Reviewed by our Adrenal fatigue is real. It’s when your adrenal glands become so overworked from chronic stress that they can no longer keep up with normal daily functioning. But treating adrenal fatigue naturally is a great option.
The adrenals are small glands that lie on top (ad) of the kidneys (renals). These amazing glands have multiple functions. While the adrenals are endocrine glands producing hormones in response to pituitary stimulus that control carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, the adrenals also respond to neurological stimuli to initiate the fight, flight or freeze response, as well as electrolytes circulating in the blood to control blood pressure, and produce cytokines that influence immune function.
The adrenal glands control blood pressure, orchestrate protein and fat and carbohydrate metabolism; influence the immune system, and run the stress response.
The catabolic adrenal hormone, cortisol, breaks down tissues. Skin, hair, nails, muscles, and organs. Bones break down leading to osteoporosis. Even the gut lining is affected by high levels of cortisol leading to leaky gut syndrome, food allergies and malabsorption.
Remember the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis? Stress induces an adrenaline response which alerts the hypothalamus which in turn stimulates the pituitary to tell the adrenals to produce cortisol to fuel the fight or flight response.
The hypothalamus is the maestro of the entire system. And it does not know the difference between a tiger chasing you and you being late for work. The adrenal response is the same… adrenaline > cortisol > DHEA > cortisone. Over and over and over again, day after day, week after week, for months, maybe years on end, the stress of modern day life puts a toll on the adrenals. Eventually they become fatigued, producing less and less cortisol and DHEA until you can hardly function.
What are the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?
Profound fatigue.
You struggle to wake up in the morning. You need caffeine and sugar to start your day. Your energy crashes in the afternoon. Sometimes you get a second wind at night and cannot sleep. A days circadian rhythm is usually early in the course of adrenal dysfunction.
Hair loss.
Your nails are brittle and slow growing. Your skin is dry and aging fast, although early in the stress response the high cortisol levels will induce oily, acne prone skin. Wounds heal very slowly. This is partially because of the catabolic nature of cortisol and mostly because of the lower production of DHEA that helps you metabolize protein and fat to grow new you (hair, skin, nails and other more important tissues) if your hair, skin and nails are unhealthy, you can bet that your internal organs do not look so good.
You’re sick a lot.
You cannot seem to recover from illnesses. You keep catching one cold after another. All your old viruses come back to haunt you. You break out in old sores, genital warts, relapse with chronic infections like Epstein Barr and hepatitis. Your immune system does not seem to be working properly.
Sugar Cravings.
You crave sugar after you eat. When you eat, cortisol is produced which releases stored sugar so that you have immediate fuel until your food is digested. Tired adrenal glands do not produce enough cortisol and you crave sugar after you eat.
Salt Cravings.
Why? Because your adrenals also make another hormone called aldosterone that regulates salt water balance. Fatigued adrenals do not produce enough aldosterone, so your blood pressure is low. You get up too fast and you feel dizzy. Healthy adrenals produce enough aldosterone to raise your blood pressure twenty points when you rise from a lying to a standing position. Otherwise if you were napping under a tree, how would you be able to get away from that tiger?
Slow Metabolism.
Eventually your thyroid is affected. That’s because thyroid function is controlled by the same hypothalamic hormone as the adrenal glands.
Sex Hormones Decline.
That’s because reproduction is not a necessary function when your body is under profound stress. Most brides experience this stress response when their period shows up on their wedding day. Your adrenals use progesterone to make cortisol. Progesterone stabilizes the lining of the uterus. High stress equals high cortisol production and there is not enough progesterone to regulate the menstrual cycle. Eventually inadequately opposed estrogen leads to heavy, painful periods and fibroids.
Conventional medicine does not recognize adrenal fatigue.
Why? Because while adrenal fatigue is not optimal functioning, it is not a disease. Allopathic practitioners treat diseases. Complete adrenal failure is called Addison’s disease. Your adrenal glands no longer produce cortisol. You need cortisol to survive, so you are given synthetic cortisone for the rest of your life.
Why wait until you have full-blown Addison’s disease? Why not stop before you fall off the cliff?
Integrative medicine recognizes less than optimal functioning as something that can be improved through better lifestyle choices, detoxification, and supplementation.
