7 Ways to Combat Adrenal Fatigue

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here along with Jordan Rubin. So on today's episode, we're going to be talking about how— 7 steps or 7 ways to combat adrenal fatigue. And you might be one of those people out there that is struggling with chronic energy loss. Maybe you've got brain fog. Maybe you get plenty of sleep at night, you still wake up tired. You're just tired all the time. If that's you, there's a great chance you have adrenal fatigue, and so we're going to get into A lot of in-depth ways to overcome adrenal fatigue today. We'll talk about the best essential oils, vitamins, supplements, natural treatments and remedies here. And we've brought in the expert again, Jordan Rubin here, who's going to be talking to us about best ways to overcome adrenal fatigue. So again, I'm Dr. Josh Axe. This is Jordan Rubin. We're going to go through the 7 ways to combat adrenal fatigue right now today.

All right.

Jordan, let's talk about adrenal fatigue. What are some of the biggest warning signs that someone has adrenal fatigue and how many people do you think struggle with this issue?

Let's start with the second part of your question. I believe adrenal fatigue affects every single adult at one time or another. That's a bold statement, but if you're watching today and you wish you had more energy, you wish you had less fat around the midsection, you wish you had a sharper memory, if you've got reproductive issues, hormone imbalance, sexual dysfunction, I believe that all has to do with adrenals.

Yeah.

The bottom line is the world we live in and the lifestyle that we practice, all about convenience, rushing, rushing, rushing. Typically, adrenal fatigue is signified by somebody who's on the phone, picking their kids up for soccer practice, trying to Send an email and eat a drive-through meal while they're driving with their knees.

Yeah.

Or I meet people all the time that are caregivers. You know, moms are really the number one group who suffers from adrenal fatigue because they go, go, go. It's always about other people and caregivers, and in fact, caregiver syndrome, I've met people that have cared for an elderly parent or a spouse. through the process of being sick and then ultimately dying. And when they're done, they're 50 pounds heavier, they look like they aged 10 years, and their life's upside down. What's really upside down are your adrenal hormones. So these little glands that sit on top of your kidneys are very, very important for energy, for brain health, for weight, for sleep, for skin, and we're going to teach you 7 ways to reverse the curse and transform your health.

Yeah. You know, growing up, Jordan, my mom was one of those people that really suffered with chronic fatigue and adrenal fatigue. And I remember just looking back a few things about her. One of the things she had was these dark circles she started getting under her eyes. I know that was one of the warning signs of adrenal fatigue. Also, sometimes she had trouble thinking, memory, she just always felt overwhelmed.

Yes, yes.

Like overwhelmed is one of the biggest— if you're a person that feels overwhelmed, that's a big sign that you're experiencing adrenal fatigue on a regular basis. Jordan, let's go ahead and jump in right now and talk about the 7 ways to combat adrenal fatigue. Let's jump into step number 1 here. What do we have? The top foods. And I'll go ahead and bust out a pen here and add some of these things that we hit on.

First of all, when it comes to adrenal fatigue, carbs are your enemy. Let me tell you that if you have adrenal fatigue, if you say that you are stressed often. If you say, I'm stressed, I'm stressed, I'm stressed, that's adrenal fatigue and it's signified by a high level of cortisol and a low level of DHEA. Think of DHEA as the hormone of youth, whereas cortisol is the hormone that makes you fat, it's the hormone that makes your skin dry and causes you to not sleep. Now, cortisol is great if you're being chased by a bear in a national forest.

Right.

fight-or-flight hormone. But when cortisol rages, your body fights against you. A diet low in starches is very, very important. So you want to limit grains, you want to limit sugar. And often, Josh, when people have adrenal fatigue, they crave the very things they don't need because carbs make you feel better.

Yeah.

Someone once said that they think stressed, or desserts rather, is stressed. spelled backwards, which it actually is. People, when they're stressed, they want to eat. Eating carbohydrates causes your situation to become temporarily better and worse in the long term. And this even relates to blood sugar and insulin as well. So lower starches and sugars, moderate protein, higher fat.

Yeah.

Because fat does not adversely affect your hormones and it doesn't put a burden on your body. Protein in too high a quantity does.

Yeah.

