This week we will be talking about nutritional deficiencies, Bugs and Genetics that can come into play and affect the health of your adrenal glands.

Are you ready?

Lets dig in!

Step 1.  Nutrition.

As mentioned in our first blog about adrenals, the adrenal glands secrete steroid hormones.  Steroid hormones come from cholesterol!

In order to have proper hormone function, we need to have proper fat absorption and utilization within the body.  Our hormones rely on fat, and a healthy balance of it.

As mentioned, cholesterol IS NOT BAD.  It is actually a superhero with many vital functions.  If we don’t get enough adequate cholesterol within our diet, our storage will start to rev up.  Again this is VITAL.  A good blood marker is around 180-220.  THIS IS NORMAL.  Lower levels and you will have significant hormone problems.  

If your cholesterol is higher than 220, then it is either a liver problem, genetic(rare), or the excess cholesterol is trying to put out a fire in your body .  You see cholesterol goes to area of the body where there is inflammation and tries to patch it up.  ( this is why cholesterol goes to arteries that are weak and inflamed and tries to patch it up).  It’s the superhero, not the culprit.  So we need to figure out what those flames are, which leads into our next portion.

Also important, if you have food allergies, these are CHRONIC adrenal gland depleters.  Sometimes they aren’t actual allergies, but inflamed digestive tracts from pathogens.  Once the pathogens are cleared the nervous system and inflammation will calm down, and the food sensitivities can go away.

I can desensitize certain allergies through craniobiotic technique in my office.  But a good rule of thumb is to eliminate gluten and pasteurized dairy if you have adrenal fatigue.  These are inflammatory for EVERYONE and shouldn’t be consumed, but especially for those with adrenal problems.

GMO and non organic foods are also problems.  We can’t digest GMO foods, they are foreign to our body.  And non organic foods have thousands of chemicals and pesticides which means more adrenal stress.

2. BUGSS.

Did you know the prevalence of Esptein Barr Virus or Mono? In the research conducted in 2005, it was found that Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infects more than 98 percent of the world’s population!  Yep.

Know anyone with ulcerative colitis or Chrons?
Almost ALL causes of ulcerative colitis or Chron’s disease show positive for Mycobacterium species.

Alzheimers or MS?
Lyme Disease Bacteria has been shown to be prevalent in cadaver’s brains in Alzheimers patients, and MS can be misdiagnosed for the borrelia bacteria.

Chronic diarrhea or IBS?
You most likely have a protozoal/amoeba infection.

Almost every single nutrition patient that comes to me has parasites.  Its actually NOT normal to find someone without these days.  Things are all around.

I could go on… the fact of the matter is that almost ALL diseases can be traced to BUGS.  Things don’t just “happen”.  Auto-immune diseases don’t just “happen”.  Usually the gut/brain pathways are stressed through pathogens and nervous system distress.  Pathogens like microbes can hide in our bodies for years and wreak havok creating chronic stress and adrenal depletion.

It’s important to note, a lot of infections go undiagnosed.  That’s because typical blood work and even stool testing doesn’t always find these hidden pathogens.  Testing isn’t perfect.

Thankfully I have functional medicine tools to use including Craniobiotic Technique to screen for these hidden pathogens.

Which leads to Step 3.

Step 3.  Genetics

Genetics have been all the “rave” the past 5-10 years as we learn more and more about them.  It’s important to note the difference between genetics and epigenetic.  Epigenetics are specific genes we have that may be turned “on” or “off”.  But, the great thing is that we can change our epigenetics.  We know that the food we eat, environment that we are in, emotional stability all have effects on our genes. 

With genetics, specifically with the adrenal glands, if you have chronic adrenal fatigue, sometimes looking into genetics is necessary.

This is mainly because it you have a lot of genes that aren’t functioning well, then the pathways that we need are not functioning well.  Add in infections, nervous system stress and emotional instability and it’s a trifecta of improper detoxing.   Most of what we are looking at with the genetics here is the function of enzymes.

So, in these cases, genetics are very useful.

One gene in particular is called the MTHFR gene.  (yep that’s how its spelled!).  It stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.  With this gene mutation (you can have many forms), you cannot convert a B vitamin called folic acid to folate which is the end product we need to make methylation (detoxing) happen.  So this enzyme is impaired.  That means ingesting folic acid in supplements is very toxic and harmful to this person because they can’t break it down to the end product folate.

So why is folic acid in supplements?  SYNTHETIC supplements contain folic acid (which I NEVER use) because it’s cheap.  It’s way better to use whole food supplements or ones that have FOLATE instead of folic acid.

Good to know right?

Absolutely!  Genes give us more information!

B vitamins are essential for many things, but ENERGY is a huge one.  If you can’t synthesize your B vitamins, you won’t detox well and your adrenals and energy will suffer.

This is just one example of how a gene could affect adrenal function.

Genes can affect neurotransmitters and mood disorders, and also other B vitamins.

It gets more complicated as we go, so it’s important to chat with someone who is versed in genes.  A great resources is the book “dirty genes” By Dr. Ben Lynch.  Meaning we need to clean up these dirty gene pathways to experience health and vitality!

So what to do???

Functional Nutrition is key.  Sometimes we need to support the adrenal glands with nourishing herbs and whole foods while we are cleaning out the bugs, clearing nervous system and emotional stress and working on the genetic pathways.  Also, with genes it’s not about giving supplements for every little gene mutation.  This is a big no no. It’s about looking at the whole picture.
Genes just give us more information, but remember we can change gene epigenetics!  Changing the diet is key, and stabilizing the blood sugar is number one.

I recommend a more Ketogenic high fat and low carb lifestyle.  With moderation for everyone with different needs.   Cutting out dead carbs will stabilize blood sugar and allow the body to burn fat.

A yo yo of glucose going up and down stresses out the adrenal glands immensely, so this is one of the first things that needs to be addressed.

Looking at the diet, when you are eating, and supporting as needed. Many people are deficient in vitamins and minerals and don’t even know it. Minerals, such as chromium and magnesium are essential to keeping blood sugars in the normal range. Also important to not eat sweets when you get that energy crash.. This is where herbal support comes in!  Eating a good fat/protein before bed will actually make you sleep better too!!

Often times people have insomnia because their blood sugar is so unbalanced.  They wake up multiple times in the night because they actually are starving.  Eating carbs will only suffice you for a few hours.   If you wake up tired, and go to bed energized, then your adrenals are ALLL kinds of messed up, and you need some help!

I’m happy to help!