Adrenal+Glands+Researcher+1

Put your name here:Danielle Beatty

Put your name here:

Task: You and your group will be responsible for putting together a defensive presentation of an endocrine gland. You and your group will be giving this presentation during class. Your presentation must include: · A picture(s) of the gland showing its shape and location in the human body. · The hormone(s) produced by your endocrine gland. · The stimulus that tells your gland to produce hormones. · The control mechanism that tells your gland to stop producing hormones. · The function(s) of the hormone(s) produced by your gland. What are the target organs/cells and how does the message carried by the hormone help maintain homeostasis. This is probably the most important part of your presentation. The Adrenal Glands Picture #1.

[] The Adrenal Glands is located on the top of both kindneys their fuction. Their **hormones** directly into the bloodstream. The adrenals are flattened, somewhat triangular bodies that, like other endocrine glands, receive a rich **blood** supply. The phrenic (from the **diaphragm**) and renal (from the kidney) **arteries** send many small branches to the adrenals, while a single large adrenal vein drains blood from the gland. an outer layer, the adrenal cortex, which surrounds the adrenal medulla .These hormones achieve their effects by: http://www. which surrounds .bookrags.com/research/adrenal-glands-and-hormones-wap/. []
 * travelling through the body in the blood. Because they are so hydrophobic, they must be carried bound to a [|serum globulin].
 * entering from the blood into all cells
 * binding to their **receptor** — a protein present in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of "target" cells
 * The hormone-receptor complex binds to a second to form a **dimer**.
 * The dimer migrates into the nucleus (if it did not form there).
 * The hormone-receptor dimer binds to specific **hormone response elements** in DNA.
 * These are specific DNA sequences in the **[|promoter]** of genes that will be turned on (sometimes off) by the interaction.
 * Other **[|transcription factors]** are recruited to the promoter and [|gene transcription] begins.

Picture # 2

The diagram shows that the adrenal glands are The adrenal glands are a small pair of glands that form a part of our body's [|endocrine system]. These triangular shaped glands are located on the top of our kidneys. They comprise of an external cortex and an interior medulla. Are you aware of the [|functions of adrenal gland]? Well, just like the other endocrine glands, the adrenal glands also secrete [|hormones] into the bloodstream. Secretion of these hormones is the most important adrenal gland function. These hormones play a vital role in the process of development and growth of our body.

Both the adrenal cortex and the medulla secrete hormones. Out of the several hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex, the most important ones include hormones such as aldosterone and cortisol. Hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine are produced by the medulla. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and some sexual hormones are also secreted by the adrenal gland. Since adrenal glands are anti-stress glands that help up cope with stress, our body's ability to deal with stressful situations is greatly affected due to [|adrenal gland malfunction]. Wondering how does the adrenal gland function? Here's some information on how this gland works.


 * How Does the Adrenal Gland Function**

The pituitary gland along with hypothalamus is responsible for providing the adrenal gland the required stimulus to secrete hormones. When the corticotropin-releasing hormones that are produced by the hypothalamus stimulate the pituitary gland, it gets activated and produces corticotropin hormones. It is these corticotropin hormones that stimulate the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroid hormones. As you are already aware, adrenal gland function involves the secretion of hormones that are vital for many bodily processes. Whenever we are faced with stressful situations, these adrenal glands spring into action and secrete the hormones to deal with stress. These help in preparing our body for responding to [|stress]. As I mentioned earlier, both adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla secrete some vitally important hormones, here's some information on the hormones secreted by the adrenal gland and the functions performed by them.


 * Hormones Secreted by Adrenal Cortex**

Aldosterone is one of the most important [|adrenal cortex hormones]. It is categorized as a mineralocorticoid. It helps in maintaining the balance of water and salt in our body. Aldosterone helps in regulating the amount of sodium that is excreted into the urine. The production of aldosterone is regulated by the renin angiotensin. Whenever the blood pressure fluctuates or the balance of salt and water is disturbed, the kidney secretes renin. This triggers the production of angiotensin. Angiotensin stimulates the adrenal glands to release the aldosterone hormone. Aldosterone prevents the kidneys from filtering excess amounts of salt into the urine. Even when one is suffering from dehydration, aldosterone is released in order to maintain the balance of salt in the body. Thus, aldosterone helps in maintaining the blood pressure.

We live in an age where we are constantly faced with stress in our lives. Adrenal glands are the anti-stress glands which help our body deal with stress. Release of cortisol is our body's own way of combating stress. The adrenal cortex releases corticosteriods that help our body to deal with stressful situations. The secretion of cortisol is controlled by the pituitary gland. Whenever we are stressed out, the adrenal glands release cortisol. Not only does it raise the blood sugar and blood pressure levels, it also strengthens the immune system. When there is a dip in the [|cortisol levels], it is indicative of a decreased adrenal gland function. A person with low adrenal gland function or [|adrenal fatigue] becomes quite vulnerable to developing conditions such as low blood pressure, [|hypoglycemia] and allergies. Those suffering from low adrenal gland function generally experience fatigue and recurrent infections. Their ability to handle stressful situations also gets adversely affected.**Hormones Secreted by Adrenal Medulla**

Adrenal medulla is the core of the adrenal gland. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are some of the hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla. Epinephrine or adrenaline facilitates the conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver. I am sure you might have heard of a term called 'adrenaline rush'. This term is used for referring to the adrenal gland function in a fight/flight response. When the adrenal gland release adrenaline, the force of heart contractions and the heart rate increases considerably. The [|effects of epinephrine] also include increased flow of blood to the muscles and brain. Due to the release of epinephrine, the muscles are able to perform respiration a higher rate. Norepinephrine is also a stress hormone that helps in increasing heart rate and prepares the body for a fight/flight response. As a drug, it plays a vital role in suppressing neuro-inflammation.

So, this was some information on adrenal gland function. Now that you are aware of the important functions performed by the adrenal gland, I am sure you can understand what will happen if the adrenal gland function is adversely affected. Adrenal gland malfunction can make one vulnerable to several health problems. The ability to deal with stress will be greatly reduced. [|Adrenal problems] such as an enlarged adrenal gland, adrenal fatigue and adrenal insufficiency can give rise to several problems. People experiencing [|adrenal gland disorders symptoms] must consult a doctor soon. [] One of the most common clinical patterns seen in health care clinics is stress-related illness. Some health care practitioners report as high as 85% of their patients fitting this category. Persons with this condition have reactions to stress which are either causing their illness or aggravating it. Adrenal glands are the anti-stress glands of the body —the reserve which the body falls back on when it is faced with stressful situations. It is their job to enable your body to deal with stress from every possible source, ranging from injury and disease to work and relationship problems. Your resiliency, energy, endurance and your very life all depend on their proper functioning.  Your adrenal glands respond to every kind of stress in the same way, whatever the source. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the amount of stress overextends the capacity of the body to compensate and recover from that stress or the combined stresses.  Once this capacity to cope and recover is exceeded, some form of adrenal fatigue occurs. The number of stresses, whether or not you recognize them as stresses, the intensity of each stress and the frequency with which it occurs, plus the length of time it is present, all combine to form your total stress load.

