Adrenal Fatigue: The Hottest New Fake Diagnosis

Do you feel like you have:

• Body Aches
• Weight changes
• Fatigue
• Low blood pressure
• Uncontrolled sugar or caffeine cravings
• Mood swings
• Trouble waking or falling asleep
• Lightheadedness
• Could you possibly have adrenal fatigue?

Nope.  Not a chance.

You’re probably like almost everyone else out there, just generally stressed, too much on your plate and not enough time in the day to do it.  But I’ll say it again, it’s not adrenal fatigue…because adrenal fatigue doesn’t exist..

According to the Endocrine Society: “No scientific proof exists to support adrenal fatigue as a true medical condition.” 

Ok…so, where did the term “adrenal fatigue” come from?

The term originated from a chiropractor (not a medical doctor), James Wilson, in 1998 to describe vague symptoms caused by an alleged  slow or sluggish adrenal glands.  Adrenal glands are small organs located on top of your kidneys that make hormones: cortisol, adrenaline, aldosterone, and noradrenaline. Let’s take a look at the roles these hormones play:.

Cortisol:  It’s the primary stress hormone.  It increases sugars in the bloodstream, enhances your brain’s use of glucose, and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.  It also suppresses other functions in the body that are not needed when you’re stressed, like your appetite for example. 

Adrenaline: Your fight or flight hormone that’s released so more oxygen gets to your muscles and more blood pumps to your heart and lungs.  Bring it on stress, I’m pumped and ready to fight!!!!

Aldosterone: regulates our blood pressure.  Simple.

Noradrenaline: (also called norepinephrine) Increases heart rate and blood pumping from the heart.  In the brain it helps with the sleep-wake cycle.

Easy right?  We feel stressed and our adrenal glands respond by pumping out hormones to prepare us to fight or run. Adrenal fatigue suggests that the adrenal glands get tired from overproducing hormones in response to all the stress in our lives.  But, that’s kind of like saying our lungs get tired of breathing or our heart gets tired of beating and just stops.  NOT the case. There is nothing to indicate in the 20+ years of research since the term first came about to suggest our glands stop working, or even slow down a little.

Right, but I was told by my healer, guru, social media influencer that my symptoms from adrenal fatigue could be fixed with supplements….

Slow your roll. Ok, let’s take it step by step.  If you have a remotely  healthy diet you don’t need supplements.  Take Vitamin C as an example. “Experts” talking about adrenal fatigue say it can become depleted if we’re constantly stressed.   We get PLENTLY of Vitamin C.  It won’t become depleted, we constantly replace it.  Stop wasting money on supplements you don’t need, you’re just making expensive urine.

Even worse are the adrenal support supplements that contain steroids.  If not properly taken or stopped, they can actually cause adrenal insufficiency (or Addison’s Disease), which is a real condition where your adrenal glands do not make enough hormones.  This is treated by an endocrinologist, for life..  

Since supplements aren’t regulated, you might not even know what’s in the adrenal support supplement you’re taking.  A waste of money and potentially harmful. No thank you!

Bottom line

If you have some of the symptoms above and are concerned, please talk to your doctor.  You might think the diagnosis of adrenal fatigue is harmless, but it could be hiding a different problem that is not being addressed..  If you need to, go see an Endocrinologist, a hormone expert.  Please, do not get duped into spending money on at-home saliva tests that show you nothing (they only show a moment in time with no other information and are widely inaccurate).

Your best bet for the symptoms above is taking a big picture approach.  Working on stress management, sleep habits, healthy eating, physical activity, and general mental health.  I know, easier said than done.  Luckily, we can help with the nutrition piece! (shameless plug!)

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy

This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.  We’re here to help.

References

1. Adrenal Fatigue. https://www.endocrine.org/patient-engagement/endocrine-library/adrenal-fatigue
2. Adrenal Hormones. https://www.endocrine.org/patient-engagement/endocrine-library/hormones-and-endocrine-function/adrenal-hormones
3. Adrenal Fatigue Does Not Exist: A Systematic Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997656/