Hey, this is Dr. Deb Schreibman and I wanted to review all of the great information I shared on my last What’s healthy with Dr. Deb podcast. We are healthy today and I’m super excited to report that, especially  with all of the stuff going on in the world today, the flu, the coronavirus and who knows what else.   Yes, I know, some people are wondering if there are any other health issues besides Covid 19.  It’s funny because no one talks about the other health issues we are still dealing with.  Everything is focused on Covid 19.  I was reading an article this morning and it was talking about thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction,  and all kinds of long hauler symptoms from this crazy virus COVID 19.  They were calling one of them, a new one called fluorona, where you get the flu and coronavirus at the same time. I was like, oh my gosh, what’s next?  I thought it would be a really great idea to start talking about things that we can do to be healthy, especially if you have a thyroid issue or an adrenal issue or any other health issue which puts you at higher risk of contracting any virus, especially COVID 19 because we need to have a good solid foundation and without a good solid foundation what do we have?  Nothing.  You gotta have your health first!  If everything falls apart what happens to your health? And the quality of your life? Think about your house. You gotta have a good foundation. You need a good roof.  If you have cracks, if it’s crumbling and water is coming in, and if your roof has a hole in it and is leaking, everything just falls apart.  Then there is no more house.  Your health is exactly the same!

So you want to  make sure that your foundation is good, that it’s solid so you can do anything you want to do and be successful. And you know, when you’re overweight and you have adrenal dysfunction, and thyroid dysfunction, weight loss, weight gain, sleep issues, exhaustion, your hair is falling out and no matter what you do you can’t feel better,  something just isn’t right.  Then, you know we have problems and it makes us more susceptible, not just to coronavirus, but to other viruses, to colds and to the flu and to having heart issues and gut issues and all kinds of different health issues. So, you know, if there’s a silver lining in all this COVID stuff, I think that really the coronavirus has really helped people understand that you have to have  good health and you’ve gotta have a good solid foundation so that even if you do get something like this, you can be good and strong and healthy, fight it and recover. So let’s talk about weight loss and adrenal dysfunction, because I know a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, Dr.Deb. No matter what I do, I can’t lose weight and I can’t sleep and I have no energy.  And I hear every single day, I’m just gaining more weight. I haven’t changed my diet. I haven’t changed my exercise routine. In fact, I’m dieting even more. I’ve cut my calories. I’m trying to be really healthy. What is going on? Why can’t I lose that weight? And in my mind, when I start to hear about that, I start to think, okay, what is going on with your adrenal glands? Because that will really impact your ability to lose weight and your sleep and your energy. You see adrenals, do lots of different things, right? Your adrenal glands help regulate your blood pressure, they help regulate your metabolism. They even help regulate your nervous system. So, if your adrenal glands aren’t working right, your body cannot function properly.

The adrenal glands are these two little guys that live right on top of your kidneys. They produce many of the hormones that we have in our body. The main hormone is cortisol. And a lot of you are like, ding, ding, lights going off in your heads….I’ve heard of cortisol before. Well, cortisol is the hormone  that helps store that body fat on you. It also is actually in charge of your sleep cycle, your wake cycle, and your energy cycle. So with these little guys, although they’re really tiny, they’re very, very, very important to your health. I think it’s really, really important to have this discussion and talk about what we do and what are some of the signs and symptoms that you might have an adrenal issue. Let’s talk about that. Some of the signs of having an adrenal issue are hair loss. I know that can be a thyroid symptom too, but that can also be an adrenal issue, extreme fatigue, especially during the day when you’re supposed to be awake and energetic and be able to conquer the world.  You may also feel like you can’t open your eyes. You just are thinking about the next time you can lie down to take a nap.  There are also weight fluctuations where your weight is up and down and up and down and up and down. And then that weight thing, you know, no matter what I do, Dr. Deb, I can’t lose the weight. That’s another really big one. Body aches can actually be an adrenal issue as well. Low blood pressure too, who would have thought that?  I have a lot of patients coming in and their blood pressure is just tanking. And their conventional medical doctors are like, oh, well, you just must have low blood pressure, but they’re dizzy. They don’t feel good, they don’t feel like themselves and that’s not safe. So why is that? It could be adrenal dysfunction. And, another thing,  people are experiencing a lot of nervousness and anxiety and depression that can also be an adrenal issue. So, you’re gonna see that the adrenal glands are really in charge of lots and lots of different things and are very important to our overall health and wellbeing.