There are four major categories of stress: 1. Physical stress —such as overwork, lack of sleep, athletic over-training, etc. 2. Chemical stress —from environmental pollutants, diets high in refined carbohydrates, allergies to foods and additives, endocrine gland imbalances (due to the interaction of all of the endocrine glands). 3. Thermal stress <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">—over-heating or over-chilling of the body <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">4. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Emotional and mental stress

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Early studies by Hans Selye, M.D., identified a pattern of stress-related illness in both test animals and humans. Selye discovered a series of events that occur as a reaction to chronic stress. This series of events is known as the //General Adaptation Syndrome// (GAS). The GAS has three stages:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">1. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The alarm reaction. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> The body’s initial complex chain of physical and biochemical responses to stress brought about by the interaction of your brain, nervous system and a variety of different hormones, involving an increased amount of adrenal activity. Your body goes on full alert. The adrenals produce extra amounts of hormones. The adrenals are working harder to respond to an immediate stress situation. That is a function for which they are designed. There is actually an initial //hyperadrenic// response to stress. After the alarm reaction is over, you body goes through a temporary recovery phase that lasts 24-48 hours. During this time there is less cortisol secreted, your body is less able to respond to stress, and the mechanisms over-stimulated in the initial alarm phase by the involved hormones become resistant to more stimulation. In this let-down phase you feel more tired and listlessness, and have a desire to rest. If the stress is continued long enough, the adrenals will finally be overtaxed to the point of depletion as a reaction to this alarm state. Sometimes a person will seek a doctor’s help for the symptoms caused by this type of //hypoadrenia//.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">2. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The resistance stage. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> After a period of time of continued, severe stress, the adrenals begin to adapt and to re-build themselves. The adrenals have a great capacity for increasing their size and function. If one adrenal is surgically removed, the other adrenal can hypertrophy to twice its normal size, giving the person the same amount of adrenal tissue he previously had. This capacity for increased size and function is the basis for the resistance stage. The prolonged alarm reaction starts as a hyperadrenia which leads to a hypoadrenia which then progresses into another state of hyperadrenia as the resistance stage takes over. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">This phase of resistance can last months or even up to 15-20 years. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> The adrenal hormone cortisol is largely responsible for this stage. It stimulates the conversion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates to energy through gluconeogenesis so that your body has a large supply of energy long after glucose stores in the liver and muscles have been exhausted. Cortisol also promotes the retention of sodium to keep your blood pressure elevated and your heart contracting strongly. If the stress is prolonged and severe, it will continue beyond the resistance stage and into the third stage of the GAS. Dr. Selye and subsequent researchers produced this GAS pattern over and over, resulting in hemorrhaged adrenal glands, atrophied thymus glands (the chief gland in immunity), and biochemically devastated bodies of animals exposed to repeated stress. The adrenal glands were the pivotal glands in the countless experiments involving stress.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">3. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The exhaustion stage. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> The exhaustion stage of the GAS is a hypoadrenia to the point where the person loses the ability to adapt to stress. The adrenal cortical enlargement of the triad of chronic stress is due to the hypertrophy of the resistance stage. However, adrenal function in the exhaustion stage is severely limited. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">In the exhaustion stage, there may be a total collapse of body function, or a collapse of specific organs or systems. The body has little or no ability to resist any further stress. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> Two major causes of exhaustion are loss of sodium ions (decreased aldosterone) and depletion of adrenal glucocorticoid hormones such as cortisol, leading to decreased gluconeogenesis, rapid hypoglycemia, sodium loss and potassium retention. Simultaneously, insulin levels are still high. Body cells function less effectively in this condition as they rely heavily on a proper amount of blood glucose and the ratio of sodium to potassium. As a result, your body becomes weak. When energy is not available, every energy-requiring mechanism of the cell slows dramatically. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">This lack of energy, combined with the electrolyte imbalance produces a cell in crisis. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> This is when the person will surely seek a physician’s help because he or she has symptoms which will not go away. Most hypoadrenic persons seen clinically are in this third or exhaustion stage of the GAS. The anti-stress mechanisms are lost and there is no more reserve potential for the person to fall back on.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Life’s stresses at their worst come in the form of such cataclysmic events as the death of a loved one, an automobile accident or a serious illness. But stress can also take its toll in less obvious ways, like an abscessed or infected root canal tooth, a bout of the flu, intense physical exertion, a severe quarrel with a loved one, pressure at the workplace, an unhappy relationship, environmental toxins, poor diet, etc. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">If these smaller stresses occur simultaneously, accumulate or become chronic, and the adrenals have no opportunity to fully recover, adrenal fatigue is usually the result.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Your adrenal glands command powerful hormones to extend their influence throughout your body and your life. No bigger than a walnut and weighing less than a grape, each of your two adrenal glands sits on top of a kidney. From this location they not only significantly affect the functioning of every tissue, organ and gland in your body, they also have important effects on the way you think and feel. You cannot live without your adrenal hormones and how well you live depends a great deal on how well your adrenal glands function. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The adrenal glands largely determine the energy of your responses to every change in your internal and external environment. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> Whether they signal attack, retreat or surrender, every cell responds accordingly, and you feel the results. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Another common finding during the physical examination of the hypoadrenic person is made during auscultation of the heart. Normally the first and second sounds of the heart make a “lub-dub” sound, with the first sound being louder than the second. If you record the heart sounds on a phonocardiograph Endocardiograph), the second sound should be one-third the intensity (height) of the first sound. In the hypoadrenic person, the second sound will be equal to or greater than the first sound in the pulmonary valve area. The same may be true in other valve areas also, but in hypoadrenia, at least, the pulmonary second sound is greater. This accentuated pulmonary second sound is due to the pulmonic valve slamming shut because of pulmonary hypertension. Epinephrine causes vasoconstriction throughout most of the body, including the lungs. In the lungs this vasoconstriction causes a shrinkage of the mucosa and decreased mucus secretion. Epinephrine also relaxes the bronchiolar musculature, creating a bronchodilation.  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">This is why epinephrine inhalers are so helpful for asthma sufferers. The bronchodilation, which normally occurs with epinephrine, cannot occur in a person with hypoadrenia. Instead, he gets a bronchoconstriction—a constriction of all the bronchial musculature with subsequent symptomatology. Likewise, the hypoadrenic person does not have the benefit of epinephrine’s action on the pulmonary capillaries and mucous membranes, with a resultant swelling of the mucous membrane and an increase in mucus production or secretion. In the hypoadrenic person, physical evidence of this is heard as the loud second heart sound at the pulmonary area. The bronchoconstriction, combined with the vasodilation and mucous membrane swelling, creates a back pressure in the pulmonary circulation that causes the pulmonary valve to slam shut, thus creating the louder second sound over the pulmonic valve.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Any person who has abnormal lung function, especially asthma or bronchitis, should be checked for hypoadrenia. This is particularly true if the person’s symptoms are relieved by using an epinephrine inhaler. The muscles related to the lungs (deltoid, serratus anterior, etc.) are usually strong in these persons. Many lung problems are related more to the adrenals than to the lungs. The sartorius and gracilis, etc. should be checked in any lung case.