We’re all familiar with stress — it’s a constant element in women's and men's busy lives. But what we aren’t so familiar with is the body’s response to stress and the ways in which the stress we face today goes far beyond the kind of stress we faced as we evolved — and ends up depleting our energy and health.

When faced with a stressful situation, our bodies rely on the adrenal glands sitting atop our kidneys to monitor our “fight or flight” response. For the most part, our stress response evolved from short-term events — crises that came and went. If we had to run from a predator, for example, our healthy adrenal glands responded by releasing adrenaline, which makes us more alert and focused, and cortisol, which converts protein to energy and releases our stored sugar, glycogen, so our bodies have the fuel needed to respond quickly. In concert, the adrenal response rapidly increases our heart and respiratory rates and blood pressure while releasing energy, tensing our muscles, sharpening our senses, and slowing our digestion so we are primed to escape or fight back, whichever is needed. When the threat is gone, the body returns to normal — quickly with respect to adrenaline levels, less quickly with respect to cortisol.

The adrenal response can be life-saving, and we need it to handle true crisis moments. But in today’s society, women are inundated with stress that doesn’t let up. And when chronic stress forces the adrenal glands to respond continually without any recovery time, two things can happen: either the adrenals start overproducing cortisol, which can lead to insomnia, anxiety, and the “tired and wired” feeling many women complain about, or they become depleted to the point that cortisol production can’t keep up with demand, which can cause fatigue, depression, fuzzy thinking, weight gain, cravings, and mood swings. In some women, this depletion becomes so severe they can barely get out of bed! And as if that weren’t enough, chronic high cortisol levels can damage healthy tissues, leading to more serious long-term health concerns.

From finding new strategies to manage stress to learning which foods are best to eat and when — there are many ways to replenish adrenal health naturally. One thing we can promise you is that when you restore balance to your adrenal glands, you’ll see results on every physical and emotional level, and your whole body will thank you for it!

“Adrenal fatigue” or “adrenal imbalance”?

The 21st Century Stress Syndrome first highlighted this condition. We believe the term “adrenal imbalance” is a better way to describe what your body is going through. After all, we don’t describe your heart, lungs, or other organs as being “fatigued” when they are under strain and need support.

While adrenal fatigue is well recognized in other parts of the world, there has been some skepticism about it within conventional medical circles here in the US. Many physicians are quick to point to other health issues (depression, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism) that cause similar symptoms. We’ve found, though, that many times these issues are related to an underlying adrenal problem, and that treating them on their own with medications generally doesn’t solve them — but supporting adrenal function often does wonders.

Conventional testing only looks at extremes

Unfortunately, current tests that doctors are likely to recommend will look only at the extremes of adrenal imbalance that require immediate medical intervention: Addison’s disease, which occurs when the body’s cortisol production is severely deficient, and Cushing’s syndrome, in which the body produces excessively high levels of cortisol.

Many medical tests draw a sharp, dividing line between “healthy” and “unhealthy” based on test result numbers, rather than how you are feeling. This is the case with adrenal testing: Because Cushing’s and Addison’s are defined by specific values in conventional blood tests, if you fall anywhere between the cutoff points on the test — even if you’re very close — it is likely that you’ll be told that your adrenal function is normal. Saliva tests for adrenal function tend to be more accurate, but many conventional practitioners are unaware of them or don’t trust them. And, of course, the best indicator of all is whether you feel physically unwell.

Adrenal imbalance is part of a continuum

The medical model we follow (Functional Medicine) acknowledges and understands that every disease has a past, present, and future. We know that adrenal health acts on continuum. Every patient who comes to our clinic with symptoms of adrenal imbalance undergoes a series of tests that evaluate markers of stress, including cortisol and DHEA levels as well as basic metabolic tests to make sure there are no other health concerns.

And the results — in over thousands of cases — are remarkably consistent: only 20–25% have cortisol levels consistent with healthy adrenal function, while 75–80% suffer impaired function, in various patterns ranging from mild to more serious. With careful examination, it is possible to discover where you are on the continuum before facing medical emergencies or chronic disease states. Our symptoms are providing us with the opportunity to heal.

Our NEW Personal Program for Adrenal Health — for the symptoms of stress

Our popular Adrenal Program can help you manage the effects of stress by relieving your symptoms and promoting natural adrenal balance. We’ve created custom protocols to address each patient’s specific adrenal profile, with our exclusive adrenal support formulas, advanced nutritional supplements, and practical dietary and lifestyle guidance to maximize your results.