Dr. Alan Christianson, ND. author of Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease and a forthcoming book on adrenal health, was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Adrenals – Master glands of anxiety / tranquility
- Why the adrenals regulate the anxiety response
- Why some are more prone to anxiety than others
- How to know if your adrenals are healthy
- Testing your adrenal function
- The difference between adrenal dysfunction and disease
- How your diet and daily habits stress your adrenals
- The best ways to heal your adrenal glands
Here is short video of Dr. Christianson sharing his story as an unhealthy kid and why he does what he does
Here are some snippets from our interview:
So even if we’re not being chased by the classic tiger if our blood sugar’s crashing, that, by itself, can trigger high amounts of stress hormones to make us feel more anxious, or if our sleep schedules have been thrown off, or if we’re missing some key nutrients that are needed by the adrenal glands, or if we’ve got a high amount of some external toxin in our body. All these separate things – and it can also be thought of that it’s not just a factor, but it’s the collective weight of all of those adrenal stressors. It’s how much we’ve got pushing those glands off at any given point in time that makes us more or less apt to have anxiety symptoms.
So caffeine is a stimulant, and what it does specifically is it causes our body to take all of our stored energy. We make something called glycogen. We take good carbs, and we pack them deep into our muscles. We pack them really tight, and we make glycogen out of that. It’s also in our liver. So caffeine causes us to just dump a whole of glycogen out, and it makes this big burst, this big rise in your blood sugar. The same thing would happen if you just drank a full sugar coke. It’s the same phenomenon, the same rise in blood sugar.
Here is a link to the online Adrenal Quiz we talked about. Let us know your score in the comments below.
In this Huffington Post blog called the Top 3 Myths of Adrenal Fatigue he writes how strategically using sunlight is one of the best-documented ways to help restore daily rhythms and heal the adrenals. We discussed some of this in the interview and here is a nice summary:
- Within an hour of waking, expose yourself to sunlight or a light box emitting at least 10,000 lux (measure of light intensity). Do not wear sunglasses, do not look directly at the source of light, and get at least a half hour of exposure.
- Get low wattage (under 40 watts) red-colored light bulbs for your bedroom. For the last 50 minutes of your day, feel free to read a book our journal, but use no other sources of light or electronics.
- In your bedroom, make sure your windows block all outdoor lights and cover any lights on thermostats, or alarm units. Make sure that any lights used to find your way around are colored red.
Here is a link to Dr. Alan Christianson’s book on thyroid disease:
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease
As we mentioned at the start of the interview, Dr. Christianson has a new book on adrenal health coming out next month! When you register for the free gift he has kindly offered, you’ll also be updated on information about the new book.
Here is Dr. Christianson’s new book on adrenal health – The Adrenal Reset Diet: Strategically Cycle Carbs and Proteins to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, and Move from Stressed to Thriving
The free gift is 49 Fresh Recipes for a Stronger Body and More Vibrant You
UPDATE: Season 2 of The Anxiety Summit concluded in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list for the next summit just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com
Missed this interview and want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts + interview highlights and listen when it suits you
This was an amazing presentation. I learned so much in just 1 hour. Is there a website we can find a doctor like Dr. Christianson in our area?
Well I scored a 14 on the online Adrenal Quiz which is supposed to be good but what I did check is crucial to me. Low carb fixed so much but gave me an inability to sleep, muscle and joint pain. Still trying to figure out how to fix it. I was able to go from 3 hours a night sleep to about 4-5 hours a night by going back to eating some junk food and drinking a quart of milk in a few days (which I am intolerant of), but the leg neuropathy and cramping in legs and fingers are coming back. I think women don’t eat enough and cannot eat all that is required so when you go on low carb you stress your adrenals. It messed up my cortisol I think. Love listening to Dr. Christianson.
What an informative interview – I am wandering re fructose – agave nectar and honey mentioned; but is fruit problematic too (with fructose)? Fruit wasn’t mentioned. I do have 1 c of organic blueberries in the morning in my smoothie – with a fresh green – like spinach, or kale or collards (I rotate); coconut milk. Thank you for all that you do Trudy – amazing.
Hi Melanie
Glad you enjoyed this and enjoy those organic blueberries!
Trudy
My score was 50 something! Pretty bad. I’ve been working with a naturopath whose been working more on my gut even though I’m sure theres some adrenal dysfunction.
