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Parenting & Motherhood Tips

Adrenal Fatigue Diet: What To Eat and What To Avoid

To mitigate adrenal fatigue, you could go on a diet, although some people prefer to use herbs for adrenal fatigue treatment. Basically, the adrenaline fatigue diet is a food-based approach aiming to improve the stress on adrenal glands. Positioned in the kidneys, adrenal glands produce hormones that help in body regulation.

Adrenal fatigue happens when your adrenal glands are incapable of functioning correctly. This diet promotes:

  • The adrenal glands’ proper functionality
  • Improved stress levels
  • Healthy blood pressure
  • Increased body nutrients

A balanced diet comprises vegetables, proteins, and whole grains. Its goal is to build up your energy levels naturally such that you won’t have to use the stored up nutrients. Along with a balanced diet, you could consider adding natural supplements to your diet to help improve your health. There are Gundry MD Active Advantage reviews as a starting point for supplements if you want to bolster the balance of your healthy diet.

The adrenal fatigue diet is still undergoing tests because reach about it is still ongoing. However, there is proof that adopting a healthier lifestyle and eating nutritious foods improves your mental and physical health.

What is adrenal fatigue? Do you have it? Read through our article to find out and then how to adjust to an adrenal fatigue diet.

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenaline fatigue isn’t a recognized medical diagnosis but rather a term that describes a series of nonspecific symptoms like digestive problems, sleep disturbances, nervousness, fatigue, and body aches.

Your adrenal glands are responsible for producing a wide range of hormones that help your body function well. The term “adrenal insufficiency” refers to inadequate production of these hormones that may result from surgery or an underlying disease.

Here are some of the signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency:

  • Body aches
  • Fatigue
  • Hair loss
  • Skin discoloration
  • Lightheadedness
  • Sudden weight loss

To diagnose you for adrenal insufficiency, your doctor may carry out blood tests and special stimulation tests that show inadequate adrenal hormone levels.

 

Foods To Eat

Below is a look at the foods that could improve your situation:

Oysters

Although half of the world’s population turns a blind eye to oysters, they are a superfood. For starters, they contain zinc. A healthy balance between copper and zinc ensures the proper functioning of your neurotransmitters. The ratio also helps you handle stress well and reduces the risk of anxiety. Additionally, oysters are a great source of vitamin B12 and D.

Organic Turkey

Medical experts argue that consuming enough proteins will help you deal better with adrenal fatigue. Organic turkey is notably an essential addition to your diet as it contains tryptophan.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps relieve stress and make you feel calmer. This is because of the fact that it is a precursor to serotonin–a neurotransmitter that assists in balancing your mood and minimizing anxiety.

 

Organ Meats

Most people get their protein from muscle meats such as turkey legs, chicken breasts, and flank steaks. They tend to neglect organ meats forgetting they contain most of the essential nutrients.

Organ meats contain vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc – nutrients that your body requires to function correctly and manage stress. Therefore, make it a point to incorporate these meats and liver, especially into your meals.

Leafy Greens

Vegetables such as Swiss chard, kale, and spinach contain sufficient amounts of magnesium and are suitable for keeping your adrenaline fatigue in check. Besides your body requiring magnesium to perform most of its functions, magnesium also helps you relax and manages your stress levels. If you experience difficulties in getting sleep at night, a magnesium deficiency could be the cause.

eating salad

Asparagus

Another vegetable that would look good on your plate is asparagus. It contains sulfur and folate, both of which the body needs.

Low folate levels increase your susceptibility to neurotransmitter issues. The result could be hormonal imbalances that aggravate your adrenaline fatigue symptoms.

 

Avocados

Most people believe that low-fat diets are suitable for people battling adrenaline fatigue. Sadly, this isn’t the case here. For it to be able to produce hormones, your body requires cholesterol and fat. While proteins play a huge part in helping you manage adrenaline fatigue symptoms, taking just the right amounts of healthy fats too goes a long way.

