Tired? Food to the Rescue. 7 Healing Foods for Adrenal Fatigue
Do you think you could be suffering from adrenal fatigue? Here are 7 foods to add to your adrenal fatigue diet plan to support your body and get you on the road towards healing.
More energy, better sleep, better moods--what are you waiting for? Let's dig in!
I recently wrote a post here at Whole New Mom about the signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue.
Adrenal fatigue is thought to be a stress condition that may inflict many of us from time to time.
Adrenal fatigue is not officially recognized by the mainstream medical community, so there is debate about whether or not it's a real condition, but one thing is for sure--we are tired and we need support.
One of the best ways we can tackle fatigue is through eating more of the healing foods that promote stronger adrenal health.
Helps for Adrenal Support
There are of course, so many things to consider when dealing with adrenal fatigue....things like:
- Emotional Stress & Anxiety
- Exercise
- Rest & Sleep
- Supplements
- Environmental Stressors like Toxins and Heavy Metals
- Improving Gut Health through probiotics, removing food allergies and sensitivities and sugar
There are other things you can do to help with adrenal fatigue too like using this DIY Adrenal Fatigue Essential Oils Blend.
But diet is a bit of a factor as well.
Eating more naturally is a great way to help your body function more healthfully, but adding in foods to support your adrenals is key as well. Here are some ways that you can do that.
This post contains affiliate links from which I may earn commissions.
7 Healing Foods for Your Adrenal Fatigue Diet Plan
While most practitioners who advocate following an adrenal fatigue diet plan would say that mostly eating whole foods is the way to go, there are some foods in particular that one might find helpful to add to their diet in order to support overall adrenal health.
1. Lemon
If you are looking to support your adrenals, starting the day with a glass of warm water, the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of Celtic salt, is one way to go.
Lemon juice is full of vitamin C and other phytonutrients, and has a lot of natural health benefits. By adding lemon juice to your diet and boosting your overall health, you are reducing stressors on your adrenal glands.
This Sugar-free Lemonade would be a great way to get more lemon into your diet.
You can either buy fresh lemons and squeeze them, or get a quality organic lemon juice for convenience.
2. Quality Salt
Salt is a tricky thing. Too much of it can be a problem, but too little can be a problem too.
Our bodies need salt for proper functioning, so you do want to make sure you are getting enough of it so that your body isn't under excess stress. One thing to keep in mind is that you might want to use a pure salt instead of regular table salt (since regular table salt is bleached and has additives like flowing and anti-caking agents and even sugar!) but some good quality Celtic Salt or Himalayan Salt is a more natural way to go.
Adrienne recommends and uses Real Salt.
3. Protein
Eat good quality protein sources to help build energy into the body, so they are crucial for adding to your adrenal fatigue diet. The B vitamins found in protein are important for energy production, building all the cells in the body, helping with fat metabolism, the synthesis of neurotransmitters, and maintaining nerve cells.
Whole protein sources include:
meats
liver
eggs
nuts
fish
poultry
shellfish
chicken
and so forth.
4. Eat your fat
Many people (especially women) tend to avoid fat in their diets. However, there are many health benefits of fat.
We need fat for manufacturing hormones; this includes the many hormones that the adrenal glands produce. Use organic olive oil, organic flax seed oil, organic walnut oil, organic coconut oil, properly sourced lard, and butter.
Omega 3 oils have the additional benefit of reducing inflammation in the body and with adrenal fatigue we can be prone to increased inflammation.
5. Peppers
Vitamin C is crucial for adrenal health.
When we are under stress we utilize vitamin C at a much faster rate so it’s important to get more of it in order to support adrenal health and reduce cortisol levels too.
Peppers are full of vitamin C and Vitamin C is one of the main vitamins hosted by the adrenals.
Cortisol is our key stress hormone so anything we can do to lower cortisol is a good thing.
How Much Vitamin C is in one pepper?
