Good to Know: Adrenals: The Stress Glands

Enjoy the latest installment of Dr. Lowell Keppel’s “Good to Know” series for practitioners.

The adrenal glands have long been known as the stress glands. In The Product Bulletins, Dr. Royal Lee notes:

“The adrenals, ‘the stress glands,’ have been shown to be the first of the endocrine axis to fail under various conditions of stress, such as burns, poisons, and other toxic manifestations, as well as being susceptible to failure from protracted stress and strain of ‘ordinary’ everyday activities. Conclusive evidence was offered by McCarrison to show that the adrenals were also among the first to fail under the stress of malnutrition. Interestingly, our experience shows the adrenals to be the first to respond to nutritional therapy.”

Ragland’s Postural Hypotension test is a useful method for evaluating adrenal function. In his fantastic 1965 article “Postural Hypotension and Functional Hypoadrenia,” Dr. George Goodheart offers valuable information on how to perform Ragland’s test and on the Standard Process supplements that best support the adrenals:

“High intake of natural vitamin C complex along with the natural G complex and cytotrophic extracts of adrenal [Drenatrophin PMG] is also valuable, as is calcium.”

In this same article, I found this paragraph extremely helpful as a chiropractor:

“Careful analysis and vigorous adjusting of segments nine through eleven yields good results. A good general approach is to use a hard index and adjacent finger pressure adjacent to the lamina of all the spinal vertebrae starting at cervical one and continuing down to the sacral area, taking care that this pressure remains even and constant. This should create a red mark along the spine that should begin to fade after a minute or two. In postural hypotension using a sharp snappy thrust over the segment that stayed red the longest exerts a very favorable effect on the problem. This technic was originally used by Erdman in 1921 and is still good today.”

Adrenal insufficiency is running rampant in today’s world, propelled by our “modern” stress response to complicated factors in our lives, including jobs, families, and health and immune challenges. And all of this is all compounded by malnutrition. Dr. Lee’s observation that the American people have been humbugged into “digging their graves with their teeth” is more prevalent today than ever before!

Ask these simple questions:

Do you get dizzy when going from a lying to standing position?
Are you chronically fatigued?
Are you chronically stressed?
Do you experience chronic knee and low back pain?
Does your body have trouble holding chiropractic adjustments?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, do Ragland’s test and support the adrenals with the following Standard Process supplements:

Drenamin: 9 per day.
Organically Bound Minerals (source of potassium): 6 per day.
Drenatrophin PMG: 6 per day on an empty stomach.
Cataplex C: 9 per day.

And from MediHerb, pick one of the following:

Adrenal Complex: 3 per day.
Ashwagandha Complex: 3 per day (if trouble sleeping).
Rhodiola & Ginseng Complex: 3 per day (if burning the candle at both ends).

NOTE: Divide the dose over the course of a day. For example, if the amount is 6 per day, take 2 three times daily, or take 3 twice daily.

Also keep in mind my Good to Know article “Synergy of Nutrition and Herbs,” where I discuss setting the foundation with Standard Process nutrients and then adding MediHerb products.

Images from iStock/Mykyta Dolmatov (main), ttsz (post).

Dr. Lowell Keppel

Dr. Keppel received a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan College of Chiropractic in 1983, following an associate degree in science from Southwestern Michigan Community College. He became certified in Neuro-Emotional Technique in 1999, having studied directly under the program’s founder, Dr. Scott Walker. He has undertaken a variety of further training, including herbology, spinal rehabilitation, and ongoing nutritional education.

Dr. Keppel knows there is always some seminar, book or journal that might deepen his knowledge or contribute one more bit of information that he can directly translate into an effective treatment. He gives sound advice from the perspective of clinical experience and years of practice.

More recently, Dr. Keppel has been teaching seminars for Standard Process West. He has become their in-house chiropractor and is recognized as a mentor for other practitioners throughout the greater Denver area.

For more information, visit his website at DoctorKeppel.com, check out his YouTube channel, or contact him directly at drkeppel@gmail.com.

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