3 Tips to Avoid and Help Adrenal Fatigue

So many of us are tired. Beyond tired. If you think you have adrenal fatigue and are wondering how to deal with it, you've come to the right place.

As the old saying goes: “Prevention is better than cure” – and it’s certainly true because once we are in a hole with our health, it’s certainly a little harder to climb our way out.

BUT it is possible and that goes for having adrenal issues as well.

Each person has different circumstances but despite where you are right now, I believe you can feel better, more energetic, and healthier.

3 Tips to Help Adrenal Fatigue

Here are three ways to help you either not get adrenal fatigue in the first place or to help support your body if you suspect that you have it.

Sometimes things beyond this list may be necessary but for every single person, these are some good fundamentals to start with.

Diet and Supplements

Diet

Diet is the primary healing factor for adrenal health issues.

In fact, diet is key to many things when it comes to our health. Sure, it’s not always going to solve everything (there are plenty of times when healthy eating isn't enough) but our whole immune system depends on our diet. In addition, our hormonal production, mental clarity, the level of inflammation in our body, the balance of nutrients and so forth all depends on our diet.

And our diet happens to be one of the areas many of us are way out of balance. Our modern environment and the way that food has become highly processed is a big factor, but thankfully our diet is one area we can influence a lot.

For a simple Adrenal Fatigue Diet, eat real, whole foods and stay away from man-made processed foods as much as possible.

I did say simple, though I know it’s not necessarily easy.

Here are five key things to avoid in your diet:

• Sugar and sugar substitutes, including sodas and sugary drinks
• Gluten
• Refined carbohydrates (the white stuff), processed food and junk, trans fats
• Caffeine
• Alcohol

If you can at least eliminate these, you’ll be well on your way to better energy, immune function, and hormonal control.

Supplements

A supplement strategy can vary depending on your individual symptoms but 2 things that can help most everyone are vitamin C and magnesium.

I’ve seen people with all of the ‘seeming’ symptoms of adrenal fatigue start taking magnesium and within days their symptoms dissipate. Magnesium is needed for more than 300 enzymatic functions in the body, magnesium deficiency is very common, and symptoms of mineral deficiency can be similar to adrenal fatigue issues.

As for vitamin C, the adrenals host a large proportion of the body’s vitamin C stores and under stress, we utilize much more of it. Vitamin C can help modulate cortisol (our key stress hormone), it is one of the best antioxidants, with the ability to fight free radicals by donating molecules to unstable cells. This is very important because too many free radicals lead to the development of symptoms, disease, and increased inflammation.

It's for this reason that many people struggling with adrenal issues feel a lot better when drinking this Adrenal Cocktail.

Exercise

Exercise can be a difficult one when you’re already tired but exercise is regenerating, it reduces inflammation, and it enhances wellbeing and so much more. So therefore it is essential.

We’re not talking about crazy maniac exercise like cross fit or running a marathon, but more about exercise that is nurturing, gentle, and restorative.

For me that’s things like outdoor walking and stretching, which I do on a regular basis. I also enjoy weight training, which happens to be excellent for adrenal health.

Lifestyle

I could go on and on about lifestyle ways to prevent and address adrenal issues, but two things are especially important.

1. Address the stress
2. Have a Holistic Focus

Address The Stress

Stress comes from many different angles and in many different shapes and forms.

• Emotional stress – our relationships, depression, struggles, financial issues, pressure
• Physical stress – diet, alcohol, lack of sleep, illness, pain, injury, exercise
• Environmental stress – our workplace, toxins, pollutants, clutter, traffic, waiting, pesticides

Sometimes we have to do a life audit and plan strategies for change.

If you're struggling, really sit down and evaluate where your stressors are coming from. Then start chipping away at what you can DO to change them.

A Holistic Focus

I call this “moving from segmented to integrated”.

Our life has somehow become segmented into all these tiny little pieces but this segmentation does not help us cope in our daily lives. It only leaves us feeling run down, fatigued, lonely, isolated, and disconnected.

Instead, you MUST take a holistic view of your life and move to an integrated approach.

• Every symptom is caused by something.
• Your job affects your personal life.
• The things you eat every day do impact your thoughts, the state of your health, and how you cope with stress.
• Our life is a sum of all the pieces put together not all these segmented parts all over the place.
• We end up where we end up because of the things we do (or don’t do).

So ask yourself these questions:

• What could be the cause of your symptoms?
• What influence is your job really having on your life?
• How good is your diet and how you can eat better?

When we can start looking at things in an integrated way we can see that all the separate parts combine and integrate to create a harmonious integrated, health whole person.

So a big part of recovery or avoidance is trying to bring all those segmented parts of your life into harmony with each other so that you find more balance overall.

In summary, diet, regular exercise, and our lifestyle are the 3 key fundamental areas for treatment, recovery, or avoidance of adrenal health issues.

One of my favorite quotes is this: “Life is a journey not a destination”
Seeking better health and a more balanced life is a journey, but one well worth embracing.

Please note – While all the information shared in the adrenal health series is evidence-based, neither Jedha nor Adrienne are doctors. Please consult with your physician before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or supplement regimen.

Which area do you think YOU need to address the most right now?

Jedha Dening is a Nutritionist and Health Coach. She’s also a mom, passionate writer, and lover of good food that’s also good for your waistline. With over 10 years 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.