What are adrenal glands and where are they located?

Your adrenal glands play a very important role in maintaining your health. They are incredibly small, about the size and weight of a coin. They are located above your kidneys, just below the muscle tissue of your lower back.

What do adrenal glands do?

Our adrenal glands are responsible for many things that assist in regulating our body and hormones, including thyroid and reproductive hormones. They are also responsible for managing stress, the amount of inflammation in our body, our immune system, our blood sugar levels and the electrolytes in our blood. They influence all the physiological functions processes of the body and help stave off physical fatigue.

Signs your adrenal health needs support

When there is something wrong with our body, it will start to signal us that something needs to be addressed. Here is how your adrenal glands will signal you that something is wrong.

1. Your blood sugar level will either drop or spike suddenly.
2. Your hormones will be all over the place. One moment you are happy and the other moment you will find yourself crying over something that does not even bother you that much.
3. You get sick more often because your immune system will not function properly without healthy adrenal glands.
4. You will be stressed and it will be hard for you to manage your stress levels.
5. Your sex drive will decrease.
6. It will be hard for you to complete your daily tasks because those tasks will require a lot more effort than usual.
7. You will find it hard to keep yourself awake even if you know that you need to sacrifice sleep for a very important task.
8. You will constantly crave food, mostly salty and savory foods, and it will be hard you satisfy your cravings. You will find yourself craving them more even if you have just eaten something.
9. Your body will take longer to heal properly.
10. You will fail to find happiness or excitement in tasks and hobbies that you enjoyed before.
11. You may find yourself skipping meals.

How to improve your adrenal health

If you suspect your adrenal glands may need some care and attention, try some of the following tips.

1. Get your sleep schedule in sync:

Make sure that you get quality sleep for 9 to 10 hours. Sleep and wake up at the same times to get your body in a rhythm. It needs to follow a routine to start to heal.

2. Daily exercise:

Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for exercise, no matter how busy or tired you may be.

3. Add these to your diet:

To improve your adrenal health, add proteins, healthy carbs, zinc, calcium, and vitamins (especially C and D) to your diet. Also increase foods like coconuts, avocados, olives, chia seeds, bone broth, nuts, vegetables and fish, but make sure you do all of this in moderation.

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