Update – The Top 3 Myths of Adrenal Fatigue

Dr. Christianson here to talk about adrenal fatigue and the top myths associated with it. Do you tend to gain weight easily? Ever feel weak, tired, stressed, anxious, or dizzy? Some would say you have adrenal fatigue.

Let’s talk a bit more about that, starting with the basic myths that I will dispel for you today:

1. Adrenal glands get fatigued

2. Your adrenals need lots of pills

3. You are stuck with adrenal stress

Today, people talk freely about their adrenal glands feeling shot, or fatigued, and there is even a growing industry of supplements called adrenal tonics.

Meanwhile, though, conventional doctors claim that there is no such thing as adrenal fatigue¹. Who is right? And most importantly, how can you thrive given the stress of modern life?

The adrenal glands are two small lumps of tissue on top of our kidneys. They produce cortisol and other various hormones, which control our energy, weight, and stress response.

There are situations in which these glands stop working, the main example being adrenal insufficiency, also called Addison’s disease.

Addison’s affects about 1 person per 100,000 and is when the immune system destroys the adrenal glands.²

Those who believe in adrenal fatigue say it is a mild version of adrenal insufficiency caused by stress.

Myth #1: Adrenal Glands Get Fatigued

The truth is that stress in many forms can cause:

• Heart disease
• Weight gain
• Insomnia
• Anxiety

Stress can affect your adrenals, but the first myth of adrenal fatigue is that they are not fatigued.

They’re also not tired, burned out, or collapsed. What is happening instead is that a delicate system in which the adrenals operate, is completely out of rhythm.

The adrenal glands work as part of several glands that control our energy and metabolism. Together, this group of glands is known as the HPA (Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal) axis.

When we are healthy, this system is able to gently adjust the rhythm of adrenal hormones to meet our immediate needs. This condition has been called HPA stress or more simply, adrenal stress.

This is not the same as adrenal fatigue because there is no claim that the adrenals are unable to make enough cortisol.³

Is Adrenal Stress Real?

Unlike adrenal fatigue, adrenal stress is very real. In the last 10 years, over 930 studies have shown that your health hinges on the integrity of your adrenal rhythms.

When they are not dialed, in they can cause you to gain weight more easily, feel more fatigued, get sick more often and even have a shorter lifespan.⁴

Scientists know that a large number of factors unique to modern life can make adrenal stress more of a problem today than ever before. These include:

• Processed foods
• Shift work
• Electromagnetic fields
• Environmental toxins
• Inadequate sleep

Adrenal stress is always my number one suspect for symptoms that come on the same time each day.

Maybe you find yourself feeling frazzled and anxious just after dinner. Perhaps your energy levels drop in the afternoon and you can barely function throughout the rest today.

Or, you may even find yourself waking up at two in the morning, your mind racing with thoughts.

The other thing to make you suspect adrenal dysfunction is weight loss resistance. If diets just do not work or you predictably regain more than you lost, your adrenal glands may have your body storing calories in survival mode.

Myth # 2: Your Adrenals Need a Lot of Pills

Ultimately, it is important to realize that adrenal stress is not the same as fatigue in order to understand what helps your adrenals work better.

If they are fatigued, and the problem is that they could not make enough cortisol, all you would need to do would be to take cortisol pills or herbs that raise cortisol to feel better.

Since the cause of the problem is factors that disrupt our rhythms, the key is to help restore these rhythms to their proper patterns. As it happens, strategically using sunlight is one of the best-documented ways to help.⁵

Within an hour of waking, a good idea would be to expose yourself to sunlight or a light box emitting at least 10,000 lux (measure of light intensity.) Do not wear sunglasses, do not look directly at the source of light, and get at least half an hour of exposure.

Get low wattage (under 40 watts) red colored light bulbs for your bedroom. For the last 50 minutes of your day, feel free to read a book our journal, but use no other sources of light or electronics.

In your bedroom, make sure your windows block all outdoor lights and cover any lights on thermostats, or alarm units. Make sure that any lights used to find your way around are colored red.

Myth #3: You’re Stuck With Adrenal Stress Forever

The last myth about adrenal fatigue is that it is hard to recover from.

As real as adrenal stress is, it is thankfully correctable once you reset your body’s rhythms.

During a clinical trial I conducted, I saw that diet change alone corrects eating rhythm by over 50% in as little as one month.⁶

Solve Adrenal Stress Today

Today, we dove into some of the basics of adrenal stress and the myths which tend to dominate a lot of the conversation.

That said, everything we discussed today as a myth is just that – it’s not something you have to adhere to, because while adrenal stress is real, it’s not a life sentence.

I want to help you start feeling your best. So, if you take some of the action steps that I recommended today, I hope you will be on your way to your best health.

This is Dr. Christianson signing off on the topic of adrenal stress for now – take great care of yourself and check back in soon!

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:

1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
3. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
4. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here

Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.

Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.