When your body is in a weakened state of energy (aka adrenal fatigue), no amount of healthy food or sleep is going to fully restore balance. Your body needs an extra boost!
Supplements, vitamins, and minerals play an important role in navigating adrenal fatigue and often are a powerful missing puzzle piece!
Why do I need supplements to fight adrenal fatigue?
Here’s the caveat: Supplements are a puzzle piece, but *not* the only one! I don’t want you to approach supplements as a magic pill or an excuse to let stress rule your days, but rather want you to understand the powerful role these can play in your journey.
- Our food supply today is not as nutrient dense as it once was due to poor soil quality, long transportation distances, harvesting before ripe, pesticides, toxins and more.
- Stress causes nutrient depletion—when your body is in a stressed state, your nutrients are used up faster.
- Supplements are *often* needed to help restore balance—no realistic amount of healthy food or sleep will fully restore.
Supplements provide targeted support to heal our adrenal fatigue, encourage balance, and restore our body’s nutrient stores.
More resources on adrenal fatigue:
- Restore Your Adrenal Function + Energy
- How to Support Your Adrenals During Seasons of Stress
- 5 ways to support your adrenals after baby
Adrenal Fatigue Solutions: Supplements, Vitamins and Minerals You Need
This list is by no means extensive or all-inclusive, but it is a good starting point.
*Not medical advice—please consult with your medical professional before starting any supplement protocol.
Shop the curated + holistic adrenal fatigue protocol >
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is essential for the adrenal gland cascade as it is used within the adrenal cortex (where hormones are made to mediate the stress response)! In periods of stress, vitamin C is used up more rapidly to make cortisol and the stress hormones. Vitamin C can help minimize the effects of stress and help a person bounce back from stressful situations more quickly. Because Vitamin C is water-soluble (meaning you eliminate what you don’t need), during times of intensity or stress or when working to diminish adrenal fatigue, I recommend increasing!
Not all supplements are created equally, and this is very true of Vitamin C. You need both bioflavonoids to help your body metabolize and use the ascorbic acid—bioflavonoids are what make vitamin C effective!
Flourish top pick: Pure Radiance C
Sodium // Celtic Sea Salt
One job of the adrenal glands is to regulate blood pressure and electrolyte balance—low blood pressure, muscle weakness, electrolyte imbalance, and dehydration are common with adrenal fatigue.
Typically in a state of adrenal fatigue, you crave salt and salty foods to replenish your sodium stores! This is the body’s innate way of signaling that the adrenals need more minerals to regulate! Celtic sea salt is my top choice because it is rich in minerals and has the right electrolyte balance so that you don’t dehydrate yourself when drinking water, another issue with adrenal fatigue!
Flourish top picks: Celtic Sea Salt, kelp/seaweed, olives, Swiss chard
B Complex Vitamins
Sometimes labeled the “anti-stress vitamins,” the B vitamins have countless different roles including cell metabolism and protecting the central nervous system. The B vitamins are used in all processes of the adrenal cascade, thus essential for fully functioning adrenals. When your body is stressed, cell metabolism speeds up to meet the stress, thus burning through more nutrients. A deficiency in B complex vitamins can cause exhaustion, hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, headaches, mood swings, difficulty concentrating, and more.
The B Vitamins need to be consumed in the correct ratio, which is why they are often referred to as the B Complex Vitamins in supplements—it is important to work with a skilled practitioner, like myself, to find the right fit for you!
Flourish Top Picks: Liposomal Vitamin B12 + B6, grass-fed beef, egg yolks, leafy greens (cooked in butter/ghee to help nutrient absorption)
Magnesium
Magnesium is the “anti-stress mineral” that calms the central nervous system and can improve sleep, energy, and stamina, reduce anxious thoughts and help your body handle stress better. It is crucial for helping the body metabolize energy.
Most humans, especially women, are deficient in magnesium. It does take time to restore magnesium stores, so don’t think this is an overnight process.
Flourish Top Picks: magnesium lotion, Magnesium Glycinate
Adaptogens
Adaptogens do just that—they encourage the body to adapt to incoming stress and changes in the environment, either producing a calming effect or a stimulating effect depending on the circumstances. They are ‘non-specific’ and thus can affect many different systems—mind and body.
My top adaptogens for adrenal fatigue:
- Ashwaghanda is a calming adaptogen traditionally used to help insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, exhaustion, adrenal fatigue, autoimmune conditions, and thyroid dysfunction. This adaptogen has the unique ability to calm when needed or stimulate when needed, which it is why it is a favorite among the adaptogens.
- Cordyceps are a type of fungus closely associated with medicinal, nutritionally beneficial mushrooms and have long been prized in Chinese medicine. This adaptogen has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, helps the body fight stress or fatigue, boosts stamina, and improves liver detoxification.
- Reishi are strong anti-inflammatory mushrooms that can boost your mental and emotional clarity, support immunity, improve sleep, decrease overwhelm and encourage your cells to function more effectively.
- Rhodiola Rosea, also known as “golden root” grows in the arctic, high-altitude areas of Europe and Asia and can help increase energy, lower cortisol, and improve brain function and athletic performance/stamina. This adaptogen is fabulous for helping combat modern day stress such as fatigue, adrenal dysfunction, low energy, depression, mental fog, and difficulty concentrating.
Flourish top picks: Adaptogen Balance, Mushroom Magic
Full Spectrum CBD Oil
CBD oil works to keep the endocannabinoid system in balance—this system is responsible for many functions like sleep, immunity, pain, and more. CBD oil has been highly effective for me, in addition to my complete adrenal support protocol, and was the missing puzzle piece for sleep for me! CBD like other works to restore balance from a foundational perspective—full-spectrum CBD is key to maximizing the benefit. I am so thankful for this tool! Finding a company that was properly and passionately educating, not just pushing a product, wasn’t easy, which is why I am so thankful for Equilibria!
Flourish top pick: Equilibria CBD Oil (“flourish” for 15% off).
There you go—my top supplements, vitamins, and minerals for adrenal fatigue! At times, the healing process may seem overwhelming, but take it step by step, day by day! Your body is beautifully designed to heal, it just needs the right tools to navigate the healing process successfully and efficiently.
Adrenal Fatigue Supplements FAQ
Q: What is the fastest way to cure adrenal fatigue?
A: With a holistic approach we are always focusing on the root causes, so understanding WHY your body is stressed and what’s causing it. When we work to navigate and decrease those stressors, you’ll experience long-term solutions and energy for life, even when stressful seasons arise again. There is no such thing as a quick fix, and if someone is marketing you a “quick fix” they just are trying to make money, not help you!
Q: Do supplements really help with adrenal fatigue?
YES! They are essential. I’m a fan of using supplements for targeted support when the body is in a weakened state. The reality is that most of us can’t escape for a mountain spa vacation for a month to heal (although that sounds amazing), so supplements are key to restoring balance.
Q: What is the best natural remedy for adrenal fatigue?
There is no one perfect remedy or one size fits all—it’s all about putting each puzzle piece together. The supplements outlined in this post are what I have used for years with my clients and myself, with good success, to restore energy and balance. If you only have money for a few, I’d choose Magnesium, Vitamin C and CBD!
If you are looking for a one on one plan, reach out for our Holistic Nutrition Services Guide >
Caroline Potter, FNTP and Flourish do not treat, diagnose or cure, or offer medical advice. Please always consult with your doctor or health care professional before starting any supplement, vitamin or mineral protocol.
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