iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll ThofthThsea symptom of HPA dysfunction in people with Hashimoto’s as hypothy-
roidism is associated with a slower heart rate).
The level of cortisol controls thyroid hormone production. Often, hypo-
thyroid symptoms such as fatigue and low body temperature are due to
an adrenal maladaptation.
What Is Stress?
Four types of stress turn on our fight-or-flight response:
- Mental/emotional stress
- Sleep disorders
- Metabolic/glycemic dysregulation
- Chronic inflammation
Mental Stress
Feelings such as grief, guilt, fear, anxiety, excitement, and embarrassment
can be classified as stress. This stress is based on our perception, not on the
nature of the individual stress. For example, public speaking may cause
mental stress for someone with social anxiety, but another person who en-
joys speaking in front of others may perceive the experience as pleasurable.
Situations that are new, unpredictable, threaten the ego, or cause us to feel
a loss of control are perceived as stressful.
Glycemic Burden
Researchers in Poland have found that up to 50 percent of patients with
Hashimoto’s have an impaired tolerance to carbohydrates. This means
that after consuming carbohydrate-rich foods, their blood sugar levels
spike, causing a substantial insulin release. The role of insulin is to clear
blood sugar out of our cells, so a large insulin release is followed by a
rapid blood sugar drop (hypoglycemia).
Symptoms of hypoglycemia are unpleasant and may include irritability,
fainting, lightheadedness, and tremors. Hypoglycemia necessitates the
release of cortisol to help maintain the glucose supply to the brain and
counteracts insulin, causing insulin resistance (this is also linked to the
type 2 diabetes epidemic).
Sleep Disorders
Sleep deprivation is used to suppress the HPA axis in lab animals and is
the fastest way to get into adrenal fatigue. Insomnia, sleep apnea, and shift