2023 Adrenal Health

Adrenal Health
Optimizing Support For Energy, Sleep and Wellbeing

42.5 Hours of content

*** Please note: ***

  • Live session registrants – access ends August 6th, 2024.
  • Recorded course registrants – access ends 9 months from registration.
  • COT Full Course Bundle registrants – access continues for the full duration of tenure in our program! ***

For those not already in our designated NLFN training Facebook group, please request access HERE. This private group page is where program announcements and information is shared. It’s also where you can ask questions about course content and connect with your training peers. 

Your adrenal glands play a very important role in helping your body respond to physical or psychological stress. To be sure, optimal adrenal function is nothing to be underestimated, and is something our clients oftentimes need more support for!

A normal fight or flight response (temporary cortisol/adrenaline rush) is healthy, but unfortunately with ongoing stress, many stay in that stress pattern where cortisol levels remain elevated, contributing to a slew of health issues.

And, when adrenals don’t produce enough hormones, this can result in adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease). Short of a frank diagnosis though, many with prolonged stress exhibit signs of what is commonly referred to as mild adrenal insufficiency or “adrenal fatigue”. While not a medical diagnosis, symptoms can be quite significant for some. The lack of conventional medicine’s recognition of anything other than adrenal disease and the insensitivity of typical blood tests presents a challenge and leaves many lacking to connect to the real root cause.

This training provides deep coverage of adrenal system physiology, expanded testing, and comprehensive support options so you can confidently assess your clients and know exactly where their imbalances lie and how to responsibly provide targeted support. You’ll identify genomic influences and root-cause culprits while helping your clients mitigate common stressors in their lives allowing them to have more even moods, sleep better, regain vibrancy and feel great again!

COURSE PORTAL ACCESS CUTOFF: Aug 6, 2024
Be sure to download all slides and handouts to your permanent files by this deadline. CPE will be obtained via completion of a course end self-study quiz and course evaluator. 

Key Objectives:

  • List the various causes of adrenal dysfunction that impact the human body
  • Explain the normal stress response and describe the prolonged effects of chronic stress
  • Explore the relationship between cortisol, DHEA, neurotransmitter function and adrenal function
  • Define the inhibitory or excitatory nature of common neurotransmitters, as well as the necessary nutrient cofactors for neurotransmitter production
  • Discover the influence of genomics and its impact on neurotransmitter production and metabolism
  • Examine appropriate dietary strategies to optimize adrenal function
  • Identify and utilize specific nutrients, adaptogens, and supplements for adrenal and neurotransmitter imbalances.
  • Incorporate mind-body and other lifestyle interventions to help mitigate the stress response

Upgrade:

Want more? You’ve signed up for this training to expand your knowledge and skills in a great topic. This is a great way to stay at the top of your game as a clinician.

As the application of Functional Nutrition can be complex and many topics are interwoven, those who take a more comprehensive approach to their training come away with the lion’s share of opportunity, not to mention the highest level of confidence in clinical application.

If you’d like to stay on the leading edge, have higher earning potential, and have more impact in your clinical care than ever before, we invite you to upgrade to our certificate of training bundle program. Become a credentialed Functional Medicine Nutritional Specialist (FMNS) with over 450 hours of professional training in the most comprehensive program that exists today!

Speak with a program specialist to learn more – email your request HERE.

What’s Covered:

Part 1:

  • The prevalence of adrenal dysfunction and its health effects
  • Classifications of adrenal disease, signs/symptoms, and stages of dysfunction
  • Root causes and chronic disease connections to adrenal stress
  • A detailed step by step understanding of adrenal system physiology
  • Specifics of cortisol production and effects on the body
  • Steroidogenic pathways and the “pregnenolone steal”
  • The interplay between cortisol and other endocrine hormones
  • A special focus on sleep dysfunction and how best to support it
  • Assessment techniques, including functional medicine specialty tests
  • Effective management strategies for mitigating the stress response
  • The mind body connection: awareness for balance
  • Nutrition’s role in adrenal health (diet and supplements)

Part 2:

  • Overview of mood and imbalances and adrenal stress
  • Detail of all neurotransmitters and their relation to mood and behavior
  • The mechanics of neurotransmitter production and physiology
  • Disordered eating as a function of adrenal and neurotransmitter imbalance
  • Psychotropic medication’s effect on neuro-transmission
  • Working in an interdisciplinary team for optimal patient support
  • Genomic influences on neurotransmitter production; methylation and other connections
  • Amino acid precursors in neurotransmitter production
  • Detailed coverage of neurotransmitter assessment and testing
  • Kynurenic and Quinolinic acid as biomarkers in Neurotransmitter metabolism
  • The role of diet in mood imbalance
  • The connection between the microbiome and mood – probiotics as psychobiotics
  • Dietary supplements, amino acids and herbal support in mood imbalance
  • The vital need for sulfur but why some struggle with tolerance

Practice Exercises:

Exercise 1: List 2 symptoms each of high and low cortisol.
In addition, list 5 functions cortisol influences. Then do the same for DHEA.

Exercise 2: List the nutrient precursors to GABA, PEA,
norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, glutamate, and histamine?
What cofactors need to be present for each pathway to occur?

Exercise 3: Describe symptoms and imbalances you’d expect to
see on a cortisol/neurotransmitter test for early stage, mid-stage, and late-stage
chronic stress?

Exercise 4: List 5 factors that push the bidirectional
pathways from active cortisol into the inactive form (cortisone)?

Exercise 5: List 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms that may
influence neurotransmitter brain function.

Exercise 6: List 5 supplements that generally support
adrenal health and explain the mechanism of action for each one.

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Module Sections

Module 1 Adrenal Health Part 1
Unit 1 2023 Adrenal Health - Part 1 Slides/Handouts/Recordings
Unit 2 Adrenal Health Part 1 Quiz
Module 2 Adrenal Health Part 2
Unit 1 Eating Disorders
Unit 2 Eating Disorders Quiz
Unit 3 Neurotransmitter Balance/Sleep & Mood Disorders (Adrenal part 2)
Unit 4 Adrenal Health Part 2 Quiz
Unit 5 CPE