Fortunately, there is more to the stress response than the adrenal medulla with its catecholamines. The adrenal cortex on each side fits over the adrenal medulla and is designed to respond to all stresses which are not of the acute variety. The adrenals are the major steroid factories of the body. The actions of most of these hormones are dealt with in other chapters. I want to focus here on aldosterone, cortisone and hydrocortisone.
Aldosterone works together with the kidneys to regulate the balance of minerals in the body.
The proper balance of minerals is critically important in the healthy stress response. This physiology is especially important for the immune system and, in the presence of weak adrenals, the immune system is seriously impaired. This opens the way for a variety of bizarre infections, which could never get a foothold in the body in the absence of compromised adrenal glands. Anyone who is especially susceptible to infections probably has weakened adrenals, thyroid gland, or both therefore, a weakened immune system. The incidence of autoimmune disease also goes up in the presence of weak adrenals.