Can burden your body and carbohydrates certainly do. Now, one thing that you've got to put down here, you're going to remove carbs and sugar, you got to have bone broth. Yes, yes, we sound like a broken bone broth record, but bone broth contains proteins in the form of collagen that are ideal for people with adrenal issues. A worldwide expert of adrenal fatigue said to me, this is an absolute ideal protein because it doesn't burden the body. And it is very adrenal and thyroid friendly because those 2 go hand in hand. So you want to consume bone broth, lower your carbs, moderate protein, and really clean sources. Don't get into soy.

Yeah.

Limit proteins that are hard to digest. Really go for clean animal sources of protein and some high-quality plant foods. That is the ideal diet for adrenals, but you got to kick Yeah, absolutely, Jordan.

Now, one of the things I know that you and I talk about all the time is traditional Chinese medicine. Within traditional Chinese medicine, they really believe that those dark-colored foods, foods that are black and purple and red, are great. One of the actually chief fruits that they love in Chinese medicine for the kidneys and adrenals are cranberries. You know, some of those fruits that are high in anthocyanins, so blackberries, cranberries, blueberries, Pomegranates, these are ideal foods or fruits if you're struggling with adrenal fatigue. Also, in Chinese medicine, it's typically alluded to as the water element. They believe that fish, one of the most more easily digestible forms of protein, is great as well. So doing wild-caught salmon, collagen as Jordan's explaining is great, and also seaweed can be fantastic whether you're just doing a seaweed salad or spirulina or chlorella added in. Those are some great things. But as Jordan's mentioning, low sugar, low carb, lots of bone broth, dark-colored fruits, dark-colored green leafy vegetables, maybe a little bit of black rice or purple rice, things like that. That's a great diet for anybody struggling with adrenal fatigue right now.

Absolutely.

And Jordan mentioned this as well, if you're a person that's craving food, if that's one thing that you tend to have happen or you know somebody like that, Those cravings for carbohydrates and sweets is another big warning sign that you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue here. And the great news is, Jordan, actually, this is a little bit of a different thing we don't have up here, but I've heard you talk about this before and read this in one of your books in the past, that today most of us get so much sweet and salty. I read in one of your books you said that by consuming sour foods, it may actually reduce the cravings for sweets.

Absolutely. Consuming sour foods. And bitter foods, so you talked about greens, cranberries have bitter element in it.

Oh, yeah.

Blackberries have bitter element. In fact, the anthocyanins, the skins and seeds of grapes have bitter elements. So definitely put on berries and definitely make sure that you consume dark-colored foods and fermented foods. So fermented foods gives you the power of sour. I'm going to talk about an ideal meal for adrenal fatigue, and by the way, if you're sitting there watching saying, Who are you talking to? I'm talking to you. I promise you, we've experienced it. When you work hard, when you fly all the time, when you change time zones, when you are trying to balance work and family life. Again, if you're a mom and you're watching, you have some level of adrenal challenge that you need to get on top of because when you bottom out, people use the term burning the candle on both ends, bottom out, I'm stressed. I'm overwhelmed. That's adrenal fatigue. Minor depression, skin issues, weight gain, intense cravings, hormone imbalance, sexual dysfunction, all of that is adrenal fatigue. So here's a great meal and I'm going to try to incorporate all this.

Love this.

So you start out with a little bit of kimchi or sauerkraut. Yesterday I had the kind we talk about all the time with the pickles.

Oh, yeah.

And then I had the caraway seed. I had some avocado on it, it was awesome. So do a little raw salsa or sauerkraut, avocado is amazing with that. So that will be sort of an appetizer, right? Then for the meal, have some kind of fish. Salmon is great. Certainly white fish can be amazing. I absolutely love orange roughy, sea bass, flounder, snapper, etc.

Yeah.

And what I like to do is make this, it's similar to what you talk about, it's a one-pot meal. What you do is you cook either black or purple rice or black or red quinoa or konniwa. These are grains or seeds that are high in nutrients. So put a small amount of that but cook it in bone broth. So you infuse it with protein. You can add bone broth powder or cook it in bone broth. Today, as I left the house, my wife had a big pot of chicken soup.

Oh, yeah.

And I sneaked like 3 scoops of bone broth powder in there to boost it up. So I'm going to kind of see what they say later. My son Samuel grew up on bone broth. For the first 2 years of his life, it's almost all he wanted. So this morning he said, Dad, Mom's making chicken soup today. He just loves it.

Love it.