- Yellow bell pepper - 341mg
- Red bell pepper - 230mg
- Green bell pepper - 119mg
6. Seaweed
Seaweed such as nori, kelp and wakame are loaded with many vitamins and minerals and one of those happens to be magnesium.
In one cup of seaweed there is a whopping 218mg of magnesium.
Magnesium is needed for over 300 enzymatic functions in the body and has a relaxing capacity on the muscles, mind, and whole body.
Adrienne loves having these organic seaweed snacks around the house all the time!
7. Mackerel and Herring
Mackerel and herring contain an ingredient known as phosphatidylserine.
Phosphatidylserine helps to bring down cortisol levels in the body via the hypothalamus – adrenal chain, known as the HPA (hyper thalamic pituitary axis).
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the balance of adrenal and hormone function. Because it is a natural component of the brain phosphatidylserine also helps to improve brain function, sharpen mental focus, and improve memory.
In a 100g (3.5oz) serve Mackerel contains 480mg of phosphatidyl serine;
Herring contains 360mg.
If you're struggling with adrenal fatigue, try including more of these healing foods into your diet every day 🙂
More Adrenal Help
One other thing worth mentioning is this Adrenal Cocktail, which is a remake of a popular drink that has many of the above-mentioned ingredients in it:
lemon
salt
protein
fat
All blended up with some extra health-boosting spices to help you feel your best. This would be a great addition to your adrenal health plan.
Beyond the Adrenal Fatigue Diet
For more help besides the diet, you might wish to check out this:
Tired or Something More? Take This Quick Test
Do you have adrenal fatigue?
Have you tried diet changes to help with your condition?
Jedha Dening is the Nutritionist and Health Coach behind Good Food Eating. She’s also a Mom, passionate writer, and lover of good food that’s also good for your waistline. With over 10 years of experience in health and wellness, Jedha is passionate about taking care of people’s nutrition and health so they can feel fantastic everyday. When she’s not cooking, researching or writing about nutrition, she can usually be found in the great outdoors gardening, bushwalking, or kayaking.
I have sleep problem sevear hairfall problem ....I read ur whole article it seems to be promising . I want to ask one thing about assential oil blend ,can we consume it or use only for massage therapy.
Are you talking about this one? https://wholenewmom.com/essential-oils-for-hair-growth/
Or do you mean essential oils in general?
Is it safe to take desiccated liver pills and one of your collagen products everyday?
They both have amino acids in them - concerned about taking too much amino acids per day.
Hi there - sorry but I can't speak to that. What collagen products do you mean?
Four years ago I began waking up in the morning but could not get out of bed. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it. By the third morning I knew something bad was wrong with me so I made a Dr. appointment and within a week I had a friend take me to see him. I got a shot of B12 and he said I'd feel better in a few days. I got worse. I went back and described in detail how I was feeling. He did an extensive blood testing and told me to come back in a week. When I returned he went over the blood tests with me and told me I had adrenal fatigue and we would begin immediately to try and repair my body. It took 2 years but I gradually got better and better until I was back on my feet again. I still have to take the supplements every day and I also use some oils, but the doctor told me I would likely have to do this the rest of my life because my immune system was not working right. Since I am now nearing 80, I take the supplements daily. If I don't, within a few days I can feel myself slipping backwards and I never, ever want to be that sick again. I am fortunate in that my primary doctor is a regular doctor and also a naturopath. He recognized what was wrong and quickly went about repairing the damage. I don't think anyone who has never dealt with adrenal fatigue knows what it's like. I could explain and explain but friends and family just didn't get it. Well, my doctor got it. I'm grateful to this day that he saw so quickly what was wrong with me and during those two years that it took me to get well, he continued to encourage me to stay with the plan. I did and I'm here to say that without his diagnosis, I do believe I would have died.
So glad you had a good doctor! I know---it's hard to explain to anyone else. I'm working w/ a new practitioner now and am learning more!
