Dr James Wilson, Leading Anti-Ageing physician, spoke to Rescu. about the cause and effects of Adrenal Fatigue and how you can find out if you’re a victim and how to overcome this stress syndrome.RESCU: What is adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: Adrenal fatigue is any decrease (but not failure) in the ability of the adrenal glands to carry out their normal functions. The chief symptom of adrenal fatigue is indeed, fatigue, but is accompanied by many other signs and symptoms. Adrenal fatigue occurs when stress from any source (physical, emotional, mental, or environmental) exceeds, either cumulatively or in intensity, the body’s capacity to adjust appropriately to the demands placed upon it by stress. When this happens, the adrenals become fatigued and are unable to continue responding adequately to further stress.
RESCU: What causes adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: There are multitudes of individual causes of adrenal fatigue but they usually stem from one of four common sources that overwhelm the body.
1) Disease states such as severe or recurrent pneumonia, bronchitis or flu, cancer, AIDS, auto-immune and other illnesses
2) Physical stress such as surgery, poor nutrition, addiction, injury, exhaustion, etc.
3) Emotional stress, usually arising from relationship, work or psychological origins
4) Continual and/or severe environmental stress from toxic chemicals and pollutants in the air, water, clothing or food
RESCU: Where are the adrenal glands?
Dr James Wilson: The adrenal glands are two small glands, each about the size of a large grape, which sit over the kidneys. They are located in the back, near the bottom of the ribs on each side of the spine
RESCU: Is adrenal fatigue common?
Dr James Wilson: Yes, adrenal fatigue is a common disorder, estimated to affect many millions of people in industrialised nations.
RESCU: Are you more prone to infections if you have adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: Yes, Adrenal fatigue often goes hand in hand with decreased immune dysfunction, which makes someone more prone to illnesses. There is a special association between adrenal fatigue and respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia.
RESCU: Are there laboratory tests that detect adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: Yes. The most accurate and valuable test for detecting adrenal fatigue is a saliva adrenal hormone test. This is a simple and relatively inexpensive test and has been unavailable until recently. There are other lab tests but they need special interpretation by physicians rained to recognise and treat adrenal fatigue.
RESCU: Can adrenal fatigue become chronic?
Dr James Wilson: Yes, in some people the adrenal glands do not return to normal levels of function without help, either because the stress was too great or too prolonged, or because their general health is poor. However, when adrenal fatigue becomes chronic it is almost always because of factors that can be changed.
RESCU: Can adrenal fatigue affect your sex life?
Dr James Wilson: Yes. A common complaint from people suffering from adrenal fatigue is decreased sex drive. This is because some of the sex hormones are manufactures in the adrenal glands, as well as in the sex organs themselves. Low adrenal function can lead to low performance or desire. Both usually return to normal as the adrenals recover.
RESCU: Does smoking increase your chances of adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: Yes. Anytime you place stress such as smoking on your body, it is more difficult for your adrenals to function. Smoking by itself does not lead directly to adrenal fatigue, unless the adrenals are already weak. However, smoking is one of the body burdens that accelerate adrenal fatigue and keep complete recovery from occurring?
RESCU: Does diet have anything to do with adrenal fatigue?
Dr James Wilson: Yes. Diet has a lot to do with adrenal fatigue, both in its cause and in its recovery. The phrase “garbage in, garbage out” aptly describes the relationship between what we eat and adrenal fatigue. If we eat garbage, our bodies eventually become trashed and one of the common results is adrenal fatigue.
RESCU: How can we keep our adrenal glands healthy?
Dr James Wilson: The guidelines for keeping your adrenal glands healthy are very similar to the overall principles of good health. A moderate lifestyle with high quality food, regular exercise and adequate rest, along with a healthy mental attitude to the stresses of life go a long way towards keeping your adrenal glands strong and resilient. However, because modern life is so stressful, certain nutritional supplements are also important to both maintaining healthy adrenal glands and helping depleted glands re-cover.
To find out more about Dr James Wilson visit www.a5m.net.
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