Adrenal Fatigue Diet for Hard-Training Bodybuilders and Athletes

Leading high-stress lifestyles without eating a nutritious diet and without taking high quality supplements has resulted in the majority of people these days suffering from adrenal fatigue to varying degrees.

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Many children are also born nowadays with suboptimal adrenal function, inherited from their parents – Adrenal fatigue has rightly been coined ‘The 21st Century Stress Syndrome’(1)!

Bodybuilders and athletes who have trained and dieted hard for years are particularly at risk from suffering adrenal fatigue.

Not only does adrenal fatigue worsen quality of life by causing tiredness, mood swings and irritability but it also makes it more difficult to build muscle and strength. One reason for this is that DHEA, the precursor to testosterone, is low in adrenal fatigue sufferers.

If you feel you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue, you’re not alone. As many as 80 percent of people in industrialised countries may suffer from adrenal fatigue to some degree!(2)

This diet will help you to protect yourself from suffering adrenal fatigue and will help to restore proper adrenal function in those of you who have already pushed yourselves too hard.

[For a look at some of the most common adrenal fatigue symptoms in bodybuilders and athletes, and notes on these, see this article.]

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Adrenal fatigue is a condition of hormone deficiency and the way to fully recover is through hormone replacement and/ or by eating an adrenal fatigue diet that supports optimal hormone production. Supplements should also be taken to correct deficiencies that are leading to low hormone levels.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, which in many ways is just a severe case of adrenal fatigue(3), is successfully treated by a number of practitioners by giving low doses of cortisol and thyroid hormone(4).

Benefits of this approach according to Mark Konlee, author of the Immune Restoration Handbook, are ‘less fatigue during the day and more restful sleep at night along with improvements in Natural Killer cell function and macrophage function’(5).

Hormones such as DHEA, testosterone and cortisol are low in those suffering from adrenal fatigue and can be replenished through adopting a well designed adrenal fatigue diet.

Thyroid function can also be significantly improved through diet changes combined with supplementation. Some people, however, will have to take thyroid medication for a period of time to improve their metabolisms.

Estrogen, which tends to be high in people suffering adrenal fatigue can also be controlled through diet and supplementation.

Cholesterol is the precursor of the adrenal hormones!

Cholesterol, despite being falsely blamed for causing coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, weight gain etc, is the building block from which all steroid hormones are produced.

Pregnenolone is manufactured from cholesterol, and from pregnenolone cortisol, adrenaline, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, estrone and estradiol are built.

An effective adrenal fatigue diet includes cholesterol rich foods so that higher amounts of important adrenal hormones such as cortisol and DHEA can be built. These hormones raise energy levels in the daytime and improve the quality of night-time sleep.

Examples of foods that contain cholesterol are eggs (in the yolk), red meat, butter, shrimp, oysters, liver, cheese and lobster. DHEA, built from pregnenolone, can be turned into a number of steroid hormones including testosterone, cortisol, estrone and estradiol.

DHEA is one of the most important adrenal hormones and can be supplemented to help reverse adrenal fatigue. DHEA is a ‘youth hormone’ that noticeably helps to keep skin and hair looking young and improves sex drive.

For people with milder forms of adrenal fatigue, DHEA levels will rise back to normal levels if cholesterol rich foods are eaten every day. People with more serious adrenal fatigue should consider taking 10 to 30mg of DHEA per day alongside eating a cholesterol rich adrenal fatigue diet.

Anyone looking to add muscle mass and/or gain strength should eat cholesterol rich foods regularly to improve DHEA levels and subsequently testosterone levels.

Recent studies show that, men who eat high cholesterol diets build considerably more muscle and are stronger than men who avoid high cholesterol foods(6).

Don’t skip meals!

The importance of eating regular meals cannot be underestimated whilst reversing adrenal fatigue.

That isn’t to say that you have to eat a 6 to 8 small meals a day adrenal fatigue diet –this is an impractical way of eating for many people and rather than achieving fantastic insulin and blood sugar control, as many nutritionists claim, it tends to exacerbate hypoglycaemic problems and to worsen appetite control.

