What Makes Astaxanthin Such a Potent Antioxidant

  Only 4 mg of This May Help You Maintain Youthfulness

 

May 10 2012 | 105,195 views

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Story at-a-glance

• Astaxanthin, the natural compound that makes salmon, crabs, lobsters, shrimp and flamingos pink or red, has unique anti-aging potential
• Astaxanthin exerts a unique protective action on the cell membranes as well as on mitochondrial function (mitochondrial decline is thought to contribute to the aging process)
• Astaxanthin’s benefits are extensive and diverse, including protection against DNA damage, boosted immunity, improved cognition and lowered triglycerides
• Synthetic astaxanthin has a different molecular profile than natural astaxanthin, and may not provide the same benefits

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By Dr. Mercola

Even if you've never heard of astaxanthin, a carotenoid derived from the microalgae Haematoccous pluvialis, you've surely seen it.
This is the compound that makes salmon, crabs, lobsters, shrimp and flamingos, which eat the algae, red or pink.
It also happens to be emerging as one of the world's most powerful antioxidants, with diverse health benefits that run the gamut from protection against oxidative stress to slowing age-related functional decline.
In fact, while astaxanthin is most often revered for its antioxidant potential, an article in Alternative Medicine Review recently highlighted its unique anti-aging potential as well.

What Makes Astaxanthin Such a Potent Antioxidant?

Antioxidants are crucial to your health, as they are believed to help control how fast you age by combating free radicals, which are at the heart of age-related cellular deterioration.
Free radicals are generated in response to environmental toxins, such as cigarette smoke, chemicals, sunlight, cosmic and manmade radiation, and are even a key byproduct of ingesting and detoxifying pharmaceutical drugs.
Free radicals are also produced as a result of normal metabolic processes in your body, but can rise to harmful levels when you have abnormally high inflammation or when you exercise intensely.
A free radical is a highly reactive molecule missing one or more electrons—it has at least one unpaired electron. These "partial molecules" aggressively look to replace their missing parts by attacking other molecules. This continual search by free radicals for missing electons is largely responsible for the process of biological oxidation.
Lipids in cell membranes are quite prone to oxidative damage because these are often the first biomolecules free radicals come into contact with, resulting in "lipid peroxidation," i.e. rancidity. When a cell membrane becomes oxidized, it becomes brittle and leaky. Eventually, the cell falls apart and dies.
While by definition any antioxidant is capable of inhibiting the oxidation of another molecule by sacrificing their own electrons to quell free radicals, without becoming free radicals themselves, astaxanthin exerts a unique protective action on the cell membranes.
Other attributes that make astaxanthin particularly unique are also mentioned.
As noted in Alternative Medicine Review:

"This molecule [astaxanthin] neutralizes free radicals or other oxidants by either accepting or donating electrons, and without being destroyed or becoming a pro-oxidant in the process. Its linear, polar-nonpolar-polar molecular layout equips it to precisely insert into the membrane and span its entire width. In this position, astaxanthin can intercept reactive molecular species within the membrane's hydrophobic interior and along its hydrophilic boundaries.
… In its position spanning the membrane, astaxanthin provides versatile antioxidant actions, including:

• Donating electrons to unpaired electrons to neutralize free radicals; [and] pulling away ("abstracting") an unpaired electron, which also can neutralize a radical
• Bonding with the radical to form an unreactive "adduct";
• Conducting electrons or electronic energy out of the membrane:
• Neutralizing radical species of nitrogen, sulfur, or carbon, in addition to oxygen
• Carrying very low net molecular energy, therefore providing resistance to transformation into a pro-oxidant molecule."