Hi Tiffany
Poor adrenal function is not uncommon. Addressing adrenal health can have a big impact on your gut so I like to do both with my clients
Trudy
Thank you so much for such a well informative presentation. I felt like you were talking directly about me in many areas. I even had my husband listen with me the second time to hear what you had to say. Of course I did not do well on the quiz….I scored a 47. I knew I was in the “crash” stage, now it is just getting my nutritionist to see it! Overall I feel like I have held up rather well other than the lack of sleep, but more things seem to be affected the longer it goes. Only now am I able to see the connection between the sleep, my immune system, my low body temp, inflammation, and high blood sugars, maybe even GERD. This has been such a blessing to me! I will be starting the diet tomorrow!!
Tammy
Thank you, Dr. Christianson for the information!
Thank you, Trudy for your thoughtfulness in having this summit to help us get our health back on track!
One question…..do the potatoes need to be eaten cold or can they be warmed after being brought out of the refrigerator?
Tammy
I’m so glad this was so helpful for you. I don’t have the answer about the potatoes but will find out for you. Be sure to pick up a copy of Dr C’s book when it comes out next month
Trudy
Tammy
I heard back from Dr C – “to get the full amount of resistant fiber they are best boiled, refrigerated for over 4 hours, and eaten cold”
Trudy
LOVED the presentation. My daughter has adrenal fatigue and also suffers from chronic nausea. What is the connection between nausea and adrenal fatigue?
Thank you!!
Hi Deb
Wonderful! There can be many causes of chronic nausea: low blood sugar (closely tied to adrenal issues) digestive issues (also common with adrenal issues), liver/gallbladder issues, gluten sensitivity, medication side-effects, inner ear issues and low vitamin B6.
Trudy
There are so many Debbie’s and Deb’s commenting on the various blog pages, I had better give myself a nickname or something! I am the Debbie that is a biochemist.
My score is 46! I knew it would be bad as my cortisol readings (serum) have been WAY below specification for 6 years.
The only physician I know who “believes” in adrenal fatigue insists I cannot have it because I have high blood pressure and high catecholamines. Of course pheochromocytoma was given as a probable diagnosis based on the labs, but no tumors were found with an MRI scan.
Dr. C mentioned that the treatment for each stage of adrenal exhaustion is different. But he did not say elaborate. I am obviously “crashed” at this point. I would like to know if Dr. C has any resources addressing the crashed stage specifically?
I would also love his opinion on my unlikely combination of hypertension and high catecholamines plus VERY low serum cortisol. The Canadian specs are in different units or I would post a typical result.
Thanks again for all of the fabulous information.
You rock!
Deb xoxo
Summit response
Ive been following Dr. Christianson & all his wonderful information online for the past year and have learned a lot. I wish he were in my city so I could go to his clinic. Im looking forward to his new book….however, Id like it even better if he made a recording of his book so I could listen to it rather than read it. (My fatigue & brain fog are severe enough to have trouble with reading but I very much enjoy listening while lying down with eyes closed).
Id like to follow Dr Christianson advice on eating boiled red potatoes that have been refrigerated (it used to be one of my favorite daily foods) but I have developed multiple food sensitivities & can no longer eat them. Would love to hear a summit on how to handle SIBO, food sensitivities &/or multiple chemical sensitivities.
Listening to this summit has been my favorite thing to do in the last few weeks. (Any chance for an option that is less expensive where we’d be able to buy just a few of our favorite speakers rather than all of them)? My doctor & I have been talking about all the wonderful summits offered in the past year. She is as excited about them as I am. Thanks sooooo much for all your hard work.
Adrenal quiz score 32. Looking forward to listening to the interview for answers. After being on 3/4 grain WP thyroid for a year, my TSH went from 1.3 Aug 2013 to almost 5.0 Aug 2014. My dr increased my WP to 1 grain. I have more energy & my weight is starting to come off slowly, but it’s harder to fall asleep & I am very thirsty when I wake up in the middle of the night, frequently with my hearrt pounding. I am thinking that I need to address my adrenals as well. My latest TSH in Nov 2014 is 1.0. So my thyroid sounds better, but I am wondering if my adrenals aren’t doing as well. I am in the wired, but tired category. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dr C & Trudy, for all of the helpful info! 🙂
Hi Dr. Christianson and Trudy
Thank you for your generosity. Is there a connection between Adrenal Dysfunction and Ménière’s Disease? I have both and my evenings are not very pleasant. Around 6:30 ish I get dizzy and tightness in my head. I have been prescribed 1 mg of Ativan for this. Any suggestions that would help me?
Thank you again
My best
Charmaine
Thank you, doctor. I did noticed that i sleep better if eat a little bit of carbs with meat. My score is 31 even after full course of treatment for adrenal fatigue. I was not followed all recommendations for rest because of family circumstances but i feel very good now.Resistant carbs is probably good idea but how about Candida? It can overgrow if more simple carbs added. Bacteria don`t care if it is resistant starch or not and will eat it all. (lol)