Welcome to the Acr Newsletter!

Volume 25 - October / November 2008

Alex Christie practising homeopath and allergy consultant

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Welcome to the Octiber /November newsletter. For this month’s newsletter I have chosen to speak about adrenal fatigue.  Not only because this is something that increasing numbers of people are presenting with at my clinic, but also because I have recently personally experienced the damaging effects of long-term stress and adrenal exhaustion and wanted to share my experience with you.

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Adrenal Fatigue

For this month’s newsletter I have chosen to speak about adrenal fatigue.  Not only because this is something that increasing numbers of people are presenting with at my clinic, but also because I have recently personally experienced the damaging effects of long-term stress and adrenal exhaustion and wanted to share my experience with you.
My husband and I have been under severe stress for over four years without a break:

This is the equivalent of having about one car crash a month for four years.  The body doesn’t always cope with such prolonged stress.  My husband and I experienced the bleakest period of our marriage.  Stress doesn’t bring out the best in you. 

Early this year I became allergic to increasing numbers of foods: first wheat, then gluten, millet, fruit and even organic humus. My eyes became red, swollen and itchy. I developed hives (red blotches) all over my body – my GP thought it was Chickenpox and prescribed Acyclovir! I was constantly sneezing and my nose and sinuses became blocked with mucus (stress makes you acidic and your body creates mucus to protect the organs from so much acidity – I will be talking about acidity in my next newsletter). Recently my neck swelled up and became red, inflamed and itchy – I think it was the Russet apples I ate….. I realized my immune system was collapsing and that I needed to do something about this if I didn’t want to end up with cancer.

Stress is not something new; it has been around for as long as we humans have been on the planet.  A cold winter in a cave is stressful, but even if you have a warm house and warm clothes winter is still stressful, as is a very hot summer.  All illnesses are stressful; being confronted by a lion (or your employer or ex-spouse) is stressful; financial worries, or any worries for that matter, subject the body to stress; taking an exam is stressful; arguing with your partner is stressful; feeling cheated by life is stressful.

The role of stress has been extensively documented in heart disease, cancer and even car accidents.  From the start stress has been a major killer of humans, so it would be strange indeed if nature had not enabled us to develop an organ charged with the responsibility of responding to stress.

The adrenal glands function as two glands, an inner core or Medulla and an outer part knows as the Cortex.  The Medulla makes the catecholamines: epinephrine and norepinephrine, also called adrenalin and noradrenalin.  These hormones are elevated in response to acute distress, overwhelming fear and/or anger.  They supercharge the body for vicious fighting or an all-out run for safety.  They cause an immediate outpouring of ATP, the molecule that stores energy in muscles, which make you extraordinarily strong for a short period of time (this is how the mother lifted a car off her son single-handed).


                      
http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/Medicine/Physiology/Endocrine/adrenal_gland.jpg

The catecholamines, adrenaline and noradrenalin, are stressful in themselves, if they are released an inappropriately, as happens when you take an animal (like a human being) and by civilising him/her, you prohibit the natural expression of anger and fear: many people are stressed by not being able to express themselves.  In these cases, the metabolism is shifted from aerobic (oxygen burning based) to a combination of aerobic and anaerobic (non oxygen or oxygen deprived) a method approximately eighteen times less efficient in energy production.  This is why the first response of all emergency medicine is to place a patient on oxygen, and thereby reduce the load on the metabolism.

After the initial rush of fight or flight energy, it is in the body’s best interest that the catecholamines simply go away.  Unfortunately, as we grow older catecholamine levels rise progressively and, at the same time, there is a decrease in the levels of the hormones testosterone and hydrocortisone, which balance the catecholamines.  The shift in hormones, as we age, subjects us to constant low-level stress.  The precursor of testosterone is progesterone, which is why we see an increase in stress-related problems at the time of both the male and the female menopause.

Fortunately, there is more to the stress response than the adrenal medulla with its catecholamines.  Nature has invented the adrenal cortices as a mechanism for dealing with chronic stress, defined as stress lasting for more than a few minutes.

The adrenal cortex fits over the adrenal medulla and is designed to respond to all stresses that are not of the acute variety.  They do this by manufacturing the steroid hormones, cortisone, hydrocortisone, testosterone, oestrogen, 17-hydroxy-ketosteroids, DHEA and DHEA sulfate, cholesterol, pregnenolone, aldosterone, androstenedione, progesterone and a variety of intermediary hormones.  The adrenals are the major steroid factories of the body.


