Wellness Tips: How Do The Adrenal Glands Affect Your Health:
Learn more about today’s wellness tips topic; how the adrenal glands affect your health.
Today’s wellness tips topic is the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are tiny pyramid shaped glands above each kidney. The adrenal glands produce and release regulatory hormones and chemical messengers such as adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is commonly referred to as hydrocortisone. Cortisol helps to handle long term stress situations.
Hormones produced by the adrenal glands help control the body fluid balance, blood sugar, blood pressure, and other central metabolic functions. During heightened states of stress, the body will increase production of adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones. Poor nutrition and a constant state of stress can weaken the adrenal glands. This can affect thyroid function further decreasing energy levels and mood. Prolonged periods of stress can cause further depletion of the body’s hormones and energy reserves. This may cause the adrenal glands to shrink in size (atrophy) or enlarge in size (hypertrophy). Overproduction of adrenal hormones can weaken the immune system and inhibit production of white blood cells.
Dysfunction of the adrenal glands can affect the body’s blood sugar and metabolism causing weakness, fatigue, and general malaise. Normal sleep rhythms may be disrupted producing an unrelaxed sleep state. A few common causes of adrenal stress include fear, anger, worry, anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, surgery, physical or mental strain, chronic infection or inflammation, trauma or injury, chronic pain, and chronic illness.
If you believe your adrenal glands may be causing some health concerns, please consult your physician. Certain tests are used to determine the health of your adrenal glands such as blood or urine tests. The stress hormones such as cortisol can also be checked by simple blood tests. Here are a few associated symptoms and consequences of impaired adrenal functioning: weakness, nervousness, irritability, apprehension, hypoglycemia, indigestion, osteoporosis, poor memory, insomnia, and low blood pressure.
Treatment of adrenal gland stress involves changes to one’s lifestyle such as eating regularly scheduled meals without skipping a meal. Skipping meals is one of the worst things you can do for your body. Try to eat every two to four hours and never skip breakfast. Eat a meal that contains protein and complex carbohydrates. Avoid caffeine from coffee or sodas that over stimulate the adrenal glands causing depletion of important B vitamins. Today’s wellness tips encourages you to regain your health.
by Kristy Haugen
- Read more wellness tips from this article-Adrenal Fatigue And How To Beat It.
Learn more about how to beat adrenal fatigue.
