Your adrenal glands are responsible for producing a range of critical hormones that support your body’s ability to handle stress and to help you feel energetic…
The adrenal cocktail (AC) provide electrolyte support which helps to nourish the adrenal glands. The nourished adrenals support the liver in making more ceruloplasmin (bioavailable copper). Since much of the body’s vitamin C is stored in and used by the adrenal glands, vitamin c also plays an important role in the adrenal cocktail. Your adrenals need 3 key nutrients in order to function properly and keep these hormone levels optimal: Potassium, Sodium, and Vitamin C.
The three basic components to the adrenal cocktail:
WHOLE FOOD VITAMIN C: Vitamin C contains bio available copper, and an enzyme called tyrosinase that stimulates the liver to produce ceruloplasmin. Vitamin C plays a pivotal role in activating enzymes essential to collagen production, a key structural protein in blood vessels, skins and other tissues. It also is required for the activation of neurotransmitters and carnitine for energy production. In addition, Vitamin C has a broad spectrum of antioxidant functions to protect the cell structures from free radicals. Vitamin C is essential for adrenal stress hormones in times of adaption, a cofactor to epinephrine, as well as easily depleted under chronic stress.
SODIUM (SALT): The more stressed we are, the more sodium we lose from the cell, which causes our cells to dump potassium. The balance of sodium and potassium significantly affects the symptoms experiences by people with adrenal fatigue. Sodium supports many function sin the body from cellular electrolyte balance, important for your nerves and muscles, and 85% of it is found in your lymph nodes. It also helps with magnesium absorption and improving insulin sensitivity. Less sodium in the system means more STRESS in the system, causing aldosterone and adrenaline to rise along with BP.
POTASSIUM: Of the electrolytes, potassium has the highest concentration in the cells. Like sodium, potassium levels are maintained by aldosterone. When too much salt or fluid is pulled from the interstitial fluids, the small amount of social in the cells begins to migrate out of the cells into the interstitial fluid. As the sodium is pulled from the cell, water follows the sodium. This leaves the cell dehydrated as well as sodium deficient. In addition, in order to keep the sodium/potassium ratio inside the cell constant, potassium then begins to migrate out in small quantities. This creates even more electrolyte imbalance, leading to decreased adrenal function.
WHERE TO START: Start slowly with the ‘original’ recipe listed here with orange juice, cream of tartar and salt. If you can’t use any of those ingredients, there are alternatives listed too. Some who are extra sensitive may wish to start with 1⁄4 – 1⁄2 recipe to let the body adjust gradually.
Ideally, these should be taken away from food. If you read Cure Your Fatigue by Morley Robbins, he suggests aiming for around 10am &/or 2pm, if possible. However, if your schedule makes it difficult to take them at these times, then take them when you can, as it’s better to take them with food than not at all. Find what works best for your schedule.
In general, any “Adrenal Cocktail” recipe should deliver approximately:
- 375mg of Potassium
- 460mg of Sodium
- 60mg of Vitamin C
HOW TO MAKE: The general (homemade) recipe for the adrenal cocktail is:
- 4 Oz. of Orange Juice
- Fresh squeezed is best, but not essential. The Vitamin-C Complex makes sure that the minerals noted below get to the Liver to then nourish the Adrenals.
- 1/4 tsp of Cream of Tartar
- This is an excellent source of Potassium, or you can use Potassium Bicarbonate.
- 1/4 tsp of fresh ground Redmond’s Real Salt or Sea Salt
- This is an excellent source of Sodium & 90+ other trace minerals.
My personal favorite is the adrenal cocktail powder from Jigsaw Health. A lot of people say the taste is intense and salty but for me, I have come to really enjoy the taste as I can tell my body really needs the nutrients. You can find that powder here, which also comes in pill form if you don’t want to make your own AC or get the powder: Jigsaw Adrenal Cocktail (Use code “celebrate10” to save $ at checkout.)
LONG TERM: Most people start with one AC per day, and eventually work up to two per day after a few weeks or months, depending on how their body responds. Some will experiment and find that they respond well to more than two per day, and others find they don’t need them every day. I have found that my body does really well with 3-4 of these a day. This is a very personal experience, as is finding the recipe that works best for you.
