Some of the most common problems seen in our clinics relate to the adrenal glands.  These two tiny glands the size of your thumb sit atop the kidneys, producing a host of life-sustaining hormones.  The adrenals consist of two parts — the outer part or cortex, and the inner part, or medulla.  The adrenal cortex produces several hormones from cholesterol, the best known being cortisol, aldosterone, and DHEA.  The adrenal medulla is best known for producing adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and noradrenaline (also known as norepinephrine).

FUNCTION OF THE ADRENALS

            Let’s step back from the anatomy, though, and talk about what the adrenals really do for you.  The adrenals comprise an emergency life support system.  They secrete hormones in response to stress — physical stresses like infection, inflammation, injury, and allergic reactions . . . or any kind of emotional stress.  They are like a life jacket, but not a boat — a spare tire that keeps you going, but won’t take you cross country.

            The adrenals, particularly the  medulla  relates to the well-known “fight or flight” response, best illustrated in a primitive setting.  The adrenals enable a primitive man confronted with a wild animal to either (1) fight for his life, or (2) run like the wind.  Civilized man doesn’t occasionally encounter wild animals, though.  He just maintains a constant level of “adrenalinization” from daily stresses.  While primitive man got rid of his excess adrenaline through the sheer physical exertion necessary for his “wild animal encounter,” civilized man usually has no adrenaline outlet . . . being in effect “poisoned” by his own excess adrenal hormones.

            The adrenal cortex maintains the salt and water balance in the cells, thus enabling proper blood pressure. Carbohydrate metabolism, blood sugar regulation, and sex hormone secretions also involve the adrenals.  These adrenal hormones are anti-inflammatory, and therefore have a strong relationship to arthritis and allergic reactions.

            Adrenal hormones profoundly affect the emotions.  Adrenal weakness is characterized by depression, moodiness, irritability and anxiety.  They also are pivotal in the body’s response to infection, temperature extremes, and physical trauma.

SYMPTOMS OF ADRENAL DISORDER

            Severe fatigue

            Nervousness

            Depression

            Poor memory/concentration

            Low blood pressure

            P.M.S.

            Low blood sugar

            Dizziness upon standing

            Hard to gain weight

            Inflammatory tendencies

            Dry or thin skin

            Poor resistance

            Back/neck/shoulder muscle spasm/pain

            Weakness

            Irritability

            Digestive discomfort

            Light-headedness

            Insomnia

            Excessive hunger

            Craving for sweets

            Headaches

            Hard to build muscle

            Low body temperature

            Little perspiration

            Unexplained hair loss

            Increased osteoporosis risk

 ADRENAL SELF-TEST

            In addition to the above symptoms, there is a simple test used to determine likely low adrenal function using blood pressure.  Take your blood pressure sitting down or lying down.  Then, with the blood pressure cuff on, stand up quickly and immediately take the blood pressure again.  In a normal person the blood pressure should go up.  In an adrenal deficient person it will go down (which is what causes the “light-headedness” symptom noted above).

ADRENAL STRESSORS

            Ralph Golan, M.D. in his book, Optimal Wellness, notes several common problems or situations that stress the adrenal glands, ultimately setting you up for adrenal dysfunction:

            Trigger emotions

                        Anger

                        Fear

                        Worry/Anxiety

                        Guilt

            Too much carbohydrate, too little protein

            Severe allergies

            Light cycle disruption (graveyard shift)

            Excessive exercise

            Insufficient sleep

            Chronic infections

            Temperature extremes

            Toxic exposure

            Chronic pain

            Chronic inflammation

            Surgery/trauma/injury

ADRENAL DISORDERS

1. Adrenal Exhaustion — When your adrenals are stressed by any of the above problems, they move into action by secreting their various hormones, fulfilling their “emergency life support system” role I described earlier.  But they aren’t designed to continually bail you out, so they eventually get exhausted from overuse.  Fatigue, weakness, and other low adrenal symptoms result.
2. Overactive Adrenals — In some cases abuse of the adrenals results in overactivity, particularly high adrenal hormones in the evening or at bedtime.  In the normal cycle the cortisol output is greatest first thing in the morning, and then heads down from there, being the lowest at midnight.  Some people with stressed out adrenals get this cycle out of balance, resulting in high cortisol levels at bedtime.  This interferes with sleep, as well as producing hyper” physical and mental symptoms.

3. Addison’s Disease — When the adrenal cortex fails to produce cortisol and other hormones, you have Addison’s Disease.  This is a permanent condition requiring daily hormone replacement therapy, a condition that people died of prior to the synthesizing of hydrocortisone in the early 1950’s.  I have had Addison’s Disease since 1991, so this is one I know a great deal about.
   Symptoms of Addison’s Disease include fatigue, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, fainting, inability to handle stress, depression, and discoloration or darkening of the skin (though I never had this symptom, much to the amazement of several doctors).

4. Cushing’s Syndrome — This condition stands as the opposite of Addison’s, in that Cushing’s is caused by an overactive adrenal cortex.  The “Cushinoid” appearance is characterized by heavy abdomen, face, and buttocks, but thin arms and legs.  Other symptoms include muscular weakness and wasting, red marks on the face, increased body hair, and greater susceptibility to illness.  It is a rare disorder.

DHEA HORMONE

            Much publicity has come in recent years regarding the adrenal hormone, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone).  It is the body’s most abundant hormone, serving as a precursor to other hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.  It does function as an anabolic (tissue building) male hormone.  Many properties have been attributed to DHEA, including:

            Increases energy

            Anti-Inflammatory

            Stimulates metabolism

            Weight loss

            Stimulates bone formation

            Osteoporosis preventive

            Increases muscle mass

            Decreases body fat

            Lowers cholesterol

            Quicker stress recovery

            Reverses negative effects of excess cortisol

            I know all this sounds wonderful, and motivates millions to walk into their grocery store and buy DHEA.  But, not everybody needs DHEA supplementation.  I absolutely don’t recommend taking DHEA unless you’ve had a blood, saliva, or electrodermal test (as we do at the clinic) indicating you are deficient in DHEA.  Taking DHEA when you don’t need it may cause headaches, male pattern hair growth in women, female hormonal cycle disturbances, or other side effects.  This is a real hormone, not just a vitamin pill, and it needs to be handled cautiously.

ADRENAL HELP

            In my experience probably one-third to one-half of our clients have some kind of adrenal problem.  You probably identify with many of the symptoms noted earlier.  The question is, “What do I do?”  A combination of diet, various nutritional supplements, and in the most severe cases, synthetic hormone replacement therapy are the possibilities.

1. Diet — The same diet that’s good for any kind of health problem applies with adrenal problems.  Whole foods, no refined sugar, and no coffee or other caffeine are recommended.  It’s also important to avoid sensitive foods, which provoke adrenal response.  Testing at the clinic will tell you what to avoid.
2. Glandular Supplements — Though some natural medicine practitioners disagree, I have found bovine adrenal glandular supplements to work well with most low adrenal clients.  These are best understood as a nutritional supplement to the adrenals, rather than having any significant hormonal activity in themselves.  I usually find the best results with products that combine the glandular with synergistic vitamins, minerals, or herbs.
3. Herbal Supplements — Various herbs have hormonal properties that may be beneficial.  Licorice root extends the half-life of cortisol, making what cortisol you have last longer.  Mexican Wild Yam is also used effectively, though the mechanism of its action is questioned, particularly its ability to turn into DHEA.  Siberian Ginseng has steroid activity, and can turn into pregnenalone, cortisol, and DHEA.
4. Vitamins — Though we usually think of the B-vitamins as the anti-stress vitamins, vitamin C is very important to the adrenals and to enabling the body to cope with stress.  Of the B vitamins, it is Pantothenic Acid (B-5) which is most associated with the adrenals.  Magnesium is also very important, particularly with the hyper adrenal states which cause excess urinary excretion of magnesium.
5. Amino Acids — In cases of hyper functioning adrenals, a specific supplement called phosphoralated serine (brand name “Seriphos”) may be helpful.  This helps the hypothalamus and pituitary glands to reduce their ACTH hormone output, which is the cause of the adrenals pumping out excessive cortisol.  If you’re “wired” at bedtime, and thus have difficulty getting to sleep, this may help.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

            The ultimate help for the adrenals comes from de-stressing your life.  If you’re not going to suffer from adrenal problems, you need to make some changes.  Now I know what everyone says at this point — “But I can’t get out of the stress I’m in.”

            The answer to that is, “Baloney!”  You just don’t want to make the tough choices required to readjust your lifestyle.  You can get more sleep by going to bed earlier.  You can rest one day in seven as God prescribes.  You can get a different job.  You can cut down on activities that make your life overly hectic.  You don’t have to do so much!  It’s tough, but you can if you really want to.

            I will agree that there are some stressful situations you can’t get out of without going against God’s Word — marriage and children come to mind.  The real key to stress reduction is not changing your world, but changing yourself.  Most situations are only stressful, because of the way you react to them.  Learn to react in a non-stressful way.

            The key to doing that is seeing that God is sovereign, that He is in ultimate control of everything.  So why are you sweating it?  He is a perfect Provider and Protector.  Relax in Him.  It works!

Better Health Update is published by Pacific Health Center, PO Box 1066, Sisters, Oregon 97759, Phone (800) 255–4246 with branch clinics in Boise, Idaho, Post Falls, Idaho and Portland, Oregon.  E-Mail:  drkline@pacifichealthcenter.com.   Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist, Author.  Reproduction Prohibited.

DISCLAIMER:  The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only.  It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment.  Rather, this material  is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems.  Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.