A myriad of physical responses occur when the human body is chronically stressed, such as muscle tension, poor mental clarity, heavy breathing, and fatigue. But long-lasting stress can impede your overall health and functioning! For these circumstances, our Toronto IV therapy lounge may apply functional medicine testing to assess adrenal functioning. 

The adrenal glands produce hormones that help harmonize the endocrine system. When you’re strained, these organs activate the release of certain “stress” hormones – such as cortisol – to counteract nerve-racking changes. But when stress becomes chronic, adrenal hormones may be continuously pumped out, triggering hormonal imbalances – this can develop into various health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, high blood sugar levels, and weakened immune function. 

Our private downtown clinic, the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre (TFMC), personalizes treatment modalities for patients. When certain therapies (i.e. IV vitamin drips) are adapted for your biology, they can contribute to alleviating personal discomforts. We emphasize the following in this article: 

• • Why consider implementing lab tests when dealing with chronic stress;
  • Some examples of adrenal-related functional treatments;
  • Information about our TFMC wellness team. 

Applying functional lab tests for adrenal function

Cortisol helps support blood pressure regulation, immune health, metabolism, and, most importantly, stress. Lab testing can measure your cortisol levels, and a healthcare provider may run this type of test if cortisol amounts are suspected to be excessive or low. This quantification can indicate the state of your adrenal health. 

But there are limitations to some conventional cortisol tests. An allopathic test for cortisol normally requires a blood sample to test the cortisol awakening response (CAR). CAR refers to a specific increase of cortisol when you wake up, and this hormone tends to peak around 45 minutes after awakening. Scrutinizing CAR levels can indicate how stress has affected you; for example, low responses may indicate poor functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or your risks for stress-related health conditions. 

At the TFMC, our lab testing services offer the DUTCH Plus test, which takes CAR into account. Dried urine and saliva samples may be submitted so that sex hormones, cortisol patterns and organic acid metabolites may be quantified. Your lab results would then be used by our functional naturopathic doctor to customize a treatment plan, such as planning therapeutic doses of nutrients for IV vitamin therapy. 

What’s next? A tailored treatment plan

After conducting lab tests, we can suitably adapt treatments for your biology; these may include naturopathic medicine, holistic nutrition, intravenous/injection treatments, and/or other modalities. Here are a few ways we might tackle adrenal dysfunctions: 

• • Diet modifications: If your dietary intake includes mainly processed foods, this can impede your stress response. Processed foods carry low amounts of nutrients, so if you’ve formed a nutrient deficiency, this nutrition deficit can prevent your body from adapting to stress. We may recommend adopting a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean or paleo diet; a study from Nutrients showed that these diets may help protect against stress-induced inflammation due to its embracement of fresh produce, fish, and leafy greens.
  • Acupuncture: This form of Chinese medicine involves applying needles onto pressure points, and may be beneficial for coping with stress. According to a study on college students, participants who were given genuine acupuncture treatments for three months experienced significant stress reductions; this is unlike students in the study who received “sham” acupuncture treatments. 
  • Nourish the body with nutrients: Oral supplementation may be advised to support stress-relieving health goals. We may suggest taking pantothenic acid (B5), as this nutrient may help regulate cortisol production. We may also prescribe intravenous therapy drips if you struggle with malabsorption. An IV nutritional drip can be customized for specific health goals, and this modality provides the body with a rapid absorption of nutrients. As IV nutrient therapy immediately releases nutrients into the vein and blood stream, it may promote speedy results for supporting the adrenals. 

Indeed, stress can negatively affect wellness. How can we help you manage daily pressures? Read the next section to learn about our functional approach to wellness. 

Recommended Reading: For Men Over 40: Toronto IV Therapy Guide to Supplements That Support Optimal Health

Meet our Toronto Functional Medicine Centre team

Custom health care makes sense – after all, we’re unlike due to our health needs, genetics, lifestyle factors, and such! Opting into a personalized service of treatments can help target your chief health concerns, as therapies are adapted for biological needs. Custom health care can potentially address various health issues, including chronic inflammation, sports recovery, food sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, and poor skin elasticity. 

At the TFMC, we adhere to integrative functional medicine – this model allows us to adapt treatment modalities for individuals, including doses of nutrients for intravenous therapy. From acupuncture to hormone functional medicine programs, we can design a treatment plan that offers several complementary remedies for symptom relief and chronic disease prevention. We may also recommend lab services to further scrutinize mineral deficiencies, oxidative stress levels, inflammation, etc.; then, these results are used to tailor your treatments further (i.e. using specific oral supplementation to tackle low cortisol levels). 

Vitamin IV therapy is also accessible in our Toronto IV Lounge. Here, we freshly blend IV vitamin drips with natural ingredients – we do NOT add preservatives! Our lounge is designed for patients to sit back and take a moment to focus on their wellness needs with nutrients, including vitamin C, glutathione, alpha lipoic acid, and more. Vitamin D injections may also be prescribed by our IV therapy providers. When intravenous drips and injection treatments are amalgamated into a healthy quality of life and other functional medicine therapies, they can support optimal function. 

Struggling with chronic stress? Consider a custom-made IV drip! IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre is now available – send us a message to request your initial visit.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media. 

 

References

American Psychological Association. (2023, March 8). Stress effects on the body. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body

Carvalho KMB, Ronca DB, Michels N, Huybrechts I, Cuenca-Garcia M, Marcos A, Molnár D, Dallongeville J, Manios Y, Schaan BD, Moreno L, de Henauw S, Carvalho LA. Does the Mediterranean Diet Protect against Stress-Induced Inflammatory Activation in European Adolescents? The HELENA Study. Nutrients. 2018 Nov 15;10(11):1770. doi: 10.3390/nu10111770. PMID: 30445703; PMCID: PMC6266959.

Duan, H., Yuan, Y., Zhang, L., Qin, S., Zhang, K., Buchanan, T. W., & Wu, J. (2013). Chronic stress exposure decreases the cortisol awakening response in healthy young men. Stress, 16(6), 630–637. https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2013.840579

Dutt M, Wehrle CJ, Jialal I. Physiology, Adrenal Gland. [Updated 2023 May 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537260/

Mariotti, A. (2015). The effects of chronic stress on health: New insights into the molecular mechanisms of brain–body communication. Future Science OA, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.4155/fso.15.21

Megha R, Wehrle CJ, Kashyap S, et al. Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Adrenal Glands (Suprarenal Glands) [Updated 2022 Oct 17]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482264/

Powell DJ, Schlotz W. Daily life stress and the cortisol awakening response: testing the anticipation hypothesis. PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52067. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052067. Epub 2012 Dec 20. PMID: 23284871; PMCID: PMC3527370.

Sanvictores T, Chauhan S. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) [Updated 2024 Feb 29]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563233/

Schroeder, S., Burnis, J., Denton, A., Krasnow, A., Raghu, T., & Mathis, K. (2017). Effectiveness of Acupuncture Therapy on Stress in a Large Urban College Population. Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, 10(3), 165-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jams.2017.01.002