Grains, adrenal fatigue, thyroid

[Guest guest]

The Healthy Home Economist

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6 Little Known Signs of Adrenal Fatigue

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 05:01 AM PDT

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You'd have to be living under a rock not to notice that adrenal problems are at

epidemic proportions in our modern culture. The fact that a Starbucks or some

other coffee shop is on practically every corner and that the average American

now consumes a whopping 180 lbs per year of refined sugars is surely evidence

enough. By the way, the 180 lbs of sugar per year figure is a shocking 27%

increase just since 2003 when sugar consumption was 142 lbs per person per year!

Caffeine and sugar consumed in excess amounts will sucker punch your adrenal

glands faster than just about anything else, no doubt about it.

I've read a lot of articles about the adrenal glands and adrenal fatigue over

the years. Most of them focus on the symptoms which include excessive fatigue,

hair loss, sleep problems, difficulty getting going in the morning etc. You

know the drill.

What I haven't seen as much written about is why it is so critical to keep

these two walnut sized glands at the top of your kidneys happy and healthy and

how to spot the freight train of adrenal fatigue coming full speed down the

tracks and about to smack your life upside the head.

Fact is, once you are losing your hair, can't sleep at night or get off the

couch during the day, adrenal fatigue has already sucked the " life " out of your

life. At that point, mustering the strength and courage to reverse course can

be quite daunting indeed.

Why Adrenal Health is So Important

A few years ago, I attended the Wise Traditions Conference hosted annually by

the Weston A. Price Foundation. One of the most interesting lectures I

attended during that information packed weekend was given by Dr. Bruce Rind MD,

a holistic endocrinologist whose talk focused on spotting and reversing thyroid

and adrenal problems.

I learned from Dr. Rind that the health of the thyroid gland and the adrenal

glands is inextricably linked. If one goes south, the other one probably will

too and in very short order.

Adrenal problems can frequently masquerade as thyroid problems. As a result, if

the adrenal glands are being stressed day in and day out by lack of sleep, too

much sugar and caffeine in the diet and a rush rush lifestyle loaded with

carbohydrate heavy processed foods, thyroid gland problems will eventually

manifest along with the adrenal problems.

Why is this such a big problem?

Because thyroid problems often end up going hand in hand with insulin resistance

problems. Development of insulin resistance is a BIG problem as this has a

direct effect on longevity.

Once insulin resistance and blood sugar problems enter the picture, the domino

effect to Metabolic Syndrome takes place, a fancy name for a group of risk

factors which includes heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.

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As you can see, a person's overall hormonal balance is extremely intricate and

one endocrine disorder frequently portends another then another. Hence, keeping

ones adrenal glands from becoming overly fatigued is extremely important as the

seemingly insignificant signs of early adrenal dysfunction and insufficiency can

rapidly start a person into a downward spiral to Metabolic Syndrome.

Now that we know why we need to keep the adrenal glands in ship shape and why

ignoring this problem will only lead to more serious and imbalanced endocrine

problems in the future, let's explore the early signs of adrenal problems.

When does one cup of coffee in the morning or that afternoon pick me up candy

bar suddenly indicate a major problem on the horizon?

Here are a few lesser known signs as described by Dr. Rind in his Wise

Traditions lecture and as written in my notes:

Dependence on Sunglasses

Are you one of those people who can't stand to be out in the bright, midday sun

without your shades? Oversensitivity of the eyes to bright sunlight is a sign

of adrenal problems from a chronic sodium-potassium imbalance which prevents the

pupils from properly constricting in response to bright light.

The good news is that being out in the midday sun with no sunglasses is a way to

strengthen the adrenals. When I do errands, I try to leave my sunglasses in

the car and walk to and from the stores so that my eyes get a good dose of

unobstructed sunlight.

I've noticed that my eyes have become significantly less sensitive to sunlight

over the years as my diet has improved with the general banishment of refined

sugars and carbohydrates in my home. While I still wear sunnies for safety

reasons to reduce the glare while driving, I frequently find myself forgetting

to put them on at all on very sunny days.

Hollow Cheeks

This young person shown in the picture to the left has some serious adrenal

fatigue! My bet is that there is a lot of sugar and caffeine going on in that

diet. Being young is no protection from the ravages of hormonal disruption.

If you find your cheeks hollowing out, take a look at your diet pronto.

Skip the collagen injections and lose the sugar, caffeine, and refined

carbohydrates instead!

Lines in the Fingertips

Turn your hand over and examine the skin of the fingertips. Do you see nice,

plump fingertips or is the skin covered with vertical lines? If they are nice

and plump, that is a good sign for your adrenals. Lots of vertical lines in

your fingertips indicate adrenal stress.

My own fingertips used to be quite lined years ago, but getting off refined

sugar plumped them out nicely within a few months.

