Supplements for adrenal support

I’ve been researching supplements for low cortisol / adrenal support and find the whole subject very confusing.

Some information suggests that high cortisol is the reason for adrenal fatigue and recommends supplements which are ‘calming’ and lower cortisol.

Other sources claim, quite rightly, that if people are in a state of adrenal fatigue, their cortisol is low and they need it to be increased.

I’ve read so much about cortisol and adrenal health but the more I read the less I am able to understand. I know that we need to lower stress levels, but isn’t that different from increasing cortisol?

Hope someone can shine a light into this complex subject

[Alanna012]

This might be helpful.

restartmed.com/cortisol-test/

It's a long read, but the difference in treatment between high cortisol and low is explained as well as useful supplements.

There is overlap on symptoms with high cortisol and low. Fatigue arises in both.

[Hidden in reply to Alanna012]

Thank you ☺️

[seveneleven]

First thing is always testing to know whether you have high or low cortisol, because the treatment varies, as Alanna012 says. It tends to be that we start off high with prolonged stress, and over time, the HPA axis can't keep up with the amount of cortisol demanded, and we end up crashing, with low cortisol. But, 'adrenal fatigue' goes through stages, and people can be at different points. So supplements/supports will depend very much on the individual's stage of fatigue and pattern of cortisol.

Worth noting that there's been a shift away from calling it 'adrenal fatigue', because the adrenals themselves aren't the problem (making it different to adrenal insufficiency/Addison's disease). It's rather the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, so a bit more complex. Paul Robinson has some info on this on his website somewhere, and this site also has some helpful info on low cortisol and how to interpret results: rt3-adrenals.org/low_cortis...

Lowering stress is still important when cortisol is low to help recovery, because the body is struggling to provide enough cortisol for basic energy, so having a lot of stress just means extra demands it can't cope with. Excess stress pushing cortisol up is bad, but cortisol itself isn't bad - it's essential to live. So it's more about trying to improve the capacity of the HPA axis to respond in an appropriate way.

[Hidden in reply to seveneleven]

Thank you for that clear explanation. Much appreciated