Contrary to popular belief, forcing yourself to eat every couple of hours throughout the day does not ‘rev up’ or ‘stoke’ your metabolism(7)(8). [I talk about this in detail in my Intermittent Fasting Articles.]

I recommend a three or four meal a day adrenal fatigue diet plan. It is important not to go for very long periods without eating or to miss meals as this stimulates an unnecessary increase in adrenaline to maintain blood sugar levels that stresses the adrenal glands.

Whilst Intermittent Fasting may work well for some people, I strongly recommend that people trying to reverse adrenal fatigue eat breakfast each day before 10 am. I also recommend that you do not go for more than 5-6 hours without eating.

3 meals a day eaten 5-6 hours apart, or 4 meals a day slightly more closely spaced, is an effective adrenal fatigue diet plan. This is also a good eating pattern for people looking to build muscle. If after trying this you find you do better eating more regularly this is also ok.

Simple lifestyle changes such as eating your meals at the same time every day and establishing a regular sleep schedule can significantly improve insulin sensitivity.(9)(10)

Snacking between meals should be avoided by most people. Snacking keeps insulin constantly high, upsets leptin and tends to make appetite control more difficult.

Layman has shown that eating protein more often than every five hours is unnessecary for building muscle so adopting this meal plan won’t cause you to lose muscle mass.(11)

Eat to boost testosterone and restore sex drive

Men with adrenal fatigue have low testosterone levels and often have high estrogen. An adrenal fatigue diet that supports optimal testosterone levels is necessary to improve energy levels and stress tolerance.

My recommended adrenal fatigue diet for improving T levels is a diet that:

1) Is moderate to high fat.
2) Is moderate protein – animal proteins are best.
3) Is moderate in carbohydrate, but low sugar.
4) Is adequate calorie.
5) Is relatively low in fibre, particularly soluble fibre.
6) Controls estrogen levels.

1) Eat a moderate to high fat adrenal fatigue diet

The fat should be mainly saturated and monounsaturated from natural foods as these fats increase T levels.

Polyunsaturated fats should be kept low as these increase free radical damage (accelerating aging), negatively affect thyroid signalling, lower testosterone levels and increase estrogen levels.

This fat can come from meats such as beef and lamb, butter, eggs coconut oil, olive oil, macademia nuts etc.

It isn’t necessary to eat a very high fat diet if this doesn't suite you, just cook in healthy natural fats such as coconut oil, add some olive oil to your salads and base your meals around protein sources such as beef and eggs that contain fat and cholesterol.

2) Eat moderate amounts of animal protein

Adequate protein is critical to adrenal function – eating much more than you need does not help however! Bodybuilders tend to eat more protein than they need whereas most people eat less than they need.

Protein and Testosterone:

Many bodybuilders would be surprised to find that they would not lose muscle mass if they dropped their protein intake to between 20 and 30 percent of calories as long as they continued to eat good amounts of saturated and monounsaturated fats and cholesterol.(12)

Bodybuilders who prioritise protein whilst keeping fat and cholesterol low are hurting their muscle building efforts by lowering their testosterone levels.

Too much tyrosine from high protein diets:

People with adrenal fatigue have low levels of cortisol and increased levels catecholamines including norepinephrine.

High protein adrenal fatigue diets diets supply high levels of tyrosine, an amino acid that is a precursor of norepinephrine, and tend to make many people, especially those suffering adrenal fatigue, feel slightly nervous and jittery and make them prone to ‘crashing’.

I would never recommend supplemental tyrosine to people with adrenal fatigue unless given with supplementary cortisol. On its own tyrosine makes the imbalance between cortisol and catecholamines worse.

Normal amounts of tyrosine, supplied by a moderate protein adrenal fatigue diet, are needed as tyrosine is also a dopamine precursor, an important neurotransmitter that increases energy levels and enjoyment in life.

Protein and metabolism:

Low protein adrenal fatigue diets cause the metabolism to slow down as tyrosine is needed to form the thyroid hormone and high quality protein is needed convert thyroid hormone to its active form in the liver.

On the other hand Broda Barnes, one of the most prominent proponents of the use of natural thyroid hormone, clearly showed that high protein diets slow down the metabolism. One reason for this is that the amino acids cysteine and tryptohan, whilst important, are thyroid suppressive in high quantities.