 

 

 

 

 


 In the adrenal glands there are two separate laboratories that produce very important hormones. The first is the adrenal cortex; the other is the adrenal medulla. The hormones produced in these laboratories are essential for human life.
http://www.creationofman.net/chapter3/res/95.jpg

Under conditions of physiological and psychological stress cortisol can be released in high amounts in response to the stress stimulus.  It is this increased cortisol production that is linked with obesity, suppressed thyroid function and a host of other serious health consequences.

Most of the hormones made in the adrenal glands are made also at other locations in the body.  Aldosterone, cortisone, and hydrocortisone however are made only in the adrenal glands, and are the most important for the chronic stress response.

Aldosterone is the so-called “mineralocorticoid” and while you may read of the mineralocorticoids, aldosterone is actually the only one.  Aldosterone works together with the kidneys to regulate the balance of minerals in the body, which is critically important in a healthy stress response.

Cortisone and hydrocortisone are the major “glucocorticoids”, and help regulate the level of glucose in the body through a process known as “gluconeogenesis”.  This means “glucose new creation”, which is accomplished by the conversion of protein to glucose.  The importance of protein in the diet means that raw food and vegan diets can often be counter productive in a state of acute adrenal fatigue.

This physiology is especially important for the immune system, which is seriously impaired when the adrenals are weak.  This opens the way for a variety of bizarre infections, which could never get a foothold in the body in the absence of compromised adrenal glands.  Anyone who is especially susceptible to infections probably has weakened adrenals, thyroid gland, or both, and therefore, a weakened immune system.

The incidence of autoimmune disease also increases in the presence of weak adrenals. 

It may be that the adrenal glands regulate the immune system in such a way that autoimmune disease is not allowed to develop, and that when the adrenals become depleted, this regulation may be less effective, allowing the immune system to attack certain cells of the body as if they were foreign invaders.  This can be observed by the effective use of steroids in immune system disorders.  It is well-known that certain hormones of the adrenal gland are useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus, etc.  In normal circumstances, the adrenal glands are packed with aldosterone, cortisone and hydrocortisone, so when there is stress and more energy is needed, these hormones are released, and cellular energy is then liberated, resolving the problem as we return to a relaxed condition.

When the adrenals are chronically overworked and straining to maintain high cortisol levels, they lose the capacity to produce DHEA in sufficient amounts. DHEA (the full name is dehydroepiandrosterone) is a precursor hormone to estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and is necessary to moderate the balance of hormones in your body. Insufficient DHEA contributes to fatigue, bone loss, loss of muscle mass, depression, aching joints, decreased sex drive, and impaired immune function.

However, the adrenal glands do not have infinite resources to deal with stress.

If the level of stress is exceeded, the adrenals respond as well as they can by making all the aldosterone, cortisone and hydrocortisone they can, releasing it, making some more, releasing it and so on.  Finally, they may become exhausted, and you have to take a few days off work – because you just can’t manage any more.  You recover after a few days’ rest, and then return to expose yourself to the same stress pattern again.  Many people never learn and subject themselves to a continual cycle of abuse, so the cycle of stress repeats itself, as does the illness.
After a few months or years of chronic stress the adrenal glands become so weak, that even after a rest they are unable to respond to stress in a normal manner.  The most common clinical manifestation of this condition is chronic fatigue, a condition that is increasing in our society at an alarming rate.

Other signs of weak adrenal function are overeating and weight gain, which is again rife in our society.  When the adrenals are completely non-functional, the result is weight-loss, excessive loss of salt from the kidneys and abnormally low blood pressure.  This condition is most commonly seen in females.  A tall, thin, (usually blonde) woman with low blood pressure is suffering from Addison’s Disease (adrenal failure) until proven otherwise.  I wonder how many people are wandering around proud of their low blood pressure, when they should be as concerned as those who have high blood pressure?  When the adrenals are failing this condition is associated with abdominal weight gain that does not respond to diets or dieting.

A client will often complain that they “eat an ounce and gain a pound” overnight.

Medical thinking has polarized on the subject of adrenal function, so that, in the minds of most doctors, a person is either in a normal condition or has Addison’s Disease (complete adrenal failure) with no possibility for middle ground.  This polarisation came about in the early days of treatment with adrenal steroids in the 1950s,when cortisone and hydrocortisone became available.  Doctors did not know, and were given little to no guidance as to the proper dosage level, they often guessed too high and as a result were faced with serious side effects.  This lead to them becoming extremely cautious, almost to the point of phobia about the use of adrenal steroids.

