Adrenal Gland Health

Asking your doctor if its ok to help test your adrenal glands may result in some clinical confusion.  In a world full of diagnosis and clinical testing, this is one test your doctor may not perform routinely.  Luckily knowing the basic functions of your glands will give you the power to rebalance them and get you back to well again.

The adrenal glands are two glandular organs in the back of your back that control vital functions of your nervous system.   They have 4 primary roles when it comes to regulating your nervous system.  The adrenal glands produce hormones that control fight or flight, blood flow, natural pain control, and your body’s sex hormones.  Your adrenal health is directly related to how you feel.

The first hormone that is produced is adrenaline.  Adrenaline is your bodies fight or flight hormone.  This is the hormone that is produced when your body needs power and energy quickly.  It’s produced in response to stress, and what commonly has been known as super energy.  Many reports of mothers being able to lift a car off of their child, or perform super strength endeavors are attributed to adrenaline.  Too much adrenaline over time can cause the body to have headaches, nervousness, excessive sweating. heart palpitations, and anxiety.

The second hormone is nor-epinephrine, which causes massive amounts of blood flow to go from the central area of the body to the periphery.  In other words, if a person were running from a tiger why would they need to digest a taco?  So the blood goes to the muscles in response to its need to send blood to the area that it needs-the muscles.  The over production of nor-epinephrine has been shown to correlate with depression.

The third hormone is cortisol.  Cortisol is supplied to the body to help the individual deal with pain during the flight or flight time. Like cortisone, its source pushes out this hormone to allow you to undergo the feat that you are going to perform, and not feel the pain from it.  The side effect of prolonged excretion can cause the body to hold onto weight and the individual can begin to pick up unnecessary weight.  Cortisone patients are widely known to be “puffy” while under the drug and weight gain is a major side effect.

The fourth hormone produced is DHEA, which is the precursor for hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.  Imbalances in this hormone cause moodiness, irritability, strength loss, increased hair loss, decreased sexual drive and libido. 

Not surprisingly, the etiology of most all health problems are caused by stress.  This prolonged stress causes the adrenal glands to go into exhaustion.  The body must return to a homeostasis, and if not the body will suffer.  Prolonged periods of adrenal fatigue will result in symptoms commonly known as adrenal fatigue symptoms.

The adrenals at this point can be exhausted to the point that their function is slowed down.  They come to a halt, and a person typically will begin to rely or even crave stimulants such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, and sugar.  The upside potential of caring for adrenal health is that a person can reverse all of the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome. 

A comprehensive review by a licensed wellness doctor who is trained in this will assist you in getting your health back to normal.  Often times there are many disciplines within each profession and they focus on different specialties of healing to achieve desired goals.  It would be important to ask the following questions to your wellness doctor.

         1.     Can you explain how the adrenal glands can be tested in your office?

          2.     Do you prescribe a high quality nutritional supplement for the management of adrenal gland health?

          3.     Have you had other successful outcomes in the past when dealing with this problem?

Chad Faulkner, D.C. at http://oktohelp.com writes this article

I thought you might like this recipe from Whole Foods at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=1529
Seafood Paella with Crab and Sugar Snap Peas

Serves 6

If you’re not partial to mussels or one of the other seafood ingredients, simply substitute more of your favorite instead.
Nutrition

Per serving (about 19oz/547g-wt.): 530 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 95mg cholesterol, 1160mg sodium, 65g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 30g protein
Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups Texmati rice, rinsed once
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1/2 pound sea scallops, halved
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 pound king crab, cut into 3-inch pieces (optional)

2 cups sugar snap peas, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chopped roasted yellow peppers
1/4 cup chopped roasted tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions

In a paella pan or large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes, or until rice becomes translucent. Add 3 cups of the broth, 1 cup of the wine, saffron, paprika, marjoram, red pepper flakes and salt. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes. Check occasionally, keeping moist with more broth, if needed. Add all shrimp, scallops, mussels, crab, peas, yellow peppers, tomatoes and the remaining broth and wine. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until mussels are open and completely cooked. Squeeze lemon over entire dish and sprinkle with parsley. Serve straight from the pan.

A Perfect Pot of Oatmeal

Serves 4 as a main course or 6 to 8 as a side dish

Top this hearty breakfast favorite with any dried or fresh fruit and sweeten with honey, agave nectar or turbinado sugar, if you like. For added flavor and texture, sprinkle ground flaxseed or wheat germ over the top just before serving.
Nutrition

Per serving (about 11oz/323g-wt.): 240 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 160mg sodium, 41g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 11g sugar), 9g protein
Ingredients

3 1/2 cups water
1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Honey
Directions

In a small pot, combine water, oats and yogurt. Cover pot and set aside at room temperature to let soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Bring contents of pot to a simmer, covered, over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in salt and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is absorbed and oats are thick and creamy, about 5 minutes more. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, for 5 minutes. Spoon oatmeal into bowls. Top with apples and nuts, drizzle with honey and serve.