Is Oatmeal Good for Adrenal Fatigue?

Oatmeal is well-known to be one of the healthiest foods that you can eat on the go. Often consumed during breakfast or as a snack, oatmeal offers a lot of nutrition to people of all ages. It can be served with hot water, milk, peanut butter, cinnamon, honey, brown sugar, and other ingredients. Due to its versatility, you can find a lot of recipes for oatmeal.

Unlike other foods, there is no restriction on how much oatmeal should you consume in a day. Depending on your calorie intake, you might just need a small cup or a full bowl to give you energy throughout the whole day.

Incorporating oatmeal into your daily meal can help in boosting your overall health. This dietary fiber can help in lowering your cholesterol level, reducing your weight, and preventing hypertension, as well as cardiovascular disease.

But is oatmeal good for adrenal fatigue?

Oatmeal is definitely good for adrenal fatigue. It contains a lot of nutrients that are beneficial for your adrenal glands.

In fact, if you mix oatmeal with other healthy foods such as blueberries and yogurt, it can become a delicious snack that can help replenish your energy while keeping your adrenal fatigue at a minimum level. Before we dive in deeper, let’s take a look at what adrenal fatigue really is and how it affects our body.

woman having eyes fatigue massaging her nose bridge at work

Table of Contents

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

To understand how adrenal fatigue happens, we must first look at the main organ involved in this issue which is the adrenal gland.

Adrenal glands or suprarenal glands sit on top of our kidneys. They are a part of the endocrine system and help in producing different types of essential hormones for our bodies. These include hormones that help in regulating our stress, blood pressure, glucose level, sodium and water level, as well as fat burning.

During a stressful event or flight-or-fight responses, our adrenal glands will produce cortisol. Cortisol helps in regulating our blood pressure.

However, when we experience too many highly stressful events and chronic stress, our adrenal glands fail to produce enough cortisol to keep up with the stress level.

Hence, the failure of adrenal glands to function at their best during crucial events is known as adrenal fatigue.

There are a few early symptoms of adrenal fatigue that you can look for which are:

A constant need for stimulation or stimulants such as caffeinated drinks
Decreasing daily energy levels
Difficulty sleeping and waking up
A sudden urge for sugary and salty food or drinks
Brain fog
Inability to manage stress and emotional changes

Constant adrenal fatigue can cause numerous long-term effects on your adrenal glands, leading to adrenal insufficiency. This condition happens when the production level of cortisol and aldosterone are drastically reduced to adrenal glands failure. It can also be caused by other factors such as infection and autoimmune response.

Signs of adrenal insufficiency are loss of appetite, stomach pain, sudden weight loss, extreme fatigue, and muscle weakness.

In the long term, this issue can cause other severe health problems such as diarrhea, vomiting, low blood pressure, hyperpigmentation, and depression. If you’re experiencing any symptoms that are similar to adrenal insufficiency, a quick visit to the doctor is definitely a must.

prepared breakfast oatmeal with fruit toppings

How Does Oatmeal Help in Reducing Adrenal Fatigue

Oatmeal is one of the effective foods to fight off adrenal fatigue. This is because oats are rich in a lot of nutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese, and B-vitamins that are essential in regulating your nervous system or other biochemical processes.

Furthermore, oats contain a high level of carbohydrates and tryptophan. A combination of carbohydrates and tryptophan can provide our bodies with enough energy. With the aid of carbohydrates, tryptophan can be absorbed easily by our brain.

Eating oats can also make you feel full for more than a few hours. They digest slowly in our system and are able to sustain a low blood sugar level. Hence, we don’t feel the urge to eat always without depleting the amount of energy that our bodies need.

Oatmeal Nutritional Value

Aside from preventing adrenal fatigue, oats are also rich in vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and other essential nutrients. This table shows the nutritional value of half a cup of dry oats.

Nutrient	Amount
Carbohydrate	51g
Protein	13g
Fiber	8g
Fat	5g
Magnesium	34%
Iron	20%
Copper	24%
Zinc	20%
Folate	11%
Manganese	191%
Phosphorus	41%
Vitamin B1	39%
Vitamin B5	10%
Calories	303 kcal

There are a few different oats that you can choose based on your taste and preference. For instance:

Instant oats

Instants oats have been processed and partially cooked, before being dried as packed as fast-serving oatmeal. They have the same nutritional content as regular oats.