So put bone broth in your dark-colored grain, put some onions. Onions are a great source of anti-inflammatory and anti-allergen quercetin, and then I typically will cook or sauté in coconut oil the fish with a bunch of veggies. And then I— so I basically put the veggies in, mushrooms, onions, all these powerful nutrients we're going to talk about later, cook the fish on top. I almost do a sauté steaming and then I add that to the purple rice, the black rice, the black quinoa. So what you've done is you've consumed fermented foods, you've got your power of sour, you've got black rice or black quinoa which has The antioxidant equivalent of blueberries or greater. You've got some good veggies in there, greens go well, and then you've got fish. And it's a lower-carb, very low-sugar meal that incorporates all of what we're talking about and it is delicious. It's a great meal to break the fast if you're going to fast. It's a great meal to cleanse with and it's awesome. It's so good.

I love it. Talk about an awesome superfood meal for reenergizing. Your adrenal glands, your kidneys, and your reproductive organs, these are great as well. All right, step number 2, get more herbs in your diet. Jordan and I are always talking about herbs and we'll talk about spices there in a minute potentially. Let's talk about herbs. So Jordan, what are your favorite herbs for supporting adrenal rejuvenation?

There are many, but I want to give you 3 or 4. Number 1 is ashwagandha. It's also known as winter cherry. It is the quintessential Adaptogenic herb. Clinical studies have shown that ashwagandha extract helps to reduce cortisol levels and boost DHEA levels by a whopping 24.5%.

Wow, huge.

Reducing, get this, cravings due to high cortisol levels. So you're not going to have cravings. Better sleep, metabolism, skin, immune system, antioxidants, brain. It's amazing what ashwagandha can do. Use ashwagandha as an herb in a tea or a decoction, it's amazing.

Yeah, love that.

Of course, supplements are available as well, we'll talk about that later. So ashwagandha is one. Second is going to be ginseng. Ginseng is revered around the world as an adrenal booster. It is heating, it is very yang as they would say in traditional Chinese medicine. Ginseng is a powerhouse. If you want something more balanced, You could go the American ginseng route, which is Panax quinquefolius versus Panax ginseng or Korean or Asian ginseng. It's so popular in China, so popular in Korea, used to be more popular here. Properly made ginseng root can be worth thousands of dollars a pound.

Oh, yeah.

But you can find it in an herb form or in a supplement. So ginseng is a powerful herb. And number 3, rhodiola rosea. Otherwise known as Arctic root. I think I may have mentioned this, my good friend, the late Dr. Zakir Ramazanov introduced rhodiola to America. He was a scientist in the former Soviet Union, the Georgian Republic.

Wow.

And he believed that Rhodiola rosea was an amazing energy booster, help for the reproductive system, cortisol reducer, and it even helps people adapt to different time zones and climates. Cosmonauts in Russia use rhodiola to adapt to gravitational changes in space.

Wow.

So those 3, you consume— and there's more, but those 3 are absolute powerhouses. If you're interested in consuming schisandra berry, that's an amazing adaptogenic herb, good for the liver as well. Eleuthero, which used to be called Siberian ginseng, is amazing. But really, these are the absolute best. We're going to talk a little bit later about the top essential oils for adrenal fatigue. But let me say this, if you're a mom, if you're a busy executive, I mean, this is so great for students. If you're a student who is in college, I don't know about you, but I was on cortisol overdrive.

Oh, gosh.

Absolutely. I was involved in athletics, I was very involved in my church, I was in a fraternity, and I went to class occasionally. And I was always running from one place to the other, very, very stressed right before I got Students, moms, executives, caregivers, you all need this, more energy, more endurance, brain health. I think adrenal fatigue could be the underlying issue that most people have, baby boomers, Gen Xers.

Oh, yeah.

And today with all the technology and people are literally following around their phone, walking in the middle of traffic with certain games, if you will. They've got all these stimulation, your kids have cortisol levels through the roof. Just by these foods and these herbs alone, you can defeat adrenal fatigue, but we're only 3 out of— we're just getting into 3 out of 7. This is such valuable info, I'm so excited.

Absolutely. Here, just a few other things to mention here, Jordan. You know, I was reading a study recently on rhodiola and talking about its benefits for helping athletes in swimming. In fact, this study was done on mice. But it was pretty incredible in looking at how much it increased the overall endurance of these animals. And so we know this is something oftentimes used by athletes, especially ginseng and rhodiola, overall improving their endurance. And so if you're a person that just, you seem to get worn out easily, maybe 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, you're ready to just take a nap. Now, part of that is due to too many carbs and sugars at lunch and taking that carb coma.

