No bigger than a walnut and weighing less than a grape, each of your two adrenal function glands sits like a tiny pyramid on top of a kidney (“ad” “renal” means “over” the “kidneys”). But don’t let their small size fool you; these powerful little hormone producing glands manufacture and secrete almost 50 different hormones, including steroid hormones such as adrenalin, cortisol, aldosterone, estrogen, and testosterone – all essential to your health and vitality.

They not only significantly affect the functioning of every single tissue, organ and gland in your body; they also have important effects on the fluid balance control and blood sugar regulation. They even regulate how you think and feel and determine how effective your immune system functions.

The adrenal glands keep your body’s reactions to stress in balance so that they are appropriate and not harmful. For example, the protective activity of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant adrenal hormones like cortisol helps to minimise negative and allergic reactions, such as swelling and inflammation, to alcohol, drugs, foods, environmental allergens, cancer, infection, and autoimmune disorders (like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and the 70 odd other auto-immune conditions).

These hormones closely affect the utilisation of carbohydrates and fats, the conversion of fats and proteins into energy, the distribution of stored fat (especially around your waist and at the sides of your face), normal blood sugar regulation (hypoglycemia is one of the problems related to poor adrenal function), and proper cardiovascular and gastrointestinal function.

After mid-life (menopause in women), the adrenal glands gradually become the major source of the sex hormones circulating throughout the body in both men and women.

These hormones themselves have a whole host of physical, emotional and psychological effects, from the level of your sex drive to the tendency to gain weight.

The most accurate and valuable test for detecting Adrenal Fatigue is a saliva adrenal hormone test for cortisol. We have a range of pathology & diagnostic tests that health practitioners can order from Nutriscript. A kit can be obtained from your health practitioner and the test completed at home.

Although Adrenal Fatigue may only last a short while, especially if it was caused by one transient stressful event, it can be debilitating and last for many years without proper treatment. However, with proper treatment, most people can fully recover from Adrenal Fatigue.

Yes, children are susceptible to the same causative factors for Adrenal Fatigue as adults. Children whose mothers had Adrenal Fatigue during their gestation and/or birth are especially vulnerable to lowered adrenal function. These children are often more sickly, have less ability to handle stressful situations, and take longer to recover from illnesses.

However, they too can greatly benefit from proper adrenal support and healthy lifestyle choices. We often see adolescents and young adults in the clinic with post-viral fatigue syndromes along with Adrenal Fatigue, who benefit tremendously from Dr. Wilson’s Adrenal Fatigue Program.

Yes, in some people the adrenal glands do not return to normal levels of function without help, either because the stress was too great or too prolonged, or because their general health is poor. However, when Adrenal Fatigue becomes chronic, it is almost always because of factors that can be changed through modifications in lifestyle and proper adrenal support.

The guidelines for keeping the adrenal glands healthy are very similar to the overall principles of good health. A moderate lifestyle with good quality food, regular exercise, and adequate rest, combined with a healthy mental attitude to the stresses of life goes a long way towards keeping the adrenal glands strong and resilient.

However, because modern life is so stressful, certain nutritional supplements specially designed for adrenal support are also important to both maintaining healthy adrenal glands and helping depleted adrenal glands to recover.

During any illness dramatically increase intake of Vitamin C, bioflavonoids, magnesium, and pantothenic acid or, better yet, use dietary supplements designed by Dr. Wilson for adrenal support. After an illness, do not try to hit the floor running. Instead take an extra day off work to rejuvenate.

If there is lingering tiredness after an illness, emotional shock or other event that produces Adrenal Fatigue, sleep in late, be especially conscious of eating high quality foods, and avoid caffeine and alcohol. In addition, saunas can be great for detoxifying and unwinding, thus lessening the stress load on the adrenals.

It is not known if there is an actual genetic predisposition for Adrenal Fatigue. However, if one or both parents suffer from Adrenal Fatigue, either chronically or during the time of conception, and if the mother has Adrenal Fatigue during gestation, there is a greater than 50% chance that their children will also suffer from Adrenal Fatigue.

This may be seen as a child with a weak constitution, early allergies, a propensity towards lung infections, a decreased ability to handle stress and longer recovery times after illnesses. Although these children will never have exceptionally strong adrenal glands, much can be done to help them recover using proper adrenal support and healthy lifestyle choices.

