Is stress giving you the blues?

Do you just want to be happy? Are you feeling stressed? Are you always tired, overwhelmed, or feeling depressed? Do you wake up still tired, unable to think straight in the morning without caffeine, need high-carb snacks, more caffeine, or a nap to get through the afte
oon? Do you feel desperate for the energy you once had? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you could be one of the 19 millio
Americans that suffer from adrenal fatigue. The adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system, they are grape sized glands that are your stress glands. When your adrenal glands become tired from trying to keep up with the demands you place on them daily, they stop working. Bad nutrition, daily demands, and deadlines will quickly put the body into an unending cycle of exhaustion and poor nutrition.

Chronic stress is very common in America. The most common causes of stress are work pressure, changing jobs, death of a loved one, moving homes, illness, and marital disruption. Adrenal Fatigue occurs when the amount of stress overextends the capacity of the body to compensate and recover. Once the adrenals are fatigued you may feel anger, fatigue, pain and depression. It is a downward spiral. As the adrenal glands become increasingly stressed, we end up with excess abdominal weight, low immunity, lack of concentration, irritability, depression, disrupted sleep, and ultimately, exhausted. Healthy adrenals are the key to helping your body make Endorphins or “Happy Hormones”. Endorphins are what give you a sense of happiness, satisfaction, and well-being. If your stress glands are stressed, you won’t have that “all is well” feeling.

This common problem of adrenal exhaustion is very easy to fix. First, you need to allow your body to rest as much as you can. This is easier said than done as stress is always coming at us, but one thing we can do is to learn to say “No” to any work or activities that are beyond what your body can handle. Second, diet and supplements are very important to promote and support healthy happy hormone function. I recommend the following nutrition to heal your stress glands.

*EAT FAT AND SEA SALT- Yes that’s right. Your body uses good fats to make happy hormones, so if you are on a fat free diet your body doesn’t have what it needs to make any hormones. Good fats to eat include butter, olive oil, and coconut oil. You want to have plenty of sodium for your adrenals to function and sea salt also contains trace minerals.

*EAT MEAT AND EGGS - You want to make sure you are giving your body frequent, high protein meals and snacks. Proteins contai
Amino acids, and they are the building blocks for healthy cells and proper function of the endocrine system. Limit your sugar, alcohol, and caffeine, a diet high in these three puts daily stress on your body and your adrenals have to respond to this stress as much as they do the deadline at work.

*ALWAYS HAVE PROTEIN FOR BREAKFAST - If you have carbohydrate or fruit for breakfast the sugar will cause your adrenals to be stressed and working hard before you even start the day. A better option is eggs cooked in butter.

*EAT REAL FOOD- Try to avoid any fake food, if you can’t recognize the ingredients, neither can your body.
In addition, you also need to be taking a “whole food” multi-vitamin and an extra vitami
C and B complex. These are vitamins that are quickly used up when under daily stress so we need to take them daily. You also need to supplement magnesium. I recommend magnesium at night to help you sleep and repair your body while you are resting.

It is important to take care of your self before you have a melt down. Be sure to do this advice on a regular basis to unleash your happy hormones. Adrenal recovery is a life process. The process is long, but it can be done easily and painlessly, one step at a time. Most will find some improvement in a matter of weeks, Because the amount of hormonal balancing full recovery should not be expected in a matter of weeks. Frustration and disappointment are common and normal. It is key to be Patience with your body and allow it time to heal.