Pale Lips

I have a friend who once told me that after about age 30, a woman's lips

disappear into the back of her head! This was a colorful way of saying that

lipstick was mandatory after a certain age. I don't agree! Lips that have no

color whatsoever is not an age thing - it is a sign of weak adrenals. Chances

are, if grains/starches are limited (and grains that are eaten are properly

prepared) and refined sugar and caffeine eliminated from the diet, most women

would be delighted to see a hint of youthful pink return to their lips once

again!

One of the most striking things I noticed when I went on the GAPS Diet back in

March of this year was how the color flooded into my face and lips. Clearly,

my adrenals were on the mend!

Even now, I can tell within an hour or two if my adrenals have been stressed by

the meal I just ate .. my lips go pale almost immediately. Watch this

yourself. You will be amazed how quickly the amount of color in your lips will

indicate how your adrenals are feeling at that moment.

Balding Lower Legs

Do you have bald patches on your lower arms and legs or sparser hair in those

areas than you used to (particularly men)? This could be a sign of adrenal

fatigue.

Boys entering puberty with sparser beards and leg/arm hair than their peers are

frequently those with low adrenal function and an overall lower drive to

achieve.

Unexplained Back or Knee Pain

Muscle weakness is a frequent sign of adrenal insufficiency. Unexplained back

or knee pain with no accompanying structural defect may indicate weakness of the

muscles supporting the pelvis and/or knees.

In the case of lower back pain, chronic adrenal stress leads to weakness in the

muscles which support the pelvis causing the pelvis to subluxate in a posterior

direction. In other words, the lower back pain has nothing to do with the lower

back and everything to do with muscular instability in the pelvis.

QUICKLY Give Your Adrenals Relief

If you suspect that you have adrenal fatigue, it would be a good idea to get a

holistic physician to do a thorough examination and consultation. Hormone

problems are incredibly intractable conditions to reverse and professional

advice is warranted in most cases.

In the meantime, you can quickly provide your adrenals relief if you do the

following:

- Get to bed no later than 10:30pm. This piece of advice was given to me by an

Ayurvedic MD over 15 years ago. It is still one of the best pieces of advice

any doctor has ever given me. She explained how the hormone system cleanses

between 11pm and 1am (generally speaking) and if you are not asleep during this

time, the flushing process will not take place, essentially backing up the

hormone system with toxins.

- Throw out the white, processed salt and replace with a colorful sea salt.

The adrenals need GOOD salt. Use sea salt to taste in your dishes at home and

your adrenals will thank you!

- Eliminate coffee and refined sugar from your diet. This is a simple piece

of advice, but easily ignored in our crazy modern lives. Continue with the

daily caffeine/sugar fixes, and you WILL have serious hormonal issues down the

road if you don't already. Coffee has been linked to blood sugar issues and

combine this with a sugar filled diet and the Metabolic Syndrome freight train

has left the station.

Is it really that hard to replace the coffee with green tea and the white

sugar/high fructose corn syrup with natural alternatives like raw honey? Do it

today!

- Reduce dependence on grains in the diet to a bare minimum.

The Western diet is overly heavy in grains and starches which tax the adrenals

when consumed to excess. Focus the diet on clean meats, organic and biodynamic

vegetables and fruits, seeds, nuts, eggs, and grassfed dairy. You will very

soon feel the energy that comes with a significantly reduced digestive burden

and begin to regain more youthful vitality that comes with healthy adrenals!

, The Healthy Home Economist

Sources:

http://tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html

Dr. Bruce Rind MD, Lecture at Wise Traditions Conference 2004

[Guest guest]

This is good article that links many of my conditions or past conditions but I

do question the raw honey and seeds. They don't seem necessary in the diet and

are more than likely harmful in large amounts. I used to eat a lot of both.

I'm happy to say that hair is growing on my legs, never thought I'd admit that!

My eyebrows have grown back too. I started eating meat again last December,

mainly the GAPS diet. I started eating soaked oatmeal everyday in April. I

haven't eaten it recently, probably won't for awhile.

> Is it really that hard to replace the coffee with green tea and the white

sugar/high fructose corn syrup with natural alternatives like raw honey? Do it

today!

>

> - Reduce dependence on grains in the diet to a bare minimum.

> The Western diet is overly heavy in grains and starches which tax the adrenals

when consumed to excess. Focus the diet on clean meats, organic and biodynamic

vegetables and fruits, seeds, nuts, eggs, and grassfed dairy. You will very

soon feel the energy that comes with a significantly reduced digestive burden

and begin to regain more youthful vitality that comes with healthy adrenals!

>

>

>

> , The Healthy Home Economist

>

>

> Sources:

> http://tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html

> Dr. Bruce Rind MD, Lecture at Wise Traditions Conference 2004

>