Page 14 - Spring 16

continued from p8
How can we prevent and treat • Eat lots of brightly coloured organic fresh adrenal fatigue? ripe raw vegetables, bursting with nutrients, This largely comes down to lifestyle choices, anti-oxidants and other micro-nutrients reverting to a more natural way of life, for which protect the cells from free radical attack ourselves,ourpets,ourfarmanimalsandeven • Minimize fruit and completely avoid fruit • our plants! Put in ‘human’ terms, the main juices in the mornings as their high sugar things are: content can stress the HPA system. Organic
pears and apples are best; sometimes •
• Drink clean chemical free water (filtered or cherries, plums, papaya, mango, kiwis and
bottled in glass bottles), at least 2 litres per a few grapes, but always organic, to reduce • day at a rate not exceeding 0.5 litres per chemical, toxic stress which can just tip the hour, to rehydrate our cells and turn off the balance for anyone, who is just coping with ‘dehydration alert’ histamine response and almost exhausted adrenals.
reduce our cells’ cholesterol coating. • Organic freshly made green juices are very People with adrenal fatigue usually have hydrating, nourishing and well balanced, difficulty regulating their internal water being rapidly absorbed by the cells; • balance because of lack of aldosterone; preferably include fresh wheat grass juice adding 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon of sea salt or (or powder)
Himalayan Rock salt to every glass of water • Organic whole grains naturally gluten free helps this. As people recover from adrenal and easiest to digest are brown rice, millet, fatigue, their need for salt decreases, so quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, oats and barley vary the amount according to individual • Soak nuts and seeds overnight before • requirements. Green juices and coconut consumption; sprout seeds, pulses and water are more easily absorbed and are grains for maximum nutritional gain
excellent sources of electrolytes in a natural • Eat in a relaxed way, sitting, with music, balance, as well as numerous nutrients and friends, something relaxing and calming micronutrients. For our pets, raw food (i.e. not the news!) and not in a rush. Stress contains vast amounts of perfectly balanced diverts blood from the digestive system so rehydrating fluid. makes it very difficult to digest food properly.
• Eat organic foods rich in EFAs (Essential • Rest and sleep to allow the body to repair • Fatty Acids), especially the omega 3 fatty and regenerate; it is best to be in bed before acids (anti-inflammatory EFAs) to build 10.30pm and avoid the temptation to keep healthy cell membranes, nerve cells and going to get ‘second wind’ after 11 pm; hormones, including cortisol, aldosterone sleep for at least 7 hours, waking naturally
and adrenalin e.g. soaked flax seeds, between 6 and 8am with rising cortisol soaked chia seeds, soaked walnuts, raw levels.
green vegetables; take organic cold • Relearn how to listen to our bodies and live pressed flax oil 1 tablespoonful 1-4 times with the seasons, slowing down as the daily with half the amount of sunflower temperature and daylight decrease, instead • lecithin to increase its absorption by the of turning up the central heating and turning cells; or mix 1 tbs flax oil and 1⁄2 tbs on the lights.
sunflower oil together with a little tamari
sauce and use as a salad dressing. DO NOT It is really important to avoid the irritating eat cooked, processed or heated stimulants. Caffeine (coffee, black tea, • unsaturated fats (oils) as they rapidly chocolate, colas), alcohol, white flour and deteriorate to generate damaging free sugar (e.g. cakes, biscuits, doughnuts, white radicals. In fact, store them in the fridge or bread, pies, pizza) are the most important as freezer in dark glass bottles to protect them these are serious stressors. Not only do they from deterioration and rancidity. Saturated stimulate the HPA axis, but they also rob the fats are the only fats that are not denatured body of nutrients and produce numerous free
by heat, namely coconut oil, butter or ghee, radicals, wreaking havoc in the body and
all of which are solid at room temperature, increasing the visible signs of aging.
so if you feel the need to fry stuff, use these There are supplements and super-foods fats to do it. For our pets, raw food contains that can provide the nutrients your body needs plenty of fat as the major component of all so it can more efficiently and effectively repair. cell membranes (plant and animal) as well
as the obvious fat in and around raw meat
and organs.
capsules (juiced, dried and encapsulated providing all the micronutrients without the sugar). Take 2 of each capsule daily with a large glass of water. Macapowder;thisadaptogenisveryhelpful in the repair of the adrenals. Take 2 heaped tsp daily.
Carob is an excellent nutrient rich caffeine free alternative to chocolate
Gurana (‘Wake-Up’) is a stimulating (drink, chewing gum etc) without using the adrenals, so useful to get you off the caffeine-sugar merry-go-round roller coaster! Green tea or Ulong tea and herb teas are good alternatives
One of the following herbs for a maximum of 6 weeks: He Shou Wu tea, liquorice root, borage (star flower), ashwaghanda or stratavari (females) or astragalus or damiana (males); other mushrooms e.g. reishi, chaga, shitake, cordyceps
Kelp supplies numerous minerals, especially iodine, so important for cellular function and thyroid activity; generally, take 5-10 drops daily. Kelp also supplies potassium and sodium in their natural balanced forms, which helps when aldosterone response is inadequate.
Vitamin B5 (400 mg daily for 3 months at most) is specifically useful short term for nervous system support, but as taking anything in isolation tends to throw the delicate systems out of balance, it would be advisable to accompany this with natural sources of B vitamins like Brewer’s yeast, bee pollen, green leafy vegetables, legumes, bean sprouts, brown rice. Probiotics help to normalise digestion, gut function, immunity and numerous other body activities as yet unidentified as research in this area is relatively new and therefore ongoing.
Magnesium citrate (100 mg morning and lunch time, not in the evening, may increase to 400 mg twice daily according to response) is an easily absorbed form of magnesium, essential for the smooth running of virtually every system in the mammalian body. Of course, it’s best to get our magnesium from green leafy vegetables, especially wheat grass juice (you need to be a herbivore to chew grass effectively enough to gain the nutrients, so let your juicer do the chewing!)
These include:
• Juice Plus; fruit, vegetable and berry
• Ginger compress over kidney area to relax and heal; castor oil compresses to detoxify the adrenals.
Conclusion At the end of the day, we don’t do anyone any favours by allowing ourselves to become completely exhausted and depleted by constantly flogging the poor old dying horse. All we do speed up is untimely demise! Remember to put on your own oxygen mask first or you’ll be no use to anyone!
Further reading and sources Much material for this article comes from an excellent book, Adrenal Fatigue, The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Dr James L Wilson, ISBN 1-890572-15-2
And The Hippocrates Health Institute’s magazine Healing Our World volume 33, issue 3
12