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Several years ago, it was reported that asthma was totally a psychosomatic illness. Patients were put under emotional stress and an asthma attack would ensue. Therefore it was concluded that the asthma problem was all in the patient’s head. If the adrenals are in the exhaustion stage of the GAS, they will be unable to respond to the added burden of emotional stress since there is no reserve available to fall back on. The epinephrine will not be available for normal function and the person will experience bronchoconstriction, swelling of the mucous membranes, and increased mucus production. The result is an asthma attack triggered by the increased emotional stress. The attack has nothing to do with the emotional stress except that the stress affects the adrenals. Fix the adrenals and the person can physically tolerate the emotional stress.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">It is important to note that lung pathology, such as malignancy, tuberculosis, etc. will also create a loud second heart sound at the pulmonic valve area. Also, if there is an increased second heart sound only at the tricuspid valve area, this is usually indicative of liver congestion. There will be a weakness of the pectoralis major sternal, in these cases, and the sound can be normalized by treatment directed at the liver.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Hemmorhoids are another problem which is associated with blood pooling in the abdomen. A hemorrhoid is a vein which has pushed its way (or been pushed) to bulge outside the anal sphincter. The anal sphincter then becomes very tight, and the hemorrhoid, with the pressure of the abdominal and pelvic blood above it, and gravity pulling from below it, cannot get back inside the rectum. Treatment of hemorrhoids must be directed at two areas. First, the hemorrhoids must be treated locally, and second, the source of intra-abdominal and intra-pelvic pooling of blood must be corrected.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Most commonly, the cause of the blood pooling in the abdomen and pelvis is from hypoadrenia. But severe liver congestion can also cause portal hypertension and result in hemorrhoids. You must differentiate between liver and adrenal problems as the underlying cause of the hemorrhoids. For this reason, whenever a person complains of hemorrhoids, one of the first things to be done is listen to the heart. The person does not understand this, but you are listening for the relative loudness of the second sounds at the pulmonic valve area (for the adrenals) and the tricuspid valve area (for the liver).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">In treating hemorrhoids locally, it is necessary to recognize that the hemorrhoidal veins can not get themselves back inside the rectum, due to the tightness of the anal sphincter. In order to treat the hemorrhoids successfully, the anal sphincter must be dilated. This is done by putting on a glove (not a finger cot) and, using a lubricant, inserting your index finger into the rectum. Stretch the anal sphincter with the index finger. Then insert the first two fingers and stretch the sphincter. Then insert three fingers and insert them slowly about as fat as they will reach. Finally (if the person is still on the table) insert all four fingers, stretching the sphincter up to the point which the size of the patient will tolerate.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">This is a difficult procedure for the patient, but there will be an immediate and dramatic reduction in the extent of the hemorrhoids protruding through the anus. If done correctly, this procedure may only have to be performed once. Then again, you may only get one chance! Occasionally it is necessary to repeat the sphincter dilation once or twice in the future.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Varicose veins in the lower extremities are frequently caused by hypoadrenia for the same reasons that cause hemorrhoids. This can be seen in many pregnant women who only have a flare up of varicosities during pregnancy. It may be difficult to eliminate the varicosities, but it is possible to arrest their progression and to keep them in check throughout the pregnancy.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The pooling of blood in the abdomen and pelvis also creates and contributes to other symptoms. The patient with this problem will often complain of fullness or bloated feeling in the abdomen. Sometimes the sluggish circulation in the abdomen and pelvis actually affects digestion. Since the GI tract depends on an adequate supply of blood not only for its function, but for the absorption of nutrients, one can readily imagine how hypoadrenia can affect digestion. Symptoms of indigestion as well as inadequate absorption of nutrients can be caused or aggravated by hypoadrenia.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Other Symptoms of Hypoadrenia
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">One of the commonly overlooked sources of stress and resistant adrenal fatigue is chronic or severe infection. Adrenal fatigue is often precipitated by recurring bouts of bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, sinusitis, or other respiratory infections. The more severe the infection, the more frequently it occurs or the longer it lasts, the more likely it is that the adrenals are involved. Adrenal fatigue can occur after just one single episode of a particularly nasty infection, or it can take place over time as the adrenals are gradually fatigued by prolonged or recurrent infections. If there are other concurrent stresses, such as an unhappy marriage, poor dietary habits or a stressful job, the downhill ride is deeper and steeper.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">People who are involved in a weekly rotating shift have magnified stress because their bodies never have a chance to adjust to the new circadian rhythm produced by each sleep change. People on alternating shifts with less than three weeks between shift changes are continually hammering their adrenal glands. Every time the wake/sleep cycle is altered, it takes several days to weeks to establish a normal pattern for the new wake/sleep cycle.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The glucocorticoids are the body’s own anti-inflammatory hormones. Persons who have had inflammations such as arthritis, bursitis, or other joint problems which have been helped by the injection or oral ingestion of cortisone and cortisone derivatives are usually persons who have had insufficient production of these substances by their own adrenal glands. This is particularly the case in the person who was originally helped by cortisone treatment once or twice, but on whom further attempts at cortisone therapy were fruitless. Any person who has been benefited by a course of cortisone therapy should be examined for hypoadrenia. Not only is this true of the obvious reason that the adrenals’ cortisone output may be lowered, but also for the reason that cortisone therapy tends to lower adrenal gland output in the long run.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisone causes a negative feedback to the pituitary, causing a diminished pituitary output of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). In prolonged cortisone therapy, the person’s adrenal glands will atrophy, even to the point of non-function. Since the adrenal cortical hormones are necessary for life, a person on cortisone products should never have them withdrawn rapidly, as this could cause a life-threatening crisis. When a person is withdrawn from cortisone, it should be done so very gradually, over a long period of time in order to allow the adrenal glands to rebuild themselves to an adequate level of activity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The adrenal glands are also implicated in most types of allergies. Most allergies involve an inflammatory process. Frequently, the allergen is merely the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The allergen would not cause the person any trouble if he had an adequate level of his own adrenal production of the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids. The same anti-inflammatory effect is important in limiting the lung congestion in asthma and bronchitis, as has been previously discussed.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">As the adrenal glands become depleted, the blood glucose levels will tend to drop below normal levels. In an effort to counter this potential low blood glucose, the person will get cravings for anything which will rapidly increase the blood glucose. He will eat a candy bar, drink a cup of coffee, smoke a cigarette, or drink a soft drink. Everybody has their favorite “fix.” The abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs fits this pattern as well. But the rapid rise in blood glucose provided by the “fix” only serves to re-initiate the whole cycle again.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The symptoms of the hyperinsulinism/hypoadrenia/hypoglycemia person are too numerous to mention here. Basically, though, epithelial tissue, nervous tissue, and the retina of the eye do not store glucose. Hence, these tissues are the most likely to be affected. Low blood glucose creates symptoms of blurred vision, headache, nervousness, unstable behavior, allergies, and on and on. Another symptom which is occasionally encountered in hypoadrenia is that of increased pigmentation of the skin. There may be unusual brown patches or areas of bronzing somewhere on the body’s surface. When the adrenal function is low, the pituitary responds by making ACTH. In the exhaustion stage of GAS, the ACTH effect on the adrenal is like whipping a tired horse. Since the adrenal can not respond to this pituitary drive, the pituitary keeps elaborating ACTH until its levels in the circulation are quite elevated.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The extra ACTH will affect other areas of the body. For example, ACTH has somewhat of an effect on the ovary, causing it to increase estrogen production. Also, ACTH has about 1/100th of the effect of melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), the pituitary hormone which stimulates melanocytes in the skin to produce the dark pigment melanin. In a severe hypoadrenia, the effect of bronzing or increased areas of pigmentation of the skin will sometimes be seen as a result of the ACTH mimicking the effect of MSH. Although this symptom is more common in the pathological hypoadrenia, Addison’s disease, it is occasionally seen in functional hypoadrenia as well.