Yes.

But also part of that as well, if you can get some of these good herbs in your diet as we're talking about here, That's going to help you break through that. So again, you change your diet, you add in some of these herbs, you're going to experience a breakthrough there as well. So Jordan, let's jump into step number 3 here, the best spices. And Jordan, recently, I know yesterday you gave a definition here of herbs versus spices. So tell everyone the difference here.

An herb is typically a leaf of a plant. It can be a berry as we talk about right here, schisandra. A spice is bark or root that's used for seasoning. So rhodiola is a root, but it's not used for seasoning, so it's not a spice. So you might be wondering, what about this herb? What about that herb? What about this spice? We're going to try to separate them because spices are in your spice cabinet and sometimes herbs are easily available fresh. You can use them in a salad, etc. The fruit and vegetable thing, we don't even want to conquer that at all because it's too difficult. Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable? There you go.

You decide.

Spices are awesome. We can't tell you enough how important it is to get spices in your life. And one spice that is really important for adrenal health is licorice.

Oh, yeah.

Licorice, you might say, well, it's a spice. Well, it is. It's a root and it's a flavoring. Licorice is great for your adrenals. It helps to naturally balance cortisol levels. So licorice is one of the top spices we recommend. And I want to throw out 2 spices. That are this time of year going to be very important and they're both great to handle areas of your health that are affected by adrenal fatigue, particularly sleep and energy. One is nutmeg.

Oh, yeah.

Nutmeg, not often thought of as a powerhouse nutritional, although Josh sometimes sneaks it in his smoothies. Nutmeg, which is a traditional apple pie, pecan pie spice, is wonderful for sleep. Wonderful for digestion, almost every spice is good for digestion. Good for your skin, good for your immune system. And number 2, allspice. I used to think allspice was a mixture of spices.

No, I did too.

But it's not, it's actually a spice and it's part of the pimento family, if pimento is a family. Pimento, those little pepper-like things, I think the allspice comes from that same plant. So licorice, nutmeg, and allspice, bottom line folks. Any spice you use is going to help your adrenals, like guaranteed. That's just the way it is. And if you're someone out there who says, I don't have adrenal fatigue, I don't have these issues as long as I drink 6 cups of coffee a day. Now, we want to make this clear, we like coffee. Coffee can be really good if it's organic in moderate amounts. But if you're surviving on coffee or energy shots, no question you have adrenal fatigue. How would you like to be free of that? How would you like to have better energy, better brain function, better sexual function, reproductive health, hormone balance, better-looking skin, and less weight around the midsection? Everyone's saying, me, me, me. You have adrenal fatigue. Are you dealing with it? This is 7 ways to combat it and we're only less than halfway done.

Yeah, Jordan, you know, one of the unique things that I'm seeing here and one of the things that happens within, you You know, within our taste buds is certain flavors start to cause certain things to happen in our body. So we know certain flavors can tonify certain organs, some of them can sedate and calm certain reactions in the body. And actually, I was reading, I almost emailed you this morning as you sent me a list of some of the things you were excited about to share this morning. Clove, I was reading about actually clove.

I had it on there.

In a very similar way here, but you think about licorice, nutmeg, allspice, Cardamom too, there's so many. Cardamom. These have a naturally sweet flavor which actually tend to nourish your digestive juices and digestive reaction, especially your spleen and stomach. Also, they've been known to— most of these herbs have compounds that balance insulin levels which can reduce sugar cravings, balance hormones. So, so beneficial here as we jump into these spices. And licorice root, one of my favorite ways to get that is just doing a licorice root tea. It's naturally sweet, absolutely delicious there as well. And sometimes in the morning, Jordan, I'll do like a bone broth smoothie. I'll do some chocolate bone broth powder and with that I love, or even vanilla, I love doing a little bit of nutmeg and cinnamon and clove in as part of a warm vanilla smoothie. Absolutely delicious. So foods, herbs, spices, get these in. You're going to notice some really big differences here. with your adrenal health. So let's jump in, Jordan, to step number 4 here, essential oils. All right, Jordan, let's go ahead and jump in here and talk about the best essential oils. I'm happy to— you can kick us off here and then I can jump on in. Absolutely.

