Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, Doctor of Functional Medicine and Nutritionist. Today I’m going to talk about how to overcome adrenal fatigue. And so many people today struggle with adrenal insufficiency, major fatigue issues, and it’s due to problems with the adrenal glands. And the adrenal glands are two sort of thumb-sized organs that sit here in the back of your flank area, and there are so many people, I would say about 80% of the population that at some point will struggle with adrenal fatigue at some point in their life.

And in this video I’m going to go through the three steps you must follow if you want to heal adrenal fatigue for good. And really it starts with diet. Actually, before I get into that though, let me talk about warning signs you have adrenal fatigue. Number one, if you struggle with fatigue, even if you get enough sleep at night and the next day you wake up and you’re still tired, that is a major warning sign you have adrenal fatigue.

If you feel like you can just never catch up or you’re always tired, that’s a warning sign you have adrenal fatigue. If you feel overwhelmed and stressed, you feel anxiety, those are warning signs you have adrenal fatigue. If you have trouble focusing or concentrating or poor memory, those are warning signs you have adrenal fatigue or adrenal insufficiency. Also, if you have a thyroid issue, pretty much every person that has a thyroid condition, whether it’s hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease, any of those issues, that probably means you do have an adrenal issue. And some other warning signs could be that you are storing excess body fat. So if you have gone to the gym and you’ve worked out for hours, and you’re still not losing weight like you think you should. Or you can’t seem to lose that last five pounds or break through that weight loss plateau, those are warning signs that you have adrenal fatigue. And so step number one in healing adrenal fatigue is changing your diet.

The top foods you must get out of your diet to heal your adrenal glands is number one, caffeine. If you’re consuming loads and loads of coffee on a regular basis and large amounts of caffeine, that will definitely burn out your adrenal glands. The other thing is consuming too much sugar. Sugar will burn out your adrenal glands. Hydrogenated oils in foods that are just stimulants, like I’ve already mentioned, foods that really imbalance blood sugar levels and will cause spikes. But caffeine and sugar are the two biggies that you need to get out of your diet. Now, the next thing here are the foods that really support your adrenal glands. And foods that are high in Vitamin B-12 and magnesium, also foods that help stabilize blood sugar and energy levels.

Coconut products, like coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut meat, those are great for supporting your adrenal glands. Olives are great, olives and olive oil. Raw dairy products and grass-fed butter are fantastic, organic meats. Doing loads of vegetables, especially spinach, kale, and chard are great for the adrenal glands. Also, seaweed. Seaweed contains iodine along with other minerals that can support the adrenal glands as well. And so, again, adding some of those foods in your diet is a definite must in changing your diet if you want to overcome adrenal fatigue. Now, the second thing you need to do to heal adrenal fatigue is take supplements that support your adrenal glands, and there is a group of herbs or roots called adaptogen or adaptogenic herbs which include a family of things, like ashwagandha, rhodiola, Holy Basil, licorice root and ginseng. But adaptogen herbs are titled adaptogens because they help your body adapt and deal with stress, and these have big benefits. The number one you want to take, the number one adaptogen for specifically your adrenals and your thyroid is called ashwagandha.

So you want to take ashwagandha, Holy Basil, and licorice root. I believe are the most beneficial for supporting your adrenal glands. Also, getting B Vitamins is very important for your adrenal glands, especially Vitamin B-12. But I recommend taking a high quality B Vitamin complex supplement. And last but not least, magnesium, as well as Vitamin D can also support your adrenals and selenium. Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant that also supports the adrenal glands. So those are the most important nutrients to support your adrenals in terms of the supplements. And last but not least, if you want to overcome adrenal fatigue is you’ve got to lower your overall stress levels.

Step number one in lowering stress is getting better quality sleep at night, sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night. The next step is if you are stressed out, you’ve got to start working on removing the stressors. And I recommend you get out a sheet of paper, write down all of those things that are causing stress. Maybe it’s your boss at work. Maybe it’s your spouse doing something. Maybe it’s something in your schedule. Really look and address and know what’s stressing you out, and then work on rectifying those things. And you can’t fix all forms of stress, but if you can reduce, let’s say, reduce your stress by 50%, that alone will help you improve your adrenal function and help heal your adrenal glands. And then schedule in times of fun and joy in your schedule doing things you love to do, that also can help you overcome adrenal insufficiency. So, again, getting more sleep, reducing stress, adding joy into your life. All of those things are going to help you overcome adrenal fatigue.

And also doing certain forms of exercise that help reduce stress, like barre classes, Pilates, even going out for a jog. Whatever exercise for you, not overdoing it but just light amounts of exercise 20 to 30 minutes several times a week. Going out, going for a walk, going out in nature. All of those things that can reduce stress are going to help you overcome adrenal fatigue. So remember, if you want to heal adrenal fatigue or cure your adrenal fatigue fast, what I recommend you do, number one, change your diet. Get rid of the caffeine and sugar. Start loading up on those nutrient dense foods, especially green leafy vegetables and healthy fats, like coconut oil. Number two, take some good quality supplements, like ashwagandha and other adaptogenic herbs.

Also B Vitamins, and last but not least, reduce stress. You follow those three steps, you are well on your way to curing your adrenal fatigue symptoms. Hey guys, this has been Dr. Axe with natural steps to heal adrenal fatigue..

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