Adrenaline-What You Need To Know About It

Adrenaline is produced by the adrenal medulla which is the interior part of the adrenal gland. The body produces large amounts of adrenaline in two scenarios-when the body is under stress or when the brain is not getting enough fuel. 

Stress of any sort can cause extra adrenaline to be produced. It can be when we are in danger like running from a tiger or a mugger. It can be emotional stress like from going on stage and giving a speech, going on a date or getting stuck in a traffic jam. The adrenaline triggers a fight-or-flight response which puts the body on high alert and prepares the body for action. The heart rate will rise together with blood pressure and sugar levels, when going through an adrenaline rush. blood rushes to the essential organs for survival mode such as the brain and muscles. The non-essential organs for survival like the GI tract and kidneys will have a reduced blood flow. 

The other situation where the body produces extra adrenaline is when the brain is not getting enough fuel. When there is not enough glucose, which is the brains primary source of energy, the adrenal glands will produce sugar from protein through the process of gluconeogenesis. The brain uses more sugar than any other tissue in the body. If the brain doesn't have enough sugar it will fall asleep. So for survival purposes the body will always make sure that the brain is getting enough fuel to be awake. If not enough is coming the adrenals will produce more sugar by its own means. 

If the high adrenaline cause would have been a one time trigger like being chased by a gangster, most of the excess sugar would have been burned in the fight-or-flight response. The small amounts of sugar left over would be pushed into the cells by insulin. Nowadays however, because of constant and ongoing low level stressors, and not enough activity to use the extra sugar, leaving the body with the need to create lots of insulin to move the sugar out of the blood stream into the fat cells. 

People in law enforcement tend to have higher levels of adrenaline due to the nature of their job and the often late night hours, are prone to getting stuck in an adrenaline-sugar-insulin cycle. Police officers are known for eating doughnuts, now you know why. 

Being that stress can cause excess adrenaline, obviously lowering stress can be helpful in lowering excess adrenaline. Do what it takes to lower your stress. Try to to belly breathing and other calming techniques. Don't continuously overwork yourself or stay up late. Take herbs like ashwagandha, rhodiola and theanine which are known to reduce stress. Also, make sure to eat low-glycemic foods, High-glycemic foods are digested more quickly, causing the sugar to be released rapidly in to the blood. Low-glycemic foods are digested slowly and take more time to be broken down so the sugar is released at a slower steadier pace. Eating high-glycemic foods will cause more insulin to be produced. 

So avoid foods like white rice, white bread, sugar, corn and bananas for the most part. This is a very important factor. Another way to control excess adrenaline is by applying progesterone cream. It reduces the secretion of of adrenaline and blocks the effects of it. you apply to areas where the skin is thin like the inner forearm, upper chest or back of the neck. Use bio-identical progesterone. Dr. Platts makes a good one. Apply right before you eat to negate the effects of excess adrenaline. .