[|Mercury Detoxification]
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Mercury accumulates in the adrenal glands and disrupts adrenal gland function. Two primary nutrients for the adrenal glands are pantothenic acid and vitamin-C. A deficiency of pantothenic acid can lead to adrenal exhaustion (chronic fatigue) and ultimately to destruction of the adrenal glands. A deficiency of pantothenic acid also causes a progressive fall in the level of adrenal hormones produced. One of the largest tissue stores of vitamin-C is the adrenals; it is exceeded only by the level of vitamin-C in the pituitary. Physical and mental stress increases the excretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone. The increased adrenal activity, in turn, depletes both vitamin-C and pantothenic acid from the glands.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Humans cannot produce vitamin-C. They therefore attempt to replenish the needs of the adrenals by taking the vitamin from other storage locations in the body. If your overall ascorbate status is low, there may be an insufficient amount available to satisfy the needs of the adrenals. Under this condition, normal adrenal hormone response may become inadequate, leading to an inadequate immune function. Mercury builds up in the pituitary gland and depletes the adrenals of both pantothenic acid and vitamin-C. Stress and the presence of mercury will have a very negative effect on the adrenal production of critical steroids. The ability of the adrenal gland to produce steroids is called steroidogenesis and is dependent upon reactions mediated by the enzyme cytochrome P-450. Cytochrome P-450 reacts with cholesterol to produce pregnenolone, which is then converted to progesterone. Cytochrome P-450 can then convert progesterone to deoxycorticosterone which is then converted to corticosterone or aldosterone by other enzymes in the adrenals. These adrenal functions are also affected by metal ions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">All steroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands are derived from cholesterol through a series of enzymatic actions, which are all stimulated initially by ACTH. Steroid biosynthesis involves the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone, which is then enzymatically transformed into the major biologically active corticosteroids. cAMP is produced from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by the action of adenylate cyclase. Adenylate cyclase activity in the brain is inhibited by micromolar concentrations of lead, mercury, and cadmium. One of the key biochemical steps in the conversion of adrenal pregnenolone to cortisol and aldosterone involves an enzyme identified as 21-hydroxylase.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Mercury causes a defect in adrenal steroid biosynthesis by inhibiting the activity of 21a-hydroxylase. The consequences of this inhibition include lowered plasma levels of corticosterone and elevated concentrations of progesterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA is an adrenal male hormone. Because patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiencies are incapable of synthesizing cortisol with normal efficiency, there’s a compensatory rise in ACTH leading to adrenal hyperplasia and excessive excretion of 17a-hydroxyprogesterone, which, without the enzyme 21-hydroxylase, cannot be converted to cortisol.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The inhibition of the 21-hydroxylase system may be the mechanism behind the mercury-induced adrenal hyperplasia. Adrenal hyperplasia can stress the adrenal glands by their accelerated activity to produce steroids to the point that production begins to diminish and the glands will atrophy. The result is a subnormal production of corticosteroids. Both lead and mercury can precipitate pathophysiological changes along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and gonadal axis that may seriously affect reproductive function, organs, and tissues. Leukocyte production, distribution, and function are markedly altered by glucocorticosteroid administration. In Addison’s disease (hypofunction of adrenal glands), neutrophilia occurs 4-6 hours after administration of a single dose of hydrocortisone, prednisone, or dexamethasone. Neutrophilia is an increase in the number of neutrophils in the blood. Neutrophils are also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Mercury not only causes a suppression of adrenocorticosteroids that would normally have stimulated an increase of PMNs, but at the same time also affect the ability of existing PMNs to perform immune function by inhibiting a metabolic reaction that destroys foreign substances. Still today, the ADA and other governmental agencies tell us that the mercury in your mouth, or from vaccinations, is perfectly safe. Scientists say this is a ridiculous statement that is in violation of science and common sense.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Adrenal Gland–Related Muscles
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Dr. Goodheart identified five specific skeletal muscles which are related to adrenal gland function. These are 1) sartorius, 2) gracilis, 3) posterior tibialis, 4) gastrocnemius, and 5) soleus. There will be weakness in one or more of these muscles when the adrenal glands are malfunctioning. Because of the attachments of the sartorius and gracilis on the pelvis, (sartorius—anterior superior iliac spine; gracilis—pubic ramus), their weakness in persons with adrenal stress problems may allow the sacroiliac joint to subluxate posteriorly. The sartorius and gracilis stabilize the innominate (one side of the pelvis), holding it in an anterior direction. Many persons with hypoadrenia seek chiropractic help for the care of sacroiliac pain and/or low back pain which is due to the lack of pelvic stabilization normally provided by these muscles.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The sartorius and gracilis have a common insertion (along with the semitendinosis) on the medial side of the knee and rotate the tibia medially on the femur. When weakness of these muscles occurs, there is a loss of stability on the medial side of the knee. The sartorius and gracilis (along with the semitendinosis) act as dynamic ligaments, protecting and supporting the medial knee joint during various ranges of motion. Their function is particularly important in situations where the knee ligaments alone offer inadequate support.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">It is very important to check for hypoadrenia in any person with knee problems. One can see how one hypoadrenic person will present with knee problems and another with back problems, and some persons will have both.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Due to the relationship of the posterior tibialis, gastrocnemius, and soleus to the stability of the foot and ankle, many hypoadrenic persons will complain of symptoms of tired feet, weak ankles, or aching calves. The posterior tibialis holds up the medial longitudinal arch of the foot, especially during gait. In some persons exhibiting hypoadrenia-related weakness of the posterior tibialis, the medial arch will drop, causing a pronation problem and strain to the foot and ankle. The one common factor in persons with the above-mentioned musculoskeletal complaints will be the weakness of one or more of the five adrenal gland related muscles accompanied by improvement of their symptoms following treatment of the adrenal glands.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The adrenal gland cortex produces three major categories of hormones: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">1. mineralocorticoids, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">2. glucocorticoids, and <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">3. gonadal (sex) hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, etc.).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Depending on the relative amount of depletion of each of these hormone groups, one will see varying symptoms in the person suffering from stress-related hypoadrenia.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol and Epinephrine