Benefits Go Far Beyond Protection from Oxidative Stress

The new report highlights that astaxanthin is not an ordinary antioxidant by any stretch of the imagination. Its "clinical success extends beyond protection against oxidative stress and inflammation, to demonstrable promise for slowing age-related functional decline."
Part of the reason for this has to do with its effect on mitochondrial function, as mitochondrial decline due to cumulative reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage is thought to contribute to the aging process. The review explains that astaxanthin not only protected the mitochondria against a decline of membrane function, but also it actually increased mitochondrial activity by increasing oxygen consumption -- without increasing generation of ROS. There are other anti-aging benefits as well; among the diverse benefits reviewed are:

Lowered oxidative stress in overweight and obese subjects, and in smokers	Blocking oxidative DNA damage	Lowered C-reactive protein and other inflammation biomarkers	Boosted immunity
Lowered triglycerides	Increased HDL cholesterol	Improved blood flow	Improved cognition
Boosted proliferation and differentiation of cultured nerve stem cells	Improved visual acuity and eye accommodation	Improved reproductive performance in men	Improved reflux symptoms in H. pylori symptoms
Promise for enhanced sports performance (soccer)	In cultured cells, astaxanthin protected the mitochondria against endogenous oxygen radicals	Conserved redox (antioxidant) capacity in cultured cells	Enhanced cultured cell energy production efficiency

I've also previously discussed several health benefits of astaxanthin in great depth, so for more information about its use for the following health problems use the search feature above or click on the links below:

• Eye health, including protection against cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness
• Inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and more
• Sunburn and wrinkle prevention
• Improved athletic performance
• Better brain health

Be on the Lookout for Synthetic Imposters

Like animal-based omega-3 fat, astaxanthin is an exception to my general rule to obtain your nutrients from food, whenever possible. Since it would be quite difficult to get therapeutic amounts of astaxanthin in your diet, it's a supplement worthy of consideration.
That said, dietary sources of astaxanthin include salmon, shrimp, lobster and crab. However, it's important to make sure it's wild-caught if you want to reap any of its benefits. Avoiding farm-raised fish is good advice overall, but especially when it comes to salmon, as it typically will not contain natural astaxanthin. If your salmon label does not read "wild", you may be eating a coloring agent somewhat closer to motor oil than to an antioxidant ...
As researchers noted, the benefits noted above are regarding natural, not synthetic, astaxanthin:

"Although synthetic astaxanthin is available, it has a different molecular profile than the natural material, as do certain manufactured astaxanthin esters. This review is therefore restricted to natural astaxanthin … "

Here's another interesting tidbit from Dr. Rudi Moerck, who has advanced training in biological sciences, and is an expert on fats and antioxidants:

"If you look at the structure of astaxanthin, it's a very long molecule; the center of which is extremely fat soluble. That's why it goes into the membranes of your body and then the fatty tissue. When you look at a salmon you see that redness in a salmon. That color is really in the membranes and in the fat portion of the salmon associated with omega-3 DHA. They're right next to each other. That actually keeps the DHA from oxidizing. DHA is an unsaturated fatty acid. If you just leave it exposed to oxygen, it goes rancid. … And in krill, one of the reasons why krill is so incredibly stable is it has astaxanthin in it. That keeps it from oxidizing."

Krill oil, due to its astaxanthin content, will remain undamaged by a steady flow of oxygen for an impressive 190 hours, according to tests conducted by Dr. Moerck.
You'd have to consume three-quarters of a pound of wild-caught sockeye salmon, which contains the highest amounts of astaxanthin of all the marine foods, to receive the same amount of astaxanthin you'd get in a 4 mg capsule if you were to take a supplement. For these reasons, considering an astaxanthin supplement may be advisable. I recommend starting out taking 2 mg/day, and slowly increasing it to 4 mg/day. You can either use an astaxanthin supplement, or take krill oil, which contains it. Just make sure to check the label to determine how much astaxanthin you're getting in each dose.
The only documented side effect of astaxanthin is that it may turn your skin slightly pink, which is typically considered to be a cosmetic benefit. For optimal absorption, astaxanthin should be consumed along with fats, or just prior to a meal.

