How to use this dairy
If you, like me, have been diagnosed with severe adrenal fatigue, you really need to start taking care of yourself and becoming aware of all the decisions you can make. Everything you do affects your adrenal health, and therefore your overall health, either positively or negatively, so it’s important to know what impact your lifestyle has on your health.
The most important things that affect your adrenal health are:
* The quantity and quality of sleep you get.
* The food you eat
* The physical activities in which you participate
* The amount of stress, both positive and negative, in your life.
I developed the daily checklist and adrenal care diary to help me stay on track. As it is so easy when you are having a good day to forget that you have a serious health condition and to return to your normal way of life, which unfortunately means that when you have a relapse you will feel worse than ever.
The daily checklist and adrenal gland care diary remind you of what to do each day to take care of your adrenal glands. It also allows you to record what you have done and what you have not done and then rate your overall well-being based on your behavior. By keeping track of what you do on a daily basis and rating your overall energy, you can identify which factors affect your adrenal health the most. The journal helps you get an idea of what is happening to your adrenal health and how the decisions you make about food, exercise, and sleep affect you.
The Journal also gives you the opportunity to write down your thoughts, feelings, and important events that occur each day.
My hope is that this journal will help you take control of your life and your adrenal health.
FOOD IDEAS
Breakfast ideas
* homemade porridge with milk, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, lecithin, flaxseed, amaranth, cinnamon and apple
* scrambled eggs with tomato and soy and flaxseed toast
Lunch ideas
* Warm brown rice salad with mixed vegetables and protein
* Soy and flaxseed sandwich with avocado, protein and salad
Snack ideas
* 2 whole grain soy and flaxseed crackers with cheese or nuts to spread
* handful of walnuts with a piece of fruit
Dinner ideas
* Fish / lean meat / chicken with brown rice and vegetables
* Vegetable soup of lentils and pearl barley
* Chicken and vegetable soup
FOODS THAT SUPPORT YOUR ADRENALS
Protein
Seeds and nuts: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds, chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds
poultry, eggs, yogurt, goat’s milk, beef, lamb, natural cheeses such as ricotta, fetta and cottage cheese, shrimp, mussels, fatty fish such as wild salmon or trout
Vegetables: adzuki, black, kidney, mung beans, lentils, chickpeas
Grain
Brown rice, oats, spelled, quinoa, corn, buckwheat, pearl barley, rye, millet
Vegetables
Chinese yam, Chinese cabbage, parsnip, winter squash, sweet potato, kale, leek, chives, mustard greens and carrots, squash, celery, beets, green vegetables, seaweed, sweet potatoes, turnips, onions, olives, avocado
Herbs spices
Chives, garlic, cloves, basil, rosemary, angelica root, parsley, fennel, dill, anise, caraway, carob pod, cumin, cinnamon bark, ginger, nutmeg
Fruit
Avoid fruits with high sugar content like grapes, oranges, dates, etc. In winter, you may feel better eating stewed fruits, for example 2 stewed apples with a pinch of sea salt to balance the effect of its sugar content.
Chocolate
I know everyone loves chocolate, so as a weekly treat you can enjoy a square of 85% or higher dark chocolate, for example Lindt. If you have constant cravings for chocolate, your body may need magnesium, so start taking a magnesium citrate or amino acid chelate supplement daily. You can increase the magnesium dose up to 400 mg daily. Magnesium is great for relaxing the body and helping it generate energy, so if you are taking magnesium supplements, take one in the morning and one in the evening.
Salt
Always use Celtic or sea salt in your cooking
Water
Experience the drinking room or warm water and see how it feels compared to drinking cold water
Food temperature
Since cold aggravates the water element and the kidneys, it is important in cold weather or low energy to eat more hot and cooked foods rather than cold or raw foods.
Include Taz Adrenal Support Recovery Soup in your diet. This soup, by Dolores S. Downey, has been shown to increase energy in those with adrenal fatigue.
Combine one medium onion, one sliced zucchini, one cup of chopped celery, one cup of chicken broth, one cup of tomato juice, one pound of green beans, one cup of spring water, two tablespoons of raw honey, and one teaspoon paprika in a large pot. Simmer the soup for an hour or until the vegetables are tender. You can season the soup with pepper, if you like.
EXERCISE
Although it may seem like the last thing you want to do, exercise is very beneficial for your adrenal glands. It will also help you sleep better. Start with light exercise, such as a 10-minute walk, and work your way up to more moderate physical activity. Just remember to listen to your body.
If you notice that you have night sweats, it is a good idea to take a 15-minute walk for about 1 to 2 hours before going to bed. Night sweats are believed to be a deficiency in kidney yang and are due to low levels of nighttime cortisol. Walking briskly will increase your cortisol levels and make your body more yang. But it is important not to do it too much, because if you push your body too far instead of creating yang energy, you are creating more yin energy.