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla are the two parts of the adrenal gland. Although each has separate functions, it is no mistake that they are placed next to each other anatomically, since some of the functions of one are dependent on the other.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Epinephrine is a vasoconstrictor. But for epinephrine to have its vasoconstricting effect on the body’s arterioles, it is imperative that cortisol be available. Cortisol sensitizes the arterioles to the constrictive action of epinephrine. If there is low adrenal cortical output and adequate cortisol is not produced, epinephrine will have a reduced effect in its function of constricting the blood vessels. These two hormones work together in affecting blood pressure. Therefore, in the hypoadrenic patient one of the major findings observed on physical examination is related to blood pressure.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Normally when a person goes from lying down to standing, the systolic blood pressure should elevate 4-10 mm Hg. (millimeters of mercury). In hypoadrenia, the systolic blood pressure from lying to standing will either stay the same or drop. This systolic drop is usually between 5 to 10 mm. Hg., but sometimes as much as 30-40 points. This is a classic sign in the hypoadrenic person which is known as the Ragland effect, or postural hypotension, and which is reported in over 90% of hypoadrenic persons. Blood pressure should always be checked in three positions: sitting, then lying, then standing. From recumbence to standing, the systolic blood pressure should rise 4-10 points. If the blood pressure drops, suspect functional hypoadrenia.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">There are valves in the veins of the lower extremities which keep the blood from pooling in the feet when a person maintains an upright position. The fact that there are no valves in the veins of the abdomen and pelvis means that the only mechanism which prevents the blood from pooling there when the body goes from lying to standing is the vasoconstriction of the local vessels. If there is a low cortisol level, epinephrine can not function correctly and there will be inadequate vasoconstriction in response to upright posture. This causes the blood to pool in the abdomen and pelvis and the systolic pressure in the arm to drop. This same person may complain of dizziness or light-headedness, especially when arising from a seated or lying position. Or he may experience transient spells of dizziness during the day or he may be dizzy all the time. The patient may be complaining of headaches, which are due to the pooling of the blood in the abdomen and pelvis, interfering with the supply to the head. Frequently these persons have had totally normal neurological examinations or some have been diagnosed as having Meniere’s disease. Some are being treated unsuccessfully with manipulation to the upper cervical vertebrae. But all therapeutic approaches are ineffective in relieving the symptoms until the hypoadrenia is treated.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Some persons who have postural blood pressure dumping are being treated for hypertension. The hypertension is from another paradoxical body response. When the person changes positions from recumbence to standing and the systolic blood pressure drops 10, 20, 30 points, the body senses this low blood pressure and reacts. The body does not want all the blood pooling in the abdomen and pelvis because it decreases the amount of blood in the head and other areas. In an effort to change this situation, the body may elevate the systolic pressure to an extremely high level. The systolic blood pressure may go as high as 180 mm Hg. or more. Then, when the person changes positions from lying to standing, the systolic blood pressure will drop to only, say, 150 mm. Hg.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">If the blood pressure is taken only in the seated position, the person will show a very high systolic pressure. But, when you change the person’s positions, he will show the dumping blood pressure on arising from recumbence to standing. These persons are often treated with diuretics when the real problem is with the adrenal glands. Combine this with the fact that many hypoadrenic persons are also dehydrated, as previously discussed, and you can see the senselessness of a diuretic approach in these cases.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Anatomy
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The adrenals are orange-colored glands that sit on top of the kidneys near the spine, just underneath the last rib and extending down about an inch. The right adrenal is shaped something like a pyramid, whereas the left is shaped more like a half moon. Each gland is highly vascularized and is only about 1” high by 1¼” to 2” wide by ¼” thick, and weighs just 4 to 6 grams (about one-eighth to one-quarter ounce). They are usually heavier in females than in males. _  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Although in contact with the kidney, there is no direct connection from the adrenals to the kidney—the arterial blood supply to the adrenal glands is separate from the kidneys. Both adrenal glands are only a very short distance from the aorta, the major artery of the body, and the vena cava, the major vein. This strategic placement allows for a very rapid adrenal response to hormonal messages transported via the blood. For example, // Adrenal Corticotropic Hormone // (ACTH) is a hormone messenger from the pituitary gland that tells the adrenal glands how much cortisol to secrete. Within a few seconds of receiving this message the correct level of cortisol is on its way from the adrenals to the rest of the body. The adrenals are also placed in close proximity to the liver, pancreas, major fat storage areas and the kidneys, as these are the organs that need rapid communication with the adrenals in situations requiring their immediate response to adrenal hormones. _ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Regions of the Adrenal Glands <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Each adrenal gland is composed of two endocrine components—a // medulla // (inner part) that constitutes 20% of the gland and a // cortex // (outer part) that constitutes the remaining 80% of the gland. The cortex consists of four zones. The medulla and each of the zones in the cortex each produce different hormones that serve a variety of functions in your body. The adrenal // cortex // and // medulla //, like the anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary, are obtained from separate cells in the developing embryo. The medulla is derived from // ectodermal // neural crest cells, and the cortex is derived from // mesodermal // cells. _ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The Adrenal Medulla <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The functional unit of the adrenal medulla is the // chromaffin // cell, which functions as a // neuroendocrine // cell. In response to stimulation, chromaffin cells secrete the hormones // epinephrine // (adrenaline) and // norepinephrine // (noradrenalin) directly into the blood. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are important mainly in crisis situations. During a crisis, they work together to dilate bronchi (air passages of the lungs) and blood vessels to the muscles, increases heart beats and strength of contraction, and cause other physiological changes to help the body respond to the stressful situation via “fight or flight.” These adrenal hormones are responsible for the superhuman abilities that occasionally occur during a crisis. The medulla is involved in extreme stress and, within this context, epinephrine and norepinephrine both work with cortisol from the adrenal cortex. _ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The Adrenal Cortex <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Most of the ongoing daily regulation and modification of bodily processes arises from the adrenal cortex. The adrenal cortex is divided into four zones which each secrete different hormones that carry out specific functions throughout your body. 1) The outermost zone is the // zona glomerulosa // from which the hormone // aldosterone // is secreted, and consists of cells arranged in 'whorls' (// glomeruli //)** . ** Cells of the zona glomerulosa produce hormones called // mineralocorticoids //. Aldosterone is the major hormone controlling the sodium and potassium levels, and thus fluid balance, within your bloodstream, cells and // interstitial fluids // (the area between the cells).   _  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">1) The outermost zone is the zona glomerulosa from which the hormone aldosterone is secreted. Aldosterone is the major hormone controlling the sodium and potassium levels, and thus fluid balance, within your bloodstream, cells and interstitial fluids (the area between the cells).