More and more health practitioners are beginning to recognize how widespread adrenal fatigue is in the general population. Unfortunately many times, doctors refuse to recognize there is a problem with the adrenal glands unless you meet the diagnostic criteria for Addison’s disease (extremely little adrenal function) or Cushing’s disease (hyper adrenal). Get the basic information of the functions and purpose of the adrenal glands.
Many people these days go through their lives feeling stressed, sluggish, fatigued, irritable, desperately trying to clear up that mental fogginess with coffee or other stimulants, just to crash worse afterward. But it is not normal.
Many health experts believe that upwards of 80% of the population suffers from some level of adrenal insufficiency. This is not surprising when we think that the adrenals are involved in regulating virtually every aspect of body function! As goes the health and functional efficiency of the adrenals, so goes the health and functional efficiency of every aspect of metabolism in the body.
What Are The Adrenal Glands?
The adrenal glands are no bigger than a walnut and they sit on top of the kidneys. They produce more than 150 different hormones, including adrenaline (sometimes called epinephrine), cortisol, norepinephrine, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the major stress hormones in our bodies, absolutely essential to health and vitality. When out of balance, the quality of our health and well-being becomes severely compromised. The adrenals are the body’s first line of defense and the primary component designed to resolve stress.
What Are The Functions of The Adrenal Glands?
The adrenals produce hormones that help balance your blood sugar and manage your daily ebbs and flows of energy. They keep your body’s reactions to stress in balance. Adrenal hormones have protective anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity and closely affect the utilization of carbohydrates and fats, the conversion of fats and proteins into energy, the distribution of stored fat (especially around the waist and the sides of the face), normal blood sugar regulation, and proper cardiovascular and gastrointestinal function.
Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced by the adrenals. It is also known as the stress hormone and is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes like:
- Mobilizing and increasing amino acids, the building blocks of protein, in the blood and liver.
- Stimulating the liver to convert amino acids to glucose, the primary fuel for energy production.
- Stimulating increased glycogen in the liver (the stored form of glucose).
- Mobilizing and increasing fatty acids in the blood (from fat cells) to be used as fuel for energy production.
- Counteracting inflammation and allergies.
- Preventing the loss of sodium in urine and thus helps maintain blood volume and blood pressure.
- Maintaining resistance to stress (e.g., infections, physical trauma, temperature extremes, emotional trauma, etc.).
- Maintaining mood and emotional stability.
After mid-life the adrenal glands gradually become the major source of the sex hormones circulating throughout the body, having a whole host of physical, emotional, and psychological effects, from libido to the tendency to gain weight. Even the response to illnesses, in general, is significantly influenced by the adrenal glands; the more chronic the illness, the more critical the adrenal response becomes.
What Happens When The Adrenals Don’t Function Well?
Low adrenal function is often very common but often missed by standard blood tests. Low levels of adrenal cortisol can result in the following: hypoglycemia, fatigue, muscle aches, low blood sugar, sugar or salt craving, shakiness relieved with eating, moodiness, wiped out with exercise, the inability to tolerate thyroid replacement, and more, but the proper treatment can have profound effects.
If you feel your adrenals are not functioning properly but are not getting the help you need, contact us to see how we can help you!
