Why Are My Adrenals So Exhausted?

Today’s post on the adrenals is not to address the function of the adrenal glands or the physical challenges created by adrenal exhaustion. Today we are going to address the challenges that actually lead to this adrenal exhaustion. If you want to learn more about the role of adrenals or dysfunction created by imbalanced adrenals, this was addressed in a post from January of 2010 that you can visit.

I would like to first mention that I have looked at thousands of adrenal results over the years. With these thousands of results reviewed, I can honestly say that I have only seen a few of these thousands come back showing a state of balance. Now let’s recognize that I am talking about health challenged individuals and not those already in a state of optimal health. It is very easy to see though, that if you have a health challenge there is typically and adrenal challenge that goes along with this.

So what creates imbalance within the adrenals? Stress! Yes, the big bad word stress that we all see far too often. This stress though is not only emotional stress; it is also physical stress. Let’s talk about some of the common causes of stress to the body.

One stress to the body is the lack of proper oxygenation of the cells within your body. Most of us breathe using only a limited portion of our lung capacity. If you are one of the many shallow breathers out there it will be very important to incorporate deep belly breathing throughout your day to allow the proper introduction of oxygen into the cells of your body. Lack of oxygen is stress to the body.

Being dehydrated is also a stress to the body. When we are not hydrated properly the body cannot function at an optimal level so be sure to be getting adequate levels of pure water consumption throughout your day.

Many are stressed nutritionally and this can exist from the lack of proper nutritional choices per your Nutritional ID or individuality, or from the consumption of gluten containing products. If you are gluten intolerant and consuming gluten, this can lead to inflammation which can lead to adrenal exhaustion. You can visit a previous post on gluten for more information on this subject by looking through the January 2010 posts.

Lack of sleep is also a significant stress to the body that can affect adrenal function. Not enough sleep or not getting to bed early enough plays a huge roll in maintaining proper adrenal function. Be sure to be in bed no later than 10:00PM for optimal adrenal function.

Lack of proper movement can also create stress for the adrenals; whether this is tied into poor bowel movements, lack of fluid movement within your vertebrae, stagnation in the circulatory system, or lack of movement with our muscular/skeletal system. Remember that the body is designed to move on every level and this lack of movement is stress to the body.

Lack of sun exposure is also challenging to the adrenals. Proper exposure to the sun without over-exposure is a significant factor in maintaining hormonal balance and anything affecting the endocrine system is affecting the adrenals.

I saved the most obvious for last and this is the mental/emotional stress that we bring on ourselves every day. I say, “bring it on ourselves”, because that is truly what we do. We are a culture of victims that love to blame everyone else and not look inside for the answers. I tell my clients all the time that there is no such thing as good or bad news; there is only news. What we make of this news is what makes it good or bad. When we start to release this attachment to blame and victim mentality it allows the energy of our negatively perceived emotions to flow through us rather than remain suppressed. It is the suppressed emotions or unhealthy expression of emotions that creates havoc for our adrenals.

Now that you can see the multiple ways we create stress on the body that affects the adrenals you can give yourself permission to initiate change in your life. It is the changes you make that create the lasting affects.

You can make the choice to create wellness for yourself and wellness for the world!

Please feel free to post any questions or comments on the subjects addressed above.

So Who Really Is Toxic?

There is one statement I can make in regard to toxicity where I hold quite a bit of confidence. That statement is; if you live in our civilized world, you are toxic on some level. Your systems of detoxification and/or elimination include your colon, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, skin and lungs. These systems are designed for general die off within the body and to rid the body of metabolic waste. They are not designed for the world we live in. Our environment, chemicals in our water, the foods we eat, the cloths we wear, the products we use and on and on.

Our levels of health and wellness, our individual levels of strength and vitality, along with the varying degrees of toxic exposure will determine the levels of toxicity that you live your life with. So what can we do? Many feel that the best way to deal with this is to detox, detox, detox! This is often the most significant focus for those when they enter the arena of natural health practices. I will share that this is not my view.

I recommend that my clients focus first on building their individual health and wellness and assist in the bodies’ natural detoxification process, rather than using some protocol to “push” detoxification. Often when individuals have significant health challenges, there are many symptoms created when they attempt to detox too fast or when they attempt to detox before building health and supporting the systems of detoxification. If you feel that toxicity is a significant challenge for you I would suggest working with a qualified natural health practitioner to build health, support your systems of detoxification and then if needed add in a detox program.

There are some simple steps to help support your systems of detoxification. Here are my recommendations to assist on this level.

• Dry skin brush daily to assist your skin, lymph and kidneys
• Drink one quart of pure water for every 50 pounds of body weight daily to assist the kidneys
• Practice regular deep breathing techniques to assist the lungs
• Jump on a rebounder for 5 minutes daily to support the lymphatic system
• If constipation is a challenge for you, try a quality probiotic and the Prime Digestive Support from the Depke Wellness Store at www.DepkeWellness.com
• Massage or Endermologie will assist in natural detoxification of the skin and lymph

One tool that can assist that helps significantly with detoxification that does not create symptomatic challenges is colon hydrotherapy. For those in Southern California you could visit www.EmbraceHealthWellnes.com for more information on colon hydrotherapy.

Once you have built your vitality and supported your systems of detoxification and/or elimination over a period of at least several months I would typically recommend using a non-invasive and slow detoxification support such as Chlorella. You can find more information about Chlorella and the brand I support by visiting www.DepkeWellness.com and clicking on the “Preferred Health Partner” page.

If you feel that toxicity is a significant challenge for you please be sure to work through these steps with a qualified natural health practitioner that recognizes the steps that I have laid out for you.

If you have any comments or questions in regard to any thoughts shared, please feel free to post these for my personal response. Remember, Depke Wellness is about wellness for yourself and wellness for the world.