To effectively treat the adrenal glands, you must eliminate as much stress from your life as possible. Emotional stress is the kind of stress most people think of when stress is mentioned, but there are many different kinds of stress. Thermal stress results from being exposed to extremes of temperature; physical stress from heavy physical work, poor posture, structural misalignments, lack of sleep and being overweight; and chemical stress from ingestion of food additives, exposure to pollutants and consumption of sugar and alcohol. Changes in blood sugar are also a form of chemical stress. Eating frequent, small meals is often very helpful, since people suffering from hypoadreniaare often hypoglycemic (having low blood sugar).

Situations are not always controllable, but stress is. Stress is cumulative. Emotional, structural and chemical stresses all affect the body the same way. Your adrenal glands do not know the difference between an IRS audit, treading water or excessive sugar consumption; excess sugar consumption will add to the stress of your daily life.

If you reduce the stress that you can control, stressful situations will not have as much of a physical effect on you. For instance, eating frequent meals and avoiding sugar will reduce stress on the adrenal glands. So even if you can"t do anything about Aunt Millie and Uncle Edgar coming to spend the summer, you can reduce your stress by controlling your diet. Also, how you think of the stress will make a difference in the health of your adrenal glands. Aunt Millie"s handy tips on how you should raise your kids or clean your house, or Uncle Edgar"s penchant for eating everything that isn"t nailed down (without offering to pay for groceries) won"t stress your adrenal glands if you don"t focus on it.

If you can"t change your work situation, then improve your diet and get plenty of rest. Change how you think about your job situation. Focus on the positive: You do have a job, you do eat regular meals. (Much of the world doesn"t.) Just do the best you can and think of the things you can"t control in positive terms. To quote the Bible, in Luke 12:25, "And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?" Think to yourself, "What could be good about this situation?" Then take a minute to really look for positive answers.

Hanging on to anxiety over past situations is stressful. Thought has power. Worry gives you all of the physiologic responses of Selye"s rats or the caveman facing the wild animal. It"s a waste of energy and it undermines your health.

Your adrenal glands simply don"t know the difference between imagined danger and real danger. Think about it; if you hear a noise at night and think it’s the wind, you can go back to sleep. If you think it’s an intruder you can’t get back to sleep even after you get up to investigate. The thought of facing an intruder made the adrenal glands start producing their hormones.

Meditation and biofeedback have been of such value in controlling stress. They don’t help with the situation, just how you perceive it and your body’s response to the stress. Doctors are beginning to find that laughter helps the prognosis of cancer patients. They even have patients watch sitcoms in the hospital: "Mr. Smith, it"s time for your chemotherapy and "Lucy" reruns."

Minimizing chemical stress is also important. We have plenty of chemical stress today. Environmental pollution, food additives, sugar, alcohol and caffeine contribute stress to your adrenal glands. You must remove chemical stresses from your diet—effortlessly and without putting yourself under pressure. Gradually improve your diet by removing chemical additives. Move toward a more organic way of eating. Enjoy the change without fretting over how your diet isn"t perfect yet.

Ironically, stress often makes you crave the foods that are bad for you. While under stress, it is hard to be diligent in keeping additives and refined sugar out of the diet. Clients often complain that they have no time and can"t eat properly. Lack of time really isn"t the problem because raw nuts, fruits and vegetables take no time to prepare. Lack of time is usually used as an excuse to give in to craving the wrong foods. Once you understand that, you can eat healthily with little effort.

Eating sugar and skipping meals are two things that are especially stressful to the adrenal glands, which work to maintain your blood sugar level. Eating sugar causes a temporary increase in blood sugar, which soon drops. Skipping meals also causes the blood sugar to drop. The adrenal glands then have to work to increase the blood sugar. Hypoadrenia and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) usually exist together.

Find out if you are suffering from adrenal fatigue.