Your Adrenal Glands Aren't Just About Cortisol. Here's Why They Matter as You Age.
By Shelley Gawith, Functional Nutritionist
Let's talk about what they actually do, why they matter, and where adrenal glandular supplements fit into the conversation.
First, what are your adrenal glands?
You have two adrenal glands, one sitting above each kidney. They're small, but they have some very important jobs. Think of them as part of your body's operations department. They're involved in how you respond to stress, regulate blood pressure, manage fluid and electrolyte balance, and produce certain hormones.
Your adrenal glands produce:
Cortisol: Helps regulate your response to stress, blood glucose, inflammation and daily energy rhythms.
Aldosterone: Helps your kidneys regulate sodium, potassium and blood pressure.
Adrenaline and noradrenaline: Involved in your immediate fight-or-flight response.
DHEA and other androgen precursors: Can be converted into testosterone and oestrogens in other tissues.
And yes, the adrenal glands can produce very small amounts of progesterone as part of steroid hormone synthesis. But they don't replace the large amounts of progesterone your ovaries produced when you were ovulating.
That's an important distinction.
Why your adrenal glands still matter after menopause
Before menopause, your ovaries are a major source of estradiol and progesterone. After menopause, ovulation stops, progesterone falls substantially, and ovarian estradiol production decreases. But your body still has other ways of producing and converting sex hormones. Your adrenal glands produce androgen precursors such as DHEA and androstenedione. Tissues throughout your body can convert these into other hormones, including oestrogens.
In fact, oestrone becomes the predominant circulating estrogen after menopause. Your ovaries can also continue contributing to androgen production. So when a woman tells me she's too old to have hormones, I want her to understand something.
Your hormonal system hasn't shut down. It's changed how it operates.
What happens when you're under constant stress?
Now let's talk about cortisol.
Because this is where I see so many women get confused.
Cortisol isn't the enemy. You need it. It helps you wake up in the morning, respond to challenges, maintain blood glucose and regulate numerous processes throughout your body. The problem isn't that your body produces cortisol. It's that many women are living with more demands than they have time to recover from.
They're running businesses, caring for children or ageing parents, managing households, navigating menopause and trying to keep themselves healthy somewhere in the middle of it all. It's like having 27 browser tabs open on your computer. One tab might be manageable, but twenty-seven, with three playing music and another frozen in the background, is a different experience.
Your body has sophisticated systems for responding to stress, but ongoing stress can affect sleep, appetite, blood pressure, mood and metabolic health.
And here's the important part.
Your adrenal glands don't simply run out of cortisol because you've had a stressful year.
Feeling exhausted deserves investigation & support.
How do we actually look after adrenal health?
Sleep: Your cortisol follows a daily rhythm. Consistent sleep and waking times help support healthy circadian regulation.
Food: Adequate energy, protein and a varied diet matter. Chronically under-eating while demanding more and more from your body isn't a clever long-term strategy.
Movement: Regular exercise supports metabolic and cardiovascular health, but recovery matters too.
Stress management: Not because breathing exercises magically switch cortisol off, but because reducing unnecessary stress and improving recovery can make a meaningful difference to how you feel and function.
Medical investigation: Fatigue can be associated with iron deficiency, thyroid conditions, sleep apnoea, medication effects, depression and many other causes.
Minimise your toxic load: Chemicals, parasites, mould, heavy metals and gut imbalances can all add to the load your body is carrying.
What about adrenal glandular supplements?
This is where the conversation gets interesting. Adrenal glandular supplements are products made from animal adrenal tissue or extracts, commonly bovine-derived. They're different from adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha or rhodiola. Glandulars have a long history of use in some nutritional and complementary medicine traditions. Glandulars have been one of my favourite secret tools for helping clients get their energy back again.
So many clients have said to me over the years, I was just so used to not having energy. I would hit snooze on my alarm every morning, feel bad about myself for not going to the gym and would sip on coffee all day to get through.
Then they would have Adb5 Plus or another glandular and their lives would change, the joy would come back, the energy, not being dependent on coffee. They felt themselves again, they got hobbies in the evening again as they didn't feel like all they could do was lie on the couch and scroll or watch Netflix. Glandulars have changed so many clients' health over the years and were a major part of my health healing journey. I am so grateful to Biotics Research for their amazing products.
What about testing adrenal hormones?
Blood tests can assess cortisol levels, as well as the DUTCH hormone test.
The bottom line
Your adrenal glands are important at 30, 50 and 70.
They help regulate essential functions and contribute to the production of hormone precursors throughout your life. But looking after your adrenal health isn't about keeping your glands from wearing out. It's about supporting your overall health, recognising when something needs investigating and making informed decisions about treatments and supplements. That's how you really support your adrenal health and get healing. (I am living proof of this.) But I needed the glandular support so I could heal my body from parasites, mould, heavy metals and the list goes on.
And if there's one thing I want women to take away from this, it's this:
You're never too old to understand what your body is doing. Menopause doesn't end your hormonal story. And exhaustion isn't a diagnosis.
If you're tired of guessing what your symptoms mean, my approach is to look at your nutrition, symptoms, health history and relevant bloodwork together so we can work out what deserves attention.
Start by understanding your body.
This article is educational and isn't a substitute for individual medical advice.
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