Clean Living Blog

Tagged: adrenals

Functional Medicine

Why Standard Check-Ups Aren’t Enough: The Power of Functional Lab Testing

How often does your doctor run tests?

A typical annual check-up may include a basic exam and routine lab work, but functional medicine goes much deeper. It focuses on identifying the root causes of symptoms and potential health issues—often before they even appear.

In functional medicine, we use comprehensive testing to get a clearer picture of your health, including:

  • Food sensitivity testing
  • Gut health analysis
  • Comprehensive blood chemistry panels
  • Chemical and metal sensitivity tests
  • Adrenal and hormone panels
  • DNA and genetic testing

These advanced tests don’t just show where your health stands today—they help predict where it’s headed, allowing us to take proactive steps before problems arise.

Our goal? To uncover and address the root cause of symptoms like fatigue, chronic pain, and unexplained inflammation—not just mask them.

Ready to take a deeper dive into your health? Contact us to learn more about functional lab testing!

Functional Medicine

The Adrenal Glands: Why They Matter for Your Health

Wondering what your adrenal glands are and how they impact your health?

Your adrenals sit atop your kidneys and play a crucial role in your body’s stress response. These small but powerful glands consist of two parts: the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla.

  • The adrenal medulla releases hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).
  • The adrenal cortex produces cortisol, aldosterone, and DHEA, which regulate stress, metabolism, and more.

Together, these hormones help your body manage stress—but they don’t distinguish between good and bad stress. In today’s fast-paced world, chronic stress can overwork your adrenals, leading to a range of symptoms.

Signs of adrenal stress include:

  • Fatigue
  • Migraines
  • Muscle & joint pain
  • Low energy & body temperature
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Brain fog & poor memory
  • Decreased libido

Feeling off? These could be signs that your adrenals need support.

Reach out to our team to get to the root cause of your symptoms and restore your adrenal health!

Functional Medicine

Adrenal Fatigue: Signs, Causes, and Natural Solutions

Feeling drained all the time? You might be experiencing adrenal fatigue—a condition where your body struggles to keep up with the demands of daily stress.

Common signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:

  • Constant tiredness
  • Afternoon or stress-related headaches
  • Frequent colds and low immunity
  • Persistent allergies
  • Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
  • Cravings for sweets and stimulants
  • Feeling shaky or irritable between meals
  • Using food to combat fatigue
  • Waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. and struggling to fall back asleep
  • Dizziness when standing up too quickly
  • Low blood pressure

Adrenal fatigue can be triggered by chronic stress, poor diet, gut health issues, or unmanaged autoimmune conditions. However, proper testing is essential to identify the root cause accurately.

It’s important to remember that addressing adrenal fatigue requires a comprehensive approach. While supplements can be helpful, true recovery involves tackling the root causes through lifestyle changes, stress management, and diet.

Ready to take the next step? Reach out to our office to learn how we can support you with a natural, medication-free approach to restoring balance and energy!

Functional Medicine

Unlocking the Mystery of Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal fatigue may not be a recognized medical diagnosis but the symptoms can feel all too real. Are you dealing with:

  • Body aches
  • Constant fatigue
  • Anxiety or nervousness
  • Sleep troubles
  • Digestive discomfort

…and have been told there’s “nothing wrong”? It might be time to dig deeper.

Adrenal fatigue can occur when the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis is out of balance, leading to cortisol levels that are either too high or too low. This disruption is often triggered by chronic stress or underlying health conditions that affect hormone regulation.

How Functional Testing Can Help Restore Balance

Functional lab testing goes beyond standard tests by using tighter ranges and more specific markers to uncover what’s really happening in your body. With the right insights, you can benefit from herbal remedies, nutritional adjustments, or lifestyle changes to help restore balance and support your HPA axis.

Feeling stuck with unexplained symptoms? Call our office today for a detailed testing and personalized plan to help you feel your best again!

Functional Medicine

Understanding Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal fatigue is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that occur when the adrenal glands are unable to keep up with the demands of ongoing stress.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can include:

  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
  • Weight gain, especially around the midsection
  • Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
  • Mood swings, irritability, and anxiety
  • Cravings for salty or sweet foods
  • Low blood pressure
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Hair loss or thinning
  • Muscle weakness or pain

While conventional medicine may not recognize adrenal fatigue as a medical condition, functional medicine takes a more holistic approach and offers a range of interventions to address the underlying imbalances that contribute to these symptoms.

One of the key strategies for managing adrenal fatigue is to support the body’s stress response system. This can include lifestyle changes like reducing stress, getting regular exercise, and improving sleep quality. In addition, functional medicine practitioners may recommend supplements and herbs known to support healthy cortisol levels and promote balanced adrenal function.

Another important aspect of functional medicine for managing adrenal fatigue is addressing any underlying imbalances in the body. For example, nutrient deficiencies, gut imbalances, and inflammation can all contribute to adrenal dysfunction. Our office works to identify and address these imbalances through personalized testing and targeted interventions.

Are you ready to tackle your overall wellness? Contact our team now!

Therapeutic Techniques

Grounding

Grounding is the process of making contact with the earth’s electrical energy.  You can consider it like “charging up” your body the way you use electricity to charge your phone. Getting barefoot is the best way to ground yourself. Check out earthing.com for grounding blankets and mats you can use when indoors to ground yourself when you can’t get outside. Dr. Nancy loves to sleep on top of her grounding blanket. Research performed by esteemed institutes are referenced throughout The Earthing Movie on YouTube for a layman’s guide to earthing and grounding.  The negative electrons of the earth are transferred to us when we make our skin contact the ground.  Start with 5-10 minutes per day and aim for 30 or more minutes per day for measured anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety effects.  Restoring the adrenals is aided by grounding. The adrenals restore other hormone imbalances so try earthing today! If it’s too cold to walk barefoot, consider grounding shoes. Harmony783 is a great sneaker that has been studied to actually work. Grounding socks are best but the sweat from your feet in regular socks is conductive as well. While it may sound crazy, it works. Try for yourself and see how you feel after being in nature 5-10 min, or 30+ minutes every day.

Grounding

Our team at the Holistic Wholeness Institute is here to help you to thrive. Schedule a consultation with us today to get started!

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