adrenal fatigue ‘does not exist’…?

you might feel adrenal fatigue, 

you might have all the symptoms, 

but according to biomedicine, it does not exist, 

(skip to the end for a herbalist / functional medicine approach) 

potentially it’s because the system is not sensitive enough to acute fluctuations, and the ‘adrenal fatigue’ that people and traditional medicine systems are adamant does exist, 

is a mini, undetectable imbalance. 

let’s take a closer look at the symptoms from a traditional lens: 

• tiredness

• weakness

• sleep issues

• decrease ability to handle stress

• low blood pressure 

• weight gain

• cravings for sugar and salt

that last one is particularly interesting and telling. 

traditionally, salt nourishes the kidneys, adrenals are perched on top of and relate to the state of the kidneys (in traditional view, not biomedical)

salt is nourishing to the kidneys because it supports the re-uptake of water inside of them 

(the kidneys smallest functioning units release water out before re-uptaking it using electrolytes like salt and making it available for the body) 

if you’re craving salt, it could be a signal from your kidneys and adrenals for some help. 

and the low blood pressure? Kidneys. 

and the insomnia or disrupted sleep? In a TCM viewpoint, kidneys (the kidneys house your 

and the weakness? can be nutritional or mineral imbalances from kidneys not fully functioning.

you can see where i’m going with this.. traditional Chinese medicine recognises the adrenals as part of kidney health. 

but not ‘the kidneys’ as they’re bio-medically understood - the kidney essence. Kidneys’ carry the ‘life force’, the kind of ‘charge’ we were given at birth. We only have so much of this to last us for our life, once it drains, its super hard if not impossible to replenish. 

kidney essence is depleted through : 

• chronic stress (as the adrenals influence the kidneys) 

• chronic illness

• chronic imbalanced blood sugar 

• chronic cortisol spikes outside of ‘stress’ like caffeine use, or skipping breakfast

• chronically sedative lifestyle

Now, let’s flip to the other side of the argument : 

Biomedical research basically say that adrenal fatigue is a myth. 

They do acknowledge stress certainly impacts the body, but not at the functional level of the adrenals becoming ‘fatigued’. As soon as they become dysfunctional in the sense that hormones change, it veers into chronic fatigue syndrome where changes in the ACTH hormone can be detected, or addisons or cushings where cortisol measurably changes. 

Functional / traditional medicines argument is the same as it has been forever - the tests, the perspectives, and the protocols are not sensitive enough to detect minute changes. 

Adrenal fatigue might be the first imbalance toward something more chronic like CFS , MS, or adrenal diseases like addisons or cushings. 

ultimately the argument comes down to the same one it’s always been : 

does a condition ‘exist’ before it becomes measurable, or is it in the realm of imbalances and potentiality. 

should biomedicine recognise it as a named condition? 

would they have the resources to manage the ‘new condition’ and peoples concerns if they did? 

if you’re craving salt, it could be a signal from your kidneys and adrenals for some help. 

as for traditional medicine and herbalism some approaches might be : 

• tone the vagus nerve to deal with stress response - this can be done through mechanical processes like singing, humming, gargling regularly, and through nervine trophorestoratives like lavender, rosemary, astragalus, chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower 

• support metabolic function and sugar / salt cravings with nutritive herbs like horsetail, nettle, cinnamon, chamomile, rose, orange blossom 

• correct nutritional deficiencies that might be effecting mitochondrial dysfunction and creating fatigue 

• support the entire HPA axis with adaptogens LONG TERM like ashwaganda (prime for cortisol rebalancing), astragalus, schizandra (occasionally more stimulating adaptogens like ginseng or rhodiola might be used, depending on the age and vitality of the person) 

• approach any hormonal imbalances such as thyroid or gonadotropins

• nourish the kidneys with sweet, restorative herbs like goji berry, astragals root, or oat seed.