So we're here, I'm here, Jordan Rubin with Dr. Josh Axe, and we are talking about 7 ways to combat adrenal fatigue. We've already covered foods, herbs, and spices. Now, we're talking about essential oils.

Getting there.

And I think holy basil is one of the best. I'm so excited about holy basil essential oil. We're actually trying to get our hands on some right now. It's pretty rare, but holy basil is wonderful. Basil in general is a great plant, but holy basil is one of the top 3 universally accepted herbs in India, and it's great for brain health, blood sugar, and mood. Things you'll notice with adrenal fatigue is fluctuations in mood.

Yeah.

A lot of people are out there saying, amen. Holy basil is a great herb for that. And speaking of mood, you can't get away from— well, I'm going to leave that for third— lavender, which we're going to talk about. And I think one of the most underutilized herbs, spices, in particular essential oils for mood and for energy is rosemary. I've just fallen in love with rosemary. We know lavender is great. And obviously, holy basil is really good for this, but rosemary is incredible. It's energizing, it's brightening, and it really does help boost your body's resistance to stress. Powerful antioxidant. I would not want to be without rosemary essential oil.

Yeah, I'm with you, Jordan. I was actually reading up on a really unique study this morning where— and this was out of Japan, and they did a study on rosemary and lavender essential oil. separate and combined at treating adrenal issues and high cortisol levels.

Perfect. I use them both, dump them on my— well, drop them on my head every day and my feet when I can. It's just something I do.

Yeah, it was pretty awesome there. And Jordan, I know you were one of the first people that told me you anoint your head every day in rosemary oil, one of those oils along with lavender you use. And rosemary and lavender both were shown to help with free radical absorption capacity And a great way, but also they found it greatly helped reduce and balance out high cortisol levels in the body when using these 2 essential oils together. That is awesome.

And here's what's great. So you look at making a meal that we talked about, getting the broth, getting the fermented foods, getting the moderate protein, good fats, then you're going to add some herbs, say that you make a tea, a decoction, an infusion, you've got spices which you can use liberally and essential oils additionally because let's face it, you're not going to put Spices on your head, you're not going to put food on your arm, but what you're doing is you're surrounding your body and creating an environment that is pro-energy, pro-balance, pro-brain health. You're for all of these areas. You're going to promote healthy skin. It's just awesome. I'm really excited about it.

Yeah, absolutely here. So these are big, holy basil, rosemary, lavender, all of them work to balance out cortisol in your body. And if you are one of those people And you know, or someone you love is struggling with unbalanced cortisol issues and you know that's contributing to your adrenal issues or your thyroid issues or your hormone balance, start using these essential oils every day. Anoint your head with oil as Jordan does in the morning, you know, 2 drops of each. I love just simply massaging them into your scalp, rubbing them on your forehead, or rubbing them right on the front of your neck, kind of right on that thyroid and those lymphatic So 2 drops of each, 3 times a day, these oils is a great thing to do. And another great one here, Jordan, as well is if you're really fatigued, peppermint oil is great.

Absolutely.

Peppermint oil is naturally energizing, it's cooling to the body. You know, Jordan, if you think about this, a lot of times people start to get fatigued when they get warm. So think about if you're in a hot room, I know we go to conferences and we'll teach sometimes. And the temperature, the lower you have the temperature, the more alert everybody is.

Yes, yes.

Peppermint is cooling. It helps with that alertness, that focus. There are medical studies proving that there as well.

Absolutely. So somebody already mentioned this, but when it comes to adrenal fatigue, energy, brain boosting and balance, medicinal mushrooms need to be on your plate, in your cabinet, and there are 3 that are really powerful for adrenals, 2 are just off the charts, and one of them is reishi or Ganoderma. Now, there are many types of reishi. My favorite is Ganoderma lucidum, which is purple antler reishi. And we grow these mushrooms on our farm, and one day I'll give you a sneak peek. These are revered. If you ask someone from China, historically, what is the most powerful substance known to man, they're often going to tell you reishi.

Yeah.

You can buy dried reishi, you can make a tea or a decoction. or find it in supplement form. Reishi is a powerful adaptogen, not a plant, it's a fungi, it's a medicinal mushroom, and it amplifies the benefits of everything else we've talked about.

Absolutely. Number 2 here, Jordan?

