Thursday, January 14, 2010

Adrenal Insufficiency

Do you have challenges with sleep, low sexual desire, weight gain in the midsection, digestive challenges, endocrine challenges, poor immune function, low energy, poor muscular/skeletal health, poor mental clarity, inflammatory challenges, poor detoxification and/or blood sugar challenges?

If you answered yes to any of these, then this very well could have a significant tie into adrenal insufficiency.


It is amazing the benefit that these two glands just above our kidneys provide for the body and the amount of challenges that can be created when they are not functioning optimally. The secondary challenges affected by adrenal insufficiency are as listed; thyroid, pancreas and ovary function, metabolism of fat and protein, regulation of body weight, mucosal tissue integrity, detoxification processes, immune system function, pro and anti-inflammatory states, cellular energy, glucose balance, bone and connective tissue turnover, muscular integrity, quality of sleep and mood, ability to memorize and learn and overall neural connectivity. Wow…that is quite a bit of focus for these two tiny little glands! I will also share that it is equally as amazing how often the adrenals are completely challenged due to our cultural lifestyles.


It can be shared that this is one of the major imbalances I see with clients consistently and is this a surprise? I would say that it is not a surprise, due to our current mental and emotional states that are tied into the way we deal with, or not deal with, our general life challenges. Add onto this our current economic state and the challenges that arise through these events and what is the result? If you answered adrenal imbalance you are right on.


Here at Depke Wellness we do not treat the adrenals; we simply recognize adrenal imbalances and provide the necessary recommendations that will allow the body to balance and heal from within. As I have mentioned many times in the past; your body has the innate ability to heal itself when we provide balance and get out of the way.

11 comments:

  1. So the question I get so often is, how do the adrenals become challenged in the first place? It is understandable that this is due to stress in your life but this is not only mental/emotional stress. When your foundation of health, or any of your fundamentals are off this will lead to stress and effect the adrenals.

    What I typically recognize with my clients is the extreme fight or flee that they live in, on a regular basis. This fight or flee response will increase your heart rate, decrease the flow of blood to your GI tract as well as other internal organs, increase blood flow to your muscular system and create a heightened awareness within you senses. While this is awesome if you were attacked by a pack of wolves, it is not awesome for day to day stress. Your body does not recognize the difference between a real life and death situation and your reaction and perception to your relationship, financial challenges, hating your job, kids, traffic jams and the list goes on.

    To address your adrenals properly it is always best to get a strong focus first on your foundation of health and your fundamentals. Please review these from previous posts.

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  2. Hi Glen,
    Since I have adrenal fatigue and am having trouble losing weight, how about if I use "fat burner" supplements?
    Thank you.

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  3. Hi Quilt Gal,

    There are some questions that I would need to know before being able to answer this properly for you.

    How much weight do you feel you need to lose? Do you eat correct for your Nutritional ID? How are you addressing your adrenals? What is your age?

    This will help me with your answer.

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  4. Hi Glen,
    I would say 10lbs for sure. I do eat correctly for my nutritonal type, maybe I should just eat less ounces of protein and fat per meal, I am not big on the veggie carbs. I am not sure where I stand with adrenals as I was last tested in August of 2009, but I think back then, I was probably still in a stage 3. I am 46.

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  5. Hello Quiltgal,

    Due to your age, adrenal challenges, and the amount of weight you need to lose, I would not recommend a fat burner.

    Due to your age, you may be moving into menopause, if you do not recognize this already. When your ovaries stop producing the usual amount of estrogen, one area that picks up the slack is the adrenal glands. If the adrenals are challenged, the next area that you will produce the necessary estrogen production is in fat cells. So I will probably tell you what you may not want to hear; the extra fat may be a perfect balance for the other hormonal shifts that are going on.

    Once you improve your adrenal balance this should take care of itself.

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  6. That's a huge disappointment. Adrenal balance can take what seems like forever, especially if the adrenal's are severely fatigued.

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  7. Hello Quiltgal,

    I understand and am compassionate for your feelings but I can share that balancing the adrenals, if you are on a proper protocol, can take anywhere from 3 month to a few years, but this does not mean that you will not feel better and improve during the process. When I talk about complete balance, I am suggesting optimal health. Most people are so far away from optimal health that any improvement is a significant shift. Hopefully this will be you in the near future.

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  8. Hi Glen,
    Because of my particular circumstances and the severity of my adrenal fatigue, I don't see the adrenals healing for a few years as you indicated above. Age and possible menopause on the horizon only means that my metabolism will be working against me. Core exercises have only made the problem more pronounced. If the extra weight was equally distributed, I would not feel so self-conscious. Is my only option to wait a few years or is liposuction another alternative. Thank you.

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  9. Hello Quiltgal,

    Menopause on the horizon should not be a challenge if you can get your adrenals balanced. It is my hope for you that this is accomplished.

    As far as the core exercises are concerned, you may already know this, but you cannot spot reduce fat and many time individuals build up the muscle mass and this will lead to fat accumulation appearing more significant than actually challenged.

    Due to the fact that you have other challenges going on and that you do not have much to loose, I would not recommend liposuction.

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  10. Hi Glen,

    So how can I improve my adrenal insufficiency? I'm thinking that could be what's going on with me...I have had a hard time sleeping through the night for months now. I'm slender, basically vegetarian, eat lots of raw foods and exercise regularly. It's so frustrating that I don't sleep good and wake up tired more often than not. I was told about a year ago through a nutritionist that my adrenals were "stressed", and to consume more protein. I've been eating eggs regularly, and have always eaten plenty of nuts, seeds, plain yogurt and flaxseed. What else would you suggest I do?

    Thanks so much!

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  11. Hello Andrea,

    For those that are deeper into adrenal suppression, the feedback loop, which brings your body back to a deeper state of relaxation, is generally burnt out. Even if you are focusing on your proper fundamentals it is very difficult to reset that feedback loop without the proper protocol to balance the adrenals.

    This is a subject that is individualized and has many facets. It may be best to discuss this one on one. Please email me at my business email, Glen@DepkeWellness.com to further this discussion.

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