I currently have adrenal fatigue. I've been low fat raw vegan for a year and a half. I'm gaining lots of weight around my stomach. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!

A good book to look into for this is Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, by Dr. Christiane Northrup - you can probably find it at your library - there is a section on pages 529 - 531 for restoring adrenal function.

Basically it says - reduce stress - when you find yourself thinking stressful thoughts - stop and focus on something that allows you to feel unconditional love or appreciation - hold that feeling for 15 seconds - try and do this 3 - 5 times per day. This will help stabilize your cortisol/DHEA balance.

Get enough sleep.

Allow yourself to accept nurturing and affection.

Nutrition:
Whole foods with minimal sugar
Avoid caffeine
Eat some protein at each meal
Get enough Vit C, B5, B Complex, Magnesium, and Zinc

Herbs - Siberian Ginseng
If your DHEA is low - consider supplementing for a short time, until your adrenals rest and recover
2% progesterone creme
Light to moderate exercise

These are the suggestions in the book - check it out !

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I've been there and am there now. I have to do some tweaks with my diet, but I keep getting guidance to try some maca.

I have been high raw for 18 months and have recently switched to a lower fat raw version. Not so sure it's good for me. Then again, I feel best eating 80 percent raw and then, 20 percent cooked, macrobiotic foods. I don't do well with lots of nuts and seeds due to tummy issues. Maybe the latter will heal--I hope.

hold on, you can DEVELOP something like this after being raw for over a year? how is that possible?

I had this happen to me after about 10 months into my raw journey. The illness had developed in my life before raw, and going raw gave me a boost such that the symptoms went away at first. But then 10 months into my raw life, a huge chronic fatigue episode hit me. What I did was to take a 4 month leave of absence from work, and to stay at home a sleep for as much as possible. In the first month of my leave, I slept 16 hours a day. Each successive month I was able to drop the number of hours I slept by 2 hours until I stabilized at 9-10 hours of sleep a night.

Having chronic fatigue turn into a acute fatigue was part of my healing cycle. This is how detox manifested in my body, the incredible desire for sleep, and the inability to function at work because of this need for sleep.

Had I taken some supplement or medicine to suppress the symptom, rather than getting the sleep that my body needed, I suspect I would probably still have the chronic fatigue today. However, after I slept it all off, it never came back.

Adrenal fatigue isn't caused by the raw diet - it is caused by stress. When you are under constant stress your adrenal glands continually secrete the fight/flight hormones - your body wasn't designed to have these hormones secreted continually. Reducing stress and doing all the other things I listed above can help rebalance the cortisol/DHEA in your system so that your adrenals can rest, recover, and function as they were meant to.

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Read the fre*e e-book :
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cordyceps mushroom might help with adrenal fatigue.

also may want to reevaluate your diet.

I'm going through same thing:
supplements for adrenals-

licorice
siberian ginseng
rhodiola
borage etc

chomomile, valerian etc to reduce stress

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

I, like Bryan, had adrenal fatigue way before I went raw. Problem is, I continued to exercise like crazy and not get enough sleep. It has all caught up to me now. I think my thyroid is out of whack now. I got blood tests done this week at the doctor's office. I don't know what I'll do if they recommend synthroid or something like that. I can't take off work and rest (I have bills to pay)!

Does anyone have experience with these medications? Thank you!

Well, I got my blood work back and now know that I have B12 deficiencies. Now, what to do?

hiya daisyduke , its hard to suggest things to you without knowing more about whats up in your life

i hear ya about having to pay the bills and i hate to say something like evaluate your priorities, if youre married with children thats a tough call.
nor do i know what your job situation is , if your happy doing what you do for how much you make etc.

you need to rest thats the solution

i had to take 5 months off for exhaustion one year , i was taking many high potency b vitamins an fat burners for the energy to stay awake to work 2 jobs to pay bills for a place i wasnt ever home at because i was working 2 jobs everyday to pay the bills lol how stupid is that???? silly me thinking hey vitamins and herbs are healthy from nature !!! wrong ....my body was so revved up on *natural* pills it took that long to correct everything... 5 months of rest

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Talk to your doc - s/he may want to start you on some B12 shots - just depends on how severe it is - s/he may or may not recommend supplementation - depends on whether or not you do the shots. Definitely talk to the doc to find the best route to go.

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Read the fre*e e-book :
101 Ways to Change the World for Animals
[www.mypowermall.com]
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Own your own Power Mall, over 1000 stores - completely FRE*E
Receive rebates on items you already buy anyway....
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i wanted to add just in case anyone gets confused ...it wasnt so much the b-vitamin pills i was taking .. it was the fact that i was using them like speed to stay awake i was taking WAY more then recommended dosages

too much of a good thing hurts

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist