The hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) that stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). ACTH then stimulates the adrenal glands to make and release cortisol hormones into the blood.
Potential stressors include environmental and dietary influences, as well as anxiety and emotional stresses. Experiences such as grief, trauma, and autoimmune conditions are considered to have a possible chronic negative impact on adrenal function.
Primary adrenal insufficiency is most often caused when your immune system attacks your healthy adrenal glands by mistake. Other causes may include: Cancer. Fungal infections.
Adrenal insufficiency can be caused by Addison's disease, a pituitary disorder or another disorder. Some symptoms of this life-threatening dysfunction include extreme exhaustion, lack of appetite (leading to weight loss), diarrhea, nausea, low blood pressure and low blood sugar.
An overproduction of the aldosterone hormone can lead to high blood pressure and to those symptoms associated with low levels of potassium, such as weakness, muscle aches, spasms, and sometimes paralysis.
Adrenal glands, also known as suprarenal glands, are small, triangular-shaped glands located on top of both kidneys.
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid):
Certain B vitamins, including Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) provide targeted support to the adrenals. As studies show, B5 supports balanced cortisol production and helps reduce levels of excess cortisol triggered during stress events.
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.
B vitamins such as B1 (thiamine), B5 (pantethine), and B12 all directly affect your adrenal glands' cortisol response to stress. Vitamin B3 (niacin) and B12 also play a role in your sleep/wake cycle which can be affected by stress and cortisol.
The adrenal glands play an important role in the body's stress response, including the fight-or-flight reaction. While some stress prepares the body to take action, too much can result in feelings of anxiety and chronic stress, which can take a serious toll on a person's physical and mental well-being.
Stress and the adrenal glands
Long-term exposure to excessive stress (emotional or physical, bad or good) can cause the adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol (the main stress hormone). Over time, the adrenal glands can become exhausted and will no longer produce adequate cortisol.
If left untreated, adrenal crisis can cause death. Adrenal crisis occurs mainly in people with primary AI. People in adrenal crisis need an injection (shot) of glucocorticoids (medicines that replace cortisol) right away. Then they need to go to the hospital immediately for more treatment.
Symptoms of an adrenal fatigue crash are similar to those of AFS, such as fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, hypoglycemia, and poor digestion. The difference is that these symptoms come on more intensely during the Crash Phase, and get better after the Recovery Phase.
found that emotional stress was identified as a triggering factor in 30% of adrenal crisis, as frequently as gastrointestinal symptoms or infections (35% and 32%, respectively).
Who is more likely to develop adrenal insufficiency? Women are more likely than men to develop Addison's disease. This condition occurs most often in people between the ages of 30 and 50, 2 although it can occur at any age, even in children.
ACTH Stimulation Test This is the most specific test for diagnosing adrenal insufficiency. Blood cortisol levels are measured before and after a synthetic form of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), a hormone secreted from the anterior pituitary, is given by injection.
“The adrenal gland was one of the first tissues—as early as the nineteenth century—known to undergo regeneration,” said Breault, an endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital. “Despite this, the rules that control its regeneration following injury or its daily maintenance are not well understood.”
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.