***Are You Tired & Fatigued?

Are You Feeling Tired?

Do you feel sluggish getting out of bed instead of bouncing up in the morning feeling excited and energized? What caused this change?

Low energy seems to develop over a long period of time. We lose the ability to distinguish between what is normal and not normal. When you examine your sleep habits, your productive hours in your day, how much exercise are you able to do, and what do you do in your spare time, you will get the answer of what caused the fatigue.

What Causes Fatigue?

Fatigue is often not understood, goes undiagnosed or even dismissed sometimes. Doctors will even tell their patients that there is no apparent cause for their lack of energy. However, that doesn’t mean there is nothing wrong.

The causes of fatigue often are not known since they are sub-clinical and the dysfunction can’t be identified using the diagnostic measurements of western medicine. Usually integrative medicine or naturopathic practitioner may do these tests:

• Hemoglobin studies to check levels of iron
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Exposure to glandular fever or other viruses
• Adrenal and cortisol levels to check for adrenal fatigue
• Oxidative stress markers
• The level of oxygen in the blood
• Thyroid studies
• Unresolved traumatic incidents

Other areas investigated are:

Mitochondria – cell furnace providing energy for the entire body. In order for the mitochondria to burn and give energy, specific nutrients are required to produce energy.

When our bodies are lacking these nutrients or any of them, the energy stores become depleted leaving us tired or fatigued. To keep the mitochondria fired up we need to feed them with the right fuel.

What are the Solutions to combat Fatigue?

Providing the right nutrients to fire up your mitochondria is the key. These are basically eating a well balanced diet. A diet comprised of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, beans, low-fat dairy, healthy fats, whole grains and nuts and of exercise.

Other Factors to consider are:

• Getting the right amount of adequate sleep; 7 to 8 hours daily
• Getting adequate amount of fresh air
• Drinking adequate amount of clean fresh filtered water daily  (half your body weight in ounces of water daily)
• Exercise every day, even for short bouts of time
• Turn your stresses into finding positive ways to relax
• Avoid too many stimulants such as caffeine, foods high in sugar, fat and alcohol.

Making these adjustments maybe enough for you to bring back your energy level back to par. However, for some people more intense support may be required.

Supplementation for Energy Optimization

Fats and carbohydrates need other nutrients to facilitate their entry into the mitochondria. Two important substances are N-acetyl carnitine and lipoic acid.
Lipoic acid balances blood sugar and can help reduce cravings for sugar and sugary foods.

Coenzyme Q10 is also vital for healthy energy production in our cells, and omega3 deficiency can damage the mitochondria. Because of these factors we gradually produce less energy and when this happened over time we become increasingly tired.

Conclusion:

Now that the long holiday season is here take care of yourself by finding and using some of these suggestions and questions to analyze what is missing and replace them with the tools that will bring back your bounce and zest for living. Enjoy your family, friends and all the ones you love. Be happy, grateful and count your blessings!