Adrenal Fatigue Explained: Is It Here To Stay? Expert Shares Insights

Adrenal fatigue has been linked with how an increase in your level of stress can cause a mild case of adrenal insufficiency. However, such as state has not been officially deemed as a medical condition.

Adrenal glands also known as endocrine glands, which are responsible for producing adrenaline, and steroids aldosterone, and cortisol, are essential for your everyday well-being as it promotes proper cardiovascular function, distribute fat and protein, and regulates sugar and inflammation.

The anxiousness, low mood, and extreme levels of food cravings might seem like regular issues that people often face, but at times these might signal a term loosely used as adrenal fatigue, as per a Healthline report. 

Adrenal insufficiency vs adrenal fatigue

Dr Ayush Shukla, MBBS, said, "Adrenal fatigue is a health fad. It is mainly used in alternative medicine to explain lethargy after chronic stress. I believe it's their way of explaining "tolerance/resistance" to adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone. But I can assure you that it isn't a recognized diagnosis as per modern, and evidence-based medicine."

"Adrenal insufficiency is a disorder where the adrenal glands produce insufficient amounts of the hormone's cortisol and sometimes aldosterone. This health condition can present along a wide spectrum ranging from mild nonspecific symptoms to seldom fatal conditions," he said.

Consequences of adrenal insufficiency

Adrenal insufficiency can be labelled into three sub-categories- primary, secondary, or tertiary. Primary adrenal insufficiency is typically called Addison’s disease.

Adrenal insufficiency usually occurs when the outer layer of your adrenals (the cortex) becomes damaged. This damage causes your adrenal glands to produce insufficient amounts of steroid hormones.

Dr Shulka said, "Cortisol is the body's stress hormone, helping us deal with a variety of problems like fighting infections, starvation etc. A deficiency of Cortisol can lead to Addisonian crisis, which is often life threatening."

In Addison’s disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, the adrenal glands cannot make enough cortisol. The production of aldosterone and androgens, two other types of steroid hormones made by the adrenal glands, is usually lower as well.

Secondary adrenal insufficiency is a more common issue. Secondary adrenal insufficiency occurs when the pituitary gland, a small gland near the brain, does not signal the adrenal glands to make cortisol, according to a Healthline report.

The typical symptoms of adrenal insufficiency are tiredness, reduction in appetite, and unwanted weight loss.

Symptoms of adrenaline fatigue

While adrenal fatigue is not a medically recognised condition, the symptoms individuals might be feeling are still real, and mainly constitute of sleep troubles, sugar and salt cravings.