What Are Your Adrenal Glands?

THE ADRENAL GLANDS
The purpose of your adrenal glands is to help you cope with stresses of all kinds whether it be physical stress, mental stress or emotional stress, real or imagined. The adrenal glands are essential for life - meaning that if they stop functioning or don't function in the manner for which they were designed, you will die. No bigger than a walnut and weighing less than a grape hormones from the adrenal glands affect every cell, tissue and organ in the body and even influence how we think and feel. The adrenals co-ordinate your responses to these stresses and help you cope, even thrive and survive. Your resilience, energy, endurance and your very life all depend on their proper functioning.

The adrenal glands - located one on top of either kidney - can be considered as part of the body's defence and support system. No bigger than a walnut and weighing less than a grape, the primary function of your adrenal glands is to help your body cope with stresses and survive. In fact, the adrenal glands are known as the anti-stress glands of the body often being referred to as a reserve tank which supports the body and mind during stressful times. Your resiliency, energy, endurance and your very life all depend on their proper functioning.

The function of your adrenal glands is to direct your body's responses to stresses of any kind whether physical, mental or emotional. Despite their small size, the adrenal glands secrete an array of powerful hormones that not only help you deal successfully with stressful situations, they also play a large part in determining your physical and sexual energy and the alertness of your mind. The efficiency and effectiveness of your adrenal function, to a very large degree, makes you the sort of person that you are, greatly influencing your physical, mental and emotional characteristics.

However, due to the tremendous stresses that we put ourselves under, psychological as well as physical, the adrenals take a beating and over time their output can become seriously depleted. The hormones secreted by your adrenals influence most all of the major physiological processes in your body. They closely affect the utilization of carbohydrates and fats, the conversion of fats and proteins into energy, the distribution of stored fat (especially around your waist and at the sides of your face), normal blood sugar regulation, and proper cardiovascular and gastrointestinal function. The protective activity of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant hormones secreted by the adrenals helps to minimize negative and allergic reactions to alcohol, drugs, foods and environmental allergens.

Even your propensity to develop certain kinds of diseases and your ability to respond to chronic illness is influenced significantly by the adrenal glands. The more chronic the illness, the more critical the adrenal response becomes. You cannot live without your adrenal hormones and, as you can see from this brief overview, how well you live depends a great deal on how well your adrenal glands function.

Stress Is Cumulative
The adrenal glands mobilize their resources to support you in times of stress whatever that stress may be. As long as those resources are present, your adrenals will support you through all kinds of different stresses - be they physical, mental or emotional - and keep your energy up and your mind alert. But their resources are not endless and the adrenals themselves need to be replenished on a regular basis if the stress is unrelenting ( see adrenal diet and adrenal supplements ). A person's total stress load is generally made up of the stress they may be under from different elements of their life and will be much greater if they are caught in a highly stressful job, in a n unhappy marriage and have personal health issues. This is when the adrenals fall into patterns of hypoadrenia