Adrenal supplements are a powerful way to increase adrenal function and overall health. But you need to pick the right one for you. Here’s what you need to know about adrenal support supplements…
Beyond Medication: Achieving Optimal Thyroid Health
May 3, 2023
Understanding Cortisol Slope for Your Adrenals
May 23, 2023Beyond Medication: Achieving Optimal Thyroid Health
May 3, 2023Understanding Cortisol Slope for Your Adrenals
May 23, 2023Recommended Product: Adrenal Energy is a nutritional blend to safely improve fatigue symptoms in those with thyroid disease. Fatigue is one of the top complaints of people with thyroid disease. It can manifest as low energy, poor mental function, and a lack of exercise tolerance. Click Here
How Supplements Can Help
Let’s start by introducing the term ‘adaptogen’ and the relevance of cortisol regulation. For many people, they will have what we call an abnormal cortisol slope.
Typically, you should have a high level of morning cortisol and a low level of evening cortisol, this is a normal cortisol slope. But, it can be abnormal for numerous reasons.
It could be:
- Too high across the board
- Backwards (low in the morning, high in the evening)
- Constantly low
In all of these cases, that correlates directly with a whole host of symptoms and health risks. The trick is getting your cortisol slope right and having a strategy to deal with it.
The old way of thinking went that you needed to push cortisol up or push it down and manipulate it in some way. What we have come to learn, though, is something different.
Key Insight: Your body is using cortisol largely on purpose. To fix things, it is more a matter of helping the body heal itself so the body can better regulate cortisol.
The interesting thing is that we have plants out there which act as adaptogens. True to their name, these things help our body adapt to changes!
At any given moment, our bodies are engaged in tens of thousands of activities to maintain our chemical balance. We call this ‘homeostasis’ or resilience.
The more we can enable our bodies to perform these activities, the better our cortisol slope. This has a positive influence on our overall health and it can help deal with any symptoms.
I have a new blend that is made to work and work simply. Regardless of your current cortisol situation, this blend is completely based upon plants that work in every circumstance.
It’s not quite magic, but it’s close! But, before I tell you more about it, I wanted to spotlight some of these key plants and how they work. That way, you can have the entire story.
Key Ingredients for Adrenal Health
1. Cordyceps
This one is a bit unusual. It is a fungus that is related to dietary mushrooms and grows in the cocoon of the silkworm moth!
It has been studied for quite a long time1. But, recent, high-quality evidence has shown that it is useful. It can:
- Lower inflammation
- Help the body make its own antioxidants
- Raise glycogen stores
- Help regulate the immune system
In one sample study, a group of adults aged 50-75 used either cordyceps or a placebo over a period of twelve weeks. What they found was that their exercise performance increased by over 10% (which was only found in those taking cordyceps)2.
In a short period of time, their bodies were able to generate greater amounts of overall energy. That shows how they were adapting more effectively, and that the stressor of exercise rebounded into greater returns on fitness than otherwise.
2. Panax Ginseng
There are many types of ginseng, and panax is one of them. Panax ginseng has been considered helpful for quite some time.
We now know that panax can lower oxidative stress and improve the mitochondrial function of the skeletal muscle tissue.
In fact, a recent analysis looking at over 140 human studies found that ginseng can help fatigue, and even in the first 15 days results can be very pronounced and dramatic3.
We think a lot about fatigue as one of the hallmark symptoms of adrenal distress. For that, panax ginseng can be quite useful in helping people.
3. L-Theanine
This is a non-essential amino acid. We can find it in many foods, but it is most pronounced in things like tea and green tea specifically (as some of the higher sources).
Theanine improves cognitive function. It does that without having any kind of stimulant effect. It increases alpha waves in the brain and it has neuroprotective effects against the chronic stress response.
In one study, 30 adults took theanine compared to a placebo group, and what they saw was fascinating. What they found was that many found improvements in:
-
- Mood
- Cognitive performance
- Sleep quality
They also saw decreases in depression and anxiety. Interestingly enough, verbal fluency also increased. Their ability to recall and select words also get better due to theanine.
