Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates #413 Dr. Karl Nadolsky – Adrenal Fatigue and Balancing Hormones: Science or Pseudoscience?
Nov 4, 2025
Dr. Karl Nadolsky, an endocrinologist and obesity specialist, dives into the myths surrounding adrenal fatigue—revealing it's not a real condition but often confused with true adrenal insufficiency. He discusses common symptoms misattributed to adrenal fatigue and emphasizes the importance of lifestyle changes over pseudoscientific remedies. Karl critiques the misleading marketing of hormone balancing and warns about the dangers of abdominal obesity, even in those with a normal BMI. He also clears up misconceptions about diet drinks and their effects on health.
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Adrenal Fatigue Is Not A Disease
- 'Adrenal fatigue' is not a recognized disease and lacks scientific basis.
- True adrenal insufficiency and cortisol excess are real, diagnosable conditions with distinct features.
Investigate Fatigue Systematically
- Do address patients' fatigue symptoms seriously and investigate common causes like sleep, nutrition, exercise, thyroid disease, anemia, and sleep apnea.
- Avoid attributing broad symptoms to 'adrenal fatigue' and instead evaluate for real medical conditions.
Lifestyle Changes Drive Most Gains
- Lifestyle pillars—nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction—are the foundational drivers of symptom improvement.
- Improvements often coincide with marketing of supplements, misleading people to credit the product instead of lifestyle change.