Re: Dr. Wilsons Terrible Diet Advice

Natway, it is oversimplified to say that conventional medicine does not recognize adrenal fatigue. Recently I emailed NADF (National Adrenal Diseases Foundation) to find a support group in my area. Not knowing much about the organization at all, I included in my email that I have stage 3 adrenal fatigue. This is pasted from their response:

"National Adrenal Diseases Foundation (NADF) does not recognize the term “adrenal fatigue" as a medical diagnosis. Per NADF Medical Director Paul Margulies, MD, FACP, FACE, printed in NADF News®, VOL. XX, No. 3 • 2005, page 6:

'Adrenal fatigue' is not a recognized medical diagnosis. Addison's disease is the correct term for primary adrenal insufficiency and is diagnosed with an abnormal lack of response to ACTH or Cortrosyn, elevated levels of ACTH, positive 21-OH antibodies (if autoimmune) and characteristic symptoms and physical findings. Clearly, people with Addison's disease must go through a period of relative loss of adrenal reserve before they present with the full set of abnormalities of total adrenal failure. During that phase there may be partial adrenal insufficiency that may give test results that are in between normal and classic Addison's. I would use the term early or partial adrenal insufficiency not "adrenal fatigue". I think that term is used by people who propose that the adrenals "wear out" from various stresses and miss the point that Addison's disease is not caused by stress, but by specific injury from antibodies, hemorrhage, infections, tumors, or surgery.’

Mainstream medical doctors do not refer to adrenal insufficiency in stages. The only adrenal condition which is referred to in stages, that I know of, is adrenal cortical cancer."

Interesting. So... the contention is not whether or not a pre-Addison's-like condition exists, but rather, what causes it - stress, or infection?

There seems to be enough evidence - from the above doctor's opinion, from a substantial number of annecdotes like yours, saywhatagain, and possibly from my own personal experience with AF that that some AF (or maybe we should call it "Pre-Addison's"?) may indeed be caused by infection and not under-eating.
Alone, my case is yet to be valid as evidence to prove any AF theory because I have had all three potential causes: prolonged stress, malnutrition, and infection, and I am not healed yet.

However, Natway's point about AF symptoms being exactly the same as malnutrition's is strong. Again my own experience supports the theory that AF could be caused by malnutrition as I definitely feel an improvement in my symptoms when I stuff with food, especially carbs. And given the prevalence of eating disorders, under-eating, and low-carb diets (which are always lower in calorie than high carb diets) I think it is definitely probable that MANY AF cases are actually malnutrition in disguise.

So... maybe the answer is just a lot more simple AND complex than all this arguing is about? Here's my suggestion:

- some AF/Pre-addison's is caused by infection and not malnutrition
- some """" is malnutrition in disguise
- some """" is caused by emotional stress
- a history of malnutrition may make some more susceptible to being further triggered into AF by emotional stress or infection
- some AF sufferers may have a hidden infection and believe its caused by stress
- some may be a combination of all of the above

and...

- eating more carbs/calories/nutrition may cure many of AF despite the cause because ideal nutrition triggers the body's natural healing and balancing abilities
- some AF suffers may genuinely need additional treatments given the wide range of factors present

By the way, I seem to remember reading elsewhere on curezone that some AF sufferers have had experience with pharmaceutical dependency, and that is something I know nothing about.