Incluso si Usted Come “Perfectamente”, El No Sabe Esto Podría Dejarlo Deprimido

Publicado Por Dr. Mercola | 15 de May 2011

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Cada ser humano sirve como hogar para miles de diferentes especies de microbios. Pero los científicos están informando ahora que existen tres distintos ecosistemas microbianos en los intestinos de las personas que han sometido a los estudios.
Los tres "entereotypes", no mostraron ningún vinculo especifico con el origen étnico, sexo, peso, salud o edad. Una posibilidad es que los intestinos de los niños son simplemente colonizados al azar por diferentes especies pioneras de microbios, las cuales alteran el intestino de modo que solo esas especies en particular pueden seguirlas.
El New York Times reportó:

"Cualquiera que sea la causa de los diferentes entereotypes, podrían llegar a tener efectos discretos en la salud de las personas. Los microbios intestinales ayudan a la digestión de los alimentos y a la síntesis de las vitaminas…por ejemplo, el Entereotype 1 produce más enzimas para hacer mas vitamina B7 (también conocida como biotina), el Entereotype 2 produce más enzimas para hacer mas vitamina B1 (tiamina)."

Fuentes:

• New York Times April 20, 2011
• Medical News Today April 21, 2011
• Medical News Today April 21, 2011
• Nature April 20, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Comentarios del Dr. Mercola

Este es un hallazgo interesante, sobre todo al darnos cuenta de que el tipo nutricional está siendo cada vez más utilizado por los médicos que practican la "medicina individualizada". Por ejemplo, un plan de alimentación personalizado basado en el tipo nutricional de su paciente es la clave del exitoso tratamiento no tradicional contra el cáncer del Dr. Nicholas González.
Adaptar su dieta a sus propias necesidades bioquímicas es también el sello de mi programa Total de Salud.
Creo que el comer de acuerdo a su tipo nutricional es tan esencial para ayudar a optimizar su salud que ahora estoy ofreciendo el examen para identificar su tipo nutricional en línea gratis. Antes cobrábamos $29 USD por el examen, pero decidimos que este es un paso muy importante y por lo tanto tomamos la decisión de ofrecerlo gratis. Así que, si aun no lo ha hecho, lo invito a que lo haga lo más pronto posible.
Por favor, recuerde que, no es un examen que le dirá con exactitud los alimentos que debe consumir sino que es un proceso para ayudarle a descubrir los alimentos que le ayudaran a sentirse bien basado en su bioquímica especifica y genes. Le enseñara, a lo largo de varios meses, la manera de determinar los mejores alimentos para usted.
En este estudio, que apoya al tipo nutricional, el investigador líder Peer Bork sugiere que uno de los potenciales beneficios "obvios" de su hallazgo es que los doctores puedan algún día adaptar las dietas o recetas medicas basado en el entereotype gastrointestinal de cada persona.

Otras de las interesantes posibilidades es el uso del tipo de gen. El Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski y su hijo, el Dr. Gregory Burzynski, ya emplean terapias de genes en el tratamiento contra el cáncer, y su enfoque también incluye dietas personalizadas, adaptadas a las características genéticas de cada paciente.

Se Han Descubierto Tres Tipos de Ecosistemas Intestinales

Si considera que sus intestinos contienen cerca de 100 trillones de bacterias, puede parecer sorprendente pensar que las personas puedan entrar en uno de los tres diferentes tipos de ecosistemas bacterianos--- cada uno compuesto por un balance diferente de varias especies de bacteria. Pero eso tiene lógica cuando lo ve como parte integral de su tipo nutricional.
Hasta el momento, no sabemos qué entereotype corresponde a que tipo nutricional, pero eso lo sabremos eventualmente.
Recuerde, su cuerpo responde únicamente a la alimentación – el combustible - basado en su genética, composición bioquímica, historia familiar, y su propia interacción con su entorno. El tipo nutricional también esta divido en tres diferentes grupos:

1. Los tipos carbohidratos se sienten mejor cuando la mayoría, cerca del 60 por ciento, de sus alimentos son carbohidratos de vegetales, junto con 25 por ciento de proteína y 15 por ciento de grasa, pero este tipo nutricional podría necesitar solo 10 por ciento de grasa y un 80 por ciento de carbohidratos en tiempos excepcionales.
2. Los tipos proteína se sienten mejor con una dieta baja en carbohidratos, alta en proteína y en grasa. Una relación típica podría ser de 40 por ciento proteína y 30 por ciento de grasas y 30 por ciento de carbohidratos, pero las cantidades podrían fácilmente ser 50 por ciento grasas y solo 10 por ciento de carbohidratos dependiendo de las necesidades genéticas individuales.
3. Los tipos mixtos se encuentran entre los tipos carbohidratos y proteínas.

