#171
Box 165 Ashton,MO 20861-0165 (Founded in 1967)
RECORDED MESSAGE
(202) 544-4044
In Washington, D.C.
Our
bulletin is not meant to be medical advice. It
is written by lay people, dedicated to helping those with hypoglycemia.
All
cases are individual. If you need medical advice, see your physician.
ADRENALS
Our Fight or Flight Glands
Part 1
by Dorothy R. Schultz
We are all aware
that we have a brain, a stomach and a heart. We say, "I can't think"
or "I have indigestion" or our heart is beating too fast, too slow or
causing pain. How much thought do we give to our anrenal glands, which
have a great
influence on the functioning of all of the above as well as the rest of
our
bodies?
SHALL WE GET ACQUAINTED?
Adrenaline is mentioned frequently
by sports
commentators. The crowd
is
screaming, "We want a touchdown!" The compulsive gambler is yelling
for his horse to win. Can you imagine the adrenaline that is flowing in
both
the spectators and the participants? Does the player or the team whose
bodies
produce the most adrenaline win the game or the race? As Paul Harvey
says we
need to know "the rest of the story." Understanding our adrenal
glands will help us to understand hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and
how
emotional stress can cause changes in the blood sugar levels and
changes in the
blood sugar levels can cause emotional stress.
WHAT DO THEY LOOK
LIKE? We have two
adrenal
glands, each weighing about as much as a nickel, and they are sitting
on top of
each kidney, a little above the waist towards the back. They have been
described as about the size of the tip of a finger or a lima bean and
looking
like a cocked hat. They can become smaller in conditions of stress or,
when
overworked, may become as much as four times larger.
To make things more complicated,
the adrenals are sometimes
called suprarenals, which Lloyd V. Grumbles,
M.D. says is more correct. Ad means in front of, renal means kidney,
so
animals who walk on all fours would have adrenals. Their
adrenals are in
front of their kidneys. Supra means above. Therefore, humans
who walk
upright would have suprarenals (above the kidneys). But, the
common term
is adrenals so we will use that. Also adrenaline is sometimes called
epinephrine, and noradrenalin is called norepinephrine.
THEY HAVE TWO PARTS: The center or core is called the medulla.
The
outer part of the glands is called the cortex which has three
separate
zones. According to Juan Wilson, M.D. the medulla produces adrenaline,
which is
stimulated or secreted when we perceive an experience with fear or
anxiety, and
noradrenaline when we perceive an experience with assertiveness or
aggression.
The normal response to stress is a shift to adrenaline dominance but,
if you
are already there, the reactions are exaggerated and rather
disturbing. So,
instead of being in balance, you might say that you are always at a
tilt.
Page 2
The medulla and the cortex have no
direct communication between
them and act as separate glands. The adrenaline from the medulla sends
a
message to the pituitary when a stress occurs which, in turn, sends a
message
by way of adrenocorticotroptic hormone (ACTH) to the cortex. The
message asks
the cortex to produce the necessary hormones to prepare the body to
handle the
stress. According to John W. Tintera, M.D. treatment with ACTH may
produce
dramatic relief of symptoms but continued treatment leads to an
imbalance of
the three groups of steroids produced by the adrenals.2 If the cortex
is
functioning well more adrenaline and ACTH may not be needed at that
moment
unless there is more stress. The rush of adrenaline accounts for the
panicked
mother who finds the super human strength to raise a truck off her
injured
child. It is also responsible for the pounding heart, sweaty palms and
sinking
feeling in your gut when the boss says, "Could I please see you in my
office?"3
IN THE OUTER ZONE (glomerular) the
mineralocorticoids control
the salt and water balance as well as other minerals in the body. Those
of us
who have a deficiency of one of these hormones called aldosterone may
need
extra salt.4 The aldosterone sends a message to the kidneys to recycle
the salt
back into the blood stream to be used again. If this happens as it
should, then
the person does not need extra salt. If it does not happen, then salt
is
excreted in the urine and perspiration and may need to be replaced in
the diet.
Those of us who dehydrate easily in illness often suffer from an
inadequate
hormonal production in this zone. Other signs of this condition may be
low
fluid intake, dry scaly skin, and problems of perspiration (too much or
too
little or too much in one area and not enough in another), also
urinating in
small amounts frequently or large amounts infrequently. Dr. Wilson
pointed out
that a craving for sugar, but more commonly a craving for salt, is one
of the
clinical evidences of adrenal cortical insufficiency.
