PART 2: ROOT CAUSES FOR ADRENAL FATIGUE

In this week’s INSIGHTS for Healing by Design, I introduce you to the many root causes for adrenal fatigue as Part 2 of my Adrenal Series. If you haven’t yet read Part 1, ADRENAL FATIGUE IS REAL, I recommend doing so so that you can appreciate how adrenal fatigue shows up in your physiology, especially for women learning to manage the hormone chaos of peri and post menopause.

If you relate to what I’ve described in Part 1 of my Adrenal Series, then really let this next bit sink in ⬇️

Your adrenals didn’t just tap out because you skipped breakfast or had a stressful week at work.

This level of fatigue or burnout takes time to manifest.

It’s death by a thousand paper cuts; from a thousand invisible stressors, that your body has been quietly trying its best to deal with for literally years.

You have to support adrenal recovery and the recovery of the whole HPA Axis with root cause thinking and action.

Root cause thinking means looking for the underlying reasons for dysfunction. Sometimes root causes can’t be changed, such as from a physical injury or genetic condition. And sometimes root causes can totally be managed over time. No matter what though, you can make a positive impact on any root cause or combination of root causes and recover from adrenal fatigue over time.

Most impactful root causes of adrenal fatigue could be any combination of the following:

• STRESS

• VIRUSES & BACTERIA

• MYCOTOXINS

• PARASITES

• INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS

• EMFs

➡️ I’ll give you some basic information about each of these now, but you have to keep clear in your mind that once the body has started suffering from chronic stressors, like from any of the impactors listed above, the body becomes a playground for the other stressors to take hold and worsen the issues. So, you might have one dominant stressor that makes the body susceptible to any combination of the others.

The terrain is everything. Meaning, your body’s composition is everything. 

Once the terrain gets damaged, it’s easier for stressors to make a home in it and not get removed as efficiently. 

I hope that makes sense because understanding this will help you recognize that supporting your body’s terrain is what will actually help it recover from adrenal fatigue -  NOT a few supplements, or electrolyte drinks, or a vacation.

TOP ROOT CAUSES TO CONSIDER

STRESS, VIRUSES & BACTERIA

You know by now that acute, short term stress kicks the HPA Axis into high gear, ramping up hormone production to help you survive a threat, then find space to recover. 

But when you have chronic, long term stress that doesn’t let up, whether from ongoing emotional pressure, trauma, or an undiagnosed infection, the whole body system starts to break down. 

As this continues over time, the high cortisol eventually drops, the HPA axis dysregulates, and your body enters a kind of stress exhaustion mode. 

I think the body starts to almost force a type of hibernation state or preservation state to try to force the body to take a deep rest to recover function.

Viruses, like CMV (cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr), and even certain bacteria, can make adrenal fatigue worse. They can do this by directly colonizing the adrenal glands, by triggering systemic inflammation throughout the body and through reactions to endotoxins (from some bacteria) that damage the adrenals from the outside in. And like molds and parasites (see below), many can hide within biofilms making it hard to get rid of them. AND bacteria modify genetically very quickly making medications less useful over time.

Stress from major illness or mental impactors will naturally cause a spike in cortisol, at least at first. But, if your body stays in this survival mode too long, eventually you’ll see the adrenal function take a nosedive.

Your Vagus nerve helps manage this response. In fact, having strong vagal tone is linked to better HPA Axis regulation and faster recovery from any type of stress, while poor vagal tone (from unresolved trauma, toxicity, chronic infections) is linked to flattened cortisol secretion and eventual burnout.

Your body cannot differentiate an emotional stressor from an environmental one, so the alarm button will be signaled no matter what. Therefore, it’s not actually just the type of stressor impacting you, but more about whether or not your body recognizes a danger has passed or not. That “off-switch”, so to speak, is damaged in someone with adrenal fatigue.

MYCOTOXINS

Mycotoxins are secretions from molds that can be toxic to us and even strong endocrine (hormone) disruptors. In susceptible individuals, they can destabilize your cortisol rhythm and HPA Axis, and keep your body in a state of chronic low-level panic.

