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Stress can trap you in a vicious cycle. It can cause you to make choices that cause you more stress. When you struggle to get through the day, it’s easy to turn to harmful habits, like drinking or comfort eating sugary snacks. When these habits interfere with the body’s natural rhythms, you may find yourself suffering from adrenal fatigue. You need healthy snacks for adrenal fatigue!
If your adrenal system is shot from constant stress, there’s a simple way to reduce your adrenal fatigue and positively influence your health. Add a few healthy adrenal snacks into your day to protect your adrenals and improve your life.
How Do Snacks Impact Adrenal Fatigue?
It’s common knowledge that too much stress is bad for the body. When you’re over-exposed to stress – and many of us are – you can end up suffering from adrenal fatigue. This can make you feel exhausted, lethargic, irritable, and depressed, among other symptoms.
Adrenal fatigue happens when your adrenal glands aren’t producing the number of hormones your body needs. Sometimes they overproduce, like when there’s too much cortisol in your system, which puts a serious strain on your liver and central nervous system. On the other hand, too little cortisol causes problems too and can cause thyroid issues.
Snacking throughout the day can actually help you safeguard your adrenal function. It’s all too easy to end up eating convenient and unhealthy snacks throughout the day, like a bag of chips or a candy bar, but these don’t contain the nutrients that your body needs. Choosing snacks that have good fats, complex carbs, and include fruits and veggies can help you counteract the effects of stress on your system.
Related: What are the 4 Adrenal Fatigue Stages? (And How to Feel Better)
Best Snacks for Adrenal Fatigue
Healthy snacks that have potassium, sodium, and natural sugars can actually help your body’s blood sugar levels stay stable. If you snack regularly throughout the day, your blood sugar levels won’t dip and rise suddenly, which reduces the amount of cortisol and adrenaline in your system.
These adrenal snacks are delicious and easy to prepare. The more you feed your body nourishing and nutritious foods, the more you will come to crave them and reduce your body’s cravings for unhealthy or sugary snacks.
- Trail mix made from seeds, nuts, and dried berries (no M&Ms!)
- Celery or apple slices with almond butter
- Sliced cucumber with avocado and lime
- Carrots dipped in homemade guacamole (you can make tasty guacamole using avocado, tomato, onion, lime, cilantro, sea salt, and cayenne pepper to taste)
- Fresh fruit and veggie salad (mix some apples and pears with chopped lettuce and carrots and make your own healthy dressing using avocado, raw honey, tahini, garlic, fresh herbs, lemon, and olive oil)
Other Tips for Snacking to Help Adrenal Fatigue
Be prepared! If you know you’ll be busy throughout the day, prep your adrenal snacks beforehand and bring them with you. Most adrenal snacks only take a few minutes to prepare and having them with you can help you break unhealthy snacking habits and keep your blood sugar levels steady.
Make mini-meals for yourself. Adrenal snacks don’t have to be raw foods all the time. You can add in cooked starchy vegetables, like sweet potatoes and carrots, or beans, lentils, even winter squashes! This adds variety to your adrenal snacks and can help you balance out your diet so you’re getting all the vitamins and nutrients you need.
Three meals are not enough. If you have a busy schedule and lots of stress, it’s important to support your body by giving it regular nourishment. Choosing to have smaller and more frequent meals made of foods with healthy fats, sugars, and salts, 5-6 times a day can do wonders for your adrenals.
Choose healthy, whole, and unprocessed foods. Locally grown and organic foods tend to have a higher nutritional content. Try to avoid foods that have added preservatives, hormones, and chemicals, which can have unforeseen effects on your body. Using fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables as the centerpiece of your meals is a great way to start cutting out processed foods.
Add a lean protein into each snack. In addition to stabilizing your blood sugar, protein helps you feel full longer and can help you fight off cravings for foods with refined sugars.
Don’t forget about your drinks! What you drink can have a huge impact on your health. If you’re regularly drinking beverages that can tax your adrenals, like alcohol and caffeinated drinks, you might consider finding healthier alternatives.
While adrenal fatigue can leave you feeling tired, stressed, and depressed, there are steps you can take to improve your overall health and specifically protect your adrenal system. Adding healthy snacks that are high in good fats, complex carbs, and fruits and veggies to your daily routine can help you ward off the symptoms of adrenal fatigue.
