Fatigue is a growing problem in this country. It is probably the number one complaint I see in my office other than the desire to lose weight. But the continual use of stimulants to get us through the day can have far reaching negative effects on our energy level, metabolism, blood sugar, cardiovascular, hormonal and immune systems.
Stimulants such as caffeine and energy drinks are flooding the market. You can’t walk through a grocery store without seeing the growing number of energy drinks being sold. We’re talking billions of dollars in this industry. Add that to the number of coffee shops popping up and you can easily see how we are over-stimulating ourselves.
The most common stimulants are caffeine, ma huang, ephedra, guarana, kola nut, and bitter oranges (Citrus aurantium). You can find these ingredients in almost all these drinks, as well as, many nutritional supplements. Bitter orange contains synephrine, the cousin to ephedra, and is the newest herb to hit the market, once ephedra was taken off the market.
Stimulants have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. They do have a place in the healing arts. But the daily use is the problem. Just as I believe the good Lord didn’t make a bad hormone (cortisol, insulin) these stimulants, are NOT the problem. Rather it is the overuse of them that throws our body out of balance.
Stimulants squeeze or stimulate our adrenal glands to produce additional adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol, which are stress hormones that give us that boost of energy. Unfortunately this continual squeeze on our adrenals can eventually exhaust and burn them out. The continual over-stimulation of our adrenal glands lead to adrenal fatigue and exhaustion. This is becoming a common and underlying cause for many of the health challenges we face today.
Our adrenal glands play a critical role in our survival. Yes they make our stress hormone cortisol, which is catching a lot of attention because of their association with weight loss. But they are also intimately involved in stabilizing our blood sugar. This is critical because the number of people suffering from Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance and diabetes is increasing. Many of these problems are attributable to over-stimulation of our adrenal glands, which leads to adrenal burnout.
The adrenals also make our sex hormones. This is critical for both women and men, because if the body is constantly having to make stress hormones, it will have to steal progesterone, which in turn effects the balance of estrogen and testosterone. This is why so many people are suffering from hot flashes, PMS, loss of libido and depression!
Let’s not forget the number of people taking high blood pressure medications. The over-stimulation of your adrenals causes an increase of norepinephrine, which causes your arteries to constrict. This will cause your blood pressure to go up. Keep in mind, another function of the adrenal glands is to balance the fluids (sodium and potassium) in the body. This is what most blood pressure med’s do - they manipulate the fluids in your body.
I am not against a good cup of coffee or the occasional use of an energy drink, but it comes back to balance and how you use it. A good cup of coffee in a relaxed state has a completely different effect on your body as opposed to having a cup of coffee or energy drink because you need it to finish the day. Many of these so-called “cortisol lowering” products that are being marketed to help with weight loss are also loaded with stimulants. Talk about deceptive! If stress is the problem, the last thing you want to be taking are stimulants. This is why reading the labels and knowing what to look for is so important.
If you think you might be overusing caffeine or other stimulants, adrenal burnout could be the root of your problem. It would be a good idea to take the “on-line health quizzes” to see what condition your adrenals are in.
