Adrenal function is vital to gut health because they produce cortisol. And cortisol helps balance inflammation and stabilize blood sugar.
Because cortisol is a stress hormone, it gets depleted when there’s a lot of demand on the adrenals. Being under chronic, long term stress can run down the adrenals but so can a poor diet.
Getting enough potassium and sodium in your diet is key for healthy adrenal function. The levels of the primary minerals in our body tell us a lot about our adrenal function. We need to support our mineral levels to support our adrenals, to lower inflammation and balance blood sugar.
Adrenal support is key to repairing the gut and maintaining gut health, and provides the energy we need to heal.
When our adrenals are struggling, our body is left without good energy or defenses. Adrenal health was a hot topic in the health world years ago, and the new hot topic is nervous system health.
The body doesn’t care what’s trending in the health space. It needs support for its crucial systems to function well. This is to say, just because people are not talking about it all the time. Don’t forget about adrenal care. Balancing your minerals can help support adrenals. And adrenals function is crucial for gut health. The adrenals, nervous system and immune system work together to help us recover and stay that way.
The 4 primary minerals that support our adrenals, immune system and nervous system are magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium. These minerals support stomach acid production and the thyroid.
Balancing my minerals was a major part of my recovery, giving my body the support and resources it needed to heal.
Now I am using the hair mineral analysis test with clients because years of practice has shown me that for some people, we need to support their healing systems to make their supplement protocols more effective.
Some people need to address the adrenals, immune system and nervous system to get their body in a healing state. These can be the missing pieces for “difficult” cases and those who don’t improve with just supplements and diet.
Mineral tests tell us what minerals are lacking in the diet. And provide clues about the stressors that deplete them. For example, heavy metal toxins compete with minerals for space within our cells, and push minerals out of the cells.
A hair tissue mineral analysis test also measures for heavy metal toxicity. I had an overload of copper and aluminum when I was sick.
And it is also no surprise that stress depletes minerals, particularly magnesium. And low salt/sodium diets are not right for everyone (some people need more salt). It is common for people to take too much vitamin D, which can throw calcium levels out of balance and lead to bone problems.
The hair mineral test also tells us about the speed of our metabolism (oxidation rate) which determines our weight, bowel regularity, body temperature and energy.
Oxidation rate
Another factor, that determines how fast the body heals and measures adrenal function is oxidation. Oxidation measures how fast the body burns through energy.
We are born fast oxidizers and slow down as we age. Oxidation slows due to stress, trauma, poor diet, sleep deficit and poor self care. More people are becoming slow oxidizers earlier in life due to lifestyle factors.
The hair mineral analysis test measures current oxidation rate, which gives us more information about the state/function of the adrenals and thyroid. A slow oxidizer is someone with a slow functioning thyroid and adrenal glands.
Slow oxidizers tend to feel weak, tired, lethargic and can’t handle stress well. They have trouble losing weight and may be constipated (but not always).
There are different stages of oxidation and currently mineral levels tell us what stage of stress the body is in.
The first stage of stress is the alarm stage when the adrenals respond to a threat like they’re designed to do.
As the stress continues long term, the body moves on the resistance stage, when the body is still responding to stress but beginning to tire.
The last stage is the exhaustion stage (total burnout) when the body runs out of reserves to fight. The release of cortisol is lowered and inflammation can flourish in the body without interruption or relief.
The stages of stress are measured by the ratio of potassium to sodium and calcium to phosphorous.
The hair mineral test tells us if the adrenals are in a parasympathetic or sympathetic stress stage. And we can use this info to build the adrenals back up with minerals, diet, and lifestyle shifts (less pushing, hustling and more rest/sleep).
The diet recommended to support slow oxidizers avoids excess sugars and fats. That is NOT a low or no fat diet but a medium fat diet, from healthy fats.
Slow oxidizer tend to push through with coffee and sugar to pick them up. And the popularity of the keto diet has made eating high fat more popular. Not great for slow oxidizers.
Everyone needs to eat different things to support their body and a mineral test can give direction on how to support adrenals, energy, inflammation and metabolism with food.
Balancing minerals helped my body recover fully from IBS without antimicrobials. I believe in it from my experience. Supporting my mineral balance and adrenals rebuilt my defenses. And allowed my body to deal with the stressors that came without relapsing.
Minerals (along with dietary and lifestyle changes) can help support adrenals, metabolism, mitochondria, stomach acid and immune function, which in turn heals the body on it own.
It is popular to rely on antimicrobials to kill yeast, bacterial overgrowth, h. pylori or parasites. And that is ok if you also support the body’s healing systems (adrenals, nervous system and immune system) that protect the body and gut. But these infections can come back. And often do.
I am introducing mineral balancing to help my clients rebuild their internal resources to get healthy faster and stay that way, without fear of flare or reoccurrence.
When something is new and unfamiliar and not commonly talked about, it may be perceived as risky or ineffective. This is why I am talking and teaching about something that has been so effective for setting up me and my clients for healing.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease, but a cry for help from a gut out of balance. When the body AND mind are complaining, it’s an opportunity to examine what’s not working and change it. After solving her own IBS mystery almost two decades ago, Angela became as a health coach to help others. Angela uses root cause medicine protocols personalized to the individual to solve each IBS mystery. Her tools are lab testing, dietary changes, supplementation, subconscious mind work and nervous system rebalancing . Learn more here.