Dado a que los microbios del intestino ayudan a la digestión de alimentos y a la absorción de nutrientes, y ayudan a sintetizar las vitaminas mediante la creación de enzimas especificas, es obvio que los diferentes tipos nutricionales tienen necesidades especializadas de flora intestinal para optimizar la utilización de su combustible dietético ideal...

La Poderosa Conexión entre su Intestino y su Cerebro

La mayoría de las personas no se dan cuenta que su intestino es literalmente su segundo cerebro, y que además de digerir los alimentos, el intestino tiene la capacidad de influenciar significativamente en su:

• Mente
• Estado de ánimo
• Comportamiento

No es un hecho entendido ampliamente o enfatizado, pero los estudios han mostrado repetidamente que un intestino sano refuerza una visión y comportamiento positivos, mientras que la depresión y una gran variedad de problemas de conducta han sido vinculados con un desequilibrio o falta de bacterias intestinales.
Por ejemplo, un estudio reciente en animales publicado en la revista Neurogastroenterology & Mortality, descubrió que los ratones que carecen de bacteria intestinal se comportan de manera diferente a los ratones normales, en función con lo que se conoce como “comportamiento de alto riesgo”. Este comportamiento alterado fue acompañado con cambios neuroquímicos en el cerebro de los ratones.
Según los autores, la microbiota, (su flora intestinal) desempeña un papel en la comunicación entre el intestino y el cerebro, y:

"La adquisición de la microbiata intestinal durante en el periodo postnatal inmediato tiene una influencia determinante en el desarrollo y funcionamiento de los sistemas digestivo, inmunológico, neuroendocrino y metabólico. Por ejemplo, la presencia de la microbiata intestinal regula el punto de ajuste de la actividad del eje hipotalámico-pituitario-adrenal (HPA)."

Así que, este estudio no solo se integra perfectamente con la teoría de que su flora intestinal podría ser un gran factor en su tipo nutricional, sino que también ayuda a explicar la manera en que su alimentación y flora intestinal pueden impactar su salud mental, ya sea para bien o para mal.

Recuerde, su alimentación es en gran medida responsable por su salud intestinal, y cuando usted alimenta su cuerpo con el combustible diseñado específicamente para él, su flora intestinal será capaz de mantener una balance óptimo, que a su vez favorece la salud óptima mental y física.
La conexión intrínseca entre su intestino y su cerebro es fácil de entender una vez que sabe que su cerebro y su intestino están hechos del mismo tipo de tejido. Durante el desarrollo del feto, una parte se convierte en sistema nervioso central mientras que la otra parte se convierte en sistema nervioso entérico. Estos dos sistemas están conectados a través de un nervio vago; el nervio craneal decimo que va desde el tronco cerebral hasta el abdomen. Esto es lo que conecta a sus dos cerebros.
Su intestino y su cerebro trabajan en conjunto e influyen recíprocamente.
Esta es la razón por la cual su salud intestinal puede tener una influencia tan profunda en su salud mental, y viceversa. Para una explicación laica interesante y bien escrita sobre la conexión del cerebro/intestino, lea el artículo del New York Times de Sandra Blakeslee publicado en 1966 sobre el Cerebro Complejo y Oculto en su Intestino Provoca los Dolores de Estomago y el Mariposeo.
Ahora, es incluso más interesante el hecho de que ciertos neurotransmisores, como la serotonina , pueden ser encontrados en su intestino—de hecho, la mayor concentración de serotonina involucrada en el control de su estado de ánimo, depresión y agresión, es encontrada en su intestino, ¡no en su cerebro! Su intestino también contiene 100 millones de neuronas - más de lo que contiene su medula espinal o su sistema nervioso periférico.
Un excelente artículo de Adam Hadhazy, publicado en la revista Scientific American el año pasado, explica la conexión intrínseca entre su intestino y su bien estar psicológico.
Hadhazy escribió:
";El sistema es demasiado complejo para haberse desarrollado solo para asegurarse de que los desechos salgan por el colon,” dijo Emeran Mayer, profesor de fisiología, psiquiatría y ciencias conductuales en la escuela de medicina de David Geffen en la University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A). Por ejemplo, los científicos se sorprendieron al saber que el 90 por ciento de las fibras en el nervio visceral primario, el vago, llevan la información desde el intestino hasta el cerebro y no al revés...