To allay their fears of disaster, they created a working rule of thumb that patients were only allowed to have complete failure of the adrenals, under-functioning adrenals were not considered at all. In this scenario if a person shows up with complete failure of the adrenals (Addison’s Disease), naturally the only thing to do would be to treat with adrenal steroids. If failure is not complete, the patient is defined as “normal” and not in need of treatment.  The problem is in deciding when does 80%-90% move into complete failure of function; is it days, months or years of misery?

In the strange world of adrenal fatigue, it is better to have complete adrenal failure than to have adrenal fatigue when you see your doctor, because in that case you at least receive treatment.

However, there is a treatable middle-ground called adrenal fatigue.  Total failure of adrenal function (Addison’s Disease) probably is a condition having something to do with incomplete development of the adrenal glands during the embryonic stage of life, or destruction of the adrenal glands by a disease process, such as TB.

The medical diagnosis of adrenal fatigue is made through an adrenal pane (i.e. the measurement of the level of a variety of adrenal hormones at just one moment).  However, just as with thyroid dysfunction, “normal” levels may be insufficient for the stress to which that person is subjected to show a result.  Resting (non-stress) levels bear little relationship to the adrenal glands’ ability to increase production to counter the effects of stress.  The best way to test if you are adrenally exhausted is to test your cortisol and DHEA levels at four different times of the day.  Genova Diagnostics run these tests and give an explanation of the results so you can understand them.  To see a test sample visit:
www.genovadiagnostics.com/files/profile_assets/
sample_report/Adrenocortex_report.pdf

A person who becomes exhausted after stress, and remains exhausted, should be considered adrenal fatigued, until proven otherwise.  The diagnosis can be suspected when the patient reports that they are exhausted for days after vigorous exercise.  A person who used to run three miles, four times each week, who can no longer tolerate running one mile without being out for days or weeks, is highly suspect of having fatigued adrenal glands.

The adrenals produce glucocorticoids which stimulate the liver to release stored blood sugar thus enabling the blood sugar levels to rise to meet physical demands such as running, working, concentration and stress situations etc.  If the adrenal function has become over stressed by excessive demands, or has been depleted and weakened by shock or illness, the adrenal stimulation of the liver can become erratic, which greatly affects the blood sugar synthesis.  In effect it’s a bit like a car that has an accelerator peddle made out of rubber, sometimes it gives you what is needed, at other times it responds in the strangest of ways.  This has the effect of producing weird highs and depressive lows and compounds the general strangeness of the often-accompanying hypoglycaemic condition.

All too often when confronted with a vast array of symptoms, you can feel you are going mad and some believe their GP or endocrine specialist when he insists it’s all in the mind and the only option is to take anti-depressants.  What is never offered is naturopathic intervention, which will soon create a level of stability in the sufferers.

Adrenal Depletion and Backache

The relationship of adrenal depletion to backache is interesting.  As the adrenals become depleted the body tries to counter this by a process called hypertrophy, or swelling.  One direct result of adrenal hypertrophy is backache as the swollen adrenal glands press on the surrounding tissue and nerves.

By stimulating the adrenals you can lower the discomfort.  Short bursts of exercise often ease the discomfort because of the increase of the circulation of adrenal corticosteroids, which are effective painkillers.  This achieves a short-term reduction in symptoms while further depleting the adrenals.  It is not uncommon for an adrenal backache sufferer to exercise two to three times a day to try to relieve the discomfort and energy depletion.  Eventually, they can no longer maintain the levels of adrenal stress and stimulation they are subjecting their body to and they experience some kind of physical collapse i.e. chronic back pain, migraine, constant headaches, chronic fatigue, ME, glandular fever, hypoglycaemia etc.  All of these have one thing in common; they are physical immobilisers.

The problem of reduced adrenal function is further compounded by the effect of long-term suppression of the thyroid function.  Recent research carried out in USA suggests that constant adrenal simulation can suppress thyroid function.  The thyroid sets the metabolic rate and is directly responsible for the rate of energy conversion in the body.  The long-term effect of adrenal over-simulation and depletion can lead to chronic lethargy and weight-gain as the thyroid function becomes suppressed. 

Eventually the entire hormonal system slows down to the lowest possible function leaving you to function at a greatly reduced pace and unable to take on any form of stress or exertion.  The poor adrenal function can often be identified in its early stages by signs of poor thyroid function i.e. morning fatigue and headaches.