IN THE MIDDLE ZONE (fascicular),
which is the largest, the glucocorticoids regulate the body's defense
against
stress and infections, the control of carbohydrates and, to a lesser
degree,
protein, fat and calcium metabolism. The chief cause of symptoms
resulting from
a problem in this zone is the failure to utilize sugar properly.
Consumption
of sugar can cause adrenal exhaustion as surely as stress and lack of
nutrients
will. The adrenals are the 1st line of defense against blood sugar
levels gone
awry.5
IN THE INNER ZONE (reticular) the gonadal (sex)
hormones are
secreted which supplement the sex hormones of the testes and ovaries.
Dr.
Tintera wrote that the adrenals produce 25% of the female sex hormones
and 65%
of the male. Before the body can produce the sex hormones, cholesterol
must be
present. These hormones are necessary for the growth and the
development of
the reproductive tract, the genital organs and the secondary sex
characteristics such as hair growth, body shape, voice, etc.. W. D.
Currier,
M.D. commented that the female gland is larger than the male because it
secretes more hormones.6
PREGNANCY: Lynn
J. Bennion, M.D. writes that pregnancy is a special case of accelerated
blood
sugar outflow.7 The placenta, which transfers oxygen, glucose and other
nutrients from mother to the unborn baby, acts as a glucose (blood
sugar)
"sink". It continually drains blood sugar from the mother's
circulation, thereby making the pregnant woman particularly susceptable
to
hypoglycemia (nausea can result). It also drains amino acids, such as
alanine,
needed for making new blood sugar from the protein and fat in body
tissues.
The mother must eat frequently to avoid hypoglycemia, especially in the
first
three months of pregnancy. Dr. Bennion explains that the blood is like
a river.
The inflow and outflow of blood sugar should be equal. Adelle Davis
wrote that
hunger is experienced at a certain level of blood sugar, cravings for
sugar,
etc. at a lower level, and, at a still lower level, nausea and
vomiting.8
Page 3
The adrenals of the unborn baby
develop with extreme rapidity so that in the third month they are the
most
prominent structures inside the body cavity. At birth, they are still
relatively large but in early infancy a large part of the tissue is
broken down
and absorbed so that in adulthood they weigh about 1/8 of an ounce.9
Dr.
Tintera felt that when the mother's adrenals are deficient, it
apparently
causes her body to take adrenal hormones from the unborn baby and it is
presumed that his adrenals can be thus depleted before he is born. This
is very
important to guard against and to do everything possible to ensure a
stress
free environment and good nourishment for the mother.
GENERAL INFORMATION: Another interesting fact Dr.
Wilson brought
out regarding the adrenal cortex is that cortisone, hydrocortisone,
aldosterone
and other hormones (of which there are 16 of the total of 40 or more)
represent
85% to 100% of the output of this gland and the trace hormones are
something
like 0% to 15% under normal circumstances. Under constant stress the
trace
hormones become 85% that are recoverable directly from the adrenal
vein.
Deficiencies of adrenal hormones in the cortex can cause a patient to
have 100
fold changes in taste, 100,000 fold in smell and 3 fold in sound. He
might think
he is being poisoned or he can smell how much salt is in the food or he
cannot
stand noise. Your body gets ready to fight when you hear a noise. If
you are
asleep you get a spurt of adrenalin, even if the noise doesn't wake you
up, and
your stomach tightens and your blood vessels constrict.lO These
reactions may
change with the time of day when adrenal cortical hormones are
produced at a
lower or higher rate. A low point might be between 2 and 5am when some
people
wake up and cannot go back to sleep or they may have have an attack of
some
kind such as asthma. '
The adrenal
cortex grows from without inward, new cells being formed at the outer
edge of
Zone 1 and are in various stages of discharge in Zone 3 next to the
core or
medulla.ll Many macrophages (large cells that engulf foreign bodies and
consume
debris) are found there assisting in removing the exhausted and
incompletely
discharged cells. If the debris accumulates faster than it can be
removed by
the macrophages in spite of the formation of new cells there is going
to be a
problem and an individual with this type gland can easily be thrown
into
complete adrenal insufficiency by a slight additional demand for the
vital
secretion.
HISTORY OF THE ADRENAL GLANDS: In the year 1716 the Academy of
Sciences of
Bordeaux, France had an essay contest, "What Is The Use of The
Suprarenal
Glands?.12 Two of the answers were "To hold up the stomach which would
otherwise press too hard on the veins of the kidneys" and "Black bile
is preserved in them which serves to dilute the urine." In 1855 Thomas
Addison, M.D., a British physician, gave the first clue as to their
functions.
