Adrenal Fatigue and the Importance of Glandular Therapy

“If stimulated even slightly, many of the healthy hormones found in our glandular tissues can begin their genetic tasks as they did before.”

This month, a study came out finally acknowledging that adrenal fatigue is a legitimate medical condition. “In the eyes of the medical community, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS, has had a legitimacy deficit for decades. Now, a team of 75 multidisciplinary scientists and clinicians from across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and collaborators have completed an extensive inpatient study[1] of a carefully selected group of people with postinfectious ME/CFS, published in Nature Communications. (…) “Overall, what we show is that ME/CFS is unambiguously biological, with multiple organ systems affected,” Nath said in an interview with JAMA. “It’s a systemic disease, and the people living with it deserve to have their experiences taken seriously.”[2]

It has been many years that those living with the symptoms of adrenal fatigue have been told that their condition is within their head and not taken seriously. Most doctors would not validate adrenal fatigue as a condition because they could not imagine that when the adrenal glands are out of balance, it affects the entire endocrine system.

Adrenal glands are endocrine glands, which are also known as suprarenal glands. They are small, triangular-shaped glands, located on top of both kidneys. Adrenal Glands secrete cortisol, and stimulate our bodies to produce progesterone and testosterone, among other hormones. They are made of two main parts: the adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla. Both parts of the adrenal glands perform distinct and separate functions. The adrenal glands support the thyroid gland; they also help preserve the organ with the highest concentration of Vitamin C in the body, which is lowered by stress.

Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal fatigue is the most common adrenal gland dysfunction. It occurs when the adrenal gland’s function is below normal levels. A variety of symptoms are associated with adrenal gland fatigue, the most common[3] ones include:

  • fatigue, particularly upon waking, with intermittent “crashes” throughout the day
  • poor stress response and mood regulation
  • cognitive issues or “brain fog”
  • increased energy levels in the evenings
  • cravings for salty and sweet foods
  • overuse of caffeine and other stimulants
  • a compromised immune system

There are 4 stages of adrenal fatigue:

Stage 1: Alarm Reaction (Flight or Fight response). Fatigue tends to be more prominent when first waking or in the mid-afternoon, peak performance cannot be achieved.

Stage 2: Resistance Response. Your body still functions normally, but you feel more exhausted at the end of the day and need extra rest to recover. You may not feel refreshed after sleeping. Other symptoms might include frequent infections, an imbalanced thyroid, and weight gain.

Stage 3: Adrenal Exhaustion. The adrenal glands cannot keep up with the body’s increasing demand for cortisol production. Symptoms become more severe: depression, insomnia, and only short bursts of energy are most common. Stress must be reduced.

Stage 4: Adrenal Failure. Patients who fall into this stage run a high risk of cardiovascular collapse and death. Symptoms may be confused with Addison’s disease, and include sudden sharp pain in the lower back, abdomen or legs, severe vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration, low blood pressure, and loss of consciousness.

Treatment of Adrenal Fatigue

It is important to pay attention to your lifestyle, watch what you eat and drink, as well as eliminate stress. Getting regular breaks and a good night’s sleep is crucial. There are a variety of supplements, including vitamins, minerals and hormones recommended to ease adrenal fatigue such as Adrenal Gland, Vitamin C and Thyrodine® Thyroid Gland.

Glandular Therapy

Glandular therapy uses glandular and organ substances to bolster the function of a patient’s organs or glands. The benefits of desiccated glandular tissue include fat loss, muscle building, better digestion, and other improvements often taken for granted. Glandular therapy works because it is said to increase the tone, function, and/or activity of the corresponding gland, which in turn benefits the entire human system. In the body, glands are in charge of different body functions.