One of the things that I always like to tell my patients is that diet always influences your health and how you feel. So this is an important thing. Think about that, diet always influences your health and how you feel. So these little adrenal glands, we have to really check on them and they are strongly influenced by stress, so if you have any kind of stress, then we need to see how your adrenal glands are functioning. Stress is one of the greatest sabotagers of your health that there is. You really want to  have a plan to help manage stress better. You know, that can be just as easy as having a better sleep schedule, having a better workout schedule, eating better quality foods so that you can be healthier.

I get lots and lots of questions about this very thing.  What do I eat if I have adrenal fatigue or exhaustion?  This is a fantastic question.  It is important to remember that everybody is  a little bit different. So, today I’m going to just go over some of the basic things that you can enjoy, and some of the things that you should avoid. Here’s the thing, balance is the key in any issue that you have.  Balance is key. Now, let’s go over some of the things that you should avoid. You should definitely avoid caffeine. A lot of people think, oh, I need my coffee to wake up in the morning. That is a red flag that you have an adrenal issue, even if you’re just drinking one cup of coffee. Is your one cup of coffee 8 ounces or 32 ounces?  Is it a tall, a Grande, a, a venti?  Whatever size it is, it can impact your adrenal function so just make sure you’re not drinking caffeine, because it can really impact your adrenal function. So caffeine is a huge one. Alcohol is another one. A lot of people say, oh, I drink alcohol. I can sleep better at night. Well, it doesn’t work that way. Actually people who are drinking alcohol sleep worse, they don’t have as good quality sleep. They don’t get enough deep sleep. Sometimes they don’t hit REM sleep. Drinking alcohol and getting quality sleep do not mix well together. . So no alcohol or at least limit your alcohol.  Another one is  fried foods, or fast food. You wanna avoid those things because the quality of the food is typically very poor.  And, of course, frying food impacts cholesterol negatively as well.  Artificial sweeteners are a huge one.  Nobody should ever eat an artificial sweetener ever again in your life.  That crap causes cancer. It causes tumors, your body can’t break it down. All of you out there who are trying to lose weight, and drinking diet Coke to save calories…..DO NOT DRINK IT.   It actually slows down weight loss because a body can’t identify what it is. So it starts storing everything, white sugar. You really wanna avoid processed white sugar, and white flour.   Processing our food impacts the ability for your adrenal glands to function the way that they’re supposed to. So those are some of the things that you should absolutely stay away from and it will help your adrenal function. The other thing I wanted to talk about is some of the foods that you can enjoy that will actually help your adrenal function.

Here’s a funny one. Oysters. Oysters are loaded with vitamin D3 and  zinc, B12, and all kinds of different nutrients. Oysters are often overlooked little jewels so to speak. So try those oysters. They are really, really great for adrenal function. Leafy greens of course are great in everything and have lots of good nutrition in them. So eat those leafy greens and avocado are great too. Avocado is one of my very, very favorite fruits to eat. It’s so delicious and yummy, especially when you get a good ripe one when you’re like, oh my gosh, creamy, smooth, delicious, and really helps with adrenal function. Asparagus is another one, and wild caught fish too. Don’t get farm raised fish because they feed it junk that is not their normal diet.  Things like corn.  Well, corn isn’t in the ocean and it isn’t what they would normally eat.    That’s not in their natural environment. And then you eat the fish and your body doesn’t recognize it as fish because it has changed when their true diet is substituted for something else and they don’t have as good quality omegas in it any more.So wild caught fish is a huge one for you. Pumpkin seeds are another great one and coconut oil too . Who doesn’t love coconut oil, right? Coconut oil is another great one to help support adrenal function.

The best way to get started on a healthier path is to start thinking in terms of what you eat.  You are what you eat!!!  I know every year at New Years you wanna get healthy, you want to get ready to start healing. So I always say, “eat the best and leave the rest.” So think about that. That’s an easy one to remember, eat the best and leave the rest. I hope I gave you some really great information on adrenal function and weight loss or weight gain. If you have a concern about weight and you wanna talk more about it, you know, there are tests that we can do so that we could really figure out the underlying cause why are you not losing weight? Is it in fact, an adrenal issue? Is it something else? Test the right way.  Test don’t guess!   We can figure out what’s going on with you, fix the underlying cause and your weight will come off and you will feel fantastic and you will be so much healthier. Hope this helps!  Until next time, wishing you loads and loads of love and light and health and happiness.