HOLISTIC HEALTH NOTEBOOK

Listen to this statement: "Adrenal fatigue is a problem of monstrous proportions largely unrecognized by the medical establishment."

Exaggeration? Hyperbole?

Not according to Dr. James Wilson, author of "Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome." He believes that many of the ills of today's Americans stem from adrenal fatigue, caused by unrelenting stress.

One of the major functions of the adrenal glands is to respond to stress and maintain homeostasis so that the body can continue to function even in changing life conditions. And that means every kind of stress: emotional, physical, chemical, and biological. Just think about your life for a moment and you will see that your adrenal gland is probably in trouble.

Dr. Wilson writes that adrenal function should be investigated in any chronic illness, either as a primary cause or as secondary to the stress of the illness itself. Even in illnesses as common as the flu, if symptoms linger, low adrenal function should be considered. He references the Spanish flu epidemic in 1919. According to the Archives of Internal Medicine, doctors autopsied 126 patients who had died in the epidemic. Of these, 103 showed adrenal gland atrophy and shriveling consistent with adrenal exhaustion, and another 3 cases had adrenal hypertrophy and swelling consistent with a state of extreme stress. The adrenals were exhausted in their effort to restore balance to the body during overwhelming infection, to the point that their depleted state was physically detectable upon autopsy and (probably) significantly contributed to their death.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include morning fatigue and needing a cup of coffee to get going, then an afternoon low between 2 and 5 pm with a new burst of energy around 6 pm. They may even catch their second wind at 11:00 and cannot go to sleep until 1 or 2 AM. Recurrent lung and bronchial infections, cravings for salt, allergies, chemical intolerances, environmental sensitivities, poor wound healing, and a general feeling of unwellness are also classic symptoms. I like to think of adrenal exhaustion presenting as "life is just too difficult to live."

There is an excellent over-the-counter test that can assess adrenal status (from www.salivatest.com). You can order the test yourself, then take the results to your physician for help in reading it and devising an action plan.

- Carol Simontacchi does lifestyle and nutrition coaching at the office of Dr. Alan Gruning in Ft. Myers. For more information or to set an appointment, call 239-939-3303.