Foods and Alcohol as Stressors

Dr Seale Harris, in his early description of the condition, noted that excessive ingestion of refined foods, particularly refined white sugar, alcohol and white flour products, can cause the syndrome, since refined foods lack the full spectrum of raw materials for normal metabolism.  Eating refined foods upsets the sugar regulating machinery by introducing substances into the metabolism, which do not bring with them the vitamins, minerals and trace elements essential for efficient utilisation.  For instance, refined sugar stimulates the pancreas, which reacts to produce insulin as if a large amount of complex carbohydrate were eaten.  It is insulin’s job to react to the level of circulating blood sugar to lower the level of blood sugar to acceptable levels and to deliver blood sugar to the cells of the body.  Refined sugar registers quickly through absorption from the intestines, so the blood sugar registers high, and insulin works to lower the level and eventually pushes the level to below normal.  At that point the adrenal medulla produces glucocorticoids to block the secretion of insulin in response to reactive hypoglycaemia, and signals the liver and muscles to break down and put into circulation stored sources of blood sugar.  The adrenal cortex produces hormones that are necessary for the metabolism of sugar while at the same time blocking the action of insulin. 

Any food or function that raises the blood sugar level automatically affects adrenal function.

At this point the ingestion of refined foods throughout the day is continually challenging the adrenal function, which literally has no time to rest.

How do I know if I have Adrenal Exhaustion?
The signs and symptoms are many and varied.  If you find you are experiencing several of the following then it is likely you are adrenally exhausted:

Adrenal Exhaustion Signs and Symptoms:

If adrenal depletion continues untreated it leads to chronic illnesses.

How to treat Adrenal Exhaustion
Nutrition

Because of the long-term deficits created by inadequate food and over-consumption of refined foods prior to treatment, a full range of vitamin and mineral supplements is appropriate.  No single vitamin, mineral or food cures or controls adrenal function or hypoglycaemia.  Any deviation in diet such as skipping meals or snacks, eating refined foods, or drinking coffee or alcohol will cause a return of symptoms and delay recovery.  Compromised adrenal function is intimately involved with hypoglycaemia and may be a forerunner of maturity onset diabetes.  Studies have shown that functional hypoglycaemia, treated early, can prevent progression to the diabetic state if the diet is followed.
You should avoid all sweet and sugar-containing foods.  Proteins and good quality fats and oils should be eaten on a regular basis.

Supplements:

The following is a list of the supplements I have found best treat adrenal exhaustion.  Since every person varies in what supplementation best suits them I always test patients using kinesiology to find what combination best suits them:

Herbs

Homeopathic remedies
I tend to make a combination using several of the following remedies:

Also

Naturopathic Approaches to Treatment

Here are some other simple ways to gently support your body’s natural cortisol cycle:

Jason Vale’s Turbo-Charge Smoothie
This smoothie is rich, creamy and loaded with six essential dietary needs.  The blended avocado provides fibre and plenty of satisfying ‘good’ fat and protein.  Packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this smoothie has been designed to nourish every cell in your body.

¼ cucumber
1 stick celery
½ small pineapple or ¼ large pineapple peeled and chopped
Handful of spinach leaves
4 organic apples chopped
Flesh of ½ ripe avocado
2 scoops Nutri bio-pure protein
1 – 2 scoops SuperGreens (Metabolics or another good brand)
¼ lime peeled
Small handful ice

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REFERENCES

Suppliers

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References:

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ALEX CHRISITE CLINICS

Alex Christie practising homeopath and allergy consultant
Alex Christie

Barnsbury Clinic and Neal's Yard Remedies Clinic. Times and locations are listed below.

• Neal's Yard Remedies Clinic
112 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 4SA
Consultation Times: Tuesdays 10.15 am - 7.30 pm

(Tel: 020 7935 0656)

E-mail: marylebone@nealsyardremedies.com

Click her for directions and maps to the above locations.
Not local but think I can help?
Feel free to email me for an online consultation instead.

• Barnsbury Clinic
5 Belitha Villas, Islington, N1 1PE
Consultation Times: Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.00 am - 7.00 pm

(Tel: 020 7609 1352)

E-mail: For a consultation

ADDITIONAL HEALTH RELATED INFORMATION

• Visit my web site for more information
• Find out more about Homeopathy
• Find out more about Homeopathic consultation and treatments
• Not sure if I can help? View some of my case histories

BROCHURES YOU CAN DOWNLOAD

• Download my Allergy Brochure
• Download my Candida Brochure
• Download my Homeopathy Brochure
• Download my Brochure on Stress & Emotion Management

Yours in health,

Alex Christie
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Contact me via email
Visit my web site to find out more

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