- Feeling stressed?
Do you have trouble sleeping?
Craving sugar and gaining weight?
Some may diagnose this cluster of symptoms
as adrenal fatigue, but is it a real condition?
This is an unbiased,
sales-free look at the facts.
Adrenal fatigue refers to a cluster of
common symptoms one might experience when under
long-term mental or emotional stress.
The concept was introduced in 1998
by chiropractor and naturopath James Wilson.
Since then it has become very popular
among alternative health practitioners.
The adrenal glands, small organs above the
kidneys that produce certain hormones,
help to manage stress.
But they are said to grow tired or fatigued
when overworked for a long period of time.
As a result, they produce inadequate
amounts of hormones that influence stress,
such as cortisol.
At least, that's the theory.
In the medical community,
adrenal fatigue is not recognized at all,
so there's clearly a divide here between
alternative medicine and conventional medicine.
Now to answer the question, "Is it real?"
we first need to look at the symptoms
and how it gets diagnosed.
These are several symptoms listed on
James Wilson's AdrenalFatigue.Org website.
So things like always tired, feeling stressed,
struggling to keep up with daily tasks,
strong cravings for sugar and salt.
Now immediately it's clear how broad
and unspecific the symptoms are.
No doubt they're real, but they easily
overlap with other known medical issues.
They're also not measurable,
so there's no validated symptom score
to assess how mild or severe
a case of adrenal fatigue may be.
This becomes an issue because the only
criteria for diagnosing adrenal fatigue
are based on those nonspecific set of symptoms.
Considering those symptoms can't be graded,
it's then actually not possible for a
practitioner to determine what classifies
as adrenal fatigue and what doesn't.
Some practitioners claim it can be measured
and diagnosed using salivary cortisol.
This is useful for helping to diagnose
adrenal insufficiency, which is a
much more serious medical condition.
But researchers note salivary cortisol is not
necessarily representative of blood cortisol,
and numerous other factors, including
adrenal sensitivity, cortisol binding,
estrogens, and HPAA responsitivity,
influence the saliva reading.
This makes it an unreliable
stress biomarker on its own.
Additionally, treatment endpoints are as
nonspecific as the diagnosis.
In other words, without measurements
there is no way to confirm when a patient's
adrenals are corrected or cured.
If this were the case for other common
medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes
or high blood pressure, the doctor or practitioner
would never know when to increase, decrease,
or stop the medication.
You can probably tell that based on these facts,
I'm a bit skeptical now.
But what really doesn't sit right for me
is the thriving adrenal fatigue supplement
marketplace that has emerged.
Supplements and associated natural remedies
for this condition are more common than ever.
Even the creator of adrenal fatigue, James Wilson,
sells his own line of supplements online.
Keep in mind adrenal fatigue is broad and unmeasurable,
so given the nonspecific nature of it,
there's not really a way to develop a
supplement to specifically treat it,
nor is there a way to test if that
supplement is even effective.
Many of the supplements are actually
hormone supplements, which can do
much more harm than good if they aren't required.
For example, a dangerous condition called
adrenal crisis is not uncommon in those who are
receiving inappropriate adrenal hormone treatment.
Now despite all this, many have said that
adrenal fatigue treatment has
restored their health.
They've lost weight, they have more energy,
and they just feel great.
And while this is fantastic to hear,
it's not actually surprising.
The typical treatment protocol for adrenal fatigue
includes eating more fruits and vegetables,
cutting out sugar-laden and starchy junk food,
exercising more, improving sleep quality,
and taking measures to reduce stress.
Now these recommendations address the
fundamental aspects of good health,
also known as the pillars of health.
So anyone who improves one or more of
these diet and lifestyle aspects
will feel better to some degree.
But whether adrenal gland function
actually shifts as a result of these changes
is debatable, and not actually
possible to prove from observation.
It's frustrating if you constantly feel unwell
and you have a doctor that seems unwilling
or unable to find out what the real problem is.
I understand that because the symptoms
are very real, but I'm skeptical that
adrenal fatigue, if it exists,
is actually what's responsible.
Additionally, if the real problem is
more sinister than stressed adrenals,
then accepting adrenal fatigue as the
root cause of your symptoms
would only prolong the time it takes
to discover what's really going on.
In the end, the only thing that's
really clear is that taking measures
to improve your diet consistently
and reducing the stress in your life
is fundamental for good health,
whether adrenal fatigue exists or not.
Thanks for watching.
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