You have just found out your wife is sleeping with your best friend, you're being retrenched, and the principle of the school has phoned about your child having a dagga problem. If your heart has skipped a few beats and feels as if it has dropped to your stomach, your adrenal glands are working just fine.

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What do they do?
You have two adrenal glands, both orange in colour and one situated on top of each kidney. Triangular-shaped, and measuring about half an inch by three inches in length, your adrenal glands secrete the flight hormone known as adrenaline. No, you will not fly if your blood is pumped with this hormone, but they call adrenaline the flight hormone because it makes you feel supercharged.

Your adrenal glands consist of an outer region known as the cortex and an inner region known as the medulla. That feeling of having butterflies in your stomach when you are very stressed, is caused by the medulla. The medulla releases adrenalin and noradrenalin into the bloodstream and make you feel like you've just received a turbo boost. Adrenalin and noradrenalin help your body cope with mental and physical stress. It prepares you for bad news, a fight, a public speech, a bungi jump, and yes, even sex.

Physiological effects that take place in the body when these hormones are released in to the bloodstream are:

• An increase in your heartbeat and blood pressure
• Rise in blood sugar and energy
• Dilated pupils
• Your hair on your arms and legs stand up (also known as goosebumps)

Besides adrenalin and noradrenalin, the adrenal cortex produces hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone, that assist in your body's metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. They also regulate the balance of sodium (salt) and fluid in your bloodstream. And to complement that libido of yours, the adrenal cortex also secretes very small amounts of testosterone, but not nearly as much as the testes do.

Besides all the good things that your adrenal glands do, they can turn on you. If your body is under extreme stress, your adrenal glands may become swollen from overuse. Getting enough rest and keeping calm should regulate its function. But more serious conditions such as Cushing’s syndrome, when too much cortisol is produced, can cause unexplained weight gain. Then, probably the most serious of them all, Addison's disease is when the adrenal glands stop producing hormones altogether. This can be fatal if not treated in time with replacement hormones.

Interesting facts

• When the adrenal glands produce too much testosterone, it is possible for it to lead to premature puberty in young boys. This could explain why the 11-year-old boy next door has such hairy legs and armpits, and smells like a dog's breakfast
• If your body needs to retain its sodium reserves, aldosterone will act on your sweat glands and reduce the amount of salt released through sweating. If your body has an excess of sodium, your adrenal glands will release aldosterone that in turn will increase the sensitivity of your taste buds to taste salt more easily

(Matthew Louw, Health24)

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