Adrenal Burnout 

  • "Some doctors also distinguish between primary adrenal insufficiency, secondary adrenal insufficiency and tertiary adrenal insufficiency.  Primary means the problem is within the adrenal glands themselves.  Secondary means the adrenal glands are not the problem, but rather the problem stems from the pituitary gland.  Tertiary means the problem stems from the hypothalamus.

  • "We observe that in many cases, the adrenal glands themselves are toxic and nutritionally depleted.  This would be a primary adrenal insufficiency.  At other times, the cause of the problem is more due to an autonomic nervous system imbalance, which would also be called a secondary adrenal insufficiency.  In the rare cases of tumors, these can be primary (located in the adrenal glands), secondary (located in the pituitary gland), or tertiary (located in the hypothalamus)."

Adrenal Fatigue is strongly correlated to a slow oxidation. It varies but its labeled as an exhaustion stage of stress... the typical scenario is high calcium and magnesium levels with low sodium/potassium levels. This causes less ionized calcium and more precipitates into the tissues causing toxicity or metastatic calcification. A severe pattern is called a calcium shell and this is a very high calcium level in the hair or tissues.   

  • "Sodium and potassium decrease in the tissues when the adrenal glands are nutritionally depleted.  This is very common today.  Aldosterone, an adrenal hormone, maintains the sodium level in the body, and potassium often rises and falls with sodium.  For this reason, correction of a calcium shell involves restoring adrenal gland activity.  This increases the tissue sodium and potassium levels, and when this occurs the calcium shell or abnormal calcification can be reabsorbed by the body."  

  • "In all cases of a calcium shell, some of the body’s calcium, and usually magnesium as well, is biounavailable.  This means it is not able to be utilized properly.  Instead, it is depositing pathologically in the soft tissues such as the hair, arteries, brain, kidneys and elsewhere.  This is not a healthful situation.'

    'The cause is usually that the tissue or even the blood levels of sodium and potassium are so low that the body cannot maintain enough calcium in an ionized or soluble form in the blood.  Sodium and potassium are solvent minerals that keep calcium and magnesium in solution.  As the levels of the solvents decreases, calcium and magnesium, in most cases, begin to precipitate into the soft tissues."

  • "Dr. Eck also noted that excess tissue calcium tends to harden the cell membranes and can decrease the cell permeability.  This is important to know in order to evaluate other conditions such as hypothyroidism, in which thyroid hormones may not cross into the cells properly.

    'Decreased cell permeability due to a calcium shell may also affect other hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and detoxification of cellular waste products."

Calcium Excess Symptoms  

  • Among the important symptoms of metastatic calcification (meaning abnormal calcification) are bone spurs, arthritis, and aches and pains.  There can also be arteriosclerosis – a buildup of calcium in the arteries.  In addition, there can be a buildup of calcium in other organs such as the kidneys.  This can cause high blood pressure, for example."

  • Calcification elsewhere can cause impaired movement of the spine, for example, or impaired circulation.

 

Hair Test Indicators of Adrenal Fatigue 

·           A slow oxidation rate.  The slower the oxidation rate, the more likely one is in adrenal burnout or exhaustion.

·           A sodium/potassium ratio less than about 2.5:1.  The lower the ratio, the worse the adrenal condition, in general.

·           A double low ratio pattern.  This consists of a sodium/potassium ratio less than 2.5 plus a calcium/magnesium ratio less than about 4.

·           Three low macromineral pattern.  This occurs when three of the four macrominerals(calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) are lower than their ideal values of 40 mg%, 6 mg%, 25 mg% and 10 mg% respectively).

·           Four lows pattern.  This occurs when all four of the macrominerals above are below their ideal levels.

·           Other imbalances, such as a copper level of 10 mg% (100 parts per million) or more, a phosphorus level of less than 12 mg%, and perhaps others.  These are less reliable.

Hidden Copper 

  • "In our experience, a hair tissue calcium level greater than about 70 mg% (or 700 parts per million) is always accompanied by a copper imbalance.  The elevated copper may or may not be revealed on early hair analyses.  Eventually, however, Dr. Eck found that copper would start to be eliminated"

  • "Too much copper is present in the soft tissues and usually copper is not able to be transported and utilized correctly.  This is called a biounavailable copper pattern.  Oddly, although there is excess tissue copper, the amount of biologically available copper may be so low that a person may need to take some copper for a while.  This is only the case if the sodium/potassium ratio is less than about 2.5:1."

The Physiology of Adrenal Burnout

Low cortisol

Copper toxicity and burnout

Thyroid imbalances and burnout

Reduced cellular energy production

Burnout and metal toxicity