Cordyceps. Cordyceps has been called everything from the Chinese secret to more energy, it's been called the Himalayan Viagra. It's typically rare in nature, but you can find organic cordyceps that's being grown in the U.S., and we grow that as well. Cordyceps militaris and sinensis. These are powerful adaptogens that help you reduce stress and develop a resistance to high altitude, time changes, etc. These 2 botanicals help make you impervious to the stresses of life. They give you vigor, strength, and endurance, and they are great for men and women.

Love it. All right, here, next one here, what do we have?

Now, this isn't really a mushroom. It's more of a fungus and it's called chaga, or I like saying the Latin, Inonitis obliquus. If I really wanted to make people laugh, I'd have you try to spell that. Chaga is from Russia. It is revered as their most powerful medicinal substance.

Yeah.

You know when you see a tree and it sort of bulges with fungi, that's what a chaga is. Chaga contains naturally occurring superoxide dismutase, which is a powerful intracellular antioxidant, and it has natural sources of melanin. So chaga is great for your skin. Again, you can buy it in tea form, you can use it in some soups or in supplement form. So chaga is amazing, reishi, chaga, and cordyceps. Again, I'm looking at just these 3 essential oils and these 3 mushrooms, that alone you'll find people say helped them overcome adrenal fatigue. Help them get more energy, help them boost their brain and endurance. But when you add that to the others, it's just gold.

Jordan, I have a question for you. So one of the things we know, most people have heard of glutathione. A lot of people haven't heard of superoxide dismutase, but really they're sort of partners as being antioxidants in the body. What do each of them do or how do they work together? Why are these important for energy in the body and just overall health?

Absolutely. fruits and vegetables being high in antioxidants in the ORAC score.

Oh, yeah.

Oxygen radical absorbance capacity. It means what type of ability does a substance have to reduce oxidation. But there's some argument that when you take antioxidants orally, even through foods, they don't go into the body and do what you want them to do. There are 3 intracellular antioxidants which the body produces, glutathione, Catalase, and SOD. They're found in very few foods. Sprouts is a great source. SOD is known as a miracle worker for rejuvenation. So you're seeing it in some skin products. Superoxide dismutase helps to quench free radicals. It's known as an antioxidant enzyme.

Yeah.

Now, all 3 function similarly, but together they're even better. What I like to say is SOD is more skin-centric and more anti-aging, whereas glutathione is more about the liver and immune system. And catalase is more of a toxin scavenger. So that's sort of where I talk about the triple threat of antioxidant enzymes, and a lot of these foods contribute to those.

Love it. Let's jump into step number 6 here, Jordan. What are the essential nutrients for supporting the adrenal glands? Now, this is a big one. There are so many people, Jordan, who are deficient in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that really support the kidneys, the adrenals, the reproductive organs on a regular basis. So let's talk about the top nutrients. What's number 1?

Number 1, and I say this is in no particular order, they're all stellar, B12 is really important. B12 is at an all-time low, I believe, because of our lack of gut integrity and the fact, Josh, that so many people are avoiding red meat unnecessarily. So B12, a lot of people have heard, I'm low in energy, I need a B12 shot. Well, there's a reason because B12 Cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin helps to boost energy levels by supporting the adrenal glands.

That's a big one.

Yeah. And number 2 is another B vitamin, B5 or pantothenic acid, sometimes known as pantethine. B5 is supportive of the adrenals and helps to balance cortisol levels. So you want B12, you want B5, and sometimes your multi has enough, other times you want additional B vitamins. So I'd recommend, we'll talk about that in a moment. Taking a B vitamin in addition to your multi, so a B complex. Number 3, vitamin D.

There you go.

While it may not directly attack adrenal fatigue, it will help you sleep, it'll help your bones, it'll help your mood, and it'll help your whole body, even help your hormones become balanced. So these are, in my mind, 3 of the top nutrients. You could add minerals in there.

Sure.

Molybdenum is really important, manganese. The trace minerals that we're so deficient in because of our diet and our poor soil are all beneficial, but these are the top 3.

Yeah, I totally agree. I think in general, good practice for most people is take an organic vitamin B complex every single day. We really think a B complex is going to help cover your bases here. It's also going to help get some of the others like thiamine and folate and some of the others that can support the body. So again, take a quality B supplement. And then vitamin D3, Jordan, how much do you recommend people take a day?