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> 2) The next zone is the // zona fasciculata // in which cortisol is produced. Cells of this zone are arranged into // fascicles // separated by venous sinuses. Cells of the zona fasciculata produce // glucocorticoid // hormones** . ** Cortisol controls or greatly influences the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates to maintain blood glucose within a narrow optimal range and keep it there even under stressful conditions. Cortisol also has many other important functions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">3) The innermost zone is the zona reticularis where progesterone, DHEA and its relatively inactive precursor, DHEA-S are produced. Although the sex hormones are made primarily by the gonads (ovaries and testes), the adrenal zona reticularis manufactures an ancillary portion of sex hormones for each sex and also produces male hormones in women and female hormones in men to keep the effects of the dominant sex hormones in balance.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">In humans and other primates, between the zona fasiculata and the zona reticularis, there is a narrow space called the interface zone. Although the zona reticularis has traditionally been thought to produce the sex hormones such as the estrogens and testosterones, it is now believed that this interface zone is the actual site of production of most of the sex hormones. Because most adrenal research uses rodents and other non-primate mammals, little attention has been paid to this interface zone until recently.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">These zones of your adrenal cortex collectively produce over fifty hormones. Most of these are intermediary hormones that only act as bridges to form other adrenal hormones. However, about a dozen hormones end up in your circulation and actively affect the rest of your body.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Physiology
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">[|The Regulation of Cortisol] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The hypothalamus of the brain influences both portions of the adrenal gland but by different mechanisms. The Secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex is regulated by negative feedback involving the // corticotrophin-releasing hormone // (CRH) secretion by the hypothalamus. CRH then acts on the anterior pituitary to stimulate // adrenocorticotropic hormone // (ACTH) secretion, which then stimulates the adrenal cortex into cortisol secretion. Although cortisol is secreted by the zona fasiculata in the adrenal glands, it is regulated primarily from the brain. _  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Normally about 80% of blood cortisol is bound to a carrier protein called // cortico-steroid-binding globulin //. Another 15% is bound to albumin, and the remaining 15% exists free in solution. Cortisol secretion has numerous physiological effects, its main target tissues being the liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Cortisol is responsible for many of the life sustaining functions attributed to the adrenal glands. Many of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue arise from decreased cortisol levels in the blood or inadequate levels of cortisol during times of stress when more cortisol is needed. _  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Excess cortisol secretion results in // Cushing's Syndrome //. This can either occur as a primary abnormality in steroid hormone production by the adrenal cortex, or as a result of overproduction of ACTH by the pituitary resulting in excessive stimulation of the adrenal cortex. Cushing's patients have thin arms and legs, due in part to the loss of muscle mass as a result of the protein-catabolic effects of excess cortisol, and also as fat is redistributed from the extremities to the trunk. There is an increase in fat in the face, the trunk, across the shoulder blades, and at the base of the neck. Connective tissue is lost from the skin, causing it to become thinner. As a result, blood vessels are located closer to the surface making the skin have a slight red appearance. _ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The HPA Axis <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The amount of cortisol circulating at any particular moment is regulated by a complex interaction between the hypothalamus (a regulatory part of the brain), the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, and the adrenal glands. This regulatory trio operates through a negative feedback system and is referred to as the Hypothalamus/Pituitary/Adrenal (HPA) Axis or HPA System. In your body, your hypothalamus is analogous to a thermostat, your pituitary to a relay switch, your adrenals to a furnace, and your body to a room. The amount of cortisol released is comparable to the heat released from the furnace. To a large extent you control the thermostat through the demands you place on your body. These demands arise from the physical situations your body has to deal with (diet, exercise, work, climate, etc.) and your reactions (emotional and physiological) to them.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The HPA Axis is one of the most important elements of the whole body process known as homeostasis, the process that maintains a steady internal bio-chemical and physiological balance in your body. The HPA Axis adjusts cortisol levels according to the needs of the body, under normal and stressed conditions, via a hormone called the Adrenal Corticotrophic Hormone (ACTH). ACTH is secreted from the pituitary gland in response to orders from the hypothalamus and travels in the bloodstream to the adrenal cortex. There it activates cells in all four zones to produce their various hormones.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Each zone generates different hormones as end products, but the process of making all hormones in all zones begins with ACTH biding to the walls of the adrenal cells. This initiates a chain reaction of intracellular enzymes that release cholesterol within the cell. The cholesterol is then used inside the adrenal cells to manufacture pregnenolone, the first hormone in the adrenal cascade. No matter which adrenal hormone is being produced, pregnenolone is the first hormone formed in the series. In the zona fasciculata, pregnenolone is processed to form cortisone and then cortisol. Cortisol, once manufactured, is released into circulation. It takes less than a minute after the initial stimulation by ACTH for newly synthesized cortisol to be circulating through your blood to every part of your body, including to your hypothalamus where the concentration of cortisol is being constantly measured.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Your hypothalamus, in its regulatory function, analyzes and integrates input from many different external and internal sources. This input includes information from brain centers about overall excitability, energy requirements of you body, and sensory data from your brain centers for hearing, seeing, smelling, touch and taste. Based on this information, your hypothalamus determines how much cortisol your body requires and subsequently releases its own hormones as messengers. The primary hormone messenger from the hypothalamus is Corticotrophin Releasing Factor (CRF) which signals the pituitary gland to secrete a specific amount of ACTH. Thus ACTH is sent from the pituitary to your adrenal glands to begin the process described above all over again. Alterations in ACTH levels, and hence cortisol levels, are made minute by minute using this negative feedback loop, modulated by other information received by the hypothalamus.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol, ACTH and aldosterone are not secreted uniformly throughout the day, but rather follow a diurnal pattern with the highest levels secreted at approximately 8:00 AM and the lowest between midnight and 4:00 AM. As a matter of fact, it is the rising cortisol level that helps us wake up in the morning. After its peak at approximately 8:00 AM, it downtrends through the rest of the day, often with a small dip in the afternoon between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. This curve of cortisol secretion however, is not a nice smooth curve, but is filled with episodic spikes that generally fit into an increasing and a decreasing pattern throughout the day and evening. Eating something, even a little snack, causes a small burst in cortisol levels. People who have regular snacks and meals keep their cortisol at higher levels for more of the day compared to people who do not snack. This is another reason to have regular healthy snacks in addition to regular meals if you have adrenal fatigue. Exercise also elevates cortisol levels similarly to food, so the combination of regular means, small snacks and exercise can do a lot to enhance depressed cortisol levels.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Some people with hypoadrenia have an overall low pattern of cortisol secretion with circulating cortisol levels lower than normal between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. Still others fluctuate throughout the day and can even vary from day to day so that their cortisol levels are unpredictable. They may go through part of their day with elevated cortisol levels, part of the day with low levels and part with normal levels. Although cortisol has its diurnal pattern of variations each day, it remains at an amazingly consistent level throughout your lifetime, under normal conditions. In later life, some people actually experience a small rise in cortisol. If this rise is excessive it may be related to some disorder. However, a rise in cortisol in response to stress is a natural reaction that actually protects the body in several ways.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Actions of Cortisol
