Here are some notes from Dr. Kalish’s interview with Sean Croxton on his Underground Wellness Podcast last September, 2012 about weight gain during adrenal exhaustion…
A variety of problems occur at almost the same frequency with almost the same predictable patterns:
The Big Five…
1. Gaining FAT
2. Fatigue
3. Depressed
4. Female Hormone issue
5. GI problems…the gut!
When our adrenals become exhausted…past stage two and into stage three our cortisol “crashes”. We have carried chronic stress for so long that we broke the faucet and we burn out the cortisol steroid. In Stage three we now have low Cortisol and low DHEA (make sure you get tested if you have many of the adrenal exhaustion symptoms). Cortisol are “glucocorticoids” which stabilize the blood sugar.
What happens if we don’t produce cortisol? maybe you crave more sweets and carbs? If we can stabilize the blood sugar levels then we have damage to the fat burning metabolism system. Cortisol regulates fat burning… so sad.
If we are not able to burn fat and eat carbs/sugar can lead to digestion related issues. Don’t eat gluten or soy…vegetables are your carbs (“Primal Paleo” food plan is best- low carb/higher fat/moderate protein). Eat protein with each meal (I read your body weight x 15 – ounces per day).
If we are not absorbing food because of digestion is not working (gut issues) then we tend to over eat since we eat a minimum nutrition until our “needs” are met. We keep eating until we are full… then we end up overeating.
If the gut is not working properly due the yeast overgrowth, gut bugs and fungal overgrowth, then we have toxins into the body. If the detox pathways are not functioning then toxins are spreading in our body. We then hold onto fluids (inflammation- fluid retention) to help buffer the toxins and store FAT because we need fat to be used as a storage site for the excess toxins.
Weight Gain occurs with Adrenal Exhaustion Stage Three as all three major systems have “CRASHED”…
1. Adrenal System
2. Detox System
3. Digestive System
We store excess belly fat due to hormone balancing issues…once we get out of our adrenal stress then we can BURN FAT (finally!).
Ask your Functional Medicine trained practitioner for natural supplements that work for your needs. A good multi-vitamin (I prefer www.niupure.com – use Fitforward for code) to get our Vitamin D (drops are good), B-Complex, Calcium, Vitamin C as well as a good fish oil supplement.
More to come! Next webinar is with Nora from her Paleo FX seminar in March 2013.
Find Dr. Kalish’s interview with Sean on http://undergroundwellness.com/