ADRENAL FATIGUE… I get tired just thinking about it!!! 

The adrenal glands play a huge role in overall health, but they have a unique relationship with progesterone. When adrenals are over-stressed, they can dramatically impact progesterone levels in the body… creating or accelerating estrogen dominance.

So, what is the role of adrenals in your body? 

What causes them to get over-used and exhausted? 

What is the progesterone steal?

Most importantly, what can we do naturally do support our adrenals?

On a recent MAXXtv episode, I interviewed Natural Hormone Guru Jackie Harvey. She is the publisher of NaturalHormoneGuru.com which is the culmination of her vision and passion to see women everywhere experience overall health and natural hormone balance.

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Question #1: I hear a lot of chatter out there about adrenal fatigue. But to be honest, I was not really sure what my adrenals do… other than produce adrenaline when I’m startled!!!

So in simple terms, what do the adrenals do in our body?

Jackie’s response: “The adrenal glands produce adrenaline but they also produce cortisol. Cortisol is our fight or flight hormone. So adrenals help us control the outside circumstances that are causing us problems.

Adrenals are very important. We need adrenals to calm the storm for us. The more stress we are under, the more our adrenals are kicked into action. 

We find that many people today have low adrenal reserves, resulting in low cortisol. Cortisol is the main hormone produced by the adrenal glands, and when they are weakened we're going to see problems.”

Question #2: What sorts of things stimulate the adrenals?

Jackie’s response: “Well, stress is what stimulates the adrenals to produce adrenaline and cortisol. So anything that causes problems is always going to be connected to stress of one sort or another. 

Things such as:  lack of sleep at night, having to work when you prefer to be home with your kids, being sick, financial worries, marital problems, depression, impending deadlines, and extreme workouts, just to name a few. 

When we see that in a woman that is tired but wired after 6, we know their adrenals are under attack. When they're having trouble sleeping, or even more so, having trouble getting up in the morning, we know their adrenals are under attack. 

When a woman gets sick frequently, it indicates the adrenals are under attack. We know the immune system goes down before the adrenal glands go down, and so the immune system is a really good monitor of whether the adrenals are being affected.

When women are moody or they suffer from foggy thinking, these are good signs that her adrenals are now affected. Another interesting sign is craving salty snacks, because adrenal reserves rely on sodium being in place. Certainly, gaining weight around the middle. This is known as “fat deposition by cortisol.”

Struggling with extra weight around the middle not a fun thing but that usually happens as a response to something that's going on with our adrenal glands.

Another thing the adrenals do that can really compromise our overall hormone health is they “steal” progesterone to convert it to cortisol when the adrenals are unable to produce enough. Progesterone is critical to help the body counter balance estrogen."

WATCH THIS and Learn More About the POWER of Progesterone

Question #3: Well, virtually every woman I know is under stress and drinks lots of coffee, which seems like a real recipe for disaster when it comes to their health. Is that correct???

Jackie's answer: “Well, grabbing a cup of coffee to boost your energy isn’t going to resolve adrenal fatigue. Low energy is another indicator of adrenal fatigue. Taking a saliva test to measure progesterone levels is a good first step to verifying adrenal fatigue. 

To help rectify this situation, do some progesterone supplementation to support the adrenal glands. From my perspective, we need to support the adrenals to allow them the freedom to do what they need to do. 

Whether they reach up and grab progesterone, whether they produce adrenaline, or whether they're over-producing cortisol in response to our lifestyle, they they still need support. Bio-Identical Progesterone will be one of the main supports for the adrenal glands."

Question #4: So how do overworked overstretch fatigued adrenals affect the other hormones in the body especially progesterone?

Jackie’s response: “Well, it depletes progesterone for sure. Depleting progesterone stores creates a lot of other problems, especially, as it relates to balancing with estrogen. 

So, just being under stress can certainly cause Estrogen Dominance. Estrogen Dominance always means a deficiency of progesterone. We know that stress typically causes women to eat erratically and maybe inappropriately.

WATCH THIS and Learn How to BEAT Estrogen Dominance

If they're reaching for starchy foods or that bag of potato chips or some other salty food or for sugary foods, they most likely are stimulating insulin production and causing an elevation in testosterone. 

This means that adrenal fatigue, brought on by stress, can actually multiply into more than one hormone challenge to say the least.” 

Question #5: I guess that speaks to the importance of cortisol in our systems that the body is willing to use progesterone to make cortisol. I've heard you call that a “progesterone steal,” that the adrenal glands will use progesterone make more cortisol in the adrenal glands. Is that accurate?

Jackie’s answer: “Absolutely! We can't live without cortisol. If cortisol is low in the morning, it means that we don't even feel like we want to get up. Cortisol is so important. It is the get up and go hormone. It wakes us up in the morning and motivates us to get up and go. 

Now it subsides throughout the day, so it doesn't stay high all day as other adrenal hormones do. Yes, progesterone plays a big role in helping us maintain optimal cortisol levels for morning wake up.”