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Blood Sugar <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol is essential for maintaining blood sugar (glucose) levels in the proper balance. A drop in blood sugar triggers the adrenals to make more cortisol. The cortisol increases blood sugar levels by converting fats and proteins into energy in a process called gluconeogenesis. In this energy production process first fats are broken down into fatty acids and proteins into peptides and then these are converted into the needed blood glucose. This process is vital to keeping the blood glucose levels relatively constant throughout the day. Your body depends upon glucose as its most consistent form of energy. Cortisol works in tandem with insulin from the pancreas to provide adequate glucose to the cells where it is burned for energy. Cortisol ensures adequate levels of glucose in the blood while insulin unlocks the cell membranes to let glucose into the cells. When your body is under stress from any source, there are more demands placed upon its various tissues and organs, requiring more available glucose to fuel more energy production in the cell.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Inflammation <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol is a powerful anti-inflammatory, even when secreted at normal levels. It acts quickly to remove and prevent redness and swelling of nearly all tissues. These anti-inflammatory actions keep mosquito bites from flaring into giant wheals, bronchial tubes and eyes from swelling shut from allergens, and mild scratches from looking like lacerations. For any physical body to remain in homeostatic equilibrium every inflammatory reaction must have an opposite and equal anti-inflammatory reaction. Although there are other anti-inflammatory responses occurring at local sites, cortisol is the main anti-inflammatory agent circulating naturally in your body. You can assume that almost any time you have an inappropriate amount of redness and/or swelling, there is too little cortisol in circulation. Cortisol has similar anti-inflammatory control over auto-immune reactions. In auto-immune reactions white blood cells attack parts of your body as if they were foreign. These reactions can range from mild to life threatening. In most auto-immune reactions cortisol levels are inadequate for the degree of reaction taking place in particular tissues or locations in the body. This is one of the reasons why strong corticosteroids (prednisone, prednisolone, etc.) are used with all diseases involving inflammatory processes, including auto-immune diseases. They imitate the anti-inflammatory effects of cortisol, although unfortunately with some very serious undesirable side effects. Cortisol not only affects the redness and swelling but also the actions of the white blood cells.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">[|Immune System] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol influences most cells that participate in immune reactions and/or inflammatory reactions, especially white blood cells. It specifically regulates lymphocytes, the commanders of the white blood cells. Cortisol and corticoids (cortisol-like substances) also affect the actions of other white blood cells such as natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, macrophages, eosinophils, neutrophils, mast cells and basophils. These white blood cells gather in defense of the body at places of injury or perceived invasion and some flood the area with very powerful chemicals to attack the invaders. Although they are a great defense, these chemicals irritate the surrounding tissues, causing redness and swelling. Cortisol rushes to the site to put out the fire made by the lymphocytes and other white blood cells. It keeps the local white blood cells from sticking to the site and releasing their chemicals and also controls the number of circulating lymphocytes and other white blood cells, so there are fewer white blood cells available. This prevents an overreaction by the immune system and controls the irritation and tissue destruction that takes place at the site of congregating white blood cells.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol also reduces the rate at which lymphocytes multiply and accelerates their programmed cell death to further protect the body from this overreaction. In fact, when cortisol is elevated during the alarm reaction, there is almost a complete disappearance of lymphocytes form the blood. That is why your immune system is suppressed when you are under stress or taking corticosteroids. On the other hand, when circulating cortisol is low, its moderating effect on immune reactions is lost and lymphocytes circulate in excess. In this situation, inflammation is greater with more redness and swelling, and it takes a longer time for the inflamed tissue to return to normal. So, directly and indirectly cortisol dramatically influences most aspects of immune function.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">[|Cardiovascular System] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol has complex and sometimes opposing effects on the cardiovascular system. The most significant of these effects is probably the control of the contraction of the walls of the arteries in regulating blood pressure. The more circulating cortisol, the more contracted the mid-sized arteries. Thus, people who are deficient in cortisol usually have pervasive low blood pressure (hypotension) and reduced reactivity to other body agents that constrict blood vessels.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol also directly affects the heart. It helps regulate sodium and potassium in the heart cells and increases the strength of contraction of the heart muscle. Sodium and potassium levels are critical for normal heart function. Cortisol also tends to increase blood pressure, but this hypertensive effect is moderated by calcium and magnesium. These minerals are required to prevent the heart muscles from cramping when they contract, thus keeping the heart beating smoothly. They also help relax the walls of the arteries, counteracting and balancing the increase in smooth muscle contraction produced by cortisol.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Central Nervous System <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol influences behavior, mood, excitability and even the electrical activity of neurons in the brain. Behavior changes frequently occur in cases of excess and deficient cortisol levels, for example, sleep disorders are common with both high and low cortisol. Many of the signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue involve moodiness, decreased tolerance, decreased clarity of thought, and decreased memory. These occur because the brain is affected by both too little and too much cortisol. The right amount is needed for proper function during stress.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">[|Stress] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">An intimate association between stress and cortisol is manifested in several ways. No matter what the source of stress, most challenges to homeostasis stimulate the HPA axis, resulting in increased secretion of cortisol. In animal experiments, the animals with weakened adrenals died in response to even mild stress. However, when animals with weakened adrenals were given cortisol or similar agents, they survived those same kinds of stress. People with adrenal fatigue can often tolerate mild stress, but succumb to severe stress. As stress increases, progressively higher levels of cortisol are required. When these higher levels of cortisol cannot be produced, as in adrenal fatigue, the person cannot fully or appropriately respond to stress.