I was recently introduced to the adrenal cocktail through my friend and fellow healer Dr. Chelsea Karwath. I decided to do my own research and look into this for myself and share my research with you.
Let's first address, what are adrenals?
Adrenals sit on top of your kidneys and produce hormones to support your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, stress response, and more. The adrenals are divided up into the adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex. Each of these have their own unique functions to support the body. The one we are going to focus on is the adrenal medulla which has a direct response when the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is stimulated. The SNS is the bodies fight or flight response which occurs when we are stressed. To simplify, the adrenal medulla helps your body deal with physical, chemical, and emotional stress (we cannot forget that stress occurs through other outlets besides emotional). When the body is stressed, the adrenal medulla will release epinephrine aka adrenaline or norepinephrine aka noradrenaline aka no-adrenaline. If the body is stressed, the heart rate will increase, blood will rush to your muscles and brain, and your blood sugar level will spike to allow for the conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver to give your body energy. This is all a natural occurring process that your body innately does and is an important part of health and well being. As with most things in life, there is a balance and too much of anything can take a toll on ones health.
Now we bring in the adrenal cocktail...
Why would I make this adrenal cocktail?
The intention behind the adrenal cocktail is to mineral replenish and assist the body with stress, burn out, lethargy, sleeping issues, and the list goes on! By replenishing the body, this will supplement it with the minerals it needs to make essential hormones (just kind of important...).
Adrenal Cocktail Recipe:
4oz. of 100% orange juice (no additives) - I buy the 100% orange juice from Aldi because it has no additives
4oz. of coconut water (no additives) - Aldi has one that is 100% coconut water with no additives
¼ tsp. real sea salt
When to drink:
When your energy levels are low, typically mid morning around 9-10 am and mid afternoon around 2-3pm
Side note:
Adrenal cocktails are safe to drink at any age and stage of life (i.e. children, pregnancy, nursing, etc). If your body is feeling more fatigue than usual, you can even make another one to support your body!
What nutrients am I getting from the Adrenal Cocktail?
Vitamin C
Orange juice is providing your body with vitamin C to heal the body from stress-related damage. Remember when we talked about how the conversion from glycogen to glucose happens in the liver? Well, vitamin C helps the liver to absorb that glucose which helps the liver regenerate to continue to support you at its optimal function. The adrenals also use vitamin C to produce hormones when it is under stress. If the body is overloaded with stress, you could begin to feel like you have low blood sugar or an out of balance blood pressure, this could be because you have used up your vitamin C stores in your body. The body will use what it has because it is self sufficient and when our stores are low now we experience fatigue, irregular sleep, etc. Think vitamin C is slightly important?
Potassium
Coconut water is an excellent source of potassium which is arguably one of the most important minerals in the body. To be exact, one cup of coconut water contains about 600 mg of potassium. For comparison, a medium banana will contain about 420 mg of potassium. I honestly did not know that until now and next time I have muscle cramps I am reaching for my coconut water instead of bananas... Speaking of muscle cramps... A few of the functions of potassium in the body consist of helping to regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions, and nerve signals (I am about to get nerdy on you).
Let's pause and talk about the nervous system... your nerve signals are what help your body to find balance and self regulate. If you do not have properly functioning nerve signals this leads to dysfunction which overtime leads to injury and sickness. This is why regular chiropractic care is so important because it helps to keep your nerves functioning well to keep you healthy, not just for when you are sick...
Can you see why potassium is needed by the body and why this adrenal cocktail is kind of cool? Lets talk about the salt portion now...
Trace Minerals
Sea salt contains trace minerals (even up to 84 depending of the quality of sea salt) that your body needs for electrolytes to help you process fluid in your body. Sea salt helps with hydration, reduce fluid retention, balance electrolytes, prevent muscle cramps, improve digestion, nourish adrenal glands (duh that's why we are here), regulate blood pressure, reduce inflammation, etc. When we do feel adrenal fatigue, the body will often crave salt because it uses these minerals to help to regulate sodium and potassium in the body.
So, what are you waiting for...? Go make an adrenal cocktail and let me know in the comments below how your body feels after a few weeks!
With love and appreciation,
-Dr. Haley