22/07/2019
4 healthy eating tips to nourish your adrenals 💛
Are you feeling rundown, irritable, can’t sleep well, are you craving sweets and gaining weight, especially around the belly? It could be that your adrenals are working overtime.
The adrenal glands are small glands located on top of each kidney, which produce over 50 hormones, including your s*x hormones and cortisol. Chronic stress can suppress your adrenals and cause them to release insufficient amounts of those hormones, which can affect your overall wellbeing.
We all know how to counteract stress - think meditation, exercise, laughter, connection - but diet is also a huge part of the equation. By making a few simple changes you can support your adrenals so they can work optimally.
1. Eat REGULAR well balanced meals made up of whole foods: protein, good fats and complex carbohydrates (more on what kind of carbs in #2.). Intermittent fasting is all the rage right now and has a lot of benefits, however when you’re already stressed it’s best to skip it for now as it is another major stressor for your body - especially for us women!
2. While carbs certainly aren’t all bad for you, the TYPE of carbs you consume is very important. Try kicking gluten and too many starchy carbs (which can cause major inflammation) and instead have colorful vegetables in abundance, including lots and lots of leafy greens. We tend to crave carb-heavy foods when stressed and they do offer short term satisfaction but tax the adrenals even more.
3. REDUCE your caffeine intake to 1 or less cups of coffee or tea per day as caffeine raises cortisol even more and interferes with sleep. You can also substitute coffee with adrenal supporting teas such as dandelion root, ginseng and nettle.
4. Make sure you cover the following KEY NUTRIENTS, which help support your adrenals: Vitamin C (no brainer - fruit and veg in abundance), B vitamins (e.g. leafy greens, nuts and seeds, avocados), magnesium (e.g. green leafy veggies, tofu, sea food, nuts and seeds, legumes), zinc (e.g. meat, eggs, shellfish, legumes) and iron (e.g. green veggies yet again!, meat, eggs, legumes).