El segundo cerebro también informa nuestro estado de ánimo en otras formas más oscuras. "Una gran parte de nuestras emociones están probablemente influenciadas por los nervios en nuestro intestino," dice Mayer...

Teniendo en cuenta dos cerebros, los tratamientos contra la depresión que se dirigen a la mente pueden involuntariamente impactar su intestino. El sistema nervioso entérico utiliza más de 30 neurotransmisores, así como el cerebro y de hecho el 95 por ciento de la serotonina de su cuerpo es encontrada en los intestinos. Debido a que los medicamentos antidepresivos llamados inhibidores selectivos de la receptación de serotonina (ISRS) aumentan los niveles de serotonina, no es de extrañar que los medicamentos destinados a provocar cambios químicos en la mente frecuentemente causan problemas gastrointestinales como efectos secundarios."

Dicho todo esto, tiene sentido común alimentar su flora intestinal para lograr una función optima de la serotonina, ya que claramente puede tener un impacto profundo en su estado de ánimo, en su salud psicológica, y su comportamiento.

Problemas Intestinales También Relacionados con Trastornos Cerebrales

También hay evidencia de la relación gastrointestinal en una gran variedad de enfermedades neurológicas, incluyendo el autismo, por lo que de esta manera algunos daños por las vacunas podrían también explicarse.
El Dr. Andrew Wakefield es uno de los muchos que han investigado de la conexión entre trastornos de desarrollo y las enfermedades intestinales. Ha publicado cerca de 130 a 140 artículos revisados por colegas que buscan el mecanismo y la causa de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal, y ha investigado ampliamente la conexión cerebro -intestino en el contexto de los niños con trastornos de desarrollo como autismo.
Por ejemplo, la intolerancia al gluten es una característica frecuente del autismo, y muchos niños autistas mejoraran al someterse a una dieta libre de gluten. Muchos niños autistas también tienden a mejorar con los probióticos, mediante alimentos fermentados o suplementos probióticos.
Un gran número de estudios de replicación también se han llevado a cabo en todo el mundo, confirmando la curiosa relación entre los trastornos cerebrales como el autismo y la disfunción gastrointestinal.
Según Michael Gershon, jefe del Departamento de Anatomía y Biología Celular del Hospital Presbiteriano de New York/Centro Médico de la Universidad de Columbia; un experto en Neurogastroenterologia y autor de The Second Brain, los mismos genes que forman sinapsis en el cerebro también están involucrados en la formación de sinapsis del intestino. Por lo tanto, si estos genes se ven afectados de autismo, esto podría ayudar a explicar ambas anormalidades gastrointestinales que sufren muchos niños con autismo así como los elevados niveles de serotonina producida por su intestino en la sangre.

Como Optimizar las Bacterias en su Intestino

Afortunadamente, sin importar su tipo nutricional, la optimización de su flora intestinal (el balance entre la bacteria “buena” y la bacteria “mala” en su intestino) es relativamente muy fácil.
Primero, el paso MÁS importante es evitar consumir azúcar y alimentos procesados. Los azucares sirven en realidad como un combustible para el crecimiento de las bacterias patógenas anaerobias, hongos y levaduras e inhiben completamente la buena bacteria, tendiendo a desplazarlas fuera de su apropiado nicho. Estas bacterias patógenas, hongos y levaduras producen posteriormente productos metabólicos de desechos que harán que su salud se deteriore.
Cuando usted tiene una dieta saludable, basada en su tipo nutricional que es baja en azúcar y alimentos procesados, este proceso hace que la bacteria benéfica del intestino automáticamente florezca. Esta es una de las razones por las que recomiendo firmemente reducir de su alimentación, los azucares y la mayoría de los granos.
Sin embargo, incluso con una dieta extremadamente baja en azúcar, existen otros factores que influyen en su microflora, así que también es importante evitar algunos de los factores que destruyen las bacterias saludables como:

