Stressed? What can help you?
Chronic and prolonged stress causes a miss communication in the HPA axis which can have a knock-on effect within our hormonal rhythms – quite frankly causing a bit of a hormonal mess. After long term stress, because we are producing lots of cortisol, the brain to tells the adrenals to stop making it. The term adrenal fatigue is usedm but the adrenals don’t actually get fatigued as such – we get fatigued as a symproms of this hotmonal communication.
The adrenals are two glands behind the kidneys which produce cortisol and adrenaline and are part of the HPA Axis (hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenals). Cortisol is a steroid, it increases glucose and is made in the Adrenal Cortex and takes around 10 minutes to make within the body. Norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) are made in the medulla of your adrenal glands and kicks into gear for your flight or fight response when you are scared.
Cortisol (our stress hormone) should naturally spike in the morning and reduce during the day as our sleep hormone melatonin increases getting us ready for sleep. If the cortisol rhythm is disrupted we find it hard to wind down. High cortisol at night decreases melatonin, as does alcohol, blue light in our screens, low tryptophan and certain medications.
If you have prolonged stress, issues such as pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, abdominal weight gain and other weight gain associated chronic diseases become a risk factor. Weather stress is actual, anticipated or even imagined, it has the same reaction in the body. We are built to cope with a certain amount of stress, that’s why we produce cortisol and adrenaline – our bodies are a series truly of amazing, intricate and integrated systems, but we were never built to withstand the prolonged stress that we put ourselves under – so what do we do? Easy to say let’s just chill out, right? But there are steps we can take to support our bodies through this hormonal mess – but in all honesty as well as repairing the damage caused by stress, the reason of stress needs to be addressed.
Sleep Hygiene
Bring some balance by improving how you prepare for sleep by not looking at technology, creating a relaxing routine such as taking bath, reading, or meditating, anything that will calm your mind. There are certain supplements that can help with this process, but these solutions are individual and should be directed by your accredited nutritional therapist.
Nutrition
Nutrition is a big part of finding balance as well. Your Adrenal gland function requires vitamin C and B vitamins specifically B5 and B6.
Vitamin C which is also an anti-oxidant is found in oranges, blackcurrants, pineapple, kiwifruit, mangoes, broccoli, spinach, capsicum and strawberries, grapefruit, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries, watermelon.
Vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid is necessary for making blood cells, and it helps you convert the food you eat into energy. Good sources are pork, chicken, turkey duck, beef, and especially animal organs such as liver and kidney. Fish such as salmon, lobster, and shellfish.
Whole grains are a good source of vitamin B5 but milling can remove up to 75 percent of the B5 content. Vegetable sources are mushrooms, avocado, broccoli, sweet potatoes, corn, cauliflower, kale, and tomatoes, lentils, split peas, and soybeans. Dairy products, egg yolk, milk, yogurt, and milk products.