Have you been wondering which foods can help you support your adrenal functioning, and also which kinds of foods to avoid? Inflammatory foods can lead to chronic inflammation which impacts our adrenal glands while an anti-inflammatory diet can help us heal.
Food is medicine also when it comes to adrenal fatigue. When our adrenal glands are tired, we need to support liver detoxification, the immune system, digestion, the nervous system and the brain. Vitamins, minerals and amino acids in an anti-inflammatory diet help repair and protect against inflammation. These foods include lean meat, fish, eggs, sweet potato, quinoa, beans, lentils, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, avocado, almonds, walnuts and also leafy greens, beets, ginger, berries and grapefruit, and so on. Also, avoiding all kinds of inflammatory foods and caffeine is crucial when supporting the adrenal glands.
In order to address which foods support adrenal fatigue, we’ll go through the root cause of adrenal fatigue, symptoms and also which foods to avoid in recovery from adrenal fatigue.
Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms In Females
Adrenal fatigue means our adrenal glands are tired after a prolonged period of chronic stress and are no longer able to create enough cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Chronic stress happens for multiple reasons such as:
- Stressful working environment
- Trauma from childhood
- Chronic pain, disease and infection
- Psychological stress
- Unhealthy diet and lack of nutrients
- Life changes
- Excessive exercise
- Stressful relations
Stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline are responsible for stress-response in our daily life and for our body to function optimally. If we’re not producing enough stress hormones it’ll lead to hormonal imbalance – and adrenal fatigue.
The symptoms of adrenal fatigue in women can vary but includes:
- Irregular period
- Infertility
- Loss of period
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Brain fog
- Chronic fatigue
- Exhaustion
- Irritable
- Depression
- Trouble falling asleep
- Waking up during the night
- Feeling very tired in the morning
- Have more energy in the night
- Slow metabolism (low thyroid functioning)
- Feeling tired but wired
- Hair loss
- Weight gain especially around the waist
- Difficulties handling stress
- Constipation
- Loss of muscle mass
- Difficulties maintaining muscle mass
- Cold hands and feets
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Low blood pressure
- Cravings
Disclaimer: If you’re suspecting you might have adrenal fatigue, I’ll recommend you talk to your healthcare provider.
If you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue, there are multiple factors to count in the equation of recovery – one of them is your choice of diet.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Adrenal Fatigue
If you’re wondering which foods will improve the function of your adrenal glands and overall health, I’ll recommend you an anti-inflammatory diet.
An anti-inflammatory diet supports liver detoxification and digestion, it lowers inflammation and reduces symptoms of common health conditions.
Chronic inflammation due to diet leads to chronic stress and chronic stress may lead to adrenal fatigue.Â
Chronic inflammation happens when consuming inflammatory foods and our body can’t keep up with eliminating the toxins.
Our liver has an important job in eliminating toxins from foods, additives, alcohol, and medication – but also breaks down and eliminates hormones such as stress hormones.
This means when our body has chronic inflammation, it keeps our body alert, produces more stress hormones and puts pressure on the liver.
One of the important factors of an anti-inflammatory diet is to support our liver through detoxification. Some may think that detox equals only drinking green juices – but that’s not the case.
You can support your liver by eliminating processed food, sugar, toxins, chemicals, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and pollution. Another factor is aiding in supplements containing antioxidants such as vitamins B, C, and E – and the use of amino acids like NAC, Glutathione. Also, herbs like milk thistle, dandelion, and Schisandra are useful in liver detoxification.
Foods that aid in liver detoxification:
- Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens
- Green tea
- Citrus fruits
- Berries
- Turmeric
- Garlic
Besides supporting liver health we’ll want to make sure to support our adrenal glands through diet, supplements and stress management.
Since chronic stress most likely is the root cause of adrenal fatigue – stress management is just as important as diet.
Before diving into what to avoid when recovering from adrenal fatigue, let’s look at which foods support our adrenal glands.
The first step in recovering is stabilizing blood sugar through meals containing animal protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. It’s preferred to eat breakfast within one hour of waking up and then eat every third hour. This means including snacks containing protein/fat and carbohydrates.
Complete proteins contain all 9 essential amino acids which are important building blocks for our cells, muscle, and tissue and supports liver detoxification and brain health.
Complete proteins include:
- Grass-fed beef
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Eggs
- Fish
Complex carbohydrates contain fiber, nutrients and nourish our cells. It’s important for healthy digestion as well.
Complex carbohydrates include:
- Quinoa
- Sweet potato
- Beans
- Lentils
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Berries
- Apples
Our cells, cell membranes and brain need healthy fats. It’s important to consider that some oils are inflammatory – this also includes oils you may think are healthy, but will oxidize when heated. My recommendation for cooking oil is coconut oil. Coconut oil is stable when heated and tolerates up to 350°F (177°C).
Healthy fats include:
- Coconut oil
- Flaxseed oil (cold pressed and in the fridge)
- Avocado
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Brazil nuts
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Chia seed
It’s no surprise that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is crucial – they contain nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.Â
Berries, grapefruits, and citrus fruits have a high content of antioxidants and cruciferous vegetables are important foods that support adrenal fatigue and overall health.
What Foods Cause Adrenal Fatigue?
What we choose not to eat is just as important, if not more important as what we do eat – an anti-inflammatory diet wouldn’t be possible without eliminating the foods that cause inflammation in the first place.
Highly inflammatory foods include:
- Red meat (I do recommend lean grass-fed beef)
- Processed meat like bacon, sausages, ham and pepperoni
- Grains and gluten including bread, rice, pasta and cereal
- Dairy including milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, butter and ice cream
- Refined sugar is found in candy, chocolate, cookies, crackers, protein bars, and pastriesÂ
- Fried foods like fries and chips
- Soda and sweeteners
- Inflammatory oils like corn, soybean, sunflower, canola, and peanut (containing omega 6)
- Caffeine of any kind should be avoided when adrenal fatigued
Inflammatory oils contain too much omega-6 – and a standard Western diet often includes too much omega-6, which throws out the omega-6/omega-3 balance. Ingesting too much omega-6 versus omega-3 fatty acids increases inflammation and fatty acids build up in our arteries, which eventually can lead to oxidative stress and chronic disease.Â
Sugar and grains/wheat spikes blood sugar and can eventually lead to insulin resistance, but also puts pressure on our adrenal glands and increases inflammation. Grains also slow down digestion. Since most of our immune system is found in our gut, taking proper care of our gut is important.
Dairy products contain saturated fat that can increase inflammation but also cause bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea if allergic.
If you’re looking for foods that support adrenal fatigue – eliminating the ones that make a mess in the first place will do you good.
Final Thoughts
Food is medicine. Foods from nature help build and protect us while processed foods make us sick, fatigued and age faster.
An anti-inflammatory diet contains foods with lots of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that we need to repair cells, for our organs, energy levels, and optimal brain function.
