If you feel fatigued, even after sufficient amounts of sleep, your adrenal glands may be the cause. Your adrenal glands lie below the ribs of each side of your back. The proper nutritional approach may help you re-vitalize the health of your adrenal glands. However, talk to your doctor before trying to prevent, treat or cure adrenal gland burnout.
Explained
Adrenal burnout is not a diagnosis accepted by the medical community because available blood tests do not detect such small changes in the blood that occur in adrenal burnout, according to an article posted in April 2011 by Mayolinic.com. According to the author, the theory of adrenal burnout is the inability of the adrenal glands to produce enough hormone. This can lead to body aches, tiredness and low blood pressure, among other symptoms.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is an amino acid, or protein component, that is needed to make the hormone epinephrine, also called adrenaline, according to the book "Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry." Epinephrine is an adrenal gland hormone that helps the body deal with stress. It also nourishes over-worked adrenal glands. Tyrosine supplementation has been proposed as a way to replenish the adrenal glands, according to an article published in 2010 in "Adrenal Fatigue & Overtraining in the Athlete." Tyrosine is sold as a supplement and it exists in foods, including dairy and chicken. The body can also make tyrosine from phenylalanine, an amino acid that must be obtained from food. Phenylalanine is found in foods such as beef, fish, veal, turnip greens and spinach.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important to your adrenal health. When absorbed, it is converted to ascorbate, a form of vitamin C needed for many functions in the body, according to an article published in March 2009 in "Free Radical Biology and Medicine." Vitamin C helps the adrenal glands produce catecholamines, or hormones such as dopamine. Dopamine is the brain chemical that produces feelings of well-being.
Omega-3s
To support your adrenal glands, consider taking omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats in fish oil. According to an article published in 2010 in "Psychosomatic Medicine," omega-3s affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the control center for the adrenal gland hormones. High fat meals can cause inflammation in the body that can burden your adrenal glands. However, omega-3 fats can diminish this effect of unhealthy fats on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, according to the authors.
References
- "Mayo Clinic"; Adrenal Fatigue: What Causes It?; Todd B. Nippoldt, M.D.; April 2011
- "Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry"; Robert K. Murray et al.; 2009
- "Adrenal Fatigue & Overtraining in the Athlete"; Adrenal Fatigue & Overtraining in the Athlete: a Nutritional Perspective on Pathology and Treatment of Overtraining Syndrome: An "exhaustive" Review; Matt Lovell; et al.; 2010
- "Free Radical Biology and Medicine"; Vitamin C Function in the Brain: Vital Role of the Ascorbate Transporter SVCT2; Fiona E. Harrison and James M. May; March 2009
- "Psychosomatic Medicine"; Stress, Food, and Inflammation: Psychoneuroimmunology and Nutrition at the Cutting Edge; Janice K. Kielcolt-Glaser; 2010