Hi, just wanted to comment on the recommendation for seaweed. Seaweed is high in iodine, which my husband and I found to crash our adrenal glands. The iodine pushed me over the edge into adrenal burnout for months, it has been over 5 months for me and I am still recovering from it. I will not touch anything like seaweed again unless my adrenals are in great health. There are other ways to get vital minerals. I get alarmed seeing the recommendation for seaweed. People need to get their cortisol levels checked. Iodine can crash your adrenals if you already have low cortisol. At the time I had low cortisol and didn't know it. People get a saliva test and do not guess at this stuff.
Hi there - yes you are right that iodine can be a problem. From what I am reading you need the cofactors to protect the thyroid - they include B vitamins and selenium. Do you know anything about that? How much seaweed were you eating?
I'm referring to someone who claims that adrenal fatigue is not a "recognized" medical condition !.
And I would like to add, .... that chemotherapy and radiation is a :recognized" medical treatment.
So, when you get cancer, you MUST proceed immediately with the "recognized" medical treatment and ...
afterwards, .... get a one way ticket to paradise !!!
Therefore, always proceed according to ... the "recognized" medical approach !!!
I don't quite understand your post. Are you being facetious? It's hard to tell. There are many cancer treatments/ cures which are suppressed by pharmaceutical companies because they can't make money from them. And since these same companies pay for studies AND make large donations to our medical schools so our doctors only learn a limited amount of information mostly related to expensive harsh cancer drug related treatments that will make patients very sick -- hardly paradise!! -- may kill a patient if they don't cure.
Many cancer patients choose non-treatment rather than go through chemo and/or radiation. Many cancer patients also choose alternative treatments. My dear friend who is 84 now cured himself with the help of his faith in God and a good N.D. He had prostate cancer with mets to his bladder. He walked away from conventional medicine and has been cancer free for 15 years. He is healthier and more active than i am at age 61. I know of others who have been cured through Faith in God, and others through a combination of faith and alternative treatments, and remain cancer free without harsh chemo/radiation. This is always a personal choice which I pray I never have to make. Having not been through it personally, I can only testify for people in my corner of the world. I can say from personal experience that Chronic Lyme Disease and it's complications are a complete mystery to conventional medicine. Chronic Lyme left untreated can lead to all sorts of diseases including cancer. If not for alternative medicine & my faith in God, I would be dead. But, I'm still here and hoping to help someone who may be hurting!
Would like to make contact are you on facebook...messenger?
Im not sure what comment policy is but just wanted to make contact with Ellen to gleen from her alternative experience. Thx
Thank you for taking the time to write this article. I am taking lots of notes and planning on using these foods to heal.
You are so welcome. (writing this on behalf of the author). Hope to see you again!
Have you had anyone come to you with benzo damage! Benzos damage adrenals bigtime but it is harder to heal anything after drug damage! I am looking for some help with healing the gut, thyroid and adrenals! What is the best way to detox the body slowly!
No, I have not. Does this help? https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/toxins-liver-detox-liver-cleanse-liver-health/
Oh my goodness, Thank You for this! I have looked for salty altrnatives that have less fat than processed foods! I am vegetarian semi-vegan, I eat mainly raw-foods and very little (and I mean little) processed foods. very hopeful that this will help to prevent cravings!! oh my goodness, super thrilled about putting this into action!!!
Yea!!!
My mother suffers with adrenal insufficiency and fibromyalgia. Thanks for posting this list. It is unfortunate that the one thing at the top of the list she simply cannot eat. Anything with natural sugars, even a little bit, can and has send her into anaphylaxis. Lemon is one of the worst. She does however eat as much bell pepper - the colored ones, not the green - as possible. She's been suffering severe pain and weakness in her lower back and legs after eating in the mornings. She has tried alleviating the problem with supplementing with coconut oil. It has helped, but she still has the problem. As soon as digestion starts in earnest after breakfast she feels like collapsing in a heap. I wish there was something more I could do to help her.