Question #6: What can we do to fix this situation? How do we support our adrenals?

Jackie responded: “Well, first of all, you need to make sure that you have ample progesterone. I would encourage all women who are stressed to the “max” and think that they're burning out their adrenals do a saliva test. 

A saliva test is the best way to figure it out. Be sure and do the test that includes DHEA and cortisol since those are both adrenal hormones. If they show that those hormones are either way high, which I rarely see, or in the basement, which is what I most always see, then work to resolve that situation immediately.

Then, there are 2 other very simple, yet powerful nutrients you can supplement to address adrenal fatigue and anybody can find them, vitamin C and vitamin D. 

Make sure that your body is getting lots of vitamin D. Vitamin D from the sun, as well as, from supplementation. I usually suggest a minimum of five thousand IU's a day of vitamin D. 

Vitamin D does lots of other extremely positive things in the system, like boosting immunity, but it's very important as an adrenal support. 

Vitamin C on the other hand is the main nutrient that the adrenal glands are looking for. Make sure you get an adequate amount of vitamin C. 

Vitamin C is such a common element and its been talked about for years, so many people tend to think its not important. But, it is vital so adrenal support.

So, using a “buffered” form of vitamin C is critical. And using a lot, at least 2,000mg - 3,000mg to start, aiming towards 6,000mg - 8,000mg, would be very appropriate. 

A buffered form is important because you're taking large amounts. An alkaline form is not going to cause the problem of stress to the body. Other forms like ascorbic acid, can cause canker sores and other uncomfortable issues. 

When you are under stress or you're experiencing adrenal fatigue, your body needs dramatically increased levels of vitamin C. Having a buffered form of vitamin C is the easiest form for the body to assimilate and use and help support those adrenal glands.”

Question #7: I’ve heard you talk in some of your other videos about the form of vitamin C called sodium ascorbate. Tell us why that is a better form of vitamin C, instead of the very common, ascorbic acid. Why it is better for our system? 

Jackie’s response: “When a woman or a man is suffering from adrenal fatigue, they're going to be craving salt. The snacks that they would reach for would be salty snacks. The reason for that is because the body need sodium along with the vitamins. 

Bonding vitamin C (ascorbate) to a sodium is always going to be preferential for using vitamin C for adrenal support. Your body is exposed to stress on an ongoing basis. You need to get enough sleep, get on a good nutrition program, as well as, support the adrenals with intelligent supplements.” 

WATCH THIS and Learn More About Sodium Ascorbate

Question #8: How long does it take for adrenals to recover?

Jackie’s answer: “You know, it takes time for some adrenals to resolve completely. Because of my lifestyle, I stay on an adrenal support program on an ongoing basis. When I go on vacation and relax, I know my adrenals are getting a rest and my supplement program is filling any deficiencies.

On an on-going basis, my supplement program helps me maintain relatively healthy adrenals when I get home and into the rat race again.

For some, we can see noticeable difference within a month of using the 9 Essential Nutrients program for adrenal support. We we can see a change within a month. 

I’ve had women tell me that just taking the vitamin C in a buffered form is noticeably better, even though they have taken other vitamin C before. It makes such a difference that it was noticeable. Their body calms down, their adrenals were calming down. 

Of course, every woman is unique and so is how her body responds. It’s going to be different for each person. It's going to take longer for those who are under more stress and less time for those of us that handle stress a little bit better. 

But, keeping on an ongoing adrenal support program is very wise for this day and age. It is something I will do forever. 

If you suspect that your adrenals are being compromised, doing a saliva test that includes DHEA and morning cortisol is the first step. The results will be a revelation to you. 

We women sometimes think that we're just doing fine. But a saliva test will reveal the actual state of your adrenals, and just how badly they need support. 

I think that's very important. As I said, an ongoing adrenal support program is imperative. I think that women out there, who are stressed, and who isn’t, should be on an adrenal support program on an ongoing basis. 

Now, that's not taking adrenal hormones, or supplementing with actual adrenal hormone. That's not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about supporting the adrenals with the nutrients that they require. 

This is something that I will do forever, because I live a fairly active lifestyle. Helping hormonally challenged women and men is challenging, so I'm under stress and need all the adrenal support I can get.”

Isn’t Jackie great? She is a treasure trove of great information. Listen, adrenal fatigue is no joke. It can have a huge impact on your hormones and your overall health. 

Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking we can radically reduce the stress in our lives. We need to deal with the reality that stress is here and its negatively impacting us.

This is not the time to bury your head in the sand and pretend its not there, or just hope it will go away. Once your hormones get out of balance, they never correct on their own.

So, let’s do something about it. We have made supporting your adrenals and balancing your hormones naturally, super simple. 

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So, if you are ready to enjoy the amazing benefits of better health through natural hormone balance, SUBSCRIBE to our All-Natural Hormone Balance program TODAY! 

Please reach out if you have any questions, or if there is a topic you would like us to cover in a future article.