Steel-cut oats

Also known as the Irish oats, this type of oats are can be categorized as unprocessed oats. They are coarser and thicker in texture with a strong nut-like taste than other oats. For this reason, they take a longer time to be cooked and must first be soaked in the water.

Rolled oats

Rolled oats are also known as whole oats or old-fashioned oats. These oat groats have been steamed and flattened to make their texture softer and less coarse. Unlike steel-cut oats, rolled oats cook faster and absorb more water, making them easier to be cooked and prepared.

Scottish oats

Scottish oats are whole oat groats that look similar to steel-cut oats. However, they aren’t steamed, flattened, or cut like other oats. Instead, Scottish oats are grounded to produce coarser, flour-like oats.

Oat groats

Oat groats are the whole oat kernels without the hull or husk. The husks are removed during the milling process. They generally need around 50 to 60 minutes to be cooked properly and take a longer time to absorb water.

Oat bran

Oat bran comes from the outer part of oat groats. They are sold separately from the groats. Like other oats, bran offers a lot of protein, fiber, and other beneficial nutrients.

Other Foods That Can Fight Adrenal Fatigue

To fight adrenal fatigue and keep our adrenal glands healthy, we should monitor our diet and try to keep it as balanced as we possibly can. Eating healthy is not hard. The basic rule of thumb to healthy eating is to eat organic food and avoid processed food. These include:

Coconut

Coconuts are multi-purpose fruits that offer many benefits to our lives. For instance, they keep our bodies energized and refreshed through medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs).

These highly-saturated oils can be converted into natural, clean energy before being distributed in our bodies to sustain other biochemical processes. MCFAs also help in regulating our body weight and boosting our brain function.

turkey meat with spices and herbs on the chopping board

Lean Proteins

Aside from being one of the building blocks for muscle growth, lean proteins are beneficial in preventing adrenal fatigue. A cheaper, good source of lean proteins would be chicken or turkey. Turkeys are rich in tryptophan, a specific type of amino acid that involves in the production of serotonin. They also contain other nutrients that help in improving our bodily functions such as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc.

Eggs

Eating between 2 and 4 whole eggs for breakfast is more than enough to supply your body with energy throughout the whole morning. As one of the important sources of protein, eggs are also rich in many nutrients including vitamin A and E, B-vitamins, and choline. Vitamin A and E are antioxidants that help in reducing free radicals in our bodies. Meanwhile, B-vitamins improve brain function, elevate our moods, and act as additional sources of protein. Lastly, choline is an organic, water-soluble compound that helps in improving our memory retention and mental clarity.

Hummus

Hummus is a famous Middle Eastern dip made from a mix of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. This simple snack can battle adrenal fatigue by providing your body with many nutrients and energy. For instance, tahini is rich in antioxidants and helps in reducing inflammation. Meanwhile, chickpeas help in neutralizing acids in our bodies, and garlic can boost our immune system.

Guacamole

This nutritious yet delicious dip is made from many healthy greens such as avocados, tomatoes, lime, cilantro, onions, and other tasty ingredients such as sea salt or cayenne paper. What’s more interesting is that you can use guacamole as a dip with crunchy vegetables such as carrots and broccoli.

Eating just one serving of guacamole can supply your body with 150 calories. It also contains other nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, vitamin E, folate, and many more. Don’t forget to add sea salt to the dip. This is because sea salt helps in balancing electrolytes, sodium levels, and fluid balance in our bodies.

Wheat Germ

Aside from being an excellent source of fiber, wheat germ is rich in tryptophan and tyrosine. These amino acids are responsible for the production of noradrenaline and serotonin which contribute to a better mood and emotion.

Furthermore, it also contains other nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B6, and folic acid. Hence, there is no reason why you can’t include this cereal grain in your diet.

Sweet Potato

These highly nutritious tubers can be consumed in many ways such as fried, steamed, or cooked with other foods. Eating this high-carb food can improve your cortisol level, which helps in promoting a better quality of sleep. The amount of vitamin A in sweet potatoes can also help in boosting your immune system and keeping your vision healthy.

Final Thoughts

Overall, adrenal fatigue can be prevented by having a well-balanced diet. You can have an active lifestyle or a busy schedule that makes you move around and away from your seat. But if you don’t monitor your diet, your body won’t get enough fuel and all the necessary nutrients that it needs.

Plus, your mental health also reflects your physical health. As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.”