The adrenal glands are grape-sized glands that sit above our kidneys and are essential to life and vitality. They release specific hormones in times of stress that cause us to be aware, awake, and aroused. They also have an important part in the functioning of our metabolism.
Our body has four major stress hormones: Cortisol, DHEA, Adrenaline (Epinephrine) and Norepinephrine.
Cortisol is involved in the function of carbohydrate metabolism as well as in stress regulation.
DHEA is involved in testosterone production.
Adrenaline and Norepinephrine are involved in the fight-or-flight response to different stressors and are released during stressful situations.
During various stages of our life and health, these hormones can fluctuate dramatically. However, the adrenal glands roles are not limited to stressful situations. They also help to regulate metabolic activity (the process of converting fats and sugars, as well as the production of other hormones), blood pressure, and body temperature.
There are so many stressors that affect our adrenal glands due to the way our lifestyle has changed in the 21st century. From our routine stress levels, decreasing hours of rest, and chemical pollutants in our environment, it’s important to know how to eliminate or minimize some of these stressors. Let’s start with dietary stressors and how we can lessen or avoid them altogether.
Adrenal Stressors:
The glycemic index (GI) of foods tells us how much the food will affect our body’s glucose level. Every food has its unique GI score, which can be altered depending on how it’s cooked. For example, a 150 g potato’s original GI score will be affected by whether it’s baked or boiled. Baked potatoes have a GI of 85, whereas boiled potatoes have a GI of 50. Sweet potatoes and yams have lower GI scores. A sweet potato is about 61, and a yam, about 37. Foods that score high on the glycemic index, such as sugary desserts and processed starches, induce a drastic increase in insulin release, which in turn stimulates the adrenal glands to release more cortisol. This high sugar intake elicits the adrenal gland to work overtime to secrete high levels of cortisol.
Stimulants, such as caffeine, activate high levels of cortisol production by the adrenal glands. Since cortisol produces energy, one feels fatigued in the absence of cortisol, like when we don’t get enough sleep. Consumption of caffeine essentially tricks the body to work overtime to feel energetic even though cortisol levels are low, which is detrimental to multiple organs, causing wear and tear.
Caffeinated drinks, similar to alcohol, are also diuretics, causing a state of dehydration. Such drinks curb your thirst, thus less water is utilized, amplifying the state of dehydration. Since the human body is composed of 60-70% water, it’s easy to see how dehydration can be stressful for anybody. Even mild dehydration, which is a deficit of five percent or less in body weight of water, triggers damaging effects to our muscles, bones, and blood and adrenal glands. Signs of dehydration can be fatigue, headache, chapped lips, constipation, dizziness, and heart palpitations.
Consumption of meat is also deleterious to our adrenal glands. Their impending slaughter results in fear, pain, and high levels of cortisol secretion in the animals. In lab rats, studies show that intake of slaughtered meat resulted in infertility, fatigue, and obesity within two weeks. These abnormally elevated levels of cortisol are transmitted to humans upon consumption, producing a state of stress and inflammation.
Eating small meals throughout the day or frequent snacking can also lead to constant spikes in blood sugar, which then results in elevated insulin levels—stimulating the adrenal glands to release cortisol. If one eats every two-three hours, this poses a constant demand on the adrenals, draining them of cortisol. This depletes this stress hormone that otherwise would be used to help one handle and be alert to other forms of stressors. By eating when one is stressed, cortisol is recruited to handle that stressor—and this can rapidly result in cortisol depletion, which in turn results in a foggy memory due to fatigued adrenals glands.
Adrenal support:
To avoid overtasking your adrenal glands it is best to balance grains, protein, and vegetables at each meal and eat at regular intervals—thus your brain, pancreas, and adrenal glands can be prepared for action. Training our taste buds to eat as much as 50-80% of our meals in a raw state will provide so much vital nutrition that you will not have room for empty calories. Seek dark green leafy vegetables and super foods that are packed with the most phytonutrients per ounce, such as sprouts, spirulina, and super fruits such as berries and kiwis. These contain high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that are only found in plants. These in turn help support the adrenal glands to function by keeping inflammation—an adrenal stressor—away.
Healthy monounsaturated fats also help support adrenal function. Avocados, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, or sesame seeds provide high-energy fats and rich antioxidants. These anti-inflammatory nutrients help to lower LDL (low-density lipids) and blood pressure, thus relieving disease stressors of the adrenal gland.
Drinking 10 glasses of water a day can help the adrenal glands by providing adequate blood circulation, brain oxygenation, heart and blood pressure regulation, and optimize concentration and digestion. In addition, persons with adrenal fatigue may have difficulty retaining sodium, causing low blood pressure, since sodium helps to maintain normal volume in circulation. Therefore, those with adrenal fatigue may crave more salt and they need to avoid anything that can dehydrate.
Himalayan salt is rich in multiple minerals that support the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands require multiple sets of minerals to produce hormones levels. If one has adrenal fatigue, intake of Himalayan salt in the morning can also help boost blood pressure and thus boosting one’s energy level.
In short, we can’t always anticipate emergency stressors on our adrenal glands, but we can control meal frequency, sources of food, and hydration habits that will help keep the adrenals alert, strong, and ready to deal with stressors in a healthy manner.