If you were to take a test and it asked, “what organ or gland is part of the sugar-control mechanism in the body, is responsible for the management of energy, blood pressure, eye sensitivity to light, the fight or flight response, inflammation, weight loss, sleep and sugar cravings”, would you have guessed the adrenal glands?
The adrenal glands are part of the renal system. They sit on top of each kidney and are responsible for the hormonal functions of the kidney and other systems. They produce very important hormones such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine, cortisol, aldosterone, testosterone, DHEA, DHEAS, androstenedione and estrogens. These hormones control numerous functions in the body. When they fail to do their job adequately, symptoms start to manifest.
Fatigue and weight gain are two of the main complaints seen in doctors’ offices all across the U.S. today. Despite the dramatic role the adrenals play in management of these two areas, they get less attention than they deserve. There is so much that can be done to improve adrenal health, which in turn rewards us with more energy and greater ability to lose weight.
Our body is an amazing machine. It will submit to many insults – acclimating, modifying, and readjusting function from one system to another to try to keep some semblance of healthy function before it finally breaks down and frustrates us with a symptom picture we don’t understand. Thank God for this amazing body of ours! It has a natural redundancy built in so when one system is weak, another can take over. For quite some time the body will manage, but eventually, just as any machine that is overworked, especially if not maintained properly, it will break down. We call this breakdown a symptom. The body will tell us in many ways (symptoms) that something is wrong. We’ve just never been taught how to listen to it and identify what’s wrong until it is in a crisis. The adrenals are one area that is frequently just under the radar of a crisis almost universally today. Trying to alert us with symptoms such as fatigue, soft and excessive weight gain around the middle, compromised ability to cope with stressful or even everyday events, disrupted sleep, hormonal imbalance and many other ways. We are not taught that we can support adrenal function with simple modifications of everyday activities. We are not taught that the restoration of function is even possible, and when achieved, energy and good sleep are restored, weight loss can kick in, and life seems much more bearable.
© 2010 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