Zinc in high protein foods:

High protein and fat foods such as beef, eggs, chicken and fish tend to be very nutritious, full of nutrients that help with adrenal fatigue recovery.

Zinc, found in animal protein sources, is a crucially important mineral for maximising Testosterone levels and for controlling estrogen – [I discuss this in detail here]. Zinc deficiency is extremely common – Carl Pfeiffer believed that the entire American population was borderline zinc deficient!

Low zinc is a common cause of adrenal fatigue and low thyroid function. ZInc is needed for the production of DHEA.

Zinc, like magnesium, a sedative mineral and a deficiency in zinc makes it difficult to relax. Once zinc is restored energy levels quickly improve and sleep at night becomes more peaceful.

3) Eat a moderate carb, low sugar diet

Many nutritionists recommend low carbohydrate diets for both athletes and sedentary people with adrenal fatigue because adrenal fatigue causes problems with glucose metabolism.

This logic is flawed, however, as low carb diets tend to reduce glucose tolerance and can be problematic for people with adrenal fatigue in the long term.

Very low carb adrenal fatigue diets damage metabolism:

Severely restricting carbs for long periods can actually cause adrenal fatigue because severe glucose deprivation forces the adrenal glands into action to maintain blood sugar levels. Over time the adrenal glands become worn down from the constant stress of glucose deprivation.

This is a likely reason why many people initially feel good on very low carb diets (after the initial adjustment period) but tend to lack energy and feel worse after a couple of months; another reason that low carb diets often lower moods is that some carbohydrate is needed for proper serotonin production.

An effective adrenal fatigue diet contains at least 75 grams per day of carbohydrate, 150 to 200 grams is better. Once hormone balance is improved glucose will be handled better by the body.

2:1 Carb-Protein Level:

Many people with adrenal fatigue do well on a rough carbohydrate to protein ratio of 2:1, along with good levels of natural fats. This isn’t surprising as this ratio has been shown to keep free testosterone levels high whilst diets that prioritise protein over carbohydrate have been shown to reduce free testosterone levels.

Avoid sugar!

Whilst starch is ok for the majority of people with adrenal fatigue, sugar is not! High sugar diets reduce insulin sensitivity, use up vital minerals such as magnesium, zinc, chromium and manganese and greatly stress the adrenal glands.

Most people find that it is important to limit even natural sweeteners and sweet fruits whilst recovering from adrenal fatigue.

[I go into detail about the problems of low carbohydrate dieting in Very Low Carb Bodybuilding?]

4) Don’t cut calories!

Prolongued low calorie and/or low carb diets (<70 grams) can cause metabolic slowdown and will worsen adrenal fatigue. Adopting a crash diet is not a good idea if you’re looking to sort out adrenal fatigue.

In the low energy situation created by such diets the thyroid hormone often deactivates itself by reversing the active hormone T3 into the inactive revers T3 ( rT3). When this happens the order of the iodine atom rings reverses and creates a mirror image of T3.

Reverse T3 is often not tested for by doctors but its symptoms are similar to those of primary hypothyroidism i.e. low body temperature, dry skin, slow metabolism, fatigue, hair loss, sensitivity to cold and many more.

Adrenal fatigue itself is often a factor behind elevated rT3 levels and restoring adrenal function can often sort out the reverse T3 problem. When high levels of reverse T3 are present the body is in a state of perceived starvation from which even thyroid hormone will not help.

Dropping calories in an attempt to lose weight whilst suffering a reverse T3 problem is often ineffective as metabolism simply slows down even further; instead every effort should be made to optimise metabolism and restore proper hormone balance so that healthy weight loss (if you need it) can happen.

[I go into detail on how to optimise thyroid function in 'Adrenal Fatigue Diet ForBodybuilders – part 2'.]

5) Keep fiber intake low to push sex hormone levels high!

Diets high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, have been shown to significantly reduce testosterone levels and to reduce sex drive(13)- try to keep fibre at/or below 20 grams a day.

For most people this simply means not taking a fibre supplement and not basing their adrenal fatigue diet around very high soluble fibre foods like lentils and beans.