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Even at normal levels, cortisol serves the very important function of priming the different mechanisms of your body so they can respond when called into action. During stress cortisol must simultaneously provide more blood glucose, mobilize fats and proteins for a back-up supply of glucose, and modify immune reactions, heartbeat, blood pressure, brain alertness and nervous system responsiveness. Without cortisol, these mechanisms cannot react adequately to a significant stress challenge. When cortisol levels cannot rise in response to these needs, maintaining your body under stress is nearly impossible. The more extreme the difference between the level of stress, and the lack of cortisol, the more significant the consequences.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Cortisol can be viewed as sustaining life through two opposite but related kinds of regulatory actions: releasing and activating existing defense mechanisms of the body and shutting down and modifying the same mechanisms to prevent them from overshooting and causing damage or cell death. If this regulation is defective during stress, as it is when cortisol levels are low, an animal can be endangered or even die because its defense mechanisms cannot react or because they overreact. When your body is stressed cortisol is also needed to restrain various physiological mechanisms, to prevent them from damaging your body. For example, the elevation of blood sugar by the adrenals during stress helps control the insulin induced hypoglycemia that would occur if more blood glucose was not available. But cortisol also protects the cells against the detrimental effects of excessive amounts of glucose by helping create insulin resistance at the cell membrane to keep too much glucose from flooding into the cell.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">This damping down action of cortisol can also be seen in the way cortisol modifies the immune response to control the amount of inflammation in the involved tissues and suppress potentially toxic chemicals secreted by white blood cells, thus protecting the body from auto-immune processes and uncontrolled inflammation. Cortisol is so important that when the HPA axis cannot increase cortisol activity in response to stress, these unrestrained mechanisms overshoot and can damage your body.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">These actions of cortisol have evolved to both enhance the body’s response to stress, yet protect it from excessive responses to stress. These mechanisms were probably needed only occasionally in our distant ancestors’ lives. However in modern life, with the myriad of physical, emotional and environmental stresses we face daily, our adrenals’ capacity to rise to the occasion is challenged day after day. It is possible that we experience more stressful events in a year than our ancestors experienced in a lifetime. Yet your adrenal glands require some recovery time each time they are challenged. The constant “pedal to the metal” lifestyle leaves little room for an adequate adrenal response when the adrenal glands never get the chance to recoup and are already responding at their maximum capacity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">The more we understand about the physiology of stress, the more obvious it is that, unless we quickly evolve to have adrenal glands the size of footballs, we must learn to give our adrenals the opportunity they need to recover on a regular basis. This means modifying the effects that stress is having on the body. Otherwise we will rapidly devolve into a society of the chronically sick and tired that even coffee, colas and other stimulants cannot rally.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Low Cortisol, Adrenal Fatigue and Hypoglycemia
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">It’s been known for almost a century that people who suffer from low blood sugar frequently suffer from adrenal fatigue. It’s also been known that people who suffer from adrenal fatigue almost always have some form of irregular blood sugar pattern, of which hypoglycemia is the most common. With hypoglycemia there are usually cravings for sugar. There are real physiological reasons why these cravings exist.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">When your adrenals are fatigued, their cortisol output is diminished and you have lower levels of circulating blood cortisol. With lowered blood cortisol, your liver has a more difficult time converting glycogen into glucose. Fats, proteins and carbohydrates, which normally can be converted into glucose, also cannot be as readily converted into glucose. These reserve energy pools controlled by cortisol are critical to achieving and maintaining normal blood sugar levels, especially during stress. Further complicating this matter is that during stress, insulin levels are increased because the demand for energy in the cells is greater. Insulin opens the cell wall membranes to take in more glucose in order to provide more energy to the cells. Without adequate cortisol levels to facilitate the conversion of glycogen, fats and proteins to new glucose supplies, this increased demand is difficult or impossible to meet. All this combines to produce low blood sugar.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">People with adrenal fatigue are in a real bind because when they are under stress, demand for blood glucose increases, but their fatigued adrenals cannot produce enough cortisol to generate higher glucose levels from reserves. In the presence of increased insulin and decreased cortisol, blood sugar drops rapidly. When this happens at the same time as an increasing demand for glucose, the stage is set for tragedy. In a physical survival situation this might lead to death because response times slow down, thinking easily becomes confused, muscular strength is weakened, and other problems occur which render the individual too helpless to effectively defend themselves or escape.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">Typically in our society in which physical survival is not usually a daily source of stress, people handle their low-adrenal related hypoglycemia symptoms with a double-edged sword; they eat something sweet with a cup of coffee or cola. This is a short acting emergency remedy that temporarily increases blood sugar with nearly immediate impact. They can almost feel it hit the back of their brain as their blood sugar moves out of the basement and shoots for the stars, relieving their hypoglycemic symptoms for about 45-90 minutes. However, this is inevitably followed by a precipitous plunge back to even lower blood sugar levels than they started with. Many individuals do this day in and day out, not realizing that hypoglycemia itself is a significant stress on the entire body, and especially on the adrenals.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">To the body, hypoglycemia is a strong stressor, an emergency call to action that further drains already fatigued adrenals. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿[] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿w%3D1090%26bih%3D450%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=546&oei=WgVYTd_0EoH6lwfOt5jiBg&page=7&ndsp=10&ved=1t <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">:429,r:4,s:66&tx=71&ty=41. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿  __**CONTROLS**__

the adrenal glands control
 * [[image:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Uz4k3bX01zE/TA2mS_NgQKI/AAAAAAAAAZc/dlPi2XG6qfY/s1600/409px-Adrenal_gland_(PSF).jpg width="274" height="402"]]

  The body controls the levels of corticosteroids according to need. The levels tend to be much higher in the early morning than later in the day. When the body is stressed, from illness or otherwise, the levels of corticosteroids increase dramatically. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿[]
 * [[image:http://www.merckmanuals.com/media/home/figures/MMHE_13_164_01_eps.gif width="209" height="378" caption="A Close Look at the Adrenal Glands"]] ||
 * The adrenal glands are controlled in part by the brain. The hypothalamus, a small area of the brain involved in hormonal regulation, produces corticotropin-releasing hormone and antidiuretic hormone. These two hormones trigger the pituitary gland to secrete corticotropin (also known as adrenocorticotropic hormone or ACTH), which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, regulated mostly by the kidneys, causes the adrenal glands to produce more or less aldosterone.

__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿ __ __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿     __ __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿     __ __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿ __ __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿ __ __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular;">﻿ __