Minimum 5,000, but as we go into the winter months, I think 10,000 is more appropriate for most people. That's what I would use and would recommend to my family members as adults. I even think kids can do well to take some vitamin D. We're typically deficient and we're in a sunny place right now, but getting enough sun, getting outside when you're going from home to work, etc. Practice, it takes practice.

Absolutely. Yeah, so again, getting these in your diet is essential to boost. You know, Jordan, this isn't necessarily a nutrient. Let me see, what do you have here? Supplements, okay. Well, let's go ahead and jump in here because I was probably going to mention one of the supplements. All right, Jordan, let's go ahead and jump into our last tip here. What are the best supplements for overcoming adrenal fatigue in your mind?

I think collagen is really, really important. We talked about bone broth, but if you don't get bone broth every day, consuming collagen Getting glycine and proline in your diet, a very gentle form of protein that does not contribute to kidney and liver overload. Collagen is amazing. We know collagen can help your skin look better, help your gut, it even helps you sleep. So collagen is a great supplement when it comes to overcoming adrenal fatigue. You had one you wanted to talk about.

Yeah, I want to add one in here and this might be one you had. Probiotics are essential. I mean, Jordan, we always talk about this. You aren't necessarily what you eat, you are what you digest and what you absorb. And talk about B vitamins here, if you're going to absorb B vitamins, you've got to have a healthy microbiome and gut. You know, there are, if not trillions or more, of types of microbes and bacteria that are lining your gut. And in order for you to produce some of your own vitamins and minerals, in order for you to absorb vitamins and minerals, You've got to have probiotics. And due to the environment we live in today, from our personal care products that have heavy metals and chemicals that kill off probiotics, our drinking water that's full of fluoride and chlorine, which have been shown, fluoride specifically, to kill off probiotics in our gut, taking antibiotics through the years, Jordan, I know when I was a kid, I got prescribed antibiotics all the time, all of these hand sanitizers and everything else we have We are bombarded with antibiotics. It's killing off the good bacteria in our body. So probiotics are essential because of nutrient absorption and actually creating these vitamins and minerals that support the body. So I'm going to put probiotics here. What do you have for number 3?

Well, I'm going to go hand in hand with that. Digestive enzymes, I would say, is number 3. Carrying over what you just said, you're not what you eat, you're what you digest. When you have issues with starches, we told you to avoid or eliminate starches, grains, grains and sugars, you have undigestible factors in the diet. Gluten can cause a decrease in various minerals which we need for our adrenals. But taking a digestive enzyme with meals, let's just say it frees up more energy.

Yeah.

Helps you utilize what you're consuming and I think minimizes damage. And that's the third. And really the fourth, and it's going to go back to some of what we talked about, it's a supplement That contains adaptogenic herbs because I simply don't believe we're going to get enough ashwagandha, ginseng, rhodiola, and eleuthero, astragalus, etc., in our diet. So let's call it an adaptogenic herbal mushroom, okay? Now, herbs and mushrooms are not easily consumed in the diet. Finding a supplement that either combines them or gives you herbs. And another that gives you medicinal mushrooms, I think, is essential for overcoming adrenal fatigue.

All right, Jordan, I got a couple of questions here for you I want to ask you. What are your thoughts, something not on the board but in Chinese medicine is often referenced as an adaptogen, shilajit?

Shilajit is great. Shilajit is the goo that oozes out of sort of volcanoes in the crags of rocks, but it also can be similar to humate which is created in the ground. It is the breakdown of organic carbon-based minerals and it's black. And it's really, really good to help overall balance to the body. In your book, Eat Dirt, you talk a lot about this. Shilajit or humate can be wonderful absolutely as a supplement. You can add it right down there if you can spell it.

Love it. All right, Jordan, let's go ahead and do a quick breakdown here of everything we went through here for everybody who's watching. All right, so number 1 here, we're talking about foods. So a lot of foods, and I'm going to have you jump into herbs here again. So remember this, I loved Jordan's recommendation at the beginning of the program here on that meal. So again, and I want to give you an example, maybe a breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, do a collagen bone broth smoothie. 1 scoop of bone broth powder, 1 scoop of collagen protein powder, maybe a little bit of coconut milk, and then add in some of the berries we talked about. Cranberries are fantastic, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries. Do a berry smoothie for breakfast, a great way to start your day. For lunch, you could do something like get some, you know, a grass-fed burger or maybe let's say wild-caught salmon. Do a piece of fish there and then Jordan's recipe earlier adding in maybe making some black rice, some dark red quinoa, cooking that up in a pot or a Crock-Pot, doing that and maybe some bone broth in there as well. But again, maybe do a piece of salmon with quinoa or rice. With a bed of green spinach is great. For dinner, hey, do some grass-fed beef, a nice big side of sauerkraut, getting some of those probiotic-rich foods in. Talk about the perfect meal plan for rejuvenating your adrenal glands. Jordan, talk about the breakdown here of the herbs again.

