Adrenal Balance 101

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

So many people are reaching out to understand how to properly balance adrenal function, so here you go. 

I first want to bring up something mentioned by Dr Daniel Kalish in the adrenal summit, Dan mentioned that adrenal function is actually becoming a much more popular subject these days, but unfortunately, many people are being tested with little knowledge behind this as far as what to do. And to add, the big what to do is actually assisting the body in resetting the feedback loop also known as the HPA axis or the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis. Understand that this feedback loop is essential to bring your body into a state of relaxation after a stressful event. If the HPA axis is not functioning properly, you can be focusing on your health and actually live with the frustration of very little or no improvement. Yikes!

So knowing that you have to help the body reset the feedback loop, how do you know if your feedback loop is dysfunctional? Testing of course, and how do you test this properly. Testing adrenals properly requires looking at cortisol throughout the day, which is easily accomplished by saliva testing. Yes, it is as easy as spitting in a tube 4 times per day. While some may not feel that this sounds enjoyable, the value of knowing where your adrenal function is, is completely invaluable and this is all because of the fore mentioned HPA axis. If this is burnt out, you want to know! 

I do not recommend blood testing because this will only provide one cortisol level through the day as opposed to four times within the day. Also the saliva testing provides a DHEA average, four cortisol levels along with a total cortisol and cortisol:DHEA ratio. For those using a comprehensive test kit, which is always my recommendation, you would also get a look at estradiol, estriol, progesterone, testosterone, androstenedione and melatonin. This is often invaluable because I cannot tell you the countless times I see estrogen type hormones either too high or low, elevated and often toxic levels of progesterone due to the use of creams and even men that are converting testosterone into estrogens due to an over production of an enzyme referred to as aromatase. This can be some scary stuff but really, only if you do not look at it. As long as you are living and breathing, there is always hope of balancing your adrenals, but you have to know where they're at.

Now once you have the adrenal function assessed you can work on a protocol to balance. The protocols used at Depke Wellness are to work at the beginning of hormone production. This would include the use of the Prime Adrenal Support (vitamin B5) and the two baseline liquid sublingual hormones pregnenolone and DHEA. The vitamin B5 is needed as one of the raw materials to produce the mother hormone pregnenolone and the DHEA and pregnenolone support will allow the adrenals to find their balance and reset that HPA axis discussed above. This way you can eventually get off the protocols and enjoy normal healthy functioning adrenals in the future.

Notice that I did not mention taking bio-identical hormones, progesterone creams or testosterone creams. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen these toxin in clients when we review their saliva test kits due to the use of the hormone creams. Heck, just today I have a women that was taking progesterone creams for only two months that should have a level of approximately 5 to 95 that is actually living with a level over 2,500. No 2,500 was not a typo! I have even seen men that were working with other practitioners recognizing low testosterone, only to take testosterone without knowing that this is being converted into estrogens and they are now toxic in estrogen type hormones. Again, this can be scary stuff if you do not know what you are doing and that is exactly what Dr Daniel Kalish mentioned in his interview.

Now there is other support I would also offer such as a liquid ionized form of zinc, buffered ascorbic acid powder (not corn derived of course), LiquiNutrients and a liquid DHA/EPA-CoQ10. These are all supportive factors but the nuts and bolts of the protocols are the Prime Adrenal Support (vitamin B5) and the liquid sublinguals of DHEA and pregnenolone.

*Very Important!!!

DO NOT take these on your own without testing and under guidance. Hormones require a delicate balance and while you do not want them too low, you do not want them too high either. Please be careful and work with somebody that uses saliva testing that also knows how to assist your body in resetting that HPA axis.

Another important point to make is that when your adrenals are off, this truly is not an adrenal issue. The deeper issue that absolutely has to be addressed is actually the triggers for the adrenal issues. Here are the main triggers.

• (SAD) standard American diet high in sugar, caffeine and processed food
• Food sensitivities
• Chronic infection
• Chronic stress or suppressed emotions
• Chronic inflammatory states
• Poor fundamentals of health

So you see, if you only use an adrenal protocol and do not get to the triggers, this will be an ongoing problem for you. So in the end, address your adrenal function and get to your triggers with somebody that understands this world.  