In 1893 Dr. George Oliver fed his patients gland substances of
different
kinds. Adrenal material had an "extraordinary effect upon the tone of the heart and arteries."
In 1913
Prof. Walter B. Cannon at Harvard University performed some
experiments which
showed that, when under stress, the digestive system comes to a
standstill.
Even though the stress only lasted a few minutes, the digestive system
might
take an hour or more to begin working again. The reason being that
energy was
sent to the heart and muscles for fight or flight. (This shows the
importance
of tranquillity at mealtime. One disagreeable person can shut down the
digestive systems of the rest of the family.)
(to
be continued in Bul. 172)
NOTE: Some of
this information was taken from our early bulletins written by Dorothy
Sulzbacher, Co-founder of HAl and a patient of John W. Tintera, M.D.
until his
death in 1969. Dr. Tintera specialized in the field of endocrinology
and was a
pioneer in the treatment of hypoglycemia. He was a teacher as well as a
physician and taught his patients what changes they would need to make
to aid
their recovery.
REFERENCES: See bottom of page 4
PEN IN HAND: A Case History from Florida - page 4
Page 4
PEN IN
HAND
Gentlemen:
I thought you would be interested
in what happened to me before
I learned I was a hypoglycemic and read the book, "Low Blood Sugar and
You" by Carlton Fredericks, PhD and Herman Goodman, M.D.. Grosset and
Dunlap rub. N.Y. 1969
Mr. R. sent HAl a xeroxed copy of
the record
of his hospital admission in 1983. The following are some of the notes
made by
the doctor. "R.R. is 67 years old and has had dizzy spells and
intermittent confusion which has been going on for five months. He has
momentary unsteadiness especially on getting up and periods of mental
lapses
which make him think he is losing his mind. His judgment is poor. He
has lost 25
pounds and has been having chronic pain since the end of 1979. He gave
up
bowling and later golf. Apparently the patient has a history of
paranoid schizophrenia
treated with electroconvulsive therapy in 1945. He is on no medicines
for
mental disease. His physiological and neurological examinations were
completely
normal. He has depression."
After leaving the hospital a
friend saw him
experience one of his attacks and recommended that he read Dr.
Fredericks'
book. Then he realized that "I was indeed a hypoglycemic" and
curtailed eating sweets, especially chocolate bars, and drinking
highballs. As
a result he has not experienced an attack in 4 or 5 years. He related
two
incidences which show how low blood sugar had affected him before 1983.
The first incidence was in a
bowling alley. He went to the
washroom and when he got back he said his mind goofed off. He didn't
know where
he was. This was his first experience with and, after his mind cleared
in about
15 minutes, he decided that someone must have put a "Mickey" in his
drink.
The other incidence happened while
he was
visiting someone in whose home he had been many times before and had
even
helped his friend paint the whole inside. When the attack hit he
couldn't even
locate the bathroom and when leaving didn't know which direction to
turn to go
to his home two blocks away. Fortunately these episodes seem to be a
thing of
the past for him.
*************************************************
REFERENCES:
1. Juan
Wilson, M.D., The
Mystique of Hypoglycemia, HAl BuL #82, 9-10/75
2. John W. Tintera, M.D., Hypoadrenocorticism - Collected Papers, $10 + $2 S&H, Avail. HAI
3. Jack Joseph Challem
and Renate Lewin, Nutrients To Prevent Adrenal Insufficiency,
Let's
Live magazine,
6/81, P.o. Box 74908, Los Angeles, CA 90004
4. Salt,
HAl Bul. #152
5. Steroids
and Lipids, HAl Bul #48 (out
of print)
6. W.
D. Currier, M.D., Preventive Medicine-a
column in Let's Live magazine
7. Lynn
J. Bennion, M.D., Hypoglycemia, Fact
or Fad, Crown Pub., 1983
8. Adelle
Davis, Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit,
Harcourt Brace Janovich, Inc. 1970,
page 21.Also HAl Bul. #142, page 2.
9. R.
G. Hoskins, PhD, M.D., The Tides of
Life, Harvard Medical School, Pub. 1933
10. Organicville
Newsletter, 4177 W. 3rd
St., L.A., CA 90020,4/6/71
11. R. L.
Zwemer, Information On The Adrenal Cortex,
American Journal of Pathology,
Vol.
12, p. 107, 1936
0
12. The
Tides of Life, see #9.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED