Understanding Adrenal Fatigue: Nutritional and lifestyle strategies to effectively restore proper adrenal function

The human body will respond to many forms of stress with various complex mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is through the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). The end result of this process is increased cortisol production and secretion by the adrenal glands. However, with the situation of continual chronic stress the adrenal glands become overwhelmed with the demand to manage the stress eventually leading to a condition termed adrenal fatigue. The adrenal glands become unable to properly respond to stress and therefore unable to produce and secrete cortisol. Adrenal fatigue is most often associated with low cortisol, postural hypotension and many other specific signs and symptoms. Testing of low cortisol to determine the possibility of adrenal fatigue, can be accurately measured with saliva cortisol testing multiple times throughout the day. There are multiple strategies for managing adrenal fatigue found to be effective through previous research. These include nutritional strategies of; Vitamins C, B1, B5 and E, magnesium, zinc, adrenal glandular, ashwagandha, panax ginseng, and licorice. There are also lifestyle strategies of; stress management, dietary modifications, proper exercise, reducing caffeine and proper sleep.