Feeling exhausted, stressed or mentally foggy? Sluggish adrenal glands may be to blame. These hardworking glands wind down due to everything from chronic tension to age. Fortunately, an adrenal cocktail could help. The healthy sippers (which are actually alcohol-free) are a tasty — and TikTok-trendy! — way to rejuvenate bogged down adrenals. Here, find out how to whip up your own adrenal cocktail, then get ready to reap the all-body benefits.
How your adrenal glands work
Quick biology lesson: Your adrenals are two triangular-shaped glands that sit on top of your kidneys. Along with your thyroid and ovaries, the adrenals help make hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and DHEA, an anti-aging “fountain of youth” hormone that the body uses to produce estrogen and testosterone. (Click through to see the best DHEA for women.)
Your body relies on these adrenal hormones to carry out a huge range of essential jobs, explains Brendan Courneene, ND, a licensed naturopathic doctor in Los Angeles, CA, and medical consultant for Thesis. Some of these key tasks include:
- Turning food into energy
- Balancing blood sugar
- Keeping blood pressure normal
- Fighting off illness
- Handling stress
In fact, when it comes to dealing with stress, your adrenal glands basically run the show, explains Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, a board-certified internist specializing in integrative medicine based in Kailua-Kona, HI. When a dangerous or tense situation sets off your internal alarm bells, your adrenal glands are responsible for launching a response to keep you safe. They’ll pump out hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, for instance, to increase your heart and breathing rate so you can escape a threat as quickly as possible.
That might be something big, like another driver careening towards your car. But more often than not it’s the small stuff, like looming medical bills or having to wait in a long line at the supermarket when you’re already running late.
Why your adrenal glands become sluggish
Just like a person can get burned out from a demanding job with no breaks, the adrenal glands can become strained when they’re forced to work too hard. “As with any organ, if we continually ask too much from it, under-functioning or slowing down will occur,” says Dr. Courneene. Adrenal fatigue is so common that it affects more than a quarter of women over age 50, Dr. Teitelbaum estimates. The top causes:
1. Chronic stress
Chronic stress is one of the biggest adrenal taxers. Why? It sends the glands into overdrive as they work nonstop to manage your body’s stress response, explains Jolene Brighten, NMD, a board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist and author of Is This Normal? Judgement-Free Straight Talk About Your Body. And it’s incredibly common, especially in women. In fact, women are twice as likely to have severe stress and anxiety compared to men, research in Brain and Behavior suggests. That’s in large part due to women taking on the burden of household tasks, financial worries and caring for loved ones, often times in addition to juggling a demanding job. (Click through to learn how you can reverse the effects of chronic stress by toning your vagus nerve with cold water.)
2. Carb- and sugar-rich diets
If you’re like us, it can be hard to resist carbohydrate-rich fare like french fries, or sugary sweets like your favorite chocolate chip cookies. But diets high in sugar or refined carbs can contribute to adrenal stress by causing rollercoaster-like blood sugar spikes. “Any time your blood sugar is going up and down, it will demand a response from your adrenal glands,” says Dr. Brighten. Over time, this can leave your adrenals sluggish and fatigued.
3. Menopause
Sure, you know that menopause can trigger hot flashes and insomnia. But it turns out it can overtax your adrenal glands, too. As your ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen, your adrenals are forced to try to pick up the extra slack, Dr. Courneene explains. At the same time, aging in general slows your adrenal function. “The adrenal glands don’t give up completely, but they do go into retirement,” says Dr. Brighten. (Click through to learn how probiotics can ease menopause symptoms.)
