Chronic stress is a major culprit in women’s lives, contributing to ongoing cycles of fatigue, poor nutrition, waves of exhaustion, mood swings, and hormonal imbalance. When I ask my patients what they think is the reason for their symptoms, their answers have one common thread: too much responsibility that is impossible to manage. Trying to help themselves through each day, many women find themselves overloading on caffeine, sugary snacks, alcohol, and even sleep aids to manage stress, all of which can disrupt our body’s normal rhythms.

Research shows that when we experience chronic stress, our adrenal glands, or the tiny glands that moderate the stress response as well as regulate other hormones, will suffer. The adrenals, which are the size of walnuts, have an enormous job. They produce many hormones that regulate our body’s functioning, including cortisol, a hormone activated when our stress levels rise, signaling our body to enter a heightened state of emergency. But high cortisol levels are intended to be short term, not remain elevated. Since our adrenals do not know the difference between stressors, they can continue to work hard to do their jobs, whether we are stressed due to a true emergency or are simply stressed out.

When our cortisol levels stay elevated, it interferes with many functions in our body, including immune function, digestion, sleep, and even the ability to produce other essential hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormones. This can lead to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, and inflammation. In the meantime, our health is compromised, along with our moods, and even our sex drive.

When the adrenal glands continue to be compromised long term, they have a decreased ability to produce cortisol, and instead produce extra adrenaline, causing us to feel irritable, shaky, lightheaded, and anxious. Adrenal fatigue is a syndrome that can, over time, cause low blood pressure, allergies, and pure exhaustion.

These issues, although very concerning, can also be relieved when adrenal dysfunction is healed. And the good news is, it can be healed. Along with decreasing chronic stress, adjusting our emotional responses to stressors, and changing what, when and how we eat, we can reverse adrenal fatigue. Let’s take a look at some of the dietary approaches we can utilize to not only support our adrenals, but also improve our energy and promote better sleep.

Exercise will also increase cortisol levels, so enjoying lighter activities while trying to heal adrenal fatigue is important. To keep cortisol levels as smooth as possible, heavier exercise is recommended in the morning or early afternoon when cortisol is higher, and lighter exercise, such as walking or gentle stretching such as restorative yoga, is better in the evening. If Cortisol Is Higher In The Morning, Why Am I Not Hungry? The old adage about breakfast being the most important meal is true. Eating a nutritious breakfast that includes protein within an hour of rising will help balance your metabolism and cortisol throughout the entire day. But it’s hard to eat when we don’t feel hungry, even if we know it’s important.

Here are reasons we may not feel hungry in the morning:

• Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels can dull the appetite when it enters the bloodstream at a fast rate first thing in the morning.
• Decreased liver function can accompany adrenal fatigue, which also can quell morning hunger.

Here are some tips to help support your natural cortisol cycle:

• Try to eat breakfast within an hour of getting up, or by 8 am to restore blood sugar levels that were depleted during the night.
• Eat a healthy snack around 9 am.
• Try to eat lunch between 11 am and noon to prevent a large dip in cortisol levels.
• Eat a healthy snack between 2 and 3 pm to help off-set the natural cortisol dip that occurs around 3 or 4 pm. Many people notice this dip every day and reach for extra caffeine or carbohydrate-loaded snacks, which will actually impede hormonal balance.
• Try to eat dinner between 5 and 6 pm and although it may be difficult at first, try to eat a light meal. Eventually, your body will enjoy digesting less food in the evening.
• Eat a nutritious, light snack an hour before bed, but be sure to avoid refined sugars. Nut butters with fresh fruit or cheese are ideal choices.

When we properly time our meals and snacks, we can prevent dramatic drops in blood sugar and support our body's natural functioning. Our adrenals will not have to continually work to produce cortisol and can instead perform many of their other important secondary functions. We will also have more energy and more happiness throughout the day!

Next: Choose The Right Foods and Beverages. It is natural to crave sweets when we have low blood sugar. Fighting adrenal fatigue is exhausting, and reaching for quick, easy, and even tasty snacks such as cookies, doughnuts, candy, colas, and coffee drinks are common. Unfortunately, the energy we get from these types of foods is short-acting. The quick spike in blood sugar followed by a spike in insulin levels clears from our bloodstream so fast that we refer to this process as a "crash."

Stress and exhaustion, when combined with hunger, can impede our ability to make healthy choices. When we aren't aware of the effects that too much caffeine and refined carbohydrates have on our bodies, we may not realize we are affecting our hormones and how they function, as well as our sleep patterns by consuming them. I often recommend a gluten-free diet and limited caffeine to my patients who are suffering from adrenal fatigue.

In addition to cortisol levels, our serotonin may also be off-balance, signaling our body to rest. That doesn't always mean sleep - sometimes deep breathing or a 10-minute walk outdoors can help boost serotonin and ward off fatigue.