If you are new to Depke Wellness and you would like to schedule a complimentary 20 minute phone consultation, call our office at (949)954-6226. We would love to assist you in your journey to health and happiness.

Please feel free to post below if you have any questions.

 

It Happened to Me...

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

....so by all means, it can happen to you also.

Glen Depke

So what the heck and I talking about?

Let me set this up for you first. As you may have heard me share in the past, I typically sleep very well, wake up before the alarm ever goes off and am rocked and ready to go. That is until a few months ago. I recognized that I was now waking to my alarm and getting out of bed was, uggg, almost painful.

Now most of you know that I walk my talk, so what do you think was the first thing I did when this new (ugly) pattern was recognized? I did an adrenal saliva kit of course. If you are a client of mine, you probably already guessed this.

So what showed up in my adrenal results?

I actually found more than one challenge. First of all, I was in a stage II adrenal insufficiency and a late stage II at that. I also had very low DHEA levels and low melatonin. I was actually happy to get these results because this explained the reason behind my new and not so improved sleeping pattern. 

What did not make sense though, is why the heck was I in a stage II adrenal insufficiency. After all, I am definitely balanced emotionally, I do not eat gluten or cross reactive foods and I have been through 2 substantial cleanses this year already. While this did not make sense to me there was a little red flag in my adrenal results. Understand that cortisol levels and melatonin should be exact opposites of each other. My night time cortisol levels were fine but my night time melatonin was low. This would tell me that my low melatonin level is not a hormonal issue, this would then be a digestive issue. 

As a side note, if melatonin is low, what do I never recommend for my clients? If you guessed melatonin, you are correct. Let me tell you why.

Once you have eliminated the hormonal tie into low melatonin, the next major area to address is digestion and here's why. Follow this list below on the sleep cycle for clarity.

1. It first starts with proper digestion
2. Next comes the need for regular protein consmumption
3. With proper protein and digestion, your body will be able to pull out the necessary levels of L-tryptophan
4. Only about 1% of this L-tryptophan will be needed for this sleep cycle while the rest is needed for B vitamin production and other bodily processes
5. With the L-typtophan the body can then produce 5-HTP
6. From 5-HTP the body will produce setotonin
7. Finally from serotonin, the body will produce melatonin

Knowing this you can probable deduce on your own the simply taking melatonin does not truly resolve the issue. It might help with my sleeping pattern a bit but it would still leave so many other deficiencies. 

Remember I mentioned that there was a red flag that I had a digestive issue causing the low melatonin? Knowing that I am not stressed out and I do not consumed foods that I am intolerant to, what would the cause be? If you guessed pathogens, that is exactly what I was thinking.

With the suspect of pathogens, my next step was to complete a 4 day comprehensive stool collection. I waited impatiently to get these results, and there it was. I was not only dealing with a pathogen, I was dealing with two pathogens. Somewhere in my last 2 years, I had picked up a detrimental bacteria called klebsiella and an amoeba called endolimax nana cyst. You might be thinking "YIKES" but honestly I was happy to get this. It explained my digestive issues as well as my sleep and adrenal challenges. It is also good news to have this awareness because both of these can be dealt with with relative ease now, rather than waiting for future challenges to develop. 

Long term, klebsiella that is not addressed can lead to pneumonia, urinary tract infections, septicemia, and soft tissue infections. Klebsiella species have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis which is an inflammatory/autoimmune condition that primarily affects the joints of the spine. The endolimax nana cyst often leads to chronic or intermittent diarrhea, which was also becoming an issue for me.

Now does it make sense that I was happy to see these reports?

So why am I sharing all this?

I am sharing this because if this can happen to me with all the positive focus I have on my own health and wellness, this can definitely happen to you. So the next time you recognize that your sleep is a little off or your energy is a bit low, don't simply reach for some melatonin to help your sleep and caffeine to boost your energy. Look deeper and find the real issues so you do not have to live with chronic ailments later in life.

Remember, it happened to me...it can happen to you.