Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue... you may be wondering what this is, but the truth is
that MANY people living in North America
suffer from tired or burned out
adrenals without even
knowing it.

The hectic pace of life, made up of time pressures, money pressures,
insufficient sleep & exercise, and poor
diet habits (i.e. lots of fast, refined
and processed
foods, and consuming sugar and other stimulants to keep
you going when you feel tired and fuzzy headed - coffee, Red Bull, pop
and other sources of caffeine, all
contribute to Adrenal Fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a
syndrome, that results
when the adrenal glands function below the
necessary level. Most commonly associated with
intense or prolonged
stress, it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections,

especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or
pneumonia.


A keynote symptom of Adrenal Fatigue, is just that, fatigue, and that
fatigue is not relieved
by sleep. You may look and act relatively normal
with Adrenal Fatigue and may not have any
obvious signs of physical
illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness
or
generally feeling blah emotionally.


If you regularly experience one or more of the following symptoms,
please talk to a nutritionist
to find out what diet & lifestyle changes,
and supplements can help you:


1. Fatigue, despite adequate sleep
2. Trouble getting up in the morning even when you go to bed at a
reasonable hr

3. Feeling rundown or overwhelmed
4. Can't bounce back from stress or illness
5. Crave salty and sweet snacks
6. Feeling best only after 6 PM
7. Insomnia
8. Lethargy, especially in the morning and mid-afternoon
9. Decreased sex drive
10. Increased effort to do every day tasks
11. Decreased ability to handle stress
12. Increase PMS weight gain
13. Thoughts less focused, more fuzzy or memory less accurate
14. Suppressed immunity; it takes you longer to recover from illness
15. Mild depression or less enjoyment or happiness with life

The good thing is that this syndrome is fairly easy to treat, once you
are aware that you
have it. So, if this sounds like you, consider
making the following changes...


1. Go to bed at the same time each night, and preferably 10 or
10:30pm

2. Eat some protein in the morning
3. Eat something every 2.5-3 hrs - this will help keep blood sugar
stable

4. Choose whole grain over refined, white flour products
5. Limit/Avoid sugar - or at least eat less, and make better choices
6. Take EFAs (essential fatty acids = Omega 3s)
7. Eat 2-4 servings of fruit, and 5-8 servings of vegetables each day
8. Exercise - try to move daily
9. Take time for yourself, at least 20 minutes a day of rest or
self-indulgence

10. Take the necessary supplements to help rebuild or support your
adrenals (talk to an
expert)

Good luck, and wishing you balanced adrenals!
:)
m

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