Adrenal fatigue is recognized by integrative medicine as a treatable condition.
Adaptogenic herbs, B vitamins, essential fatty acids can help adrenal glands recover. Glandular products are also useful initially to support adrenal function. Sometimes bio-identical cortisol and DHEA is prescribed to supplement adrenal function.
I believe the body will heal itself given the proper nutrients. So first I recommend foundational support to heal the adrenals as well as all the organ systems affected by stress. When the adrenals function properly, they will stop hair loss, weight gain, and aging. But the body needs extra nutrients to grow hair and healthy skin, improve body composition to increase lean body mass and decrease body fat, and optimize health.
I recommend hypothalamic support to improve the communication system between the adrenals and the brain. Supporting the hypothalamus allows it to orchestrate the rest of the endocrine system as well as the neurological and immune system to harmonize the symphony of hormones, neurotransmitters and cytokines so your DNA dances optimal health and well being.
Yes, I recommend adrenal glandulars and adaptogenic herbs to boost adrenal activity.
But revving the engine without providing gas and oil will burn out the vehicle.
Genesis Gold® is the fuel the body needs to detoxify, rebuild and heal itself. Sacred Seven® amino acids provides the hypothalamic support to optimize genetic function.
For my patients who need extra support during times of stress, I developed a natural treatment protocol for adrenal fatigue that includes extra adrenal glandular support, adaptogenic herbs, essential nutrients plus homeopathic adrenal cortex with full instructions on how to use supplements. My DMAR Natural Adrenal Therapy is a great rescue measure until your hypothalamus can get back in balance with Genesis Gold® and Sacred Seven®.
Research reference: Neurons containing messenger RNA encoding glutamate decarboxylase in rat hypothalamus demonstrated by in situ hybridization, with special emphasis on cell groups in medial preoptic area, anterior hypothalamic area and dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, Hypothalamic integration of immune function and metabolism
*Statements not reviewed by the FDA.
What is adrenal fatigue and is it a real condition?
Adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands become so overtaxed by chronic, ongoing stress that they can no longer sustain normal hormonal output. The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys and are responsible for regulating cortisol, DHEA, aldosterone, and adrenaline — hormones that govern energy, metabolism, blood pressure, immune function, and the stress response. While conventional medicine does not formally recognize adrenal fatigue as a diagnosable disease, integrative and functional medicine practitioners have long identified it as a state of sub-optimal adrenal function that falls short of full adrenal failure (Addison’s disease) but still significantly impairs quality of life.
What are the most common symptoms of adrenal fatigue?
Adrenal fatigue produces a recognizable cluster of symptoms that tend to worsen over time. The most common include persistent exhaustion that is not relieved by sleep, difficulty waking in the morning, energy crashes in the afternoon, and a second wind late at night that disrupts sleep. Many people also experience hair loss, brittle nails, dry or rapidly aging skin, frequent illness, slow recovery from infections, and the reactivation of old viral infections. Cravings for sugar and salt are hallmark signs — sugar cravings reflect the adrenals’ inability to release stored glucose, while salt cravings point to low aldosterone and the blood pressure instability that follows. Brain fog, slow metabolism, low libido, and irregular menstrual cycles are also common as the condition progresses.
What causes adrenal fatigue?
The root cause is chronic, unrelenting stress that overstimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The hypothalamus — the brain’s master hormonal regulator — initiates the stress cascade every time it perceives a threat, whether physical or psychological. It cannot distinguish between a true emergency and everyday stressors like work pressure, poor sleep, inflammatory food, or emotional strain. Each perceived threat triggers a sequence of adrenaline, cortisol, and DHEA release. When this cycle repeats day after day for months or years, the adrenal glands gradually lose their capacity to respond, and output of these critical hormones declines.
How does cortisol affect the body during adrenal fatigue?
Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, meaning its job is to break down tissue to release energy during stress. In the short term, this is essential for survival. But when cortisol remains chronically elevated — as it does in the early stages of adrenal stress — it begins to break down skin, muscle, hair, nails, bone, and even the gut lining. This is why adrenal fatigue is often associated with accelerated aging, leaky gut, food sensitivities, and poor wound healing. As the adrenals become more fatigued and cortisol production drops, energy regulation collapses and the body struggles to maintain basic metabolic function.
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