This is where avocados come in. The fruits contain high monounsaturated fat levels and are an excellent choice for your diet. In addition, they have high fiber content, which helps in detoxing your body and making digestion more efficient.

avocados

Coconut Oil

Besides avocados, coconut oil is also a reliable source of fat. It contains medium-chain triglycerides, which help with brain functioning. Its versatility also makes it easy for you to incorporate in different dishes.

 

Fish 

If you haven’t included wild-caught fish in your diet, then you are missing out by a lot. The fatty ones, in particular, such as sardines and salmon, are worth every buck. Besides being excellent sources of proteins, these fish contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, reducing inflammation and promoting better brain health.

Sea Salt

If you are battling adrenal fatigue, you better not be stingy with the salt. Most people who experience adrenal fatigue have electrolyte imbalances owing to a deficiency in aldosterone–a steroid hormone.

Adding enough salt to your food helps in balancing out your electrolytes and alleviating some of your symptoms.

 

Pumpkin Seeds

If you are looking for a plant-based zinc source, pumpkin seeds are an excellent place to start. Apart from helping your body heal from adrenaline fatigue, this food option also helps improve thyroid function. What’s more? Pumpkin seeds also contain considerable amounts of vitamins B and E and magnesium.

 

Clarified Butter

Commonly known as ghee, clarified butter could be a vital addition to your diet. It helps you get more cholesterol and healthy fats into your body to aid in hormone production. Compared to conventional dairy, ghee is the better alternative since the former may contain hormones and pesticides that could throw off your body’s natural balance.

 

Foods To Avoid

There are foods you need to stay away from when you have adrenaline fatigue as they will only spike your blood sugar and deplete your body of essential hormones. The following foods will only exacerbate your symptoms and therefore are an enemy to adrenaline fatigue.

 

Sugar

Every time you consume sugar, your body sends a signal to the pancreas and adrenaline to stimulate more cortisol and insulin production to process the sugars. In the long term, sugar usage leads to low cortisol and estrogen levels. Resultantly, you will be unable to recover from adrenal fatigue, and you’ll feel exhausted constantly.

While consuming sugarless foods and beverages is the last thing you could ever think of, you need to make a decision because your health is in jeopardy. Surprisingly, getting ahold of your sugar cravings is quite an easy task.

sugar foods to avoid

Dairy

There are foods you might be sensitive or allergic to without knowing it. An example is dairy products. If you have adrenal fatigue symptoms, it is best to stay away from such foods. Adrenal fatigue aggravates and worsens food allergies, leading to body stress and, resultantly, chronic fatigue.

 

Alcohol

While alcohol contains simple carbs and is a quick stimulant that adrenal fatigue patients crave, you should avoid it like the plague. Alcohol will set off your blood sugar and worsen your condition.

Moreover, alcohol will force the adrenal glands to overwork and exhaust the system in the process. Just like caffeine-filled drinks and sugar feasts, alcohol temporarily masks adrenal fatigue symptoms but, in the long run, will unmask even more severe ones.

 

Gluten

If you have adrenaline fatigue and want to embark on a full recovery journey, the first step is identifying the underlying causes. If gluten intolerance is among the reasons, then you need to address this issue before your condition accelerates.

Like adrenaline fatigue, the characterization of gluten intolerance is weight gain, inflammation, and chronic fatigue. Sometimes, it might be hard to detect gluten sensitivity, and you may find yourself in the late stages of adrenaline fatigue, where every remedy you take may prove futile.

Adrenaline fatigue is a disorder that you can manage when you choose a healthier diet. Letting go of your favorite foods could be hard at first, but you will realize it’s worth everything in the end.

 

 

 

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TWL Working Mom

Jennifer is the owner of TWL Working Moms. She is a full time teacher, a mom & step mom, and NBCT Facilitator. Jennifer lives in Washington State and is a born + raised New Yorker. In her spare time, she loves traveling, yoga, the beach, writing, listening to books and drinking coffee.

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