Absolutely. For adrenal support, if you want to combat adrenal fatigue, adaptogenic herbs, ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, eleuthero. Schisandra, they have to be at the top of your list. Make infusions, it's like a tea, decoctions, or take supplements using herbal extracts. They're essential for adrenal fatigue balance.

Absolutely. Some spices here we talked about. Hey, when you're making that smoothie in the morning that we talked about, maybe you're adding in some vanilla bone broth powder, maybe you do that as part of the smoothie, a little coconut milk. Hey, while you're doing that, throw in a little bit of nutmeg in there, adding, bringing out a little more sweetness in there, absolutely delicious. Jordan, step number 4, essential oils.

Holy basil, rosemary, and lavender mixed all together topically and even orally. Lavender has been shown to reduce anxiety. Rosemary is great as an antioxidant and a brain, let's say, awakener. And then of course, holy basil is just awesome for mood and blood sugar and balance. Essential oils topically, diffused, consumed, amazing. And as Josh pointed out, every morning and every evening and every time in between I can get to my medicine cabinet, I put drops of these oils directly on my head, I massage it in, and I say from Psalm 23, he anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the rest of my days, and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We didn't talk about this, but Ways to de-stress, get better sleep, exercise, those are all important for adrenal fatigue. Just relaxing, taking one day a week off. And honestly, you want to know the hardest thing for me out of everything to combat adrenal fatigue? It's taking time off.

Yeah.

When you've got 6 children, very busy, and all the other things that we do, we can't even fit everything in in a 24-hour period. And I keep trying to wake up early and earlier and it doesn't work. Sleep, rest, and just quoting some scripture, meditating on the Word of God is something that really helps my cortisol levels come down.

Love it. Great advice there, Jordan. I'm going to talk about medicinal mushrooms and beneficial fungi here as well. You know, Jordan, there are some great forms of— you can get reishi and especially cordyceps in an adaptogen supplement blend, which can be great. But doing some chaga or reishi tea on a regular basis, in fact, you know, I also love doing that with some tulsi tea. So tulsi tea. Some chaga and reishi is great as well. That sometimes can replace your morning coffee doing these powerful teas. Talk about the best nutrients here.

B vitamins, particularly vitamin B12 and vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid are great support for the adrenal glands, energy, sleep, skin. They're amazing. And vitamin D, if you've got low vitamin D coming into the fall, late fall and winter, you need more vitamin D if you're among the 80% of Americans who don't live in Florida or the Caribbean. Make sure to get vitamin D, stock up on B vitamins, supplement your multi with a B vitamin.

Love it here. And then supplements, we talked about adding some collagen to your morning bone broth smoothie, also getting some probiotics between meals, enzymes with your meals, and then looking for an adaptogen or an adrenal supplement that has many of these ingredients we talked about from rhodiola to holy basil to things like schisandra, some of these medicinal mushrooms like cordyceps in an actual blend so you can get all those together every day is important. As Jordan talked about here midway through, reducing stress is so important. Look at your schedule this week, look to see how packed it is, try and schedule some things you love to do. I take some time today, write down those things that bring you peace, that bring you joy, that relieve stress for you. Taking a walk in nature, maybe it's shopping, maybe it's lunch with a best friend, maybe it's a certain exercise class you love to do. Write those things down, get it in your schedule. You need some you time. Most moms especially— I know we've got dads and moms and people that don't have kids yet, but moms especially, you don't get enough you time. Try and get a little bit more of that in your schedule this week and in the future. It's going to help make a big difference in relieving that adrenal stress.

Absolutely. So what we've been talking about today are the 7 ways to combat adrenal fatigue. I can tell you, if you're looking for an energy boost, you want some brain power, you want your skin to look and feel better, you want to reduce weight around the midsection, sleep better, even improve your reproductive health, balance your hormones, this is the way to do it.

Hi, Dr. Axe here. I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video and also don't forget Don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great content on things like herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also, check out more of our content on my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.