When you feel threatened, your Hypothalamus sends a hormone called CRH to your anterior Pituitary gland, which then secretes another hormone (ACTH) that tells your Adrenals to produce Cortisol. Cortisol increase heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar, allowing you to better fight off or flee from whatever danger you sense. As long as stress occurs only occasionally, it causes no harm.
When stress occurs frequently, Cortisol is elevated to levels that trigger anxiety, irritability, confusion, lack of focus, memory loss, sleeplessness and fatigue and encourage bone loss, weight gain, high blood sugar, cardiovascular challenges, thyroid issues and more. If you experience a good number of these challenges, you might suffer from what many natural health experts call Adrenal Fatigue.
Adaptogens - the Natural Solution
When you’re worn out, the temptation is to turn to caffeine, nicotine or other stimulants. However, stimulants provide no energy and further elevate Cortisol. You might feel more energetic – for a very short time -- but then you’ll crash, and your problem will be worse than before.
Adaptogens are herbs that help you adapt to stress. By lowering cortisol, they support healthy energy levels, immune response, mental function, sleep patterns, digestion and all the rest. Many are amazed at how much and how quickly adaptogens can help.