• Antibióticos
• Agua clorada
• Jabón antibacteriano
• Productos químicos agrícolas
• Contaminación

Considerando las muchas de las toxinas que nos rodean regularmente, sería muy buena opción “sembrar de nuevo” buenas bacterias en su cuerpo de vez en cuando, tomando un suplemento probiótico de alta calidad o consumir alimentos tradicionalmente fermentados. Algunas elecciones saludables incluyen:

• Lassi (una bebida de yogur de la India, tomado tradicionalmente antes de la cena)
• Leche fermentada como el Kefir
• Fermentaciones en escabeche de repollo, nabos, berenjenas, pepinos, cebolla, calabaza y zanahoria
• Natto (soya fermentada)

Si va a consumir una dieta rica en alimentos fermentados que NO hayan sido pasteurizados (ya que la pasteurización mata los probióticos que ocurren naturalmente), entonces probablemente disfrutará de una salud digestiva sin la necesidad de un suplemento adicional.
Sin embargo, si simplemente no le gusta ninguno de estos tipos de alimentos fermentados, su próxima opción es el uso de un suplemento probiótico de alta calidad.
He usado muchas marcas en los últimos 20 años y claro que existen algunas buenas en el mercado. También pase mucho tiempo investigando y desarrollando mi propia marca, llamada Probióticos Completos en la cual he incorporado todo lo que he aprendido sobre esta importante herramienta en los últimos años.FONTE

Most Common Cause of Fatigue that is Missed

 Most Common Cause of Fatigue that is Missed 

Your adrenal glands are each no bigger than a walnut and weigh less than a grape, yet are responsible for one of the most important functions in your body: managing stress.
“The adrenals are known as ‘the glands of stress,’” writes James Wilson in his book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. “It is their job to enable your body to deal with stress from every possible source, ranging from injury and disease to work and relationship problems. Your resiliency, energy, endurance and your very life all depend on their proper functioning.”[1]
When your adrenal glands are fatigued, a condition known as adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion, your entire body feels it and suffers from extreme exhaustion as well.
It’s estimated that up to 80 percent of adults experience adrenal fatigue during their lifetimes, yet it remains one of the most under-diagnosed illnesses in the United States.[2]

The Optimal Function of Your Adrenal Glands

Your body has two adrenal glands, located just above each of your kidneys. As part of your endocrine system, your adrenal glands secrete more than 50 hormones, many of which are essential for life and include:

• Glucocorticoids. These hormones, which include cortisol, help your body convert food into energy, normalize blood sugar, respond to stress and maintain your immune system’s inflammatory response.

• Mineralocorticoids. These hormones, which include aldosterone, help keep your blood pressure and blood volume normal by maintaining a proper balance of sodium, potassium and water in your body.[3]

• Adrenaline. This hormone increases your heart rate and controls blood flow to your muscles and brain, along with helping with the conversion of glycogen to glucose in your liver.

Together, these hormones and others produced by your adrenal glands control such body functions as:[4]

• Maintaining metabolic processes, such as managing blood sugar levels and regulating inflammation
• Regulating your body’s balance of salt and water
• Controlling your "fight or flight" response to stress
• Maintaining pregnancy
• Initiating and controlling sexual maturation during childhood and puberty
• Producing sex steroids such as estrogen and testosterone

