November 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - everywomanover29 blog

Chris Kresser addresses the question of “Is Adrenal Fatigue Real” in his fascinating interview with Dr. Christianson on the The Adrenal Reset Summit which runs from November 7-12. He shares that it’s virtually impossible to recover from any chronic illness without addressing the HPA axis and that he prefers the term HPA axis dysregulation to the term adrenal fatigue because it’s more accurate:

The endocrine society has a factsheet and downloadable PDF about adrenal fatigue and in that factsheet they say adrenal fatigue is not a real medical condition and they go on to say there are no scientific facts to support the theory that long-term mental, emotional, or physical stress drains the adrenal glands. Patients are out there searching for this information. They’re checking this stuff out and you’ve got a pretty well-known organization that is focused on hormone health saying that adrenal fatigue is not a real condition. Then you go and you search for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in PubMed and just as you said, Alan, you get 18,320 results…

Here are some other snippets from his interview, where Chris covers root causes of low cortisol:

even when we do see true low cortisol where both total and free cortisol are low then the question becomes, in that situation, is it really an autoimmune issue like Addison’s where the adrenal glands are compromised and can’t produce cortisol or is it some other kind of regulatory mechanism in the body and it’s leading to this low cortisol output.

And then, more importantly, is that a maladaptive response, meaning something, perhaps, that happened a while ago – and that can even go all the way back to fetal development, when the patient was in the womb because we know that the HPA axis is programmed in the womb and, also, early life stressors can play a big role in programming the HPA axis – or is it something that’s another pathology like SIBO or a gut infection, or a chronic infection of some kind like Lyme disease or exposure to mold or heavy metals, or biotoxins that is affecting the body in such a way that it’s downregulating cortisol production as a result. In that case, the treatment is not to give cortisol or to give things that boost cortisol, it’s to address those things that are causing the body to downregulate cortisol production in the first place.

I really love Dr. Christianson’s advice for his patients, encouraging them to take better care of themselves, to sleep more, to do less and to stress-less:

imagine a scenario in which, heaven forbid, a loved one needs your care. They need your help in the hospital. They need you there for a few hours per day. So, let’s think about all the things you do that you would just drop from your schedule to be there for them because, of course, you’d be there for them. So, they’ll write some things out and I’ll say, okay, cool! So, now, that loved one is ‘you’.

I think it’s a message we could all apply in our busy lives!

Anxiety, feelings of constant overwhelm and fatigue, plus insomnia, sugar cravings, the inability to control blood sugar, lack of mental clarity… these symptoms can be due to adrenal issues and this condition is brutally disruptive. And yes, you can suffer from all of the above at once!

Here are a few of the many other excellent speakers and their topics:

Steph Gadreau, CHNP – Perfectionism and Adrenals
Aviva Romm, MD – Adrenal Adaptogens
Ben Lynch, ND – Adrenals and Methylation
Wendy Myers, FDN, CHHC – Heavy Metal Toxicity
Dan Kalish, DC – Adrenal Neurotransmitter Connection
JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS – Preventing Adrenal Burnout
Julia Ross, MA – Neurotransmitters and the Food Mood Connection

You can register here.

It was Vitamin D Day on November 2^nd and it was a day to recognize vitamin D deficiency as a world problem. The day is led by the Vitamin D Society, Vitamin D Council and GrassrootsHealth, non-profit organizations dedicated to spread awareness on the vitamin D deficiency pandemic. According to the Vitamin D Day site:

Researchers agree that at least one third of the world is deficient in vitamin D, and some scientists even think a greater percent of people are deficient in vitamin D.

Why are so many people deficient, you might ask? It’s simple really. We get vitamin D from sun exposure. And now, more than ever, the world’s population lives an indoor lifestyle, avoiding the sun daily.

Doctors are beginning to discover that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

Furthermore, they’re discovering that vitamin D deficiency may make some diseases more severe, like respiratory diseases and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus. And they’re discovering that vitamin D can be an important piece in the treatment of some illnesses and diseases, including multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, asthma and many other diseases!

Low vitamin D is also a factor when it comes to mental health. Even though this information is not listed on the Vitamin D day site, there is much research supporting the connection:

Low vitamin D is associated with negative and depressive symptoms in psychotic disorders

There is a strong association between low S-25(OH)D and higher negative and depressive symptoms in psychotic disorders.

Vitamin D levels and perinatal depressive symptoms in women at risk: a secondary analysis of the mothers, omega-3, and mental health study

In women at risk for depression, early pregnancy low vitamin D levels are associated with higher depressive symptom scores in early and late pregnancy.

The Association between Vitamin D and Health-Related Quality of Life in Korean Adults

Participants with higher serum vitamin D (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) levels were significantly less likely to report problems with depression and anxiety.

Association Between Serum Levels of Vitamin D and the Risk of Post-Stroke Anxiety

Serum vitamin D status is related to the occurrence of anxiety in post-stroke patients and may be an independent risk factor of [post-stroke anxiety] after 1 month.

Here are eight key factors to know about vitamin D for Vitamin D day:

Vitamin D comes from sun exposure, not your diet.
Scientists and doctors agree that at least a third of the world is deficient in vitamin D.
If you don’t get frequent moderate sun exposure or take a vitamin D supplement, you’re likely deficient in vitamin D.
Moderate midday sun exposure is the best for making vitamin D.
You don’t need to burn to make vitamin D.
Vitamin D supplements are a good option in the wintertime to get the vitamin D you need.

In the northern hemisphere, the sun starts focusing more on the southern hemisphere. The sun’s rays strike the northern hemisphere at a different angle, an angle that isn’t quite as intense as during the summer. In consequence, your body has a harder time making vitamin D in the winter compared to the summer. The further north you live, the more difficult it is to make vitamin D in the winter.

Remember you can always check to see if you’re making vitamin D by looking at your shadow. If it’s longer than you, you aren’t making much vitamin D. And in the winter, your shadow is often longer than you.

Have no fear that you can’t make vitamin D! Vitamin D supplements are a good option in the wintertime. Low-pressure sunbeds and UV light units are also options to help you make vitamin D during the winter.

Vitamin D is important for many things, including your bones, heart, respiratory system, brain [and mental health], and likely cancer prevention.
Consider getting tested for vitamin D, to see if you’re getting enough.

Vitamin D tests are pretty easy. You can ask your doctor to add it to your next routine blood panel, or you can order an in-home test online through the Vitamin D Council.

vitamin-d-1 — (image from Vitamin D Day website http://www.vitamindday.net/)

Here are the vitamin D range guidelines from various organizations and the recommendations from the Vitamin D council:

vitamin-d-2

This blog post by the Vitamin D Council helps you to interpret your results: I tested my vitamin D level. What do my results mean?

When you get your test results you will see a number in units of ng/ml, for example, 50 ng/ml. These are the units that health professionals in the United States use. Elsewhere in the world, vitamin D blood test results are given in units of nmol/l.

To convert a test result measured in ng/ml to one measured in nmol/l, multiply the ng/ml number by 2.5. For example, 20 ng/ml is the same as 50 nmol/l (20 x 2.5).
To convert a test result measured in nmol/l to one measured in ng/ml, divide the nmol/l number by 2.5. For example, 50 nmol/l is the same as 20 ng/ml (50÷2.5).

This great Sunshine Calendar shows the amount of time needed to produce sufficient vitamin D.