Lifestyle changes to increase your sleep, and to manage your stress can help you feel less overwhelmed and fatigued by day-to-day stress. Going to bed early, handling sleep problems like sleep apnea, and practicing stress reduction activities like yoga, meditation, exercise, and time in nature can help too.
Recovery from adrenal fatigue can take anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. Each individual has a unique set of symptoms and an individual response to treatment. The recovery process depends upon the stage and severity of the adrenal exhaustion.
The suggested treatments for healthy adrenal function are a diet low in sugar, caffeine, and junk food, and “targeted nutritional supplementation” that includes vitamins and minerals: Vitamins B5, B6, and B12. Vitamin C. Magnesium.
Most people with adrenal fatigue will recover quite quickly but severe symptoms may take some months to recover, or even longer. The time for recovery will vary enormously from person to person and will also depend on the cause of stress and the severity of symptoms.
Symptoms said to be due to adrenal fatigue include tiredness, trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, salt and sugar craving, and needing stimulants like caffeine to get through the day. These symptoms are common and non-specific, meaning they can be found in many diseases.
You can reduce cortisol belly fat by reducing your cortisol levels. Do this by reducing your stress, getting enough sleep, and living in sync with your circadian rhythm. Caffeine and high-intensity exercise can also contribute to high cortisol levels.
Eat Consistent Meals with Fat and Protein in the Morning: Going completely carb-free or intermittent fasting—two big trends right now—is probably not right for you if you have adrenal fatigue and your blood sugar is all over the map.
Stage 4 (Burnout/Crash)
Our adrenal glands have ceased to function, and little can be done to restore our bodies homeostasis. During the final stage of burnout and individual can suffer from lack of sex drive, depression, restlessness, anxiety and little to no interest in surroundings.
In the later stages of Adrenal Fatigue, your adrenals become depleted and unable to produce enough of the hormones that you need. This means that your levels of cortisol, along with neurotransmitters like adrenaline and norepinephrine, are generally lower than they should be.
Adrenal fatigue is thought to occur when the adrenals have been overworked to a degree that they can no longer secrete levels of cortisol that are adequate for optimal function. Potential stressors include environmental and dietary influences, as well as anxiety and emotional stresses.
I have personally dealt with adrenal fatigue in the past, and I can vouch for magnesium and cortisol's role in calming stress levels and rehabilitating hormonal systems. Magnesium helps to regulate cortisol levels, allowing for more balanced hormone production which is essential in our fast paced culture.
Vitamin C. Vitamin C, which is also known as ascorbic acid, is great for adrenal support. Indeed, high levels of vitamin C are stored in the adrenal glands, and vitamin C helps support the production of cortisol. When your adrenal glands don't have enough vitamin C, they actually try to create even more cortisol.
The adrenal fatigue theory suggests that prolonged exposure to stress could drain the adrenals leading to a low cortisol state. The adrenal depletion would cause brain fog, low energy, depressive mood, salt and sweet cravings, lightheadedness, and other vague symptoms.
This is due to the fact that metabolic processes stimulated by thyroid hormone also increase adrenal demands. Specific interventions which can facilitate starting thyroid restoration include: Addition of magnesium glycinate 600-1000 mg orally or transdermally.
Once you stop taking corticosteriods, your adrenal glands may be slow to start working again. To give them time to start making cortisol again, your doctor will gradually reduce your dose over a period of weeks or even months. Even so, your adrenal glands might not begin to work normally for many months.
Avocado and other healthy fats, such as omega 3's, found in olive oil, avocados, nuts, olives, eggs, butter, and fish help feed your adrenal glands. Fatty acids are the back bone of hormones. Your adrenal glands need fats to be able to produce all of the necessary hormones they are responsible for.
Bananas are also rich in nutrients that promote adrenal health. For starters, bananas are known to contain a significant amount of vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, which is essential for proper adrenal gland function.
People with adrenal fatigue should eat as soon as possible after waking up and definitely before 10 a.m. This helps to boost blood sugar. We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that people who eat breakfast tend to weigh less, so there's no excuse to skip it anymore.
The depiction of an adrenal body type is a person with relatively healthy-looking arms and legs who has saggy lower-belly fat. The problem with this depiction is only naturally skinny people, like a Vata body type, are going to express adrenal dysfunction in this manner noticeably.
Adding in cardio, such as a brisk walk will help lower your cortisol levels and control your stress. Once you have your stress under control, you can add interval training and sprints two or three times a week to reduce your belly fat.
Adrenal stress and fatigue cause belly fat
But when we have long-term adrenal stress imbalances, cortisol levels are elevated in the blood and summon too much glucose. When glucose is not used for energy, it ends up stored in the form of fat — primarily abdominal fat cells.