Ironically, although your adrenal glands are there, in large part, to help you cope with stress, too much of it is actually what causes their function to break down.
In other words, one of your adrenal glands most important tasks is to get your body ready for the “fight or flight” stress response, which means increasing adrenaline and other hormones.
As part of this response, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, your digestion slows, and your body becomes ready to face a potential threat or challenge.
While this response is necessary and good when it's needed, many of us are constantly faced with stressors (work, environmental toxins, not enough sleep, worry, relationship problems and more) and therefore are in this "fight or flight" mode for far too long -- much longer than was ever intended from a biological standpoint.
The result is that your adrenal glands, faced with excessive stress and burden, become overworked and fatigued. Some common factors that put excess stress on your adrenals are:[5]

• Anger, fear, anxiety, guilt, depression and other negative emotions
• Overwork, including physical or mental strain
• Excessive exercise
• Sleep deprivation
• Light-cycle disruption (such as working the night shift or often going to sleep late)

• Surgery, trauma or injury
• Chronic inflammation, infection, illness or pain
• Temperature extremes
• Toxic exposure
• Nutritional deficiencies and/or severe allergies

Signs and Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

When your adrenal glands become depleted, it leads to a decrease in certain hormone levels, particularly cortisol. The deficiencies in certain adrenal hormones will vary with each case, ranging from mild to severe.
In its most extreme form, this is referred to as Addison’s disease, a condition that causes muscle weakness, weight loss, low blood pressure and low blood sugar, and can be life threatening.
Fortunately, only about four persons per 100,000 develop Addison’s disease, which is due to autoimmune disease in most cases but can also develop after very severe stress.[6]
At the other end of the spectrum, as well as in between, lies adrenal fatigue (also known as hypoadrenia). Though the symptoms are less severe than in Addison’s disease, symptoms of adrenal fatigue can be debilitating. As Wilson writes:

“Non-Addison’s hypoadrenia (adrenal fatigue) is not usually severe enough to be featured on TV or to be considered a medical emergency. In fact, modern medicine does not even recognize it as a distinct syndrome. Nevertheless, it can wreak havoc with your life.
In the more serious cases of adrenal fatigue, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that the person may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected.”[7]

Classic signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:

• Fatigue and weakness, especially in the morning and afternoon
• A suppressed immune system
• Increased allergies
• Muscle and bone loss and muscular weakness
• Depression
• Cravings for foods high in salt, sugar or fat
• Hormonal imbalance
• Skin problems
• Autoimmune disorders
• Increased PMS or menopausal symptoms
• Low sex drive
• Lightheadedness when getting up from sitting or lying down
• Decreased ability to handle stress
• Trouble waking up in the morning, despite a full night’s sleep
• Poor memory

Additionally, people with adrenal fatigue often get a burst of energy around 6 p.m., followed by sleepiness at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., which is often resisted. A “second wind” at 11 p.m. is then common, which often may keep you from falling asleep until 1 a.m.[8]
Further, those with adrenal fatigue often also have abnormal blood sugar levels and mental disturbances, such as increased fears and anxiety, and rely on coffee, soda and other forms of caffeine to keep them going.
As the names implies, the most common symptom of adrenal fatigue is unrelenting fatigue, a feeling of being run down or not able to keep up with your daily demands. And because fatigue is such a common symptom, the syndrome is very often missed or misdiagnosed by physicians.

The Common Medical Test for Adrenal Function Cannot Diagnose Adrenal Fatigue

Adding to the problem of misdiagnosis is the fact that doctors typically use an ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) test to check for problems with your adrenal glands. However, the test only recognizes extreme underproduction or overproduction of hormone levels, as shown by the top and bottom 2 percent of a bell curve.
Symptoms of adrenal malfunction, meanwhile, occur after 15 percent of the mean on both sides of the curve. So your adrenal glands could be functioning 20 percent below the mean, and your body experiencing symptoms of adrenal fatigue, and the standard test won’t recognize it.[9]
The test that will recognize adrenal fatigue, in all of its stages, is a salivary cortisol test. This is an inexpensive test you can purchase online and do at home, as no prescription is needed. However, if you suspect you have adrenal fatigue a knowledgeable natural health care provider can help you with diagnosis and treatment.