Small amounts of fibre in your adrenal fatigue diet is fine and helps to remove toxins from the digestive tract but high fibre diets are not helpful for people looking to improve anabolic hormone levels to build muscle and/or to recover from adrenal fatigue.

6) Control estrogen With maca, DIM and zinc

Estrogen dominance almost always accompanies adrenal fatigue. To raise energy levels, sex drive etc. it is not enough just to improve testosterone levels by eating a good adrenal fatigue diet and getting adequate sleep, you need to stop too much of it converting to estrogen (a process called aromatisation).

An excess production of the aromatase enzyme means that men tend to put on lower body weight, develop ‘bitch tits’ (gynecomastia), stay fat and feel de-energised.

Ori Hofmekler, author of ‘The Anti-Estrogenic Diet’ and ‘Maximum Fat, Minimum Muscle’, believes ‘Liver detoxification and a reduction in body fat are probably the most beneficial methods for encouraging anti-aromatase activity’(13). I would add to this that adrenal fatigue can be the root cause behind both liver toxicity and bodyfat gain.

Certain foods, such as soy, are estrogenic, as are pesticides, herbicides, plastic derivatives (especially from soft, cloudy or opaque plastic containers).

We can’t easily avoid environmental estrogens and all estrogenic foods but we can eat foods that help us to deal with these estrogens:

Maca:

Maca naturally contains DIM (Diindolylmethane), an indole phytochemical that stimulates a more efficient estrogen metabolism in men and women.

DIM protects against estrogen dominance and has been shown to prevent certain hormone driven cancers.

DIM supports specific enzymes that work to increase the levels of good estrogen metabolites and decrease the levels of bad estrogen metabolites in the body.

Estrogen isn’t eliminated, a good thing since estrogen is important for muscle building and hormone balance, but is channeled down a more healthy metabolic pathway.

Studies show that DIM becomes much more easily absorbed when cruciferous vegetables are processed and/or crushed. Maca powder, whether gelatinized or simply crushed, is therefore processed in a way that will maximize the estrogen controlling effects of DIM.

If you prefer you can take a DIM supplement instead of taking maca. However, maca is a great supplement for adrenal fatigue for reasons other than just controlling estrogen.

Maca raises DHEA and cortisol levels, low in adrenal fatigue, after a few weeks and noticeably improves energy levels, sleep quality and sex drive.

[For a lot more information on this Peruvian superfood read The Benefits of Maca Root.]

Zinc:

Marginal zinc deficiency is one of the most obvious reasons for men suffering from low testosterone and high estrogen. Even a mild zinc deficiency will quickly lower your serum testosterone concentration and raise estrogen.

In one study on rodents a diet supplying inadequate zinc reduced the number of androgen receptor sites by 40 percent; at the same time the number of estrogen receptor sites increased by 60 percent!(14)

Zinc is a powerful aromatase inhibitor that will greatly reduce the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the body. Stress uses up zinc and adrenal fatigue causes a worsened tolerance for stress so zinc gets used up even more quickly.

When we don’t get enough zinc, levels of the aromatase enzyme rise and we begin to experience weakened sex drive, reduced muscle mass, lower energy levels and increased body fat (alongside other problems).

The symptoms of zinc deficiency actually very closely resemble those of adrenal fatigue i.e. low testosterone, sex drive, slower metabolism, high estrogen, poor stress tolerance, inability to completely relax etc.

An adrenal fatigue diet that contains zinc rich foods such as red meat as well as supplementing with zinc will help to improve adrenal function.

Between 30 and 100mg of zinc is a good dose of supplementary zinc, many find that working up slowly reduces the chances of experiencing minor side effects.

Good types of zinc are optizinc (zinc methionine), zinc gluconate, zinc picolinate and zinc citrate.

I then round things off by outlining what exactly meals in this adrenal fatigue diet would look like. After reading part 2 you will be ready to conquer adrenal fatigue!

Continue to Adrenal Fatigue Diet for Bodbuilders - Part 2.

* Ed Clements, creator of muscle-health-fitness.com, is an independent health and fitness writer who specialises in dietary, supplementation and weights training advice for improving body composition and hormone balance.