How Functional and Integrative Medicine
can help to reduce your stress levels.

Stress has an impact on your wellbeing. Not only does it affect your emotional health, it also affects your body. Here at The Maas Clinic we often see clients who are suffering with ailments related to stress, one of the most common being adrenal malfunction.  

In this brief overview we’ll be addressing how Functional and Integrative Medicine can help you to reduce your stress levels, and find your equilibrium once more. If you’d like a deep dive into the subject of adrenal health, hormones and stress you can read our introduction to the topic here.

For now, here’s a snapshot of how Functional and Integrative Medicine can help you to reduce your stress levels and find your joyful equilibrium once more.

Stress levels and adrenal health.

Did you know that you adrenal glands are responsible for secreting cortisol? Cortisol is the hormone most commonly known as your ‘fight, flight or fright’ hormone.

Cortisol is naturally secreted every day by your adrenal glands to organise your energy levels, otherwise known as your circadian rhythm.

If your adrenal glands are working correctly, your cortisol levels will be at their highest in the morning, and naturally taper off as your day goes on. Your cortisol levels should be at their lowest around bed time.

Your adrenal glands will also produce cortisol when you are stressed. Cortisol will increase your blood pressure and a surge of sugar will hit your muscles.

This extra burst of energy can be helpful—right before a big exam for example, or as an aide to get you out of a dangerous situation. However there are many other circumstances which can cause unnecessary stress, be it work-related, emotional or otherwise.

Unfortunately your body has no way of knowing if your need for cortisol is genuine, or if it’s induced by a redundant stress. Either way your adrenal glands will secrete extra cortisol, putting additional pressure on them. Over time overexertion of your adrenal glands will cause them to burn out. Hence the term adrenal burnout or adrenal fatigue.

Unnecessary stress will negatively impact your adrenal function, and can lead to a number of symptoms including:

• Low blood pressure
• High blood pressure
• A low libido
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Weight gain
• Osteoporosis
• Heart disease
• Absent or painful periods

What is Functional and Integrative Medicine?

Functional and Integrative Medicine is an all-natural approach to your unique biochemistry.

Unlike traditional medicine, a Functional and Integrative approach treats every client as an individual.

The functional aspect implements stringent testing to identify your biochemical makeup, and how this impacts your health.

The integrative part addresses the choices you make in relation to your nutrition, lifestyle, behaviour and exercise, and how this affects your wellbeing.

You can read more about Functional and Integrative Medicine here.

How Functional and Integrative Medicine can help you to bounce back from adrenal burnout.

Unlike traditional medicine, Functional and Integrative Medicine is concerned with treating the root cause of an issue, not just the symptoms.

With over 25 years of experience Laurens Maas has treated countless patients with adrenal issues.

A combination of Functional and Integrative Medicine can help clients to achieve optimal health once more. Laurens uses, in most cases, a marriage of supplementation, bioidentical hormones and the four pillars of integrative health: nutrition, lifestyle, behaviour and exercise to help his clients.

High stress, and subsequently adrenal burnout, does not have to be a lifelong sentence. It is possible to fully recover from adrenal fatigue, and to live a full, joyful and energised life again.