The adrenal glands are two small glands located near the top of the kidneys. They release hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, which help regulate vital bodily functions, including metabolism, response to stress, sexual maturation, and maintaining pregnancy. Problems can occur when the glands make too many or not enough hormones. Among the adrenal disorders that are diagnosed and treated by conventional medical practitioners are Cushing’s syndrome, Addison’s disease, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and tumors. But there’s another disorder that is even more prevalent that has long been ignored and untreated by mainstream doctors: adrenal fatigue.
Simply put, says Dr. Martin Feldman, “adrenal fatigue is an area where traditional medicine has no clue as to what to do.”
Adrenal fatigue is a collection of symptoms caused by the inability of the adrenal glands to meet the demands of emotional and/or physical stress. It can also be caused by infection.
Among the symptoms of adrenal fatigue are low energy, tiredness, body aches, nervousness, sleep problems, and digestive difficulties. Given that these symptoms are common to a variety of conditions, Dr. Feldman tells how to determine whether adrenal dysfunction is the culprit. “There are some symptoms, which are very, very telling, which have very high correlation with the adrenal weakness,” he says.
Fatigue despite adequate sleep is a primary symptom. “You get a full night’s sleep—let’s say, eight hours sleep—and you wake up and you’re tired,” Dr. Feldman says. “Tired in the morning is a key issue regarding adrenal.”
Feelings of dizziness also occur. Usually this happens when the person moves from a sitting to a standing position, or from lying down to sitting. “When we are moving from one level to another in terms of gravity, or even just bending down and standing up, we need to have that pressure modulated to fix for the change of position. The adrenals modulate much of that, so that’s another very good sign if you get this type of dizziness,” Dr. Feldman says.
The Ragland blood pressure test can be useful. Dr. Feldman explains the procedure: “You take your horizontal lying blood pressure. So let’s say it’s 115 over 70, which is a normal, fairly good pressure. This is a resting five-minute pressure. Then rapidly sit up or stand up, and retake the pressure immediately. Now when you’re moving from horizontal to vertical, the blood really has to increase blood pressure to get up to the brain. You need a higher potential push against gravity. Lying down, the gravity is not important because the heart and the brain are on the same level. In a healthy person, the systolic, or upper level, is supposed to go up by at least ten points. But in many people with beginning or advanced adrenal fatigue, the pressure may actually fall or certainly won’t go up. They may say, ‘Oh gee, I’m getting dizzy. I’ve got to lie down again.’ That’s a very simple test. Doctors do it in America hardly at all. It gives a very important simple beginning idea of whether you have low adrenals.”
Other tests include pupil response to light; saliva testing for DHEA, a major hormone produced by adrenal glands; and adrenal energy fields.
In treating adrenal fatigue, it is necessary to decrease stress, reduce the glycemic load by avoiding sugars and carbohydrates, and eliminate caffeine. Dr. Feldman recommends several vitamins and herbs, including zinc, vitamin C, vitamin B complex, vitamin E, pantothenic acid, and DHEA. Among the herbs he uses are de-glycyrrhizinated (DGL) licorice, Siberian ginseng, rhodiola, ashwagandha, sarcode, black cohosh, and chaste berry.
Dr. Raphael Kellman, a physician in New York City who has been practicing alternative and complementary medicine for two decades, tells about the importance of emotional balance in increasing energy and relieving stress. “There is a concept called over-caring. Well-caring, if it’s done from the right place, will always give you more energy. It will always increase your vitality and your energy. However, when you’re in a state of over-caring then it will actually be depleting. In certain situations or with certain people, it’s impossible to enter into an interaction or dialogue that will be sustained with a state of caring. It ultimately will have an adverse effect on the caregiver because if you look closely, really their motivation is not pure. It’s not coming from a real loving perspective. It’s coming more from an ego perspective even though it looks like it’s coming from a giving perspective.
“You always have to balance giving and receiving, and you can only give to somebody who is capable of receiving. If they’re not capable of receiving what you want to give them, then why bother giving it to them? You’ve got to think about why you’re trying to give when they’re not capable of receiving. So it’s not just about giving. It’s really about balancing giving and learning to withdraw and not to give in certain situations because if you give too much and you’re not in a balanced state, it will have an adverse effect on you and on your ability to withstand stress. It will ultimately adversely affect your adrenal gland and it will absolutely adversely affect your immune system and your immune system’s ability to counteract disease.”
An increasing body of scientific evidence is showing the benefits of natural modalities to overall health and well-being. Following is a sample of recent peerreviewed literature related to adrenal fatigue.
Swedish researchers reported in a 2009 study published in Planta Medica that repeated administration of a standard rhodiola extract reduced fatigue, increased mental concentration, and decreased cortisol response to awakening stress in patients with fatigue syndrome. Participants received 576 mg per day of the extract, and no adverse effects were noted.