Glandular therapy has not been practiced by naturopaths for many years. It is not because they were not effective but because when Natural Health Product (NHP) licensing regulations came into effect September 2014 Health Canada regarded animal glands as prescription drugs and refused to allow US suppliers to export them into Canada. Life Choice took up the challenge and submitted all the necessary evidence and were granted the licensing for Canada. I cannot stress the importance enough using glandular therapy—which is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the world—to safely bring about the missing components so that the body can heal itself. Not only are glandular extracts rich in gland specific nutrients, but their nucleotides impart critical information to their host that is not available any other way. They are used to bolster the human body glands; this means that the young healthy animal gland that is full of polypeptide enzymes and complete amino acid profile can provide the missing nutrients when administered to humans replacing their depleted or compromised glands. I refer to glandular therapy as the equivalent to nature’s stem cells.

Modern medicine replaces the thyroid glandular with synthetic thyroid hormones, the adrenal glandular with cortisone and corticosteroids, pancreas glandular with insulin, and the ovaries glandular with estrogen and synthetic progesterone made from the urine of pregnant mares.

Life Choice Adrenal Gland

Life Choice Adrenal Gland can alleviate adrenal fatigue, provide much-needed energy, helps to maintain immune function, aids in thyroid health and may help to lower blood pressure.

Our glandulars are concentrates (not extracts) and are derived from New Zealand range-grazed bovine. The grasslands are non-fertilized and the animals are not administered feed supplements, hormones or antibiotics. The benefits of hormone free adrenal gland are that they have little to no side effects, instead they help supply the balance needed for low or high adrenal levels.

We have also supported our adrenal glandular with vitamin C buffered with calcium. Stress and anxiety affect the adrenals and when this happens, vitamin C and calcium act like shock absorbers. Vitamin C plays a crucial role in both the adrenal cortex and medulla, impacting catecholamine biosynthesis and adrenal steroidogenesis, with studies including an animal model lacking the ascorbic acid transporter revealing severe effects on adrenal function and structure.[4] In both stress and anxiety, urinary calcium has been found to increase, meaning that the calcium in the body is decreasing. Because calcium stores deplete when stress arises, it is important to provide an extra buffer. If daily remineralisation is not part of your routine, incorporating Opti-Cal/Mag with K2 would be an excellent choice.

Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is also added in this formulation. It has a significant history in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as a treatment for anxiety and depression. A study[5] investigated the anxiolytic effects of Gotu Kola by measuring its impact on the acoustic startle response (ASR) in humans. Results showed that a single dose of Gotu Kola significantly reduced the peak amplitude of the ASR compared to a placebo, without affecting mood, heart rate, or blood pressure, suggesting potential anxiolytic properties.

Life Choice Adrenal Gland Testimony

“The Adrenal Gland product by Life Choice has changed my life in such a miraculous way.  I don’t know how to thank this company enough. I have struggled with terrible body pain for many years. Every morning I had to lie down on an infrared bio-mat for an hour before I could get up and do some exercise. I’ve never understood this body pain, because I have an extremely healthy lifestyle and diet.

On the advice of my sister, who is a nutritionist, I started taking 3 capsules a day of Adrenal Gland. We thought it might help with how tired I was feeling. However, what happened after a few days was unbelievable to me. All of my body pain disappeared. I need much less sleep now and when I wake up in the morning, I am ready to start my day. I am 100% pain free. After all these years, I have found my miracle. I have always believed in the benefit of glandulars but I had no idea how dramatic a change they could make. And so, I am eternally grateful for this life-changing product.

This company has gone to great lengths to make such clean and pure products. I applaud Eldon and his team for all their hard work and their commitment to helping people gain optimum health. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Nicky

If stimulated even slightly, many of the healthy hormones found in our glandular tissues can begin their genetic tasks as they did before. For example, a small polypeptide material present in one tissue can have selective effects in encouraging another tissue at a different site in the body to produce hormonal materials, which then may affect a final target tissue and change its physiological function. This domino effect can happen only if target-specific polypeptides from specific organs are present. Life Choice works meticulously to ensure that our products will produce these desired results.

References:

[1] Walitt, B., Singh, K., LaMunion, S.R. et al. 2024.

[2] Eastman, Quinn. 2024.

[3] Hoen, Sean. 2022.

[4] Patak, P. et al. 2009.

[5] Bradwejn, Jacques et al. 2000.