Name: Influencers Say Adrenal Cocktails Fight Fatigue. Doctors Call That Fake News
Uploaded: 2023-10-20T11:00:00Z
Duration: 4 min 26 s
Description: Social media is full of posts about adrenal cocktails and how they can stave off lethargy, trouble sleeping and even depression. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez breaks down what they are and their potential health risks. Illustration: Elizabeth Smelov

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Social media is full of posts about adrenal cocktails and how they can stave off lethargy, trouble sleeping and even depression. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez breaks down what they are and their potential health risks. Illustration: Elizabeth Smelov

https://m.wsj.net/video/20231019/87813684-6446-4783-a0a7-67625a2915de/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Influencers Say Adrenal Cocktails Fight Fatigue. Doctors Call That Fake News

Salud. Adrenal cocktails like this one are supposed to help with something called adrenal fatigue. Its symptoms include trouble sleeping, salt and sugar cravings, body aches, depression, anxiety and brain fog. But the most common is feeling tired. Influencers' unsubstantiated claims suggest that these small glands are getting out of balance. They swear that regularly taking these cocktails or taking adrenal supplements is the answer to getting these glands back in top shape. But do these DIY Cocktails or over the counter supplements actually work? On social media, people are saying that the main culprit for adrenal fatigue is chronic stress. More specifically, the way it makes the adrenal glands crank out a lot of cortisol, a stress hormone. The theory is that over time, this overproduction fatigues the adrenals and decreases their ability to make cortisol, and then we end up feeling fatigued or even unmotivated. The hormone isn't just related to stress. It's also critical for basic functions like regulating blood pressure and sugar levels. That's what the combo of OJ, coconut water, sea salt and cream of tartar is supposed to combat. Coconut water and cream of tartar are high in potassium, an electrolyte that's involved in maintaining healthy blood pressure. sea salt contains sodium, another important electrolyte that the body uses to keep muscles and nerves working properly and to stay hydrated. And OJ has vitamin C, which is an important antioxidant. All this sounds pretty good, right? But.

We do not have any evidence to support that this specific combination of ingredients supports the adrenal glands specifically.

Or that these ingredients affect the amount of hormones they produce. Priya also said that for people with kidney disease or high blood pressure, the high amounts of potassium in coconut water and cream of tartar could actually be harmful, and the sugar from juicing is also not great, especially if you're prone to or already have diabetes. Given levels of stress and anxiety arising, this trend makes sense.

So when patients come to me asking about adrenal cocktails, they're hoping to improve their energy levels, potentially improve libido, and just improve their overall sense of wellbeing.

She and other hormone specialists say that it's not as simple as just looking at cortisol levels. They naturally go up and down depending on a lot of factors like time of day and whether you've eaten. The tiredness and other symptoms people experience could be caused by a variety of health issues.

Adrenal fatigue is not considered a medical disease, but your symptoms should be considered and be heard.

Now, there is a similarly named condition called adrenal insufficiency with a list of symptoms that will sound familiar. Patients report fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain, loss of appetite, craving salty foods and depression. But this condition is pretty rare. The most common type effects somewhere between 50,000 and 92,000 people in the U.S. By comparison, there are more than 6 million people with Alzheimer's and roughly 37 million with diabetes. Supplements are also a common way that people try to boost their adrenal health, and this is where things can backfire. Most cases of adrenal insufficiency happen when patients stop taking corticosteroids, which are anti-inflammatory drugs. In 2018, researchers found that 12 popular adrenal supplements contained hormones, including cortisol and glucocorticoids, AKA corticosteroids. They did this study after noticing that patients with adrenal insufficiency symptoms had one big thing in common, taking supplements. None of the labels had these hormones listed as ingredients.

You don't know what's actually inside the supplement.

If you don't have adrenal insufficiency, long-term exposure to corticosteroids can actually harm your adrenals. Manufacturers are only legally required to include this disclaimer on their labels. In the last two years, the FDA has sent a handful of warning letters to adrenal supplement vendors over the claims their products are making. The burden of proof that a supplement might be causing harm falls to the U.S. Government. The experts I talked to said that before taking any supplement, you should talk to your doctor. They also worry that self-prescribing adrenal cocktails might actually delay getting at the root cause of what people are feeling. Doctors also said that we shouldn't discount basic but underrated activities that boost our health.

You need to walk. You need to get your movement in. You need to exercise. You need to sleep. Stay hydrated. Manage and reduce your stress. Eat a balanced diet.

Daniela: And all of that might get you further towards a healthier life than a mocktail or a pill.

The Murky Science Behind ‘Fatigue-Fighting’ Adrenal Cocktails

Daniela Hernandez extends her health and science reporting to cover a variety of relevant subjects from Covid-19 to climate change.

The Murky Science Behind ‘Fatigue-Fighting’ Adrenal Cocktails

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