4. Astragalus
In my opinion, astragalus is truly underutilized. Also known as milk vetch, astragalus is a common ingredient in soups that feature in traditional Chinese medicine.
It is fairly safe for pretty much all people, spanning a wide range of conditions, and specifically it can benefit mental function, energy output, and quality of life symptoms.
Key Insight: Astragalus has been shown to really reverse fatigue and help create a greater amount of resilience. It has also been shown to help cognitive and social function, especially.
When you are run down and stressed and feeling frazzled, it is probably better to be around people but it can often be stressful to be around people.
Astragalus changes that. It can help us adapt better to social environments.
5. L-Citrulline
Citrulline malate, otherwise known as L-citrulline, is an amino acid that helps with exercise capacity. Specifically, it acts upon nitric oxide pathways.
These are critical for helping us benefit from exercise. That’s because, under a chronic stress response, exercise can be a bit of a double-edged sword.
While it can be helpful, too much of it can be traumatic. It can even set the body back and worsen the overall stress load we are already struggling to maintain.
L-citrulline has been clearly shown to help strength increases and help with recovery – without the typical side effects4.
Introducing Adrenal Energy
Adrenal Energy is a blend I have created, and what is different about it is that all of these ingredients are fine regardless of your current adrenal levels.
Whether you have too much, too little, or it is backwards, these are all things that can help in every case. If you have a lot of these key symptoms, like:
- Fatigue
- Heightened stress
- Anxiety
- Poor sleep
- Energy crashes
All of these can correlate quite directly with poor adrenal health. That is why this blend, called Adrenal Energy, can be the big boost that your adrenal health deserves.
Adrenal Energy Per Adrenal Level
Now, what happens if you are a bit more advanced? If you have done your testing, and know where you stand with your adrenals, you can also use Adrenal Energy in a more targeted way.
- Those with a healthy current cortisol level, who want to keep it that way, can use one daily in the morning for preventative purposes.
- Those who have higher cortisol throughout the day, a higher stress response, the dosage changes to two capsules in the morning.
- If you are somewhere in the ‘wired and tired’ stage, where your cortisol slope is backwards, the dose becomes one taken twice daily.
- Finally, if your cortisol is consistently low throughout the day, the dosing becomes two, twice daily. It can be a big help.
Discover Adrenal Energy Today
All in all, this is a great example of how nature can help us. It takes finding the right ingredients, in nature, which can be huge needle movers for our overall health. I am really excited to share it with you, because it really shows just how resilient the body is and can become.
Key Insight: Regardless of how bad these symptoms have been, or how long your adrenals have been distressed, I invite you to learn more about Adrenal Energy and to know that things definitely can get better. Don’t feel like you have to give up hope.
Alongside diet and lifestyle changes, Adrenal Energy can play a part in your recovery. When you’re doing things right, all it may take is just a few weeks. Click here to learn more about Adrenal Energy today.
1 – He T, Zhao R, Lu Y, et al. Dual-Directional Immunomodulatory Effects of Corbrin Capsule on Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:1360386. doi:10.1155/2016/1360386
2 – Chen S, Li Z, Krochmal R, Abrazado M, Kim W, Cooper CB. Effect of Cs-4 (Cordyceps sinensis) on exercise performance in healthy older subjects: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(5):585-590. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0226.
3 – Arring NM, Millstine D, Marks LA, Nail LM. Ginseng as a Treatment for Fatigue: A Systematic Review. J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Jul;24(7):624-633. doi: 10.1089/acm.2017.0361. Epub 2018 Apr 6. PMID: 29624410.
4 – F B, L P C, V M, M D, G HB, G G, P G, P N, M AL. High intensity interval training combined with L-citrulline supplementation: Effects on physical performance in healthy older adults. Exp Gerontol. 2020 Oct 15;140:111036. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2020.111036. Epub 2020 Jul 25. PMID: 32721549.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:
1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here
Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.
Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.
