Your Thyroid Part 6…Are Your Adrenals The True Culprit?

Your adrenals, tiny in size – only that of a walnut – but massive in responsibility, are crucial to you having a strong, healthy and balanced thyroid.When they are functioning properly, these small glands help you feel energized when you need to be and relaxed when it is time for rest. They produce cortisol and DHEA, and contribute to the production of estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and so much more. But life’s demands can slowly drain the balancing power and stamina of the adrenal glands. Even the healthiest person’s adrenals become out of balance under chronic, persistent stress.Our body’s stress response — when the adrenals produce the hormone cortisol — is a normal and necessary function. We need cortisol to handle emergencies. However, the stress response is designed to be short-term, with a fairly quick return to a relaxed state of being.

Unfortunately, our adrenals don’t know the difference between a true emergency and the stress from our jobs, relationships, finances, body weight etc. Many of us stay revved up all day in a ‘fight-or-flight’ state. But when cortisol stays elevated like that, our bodies gradually become less sensitive to the mechanism that helps bring it back to normal and allow us to chill the heck out!

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms I hear about from my clients and students. When I talk to these women and ask them to tell me about what’s going on in their lives, all too often the answers reveal they have more responsibility in their lives than seems humanly possible to manage.

They’re waking up still tired and unable to think straight in the morning without caffeine; needing high-carb snacks, additional caffeine, or naps to get through the afternoon, then burning the midnight oil because they’re too wired at this point to sleep. Alcohol or sleep aids are sometimes used to unwind, which can disrupt normal sleep patterns, setting them up for non-refreshing sleep. Pretty soon they’re caught in a seemingly unending cycle of exhaustion and poor nutrition, desperate for the energy and vigor they once had.

If your adrenals become too stressed out and exhausted, your thyroid will begin to suffer. Inhibition of your thyroid and hormone receptors often takes place quietly behind the scenes for years without causing crazy symptoms. And this is why so many women are caught off-guard when they are diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. They think everything has been going fine and all of the sudden, they feel horrible. The fact is, if you’ve been experiencing chronic stress, these stress hormones may have been inhibiting your thyroid function for years. Some people even remain in what is referred to as subclinical hypothyroidism, where their blood work appears to be within the standard normal ranges, but they’re experiencing symptoms.

To learn more about how to heal your adrenals and support your thyroid purchase my new book!

In it you will receive specific guidance to balance out your entire endocrine system, a full week’s meal plan with recipes, a grocery list and Your Simplicity Project ‘On My Way To Feeling Awesome’ Checklist plus SO MUCH MORE!