists
Thats probably because their so-called adrenal fatigue symptoms are very real, commonand frustrating.
Tiredness is one of the top reasons people seek medical care. It plagues a lot of folks.2
For most of those people, stressand not adrenal fatigueis the more likely problem. .
Yet theres no easy medical test for stress.
There are, however, a wide range of tests for the dozens of complex medical conditions that can also lead to fatigue, including thyroid issues, sleep apnea, and anemia.
This can leave people in a situation where they continually tell their doctors about how crummy they feel.
So their doctors order more tests that reveal nothing out of the ordinary, which can make patients feel unheard and misunderstood.
When someones not getting the answers they need, adrenal fatigue theory becomes super attractive.
Do You Have Adrenal Fatigue
Do you find yourself constantly fatigued, easily overwhelmed, and struggling to get out of bed in the mornings? If so, you might be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue
The SEMPORA Adrenal Protocol is written by Health Education Specialist Eric Raum and his wife, Eliza Raum, MA. Heres what the ebook contains:
- How to diagnose your Adrenal Fatigue
- A complete 14-Day Adrenal Reset Diet including grocery lists and cookbook.
- Guided audio meditations to relieve stress instill calmness.
- Worksheets to walk you through every step of your healing process.
- A holistic, total-body plan to restore your energy and happiness.
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Reduce Caffeine And Sugar
Cutting down on caffeine and refined sugar will help your body reconnect with your natural energy cycles and reduce inflammatory responses in the body. While you dont need to avoid these substances completely, it may be a good idea to reduce your coffee intake to just one cup in the mornings, and aim for fruit instead of baked goods in the afternoon.
Caffeine and sugar are stimulants that increase your energy in the short-term, making it seem like a good fix when youve hit an afternoon slump. These substances cause blood glucose levels to soar, and when they come back down, it can create a cycle of addiction and cravings that rob you of rest and sustainable nutrients.
How To Stop Adrenal Fatigue Hair Loss
by mpowell3270 | Feb 23, 2021 | Adrenal Fatigue, Lifestyle
There is absolutely nothing fun about hair loss. That experience of washing your hair in the shower, or brushing your hair before bed, and having clumps of hair fall out, it just downright stinks. I experienced significant hair loss after both pregnancies, and then again when I navigated adrenal fatigue.
I had no idea that my high-stress, fast-paced lifestyle was contributing to my hair loss. It was summer of 2018 and my dad had passed away unexpectedly a few months prior. I barely gave myself time to grieve, was juggling work, working out 5 days a week, running on very little sleep, renovating a house and had two small children. Often, I tucked my grief and emotions into a little box and continued to press on, until my body started to fall apart.
I continued on a few more months until I hit my breaking point. I knew something had to change, I was exhausted. Emotional. My hair was thinning. My sleep was awful. I was resentful and downright angry with life. It was at that time that I made the decision to pull back from my work , and focus on my health and family. It was hands down one of the best decisions Ive made.
A note: This blog post does not take the place of medical advise or consultation with your doctor. I am not a medical professional, nor do I claim to be. This post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor before implementing new health practices.
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Alternative Medicine To Beat Adrenal Fatigue
Herbal supplements and natural remedies may also be of help. Dr. James Wilson suggests some alternative methods that may work to beat adrenal fatigue and have the potential to help balance HPA axis function, and promote evenness and calmness during the day, and sound sleep at night.
- Eleutherococcus senticosus root
- Ashwagandha root
- Maca
Avoiding certain foods may also be a positive action step to beat adrenal fatigue without medicine. Licorice root has also been noted as a potential adrenal enhancer, but noted elsewhere in research as a food to avoid so we advise caution with licorice root. Grapefruit is also mentioned in research articles as a food to avoid for recovery from overstressed adrenal glands.
Acupuncture, massage, reiki, cranial sacral therapy, and other healing modalities that focus on a return to the natural energy flow and state of wellness for the body are also helpful alternative methods without the use of medicine to relieve stress.
Eat Small Meals Frequently To Avoid Sugar Spikes
During your burnout recovery, you want to ensure that youre being as gentle with your blood sugar levels as possible.
The worst thing you could do is consume two or three massive, overly processed meals per day. The best thing you can do is eat four to six small, nutrient dense meals per day. More on this in the next two points.
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S To Heal The Symptoms Of Adrenal Fatigue Naturally
“Adrenal fatigue” describes a disruption of the adrenal glands’ ability to make cortisol in the right amounts at the right times. Chronic stress, an unhealthy diet, and general inflammation are all thought to contribute to it. Though adrenal fatigue is not recognized as a legitimate condition by the traditional medical community, I’ve seen the effects of unsteady cortisol levels play out time and time again with my patients. Here are the signs you might be dealing with them too.
What Are Common Types Of Adrenal Disorders
There are different conditions related to your adrenal glands. Some of the most common include:
- Addisons disease, also called adrenal insufficiency. In this disorder, you dont produce enough cortisol and/or aldosterone.
- Cushings syndrome. In this disorder, your levels of cortisol are too high. This term can be applied when large doses of steroids are given to treat certain medical conditions.
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia. This term refers to genetic condition in which your adrenal glands are not able to make cortisol well. As a result ACTH is elevated. Depending on the defect higher levels of male hormone might be made.
- Adrenal gland suppression. This is a type of adrenal insufficiency that is related to outside sources of cortisol or related synthetic hormones such as prednisone or dexamethasone.
- Hyperaldosteronism. If you have this condition, your body produces too much aldosterone which can lead to blood pressure elevation and potassium loss.
- Virilization. This condition happens when your body produces too much of the male sex hormones and is only apparent in females or boys before puberty.
There are also conditions of the adrenal glands related to growths . These include:
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You Can Build Stress Muscles
When you face stressful eventswith a strong mindset, relationships, and recovery practicesyou grow stronger.
If youve been stuck in a downward spiral, small improvements can give you some much needed energy, and hope for a better future.
Eventually, stress can feel like surfing: Challenging and dynamic, without pulling you under.
Cortisol And Adrenal Fatigue
Most people would be forgiven for thinking that adrenaline overload is the number one enemy for adrenal fatigue sufferers. However, cortisol has an equally important role when it comes to adrenal health. Also known as the stress hormone, cortisol is responsible for a number of important physiological processes, not least in determining your bodys ability to cope with stress.
Having too much, or indeed too little cortisol in your system can result in a number of devastating health problems. For this reason, its vitally important for anyone with adrenal fatigue to understand why cortisol is so fundamental for balanced adrenal health.
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