Oh my. That is really strange. I have never heard this kind of thing. I can't medically advise, but have you seen this post? https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/could-you-have-heavy-metal-poisoning-and-not-know-it-part-one/ I am doing a lot of work on my health and never had anaphylaxis but I have made great progress.
Animal protein creates acidity in the human body, so it is really not recommendable at all.
People with Fibromyalgia, need to be careful not to eat to many peppers, as they're nightshade vegetables and can aggravate the fibromyalgia, also tomatoes, and eggplant, so just don't eat to many.
I agree. Have you looked at the autoimmune paleo diet? I think personally that heavy metals are a big deal too. And toxins. https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/remove-toxins-healthy-lifestyle/ HUGE. I am doing one kind of detox now and felt icky!! But now feeling so much better.
Adrenal Fatigue is not a recognized medical condition. I think you need to make this disclaimer when talking about these symptoms and "remedies" as there are many medical conditions, some which are very serious, that cause fatigue. Someone may diagnose themselves with "adrenal fatigue" after reading your book or articles and be ignoring a very serious condition. Please encourage your readers to seek medical advice if their fatigue continues!
Hi there. I am not sure what you are getting at by saying this. Of course there are other things that can cause fatigue. Also, adrenal fatigue can lead to many serious conditions. There are several things that mainstream medicine doesn't recognize that it should - like the dangers of multiple vaccines at once, the need for more preventive focus on our health, the risks of mercury in fillings, alternative ways to treat cancer, the toxicity of fluoride. I by no means am encouraging anyone to discount their fatigue and not look for what causes it.
I'm assuming you got your info from this post? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/addisons-disease/expert-answers/adrenal-fatigue/faq-20057906
I will say that there is so much that science doesn't know. There are medical doctors who do the wrong thing and alternative practitioners who do the same. And there are things that aren't recognized by the medical community one year that are the next.
That being said, I did add a note to consult w/ your physician if your fatigue continues. It can, of course, be something simple or not. Thanks.
Nor is medical science seemingly trying to learn about as then the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't receive their money.....
How many hours do medical doctors spend truly learning and understanding food/diet/herbs etc...
Exactly.
Any vegan options?!? I want to feel better but I don't want animals hurt in the process!!
I realllllllly don't think animal protein is necessary as ALL the doctors-even naturopaths recommend! People are completely brainwashed about this whole meat thing. if you look up healing adrenals vegan there are many persona stories on how this was possible.
Agree, plant proteins are more easily digestible by the body. I actually get my vegan meals delivered now and Ive been feeling heaps better always having something on hand.
What about phytates in plant proteins? They can be rough on the body as well.
Thanks for the tips. Food can be such powerful medicine.
You may want to note that if a person has an underling auto-immune issue that nightshade vegetables/foods are not a good idea, and that includes peppers of all kinds, tomatoes, eggplant, white potatoes, those are the ones I know of, When I gave these up plus added several of the ones you listed I started feeling better
I know. My practitioner said for me that they are sometimes OK to eat occasionally but I pretty much avoid them. Good to remember.
7 Healing Foods for Adrenal Fatigue is simply amazing
Thank for this!!! I think my husband and I have adrenal fatigue from when my son started having seizures almost a year ago and we still haven't recovered. I will try to incorporate more of these foods into our diet, thanks again!!!!
-Cassidy
I love taking Plexus Ease, it has lots of turmeric in it and helps fight inflammation as well. People who have seizures usually have some gut health problems as well, so we offer some things for that too. If you are not already working with an ambassador I'd love to help you! You can email me at (email removed by blog owner)
Hello Ashley -
Sorry but I don't allow Direct Sales reps to use my platform as a marketing resource so I removed your email address. Thanks for reading.
Great information here! I have struggled with this for some time and need to be better about my vitamin C.