21/04/2022
This week's podcast episode is on adrenal fatigue: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adrenal-fatigue-a-tired-medical-myth/id1531526782?i=1000558159244
Adrenal fatigue is the false belief that our adrenal glands become “worn out” as a result of prolonged, repetitive stress – and the output of key hormones, like the 'master stress hormone' cortisol, is diminished. Let’s be clear: adrenal fatigue is not a true medical condition, and our adrenal glands do not become tired.
While there are real medical issues related to adrenal gland dysfunction such as Cushing’s syndrome and Adrenal insufficiency, adrenal fatigue is not one.
There is an entire industry around adrenal fatigue, selling diagnostic tests and supplements claiming to ‘cure’ it. While endocrinologists, the true experts of this field, conclude that there is no such medical issue, alternative practitioners and celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow attribute “adrenal fatigue” as the cause of vague symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, and brain fog.
The adrenals are glands that sit on top of the kidneys and produce hormones including cortisol, when we are under stress. Cortisol has a wide range of effects on nearly every body system, and levels normally fluctuate as a result of our brain’s responses to stress., but these levels are tightly regulated by our body.
Fatigue, chronic pain, and lethargy are common reasons patients seek help from a doctor. Despite being so common, it is often challenging to come up with a diagnosis, as many ailments can cause fatigue. This is why many fake medical diagnoses have gained popularity. People want a name to put to their symptoms.
Proponents of adrenal fatigue use fraudulent diagnostic methods and then prescribe expensive supplements. These supplements include things like IV vitamin therapies, restrictive diets, “targeted nutritional supplementation”, but even more concerning: hormones.
Taking these when not needed can cause actual adrenal dysfunction and lead to adrenal crisis, which is very serious. And unfortunately, because of the lack of regulation and requirement to publish ingredients, many of these do contain hormones that people would not be aware of.
Please, don’t fall prey to pop culture pseudoscience diagnoses. There may be a very real reason you are experiencing symptoms, but it is not due to adrenal fatigue.
Check out Substack for more detail: https://theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/adrenal-fatigue-another-fake-diagnosis?s=w
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27557747/
https://www.endocrine.org/patient-engagement/endocrine-library/adrenal-fatigue
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/the-role-of-cortisol-in-the-body
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-diseases/adrenal-insufficiency-addisons-disease
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/addisons-disease/expert-answers/adrenal-fatigue/faq-20057906
https://www.aace.com/all-about-endocrinology/what-endocrinology #:~:text=Endocrinology%20is%20a%20branch%20of,in%20the%20field%20of%20endocrinology.
https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Cushings-Disease #:~:text=Prevalence%20of%20Cushing's%20Syndrome,cases%20in%20children%20and%20adolescents.
https://www.unbiasedscipod.com/episodes/spilling-the-immuni-tea-on-supplements?rq=supplements
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538239/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28814810/
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(17)30835-2/fulltext
