I’ve talked previously about how stress, be it physical due to injury, illness or undiagnosed intolerances, emotional, financial of psychological can impact on the health of your adrenal glands and how this in turn has a far reaching effect on your overall health. If this is all new to you here is the previous post.
If you answered yes to 6 or more of the questions in my Adrenal Fatigue Post it’s time to take action. There is never a perfect time, next week is not better than now, once the kids are back at school is not better than now, when you have more time will never happen so grab a cup of herbal tea (coffee is off the menu) and lets do this.
Getting back to feeling awesome is a long and winding road, it took you months or even years to get to this fatigued state so don’t expect a quick fix. BUT, by implementing my top tips you will be feeling significantly better than you do now pretty quickly.
Let’s start with food, a logical place to start given that I am a nutritionist.
AVOID
Avoid foods that further tax your adrenals or create inflammation in your body including:
Stimulants like coffee, tea, sports drinks and energy drinks – trust me these guys are just a band aid, you might feel better for a short time but the crash will make you feel worse than before.
Alcohol, yep even that delicious glass of bubbles is a no go while you are healing. Alcohol is really hard on your liver and even though you may go to sleep easier after a few drinks, the sleep is not restorative. It’s also empty calories, providing no nutrition so if weight gain is an issue cutting the grog is a good place to start.
Sugar and simple carbohydrates like pasta and rice need to be left on the side lines. Part of the adrenal picture is impaired glucose metabolism which can lead to type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. This is also why that cookie or banana bread looks so appealing at 3pm. Balancing blood sugar by eating regular meals with protein, fats and complex carbohydrates will have you feeling better quick sticks.
Avoid foods you suspect you are intolerant to. Just because it’s not a full flown allergy doesn’t mean you should eat it if it makes you feel bad. Inflammation caused by food intolerances puts huge stress on your body overall and on your immune system. As much as I hate being “that” nutritionist who jumps on the wheat free bandwagon, giving up wheat appears to have a very positive impact on recovery. You can re-introduce selected gluten containing foods like spelt or properly prepared sour dough once you are feeling better and see how they make you feel.
FOOD TO ENJOY – it’s not all doom and gloom,
You can basically eat anything, other than those foods listed above, as long as it is real food. Focus on including good protein from fish, meat, eggs, tofu or nuts and lots of vegetables eat the whole rainbow. Limit anything which isn’t actually food, stuff in a packet with lots of numbers and additives is really not food – come on you can do it.
There are a few foods which are seriously beneficial so eat these in abumdanc.e
Broth (read more here)
Good Fats (more details)
Seaweed or Dulse flakes for their iodine, lots of adrenal issues lead to thyroid issues and since Australian soil is very low in Iodine, snacking on seaweed just makes sense.
Lots of greens and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower can support your liver and help with the detox process.
LIFESTYLE
This is often the hardest thing to change, however the best diet in the world won’t go all the way to healing if the underlying stress is still present. You need to spend some time identifying and addressing these issues while you clean up your diet.
Learn to say No. Yep still working on this myself, in fact my husband asked me at the weekend when I was going to stop volunteering for things, short answer is no time soon. BUT you do need to ask yourself is this (insert whatever you are saying yes to) really that important to me/my family/ my career? What is the worst thing that will happen if I say no?
Get sufficient sleep. Go to bed before 10pm, the old adage that an hour before midnight is worth 2 after is actually true. Nothing much good happens after midnight anyway right?
Exercise even if you don’t want to but don’t go crazy, a huge workout every day is not the answer here folks. Think walking, swimming, yoga, Pilates or tai chi things that are gentle on your body while still getting your heart rate pumping.
SUPPLEMENT
I always advise looking at food before capsules but supplementing with a few specific nutrients can really help fast track your recovery in this case.
Consider taking the following for a minimum of 1 month and see how you feel, this is especially important if your diet or your gut health (and therefore ability to absorb) is in anyway less than optimal.
Vitamin C – essential, take around 1500mg per day
B Vitamins – this group of vitamins is involved in energy production, with B5 being the most important
Magnesium, due to its involvement in energy production, glucose metabolism and relaxation. People suffering from adrenal issues are often very low in Magnesium. Take at least 400mg and up to 1000mg a day
Omega 3 from a good fish oil, this will help down regulate inflammation and also balance out Omega 6.
Good luck with getting your adrenals back on track. If you found this guide useful please share. I’d love to hear how you go, if you need further assistance why not book an appointment at my clinic or via Skype.