Mycotoxins will also suppress your immune system which can quicken your body’s breakdown.

And molds can create biofilms, like some bacteria and parasites, inside your body that can hide them and their mycotoxins. These biofilms make it very difficult to combat them.

We see this particularly in the gut where we can get progressive worsening of intestinal permeability and even problems with the healthy microbiome there (microbes we WANT to have there helping us). They can hide in other tissues though too, like the brain, lungs and more, creating havoc as your body succumbs to more and more stress. The body knows these are present but can’t get rid of them. Simply put, they are another stressor to deal with and add to the stress pile!

PARASITES

Your body is constantly exposed to a variety of parasites from the raw veggies and fruits you consume, to undercooked meats and fish you eat, hanging out in bodies of freshwater, contact with other humans and other-than-humans too, and more.

When your body is healthy, without constant, chronic stress and illness, it can eliminate parasites fairly easily or at least keep them at bay.

Parasites will thrive in a body with terrain breakdown. This is a fact. They love a toxic environment and one that can’t easily fight them. And like some molds and bacteria, can live inside biofilms, making it extra tough for the immune system to remove them. 

And no parasite cleanse is going to be enough, my friend. You never completely live without some parasitic load. In fact, they can even be beneficial in small amounts, but not usually in larger amounts.

This is a nightmare for your immune system! It’s trying to keep you safe from a myriad of combatants – chronic stressors, some types of bacteria and viruses, high parasite loads, toxic chemicals in tons of products and on foods, EMF exposure at levels biology has never witnessed before!

So, as your body crashes from chronic stressors, the immune system will inevitably suffer too, leaving opportunities for certain bacteria, viruses and parasites to thrive in our tissues!

Your immune system will constantly send messages to your nervous system informing it of threats, triggering a near constant release of stress hormones, inflammatory cytokines and more to keep your body on high alert!  

This is NOT sustainable.

HEAVY METALS

Mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium… they are commonly in your water, your tooth fillings, your food, and they damage your mighty energy producers, the mitochondria, which fuel the many body systems keeping you alive.

When mitochondrial function takes big hits, no healthy adrenal function is possible. Simple as that.

EMFs

Your whole body is swimming in wireless signals no matter where you go today!

Our physiology has never been exposed to this level of EMF (electro-magnetic frequency) pollution as we see today. 

EMFs are now known to disrupt melatonin levels (for sleep), cortisol production, and the electrical signaling your body relies on to maintain your many daily rhythms.

They activate your sympathetic nervous system too. Basically, the gas pedal is pushed down most of the time creating havoc on your adrenals and much more.

INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS

Estimates vary, but humans and every other-than-human on the planet are exposed to ~80,000 synthetic chemicals on the regular, most of which have never been tested for long term safety. We are an experiment, my friend! 

So things like phthalates, parabens, pesticides and more can confuse your endocrine system by blocking their natural feedback loops which would normally keep them in check. They are hormonal imposters.

This means endocrine organs, like your adrenals, don’t stand a chance.

Your body is biologically overwhelmed. And until you identify and start clearing these stressors from your body’s terrain, as much as you can, the adrenals will keep trying to compensate and eventually burn out.

Resolving this chaos of root causes can feel overwhelming, I know. But it can be done. 

It’ll take a consciously planned strategy, support, and daily commitment to do the work to help the body heal. Know you can do it if any of this information applies to you. Seek out guidance from a practitioner who understands recovery is not just an electrolyte drink or cleanse away. These help but aren’t solutions. 

Healing is a process that will be YOUnique for every person as the root causes are not the same for everyone.

I’m here to help you when you’re ready.

In Part 3 of my Adrenal Series, released next week, you’ll learn about how to test for adrenal fatigue if desired, but most importantly how to start the journey to recovery.

Until then…

Hugs,

Dr. Krista

DrAc, IFMCP

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