Natural, and Simple, Steps to Recover From Adrenal Fatigue

It takes time to burnout your adrenal glands, and as you might suspect it also takes some time to recover. You can expect:

• Six to nine months of recovery time for minor adrenal fatigue
• 12 to 18 months for moderate adrenal fatigue
• Up to 24 months for severe adrenal fatigue[10]

The good news is that natural treatments are very effective for this syndrome, and with time, patience, and the tips that follow it is possible to recover.

• Probably the single most important area is to have powerful tools and strategies to address the current and past emotional traumas in your life. Prayer, meditation and meridian tapping techniques can be very helpful here. If you were to focus only on one area it would be best to concentrate in this area as this really is the central key to restoring your adrenal health.

• Listen to your body and rest when you feel tired (this includes during the day by taking short naps or just laying down)

• Sleep in (until 9 a.m. if you feel like it)

• Exercise regularly using a comprehensive program of strength, aerobic, core, and interval training

• Eat a healthy nutrient-dense diet like the one described in my nutrition plan, according to your Nutritional Type

• Avoid stimulants like coffee and soda, as these can further exhaust your adrenal glands

Further, to maintain proper adrenal function it is imperative to control your blood sugar levels. If you are eating the right foods for your Nutritional Type, your blood sugar levels should balance out, and the following guidelines will also help:

• Eat a small meal or snack every three to four hours
• Eat within the first hour upon awakening
• Eat a small snack near bedtime
• Eat before becoming hungry. If hungry, you have already allowed yourself to run out of fuel (low blood sugar), which places additional stress on your adrenal glands

You may also want to see a physician well versed in bioidentical hormone replacement, and get tested to see if you could benefit from the use of DHEA. DHEA is a natural steroid and precursor hormone produced by the adrenals, and levels are often very low in people with adrenal fatigue. Keep in mind, of course, that DHEA is not a quick cure, and should not be used as a sole treatment.
Treating adrenal fatigue requires a whole-body approach, one that addresses the excess stress and unhealthy lifestyle habits that wore out your adrenals in the first place.
Interestingly the very first step in normalizing sex hormones, either male or female, is to first address the adrenal hormone system. For example if you were to only measure female hormones and then replace them with bioidentical hormone therapy, you will virtually be guaranteed to fail because the weakened adrenals will never allow the hormones to equilibrate properly.
Because your adrenal health is so important to your overall health and well-being, I highly recommend you work with a knowledgeable natural health care practitioner to find out if you have adrenal fatigue and then remedy it.
The tips above are an excellent starting point, however, and can be used by nearly everyone to help give your adrenal glands a healthy boost.

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[1] Wilson, James. “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.” Smart Publications, p. 3, 2002.
[2] Wilson, James. “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.” Smart Publications, p. 6, 2002.
[3] MayoClinic.com Addison’s Disease http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/addisons-disease/DS00361/DSECTION=causes (Accessed June 11, 2009)
[4] National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “Adrenal Gland Disorders” http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/Adrenal_Gland_Disorders.cfm (Accessed June 11, 2009)
[5] Understanding Adrenal Function August 27, 2000, Mercola.com http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/08/27/adrenals.aspx (Accessed June 11, 2009)
[6] Wilson, James. “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.” Smart Publications, p. 7, 2002.
[7] Wilson, James. “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.” Smart Publications, p. 7, 2002.
[8] Veracity, Dani. “Recovering From Adrenal Fatigue: How Your Body Can Overcome Chronic Stress and Feel Energized Again.” Natural News, April 6, 2006 http://www.naturalnews.com/019339.html (Accessed June 11, 2009)
[9] Veracity, Dani. “Recovering From Adrenal Fatigue: How Your Body Can Overcome Chronic Stress and Feel Energized Again.” Natural News, April 6, 2006 http://www.naturalnews.com/019339.html (Accessed June 11, 2009)
[10] Veracity, Dani. “Recovering From Adrenal Fatigue: How Your Body Can Overcome Chronic Stress and Feel Energized Again.” Natural News, April 6, 2006 http://www.naturalnews.com/019339.html (Accessed June 11, 2009)

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