Herbal Adrenal Support Formula

Adaptogens for stress homeostasis and adrenal support

Formulated by Dr. James L. Wilson for stressed people experiencing adrenal fatigue or menopause

• Adaptogenic herbs grown organically or wildcrafted; harvested at peak potency
• Full spectrum active constituents optimally extracted and preserved in tincture
• Optimum amounts of each herb for effective support
• Synergistic combination enhances efficacy of individual ingredients
• Easy-to-use liquid facilitates absorption and utilization
• Promotes stress tolerance, and supports adrenal function and homeostasis for enhanced mood, focus, sleep, endurance and energy
• One of the 4 products in Dr. Wilson’s Adrenal Fatigue Quartet

Suggested Use

Take 10-15 drops in juice or water 2-4 times a day, preferably between meals or on an empty stomach, or use as directed by your healthcare practitioner. 

*Note to people sensitive to alcohol: The herbs in this formula are liquid tinctures which are 18.5% alcohol. This method extracts the highest levels of active plant components for optimal benefit. People who cannot take any alcohol may add the recommended dose to 8 oz. of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes in a pan on low heat to evaporate the alcohol before drinking.

Stress and Homeostasis

Your body is always working to maintain homeostasis (homeo = the same, stasis = staying) in a constantly changing, stressful environment because your survival depends on it. Life can only exist within a narrow range of conditions – imagine how you would feel without water for several days, or with a 106°+ temperature, skyrocketing blood pressure or plummeting blood sugar. Homeostatic control provides the internal stability necessary for life. Stress disrupts that stability.

Your ability to respond and adapt to stress is therefore a fundamental aspect of the continuous balancing act that is homeostatic control. This control is accomplished through complex feedback loops that communicate every tiny change in your body between your nervous system, brain and endocrine (hormone producing) glands. Your brain assesses and responds to the information provided about your internal state by your nervous and endocrine systems. Your endocrine glands produce exact amounts of hormones in response to instructions from your brain.

These hormones act as the agents of change that tell every cell what to do. Central to your stress response is the feedback loop called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis consisting of your hypothalamus (a regulatory part of your brain), pituitary gland (your master endocrine gland), and adrenal glands (your main glands of stress, producing over 50 hormones affecting nearly every cell in your body and brain). Because homeostasis is essential to life, anytime you get too far from optimal – either too much or too little response to stress, it’s not surprising you feel bad.

Think of the symptoms of a panic attack (pounding heart, rapid pulse, flushing, hyper-vigilant fear) as an extreme over-response to acute stress, and medical shock (low blood pressure, weak pulse, cold skin, dissociated confusion) as an extreme under-response. The symptoms of both are largely due to HPA axis responsiveness and consequent adrenal hormone levels, which influence things like blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar and mental focus. In a chronically stressful life, the internal balancing act of homeostasis gets a lot harder.

For example, prolonged HPA axis over-responsiveness can lead to persistent high blood pressure, high blood sugar, agitation, inability to relax and ensuing conditions like metabolic syndrome. Prolonged HPA axis under-responsiveness can lead to persistent low blood pressure, low blood sugar, low energy, generalized disinterest in life and consequent conditions like adrenal fatigue. If your adrenal glands become fatigued, it may be almost impossible to feel balanced because adrenal hormones play such a key role in your capacity to maintain homeostasis in stressful situations. It’s not difficult to see that balanced regulation of HPA axis function is critical to your ability to adapt to stress in ways that maintain optimal homeostasis and allow you to feel balanced, especially in a stressful world.