The processes that take place in any chronic disease, from arthritis to cancer, places demands on your adrenals. Therefore, as a general rule, if morning fatigue is a symptom of the chronic disease, the adrenals are likely fatigued to some degree. Also, anytime a medical treatment includes the use of corticosteroids, diminished adrenal function is most likely present. All corticosteroids are designed to imitate the actions of cortisol, a hormone secreted by the adrenals, and so the need for them arises primarily when the adrenals are not providing the required amounts of cortisol.

Chronic illness and toxic treatments like chemotherapy are major stressors that the adrenals must respond to. In addition, because of the side effects of chemotherapy, and sometimes the cancer itself, nutrient consumption and absorption is often decreased, further impairing adrenal function. It is very important to provide adrenal support during this time.

Adrenal Fatigue often goes hand in hand with decreased immune function, which makes someone more prone to illnesses. There is an especially strong association between Adrenal Fatigue and respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

Approximately 80% of the people suffering from Adrenal Fatigue also suffer some form of decreased thyroid function. People shown to be low thyroid but unresponsive to thyroid therapy are most likely suffering from Adrenal Fatigue as well. For these people to get well, the adrenals must be supported in addition to the thyroid.

Most people with fibromyalgia have a form of Adrenal Fatigue and sometimes the Adrenal Fatigue precedes the fibromyalgia. Many studies show that people with fibromyalgia also have reduced levels of the adrenal hormone, cortisol. Proper adrenal support improves adrenal function, including the production of cortisol. The subsequent higher levels of cortisol result in reduced signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia.

It can be, a mild depression is often one of the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue. A saliva test for adrenal hormones will determine whether the adrenals are involved when depression occurs.

Adrenal Fatigue is a common, but usually unrecognised, component of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The adrenals can become overloaded with the lingering effects of the infectious agents that originally led to the CFS and the stress of the illness itself. With new diagnostic procedures available for detecting the specific infectious agents responsible, there have been encouraging results using a combination treatment that eliminates the specific pathogens while strengthening the adrenals.

Adrenal Fatigue is a common factor in people with Hepatitis C and HIV. One of the treatments for Hepatitis C is the administration of corticosteroid drugs, this suppresses both the adrenals and the immune system. A relationship has been demonstrated between survival of HIV infected patients and their levels of the adrenal hormone, cortisol. In both Hepatitis C and HIV, adequate adrenal support can be of significant benefit.

Yes, a common complaint from both men and women suffering from Adrenal Fatigue is decreased sex drive. This is because the sex hormones are manufactured by the adrenal glands, as well as by the sex organs themselves. Low adrenal function can lead to low sexual performance and/or low desire. If this diminished libido is the result of Adrenal Fatigue, proper adrenal support that results in adrenal recovery will usually restore sexual desire and performance as well.

Adrenal Fatigue can negatively affect many aspects of a woman’s hormone cycles, including menstrual flow, PMS, perimenopause, and menopause.

Most cases of Adrenal Fatigue can be remedied without prescription drugs. The treatments described in Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Dr. Wilson, combined with the dietary supplements by Dr. Wilson created for Adrenal Fatigue are natural, relatively inexpensive, and very effective. They have been used by many aware physicians and by those with Adrenal Fatigue themselves for recovery from Adrenal Fatigue.

Yes, diet plays a critical role in Adrenal Fatigue. A nutritionally inadequate diet that is high in sugar, caffeine, and junk food places daily stress on the body that the adrenal glands have to respond to and, at the same time, deprives the adrenals of the nutrients they need to function. This alone can lead to Adrenal Fatigue or make the body more vulnerable to it when any additional stress is added.

Similarly, good nutrition helps protect and sustain adrenal function during stress. When Adrenal Fatigue is already present, a healthy diet that supports adrenal function combined with the adrenal supplements created by Dr. Wilson, can lead to recovery.

If they push themselves too hard, skip meals, take drugs (e.g. steroidal drugs), and have a lifestyle that is otherwise not conducive to their health, they can lead themselves into Adrenal Fatigue, the same as anyone else. Relentlessly pushing themselves, as some athletes do, is also a significant risk factor. Additional factors, such as severe injuries, illnesses and emotional stresses can debilitate the adrenal glands of anyone, including athletes.

Not necessarily, there are a variety of factors in addition to exercise that influence adrenal resiliency. It all depends on how many things are stacked in favour of health. The chapters in Part 3 of book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome provides easy to follow information about how anyone, including those with disabilities, can strengthen their adrenal glands.