Overcoming Fatigue
These days we just seem to being doing more and more and finding ourselves even more exhausted, despite all the supposed time and labour saving devices we have. They just don’t seem to make things any easier and many are finding they are having to work longer and harder just to make ends meet. We actually feel tired all the time, we don’t sleep enough and in many cases we just "can’t be bothered".
Is it Organic?
There are many inorganic causes of fatigue and these should be ruled out first. Think about it for a moment and ask yourself these questions:
• Am I getting enough sleep? Eight hours per night is ideal – some need more, some less.
• Am I eating a wholesome nutritious diet or am I living on quick-fix junk or packaged food devoid of nutrients?
• Am I finding time for hobbies, relaxation and regular exercise? Even 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day is enough. Maybe you can walk around the block in your lunch break or walk to the shop for the milk or newspaper.
• Have I been under long-term stress or am I trying to do too much?
I remember once, in my final year of College, I was absolutely exhausted, snapping at my partner all the time and not sleeping well. Then I realised it was hardly any surprise, when I was putting in the equivalent of almost 60 hours a week in study and two part time jobs!
I recall speaking to a man once who wanted something for energy, as he was so tired all the time, and was looking at a caffeine based supplement. I questioned him further and discovered he had only 4 hours sleep a night and thought that was normal!
Is it Inorganic?
But what if all these factors are OK? What is causing the tiredness? Then it is time to look at more organic factors such as thyroid function, iron or B12 deficiency, infection, cardiovascular disease and drugs and medications.
Ask your Doctor to check the side effects of any medications you may be on. Many drugs cause tiredness. Perhaps you can discuss with your Doctor alternatives, which may include Complementary Medicines, for your condition.
Thyroid
Low thyroid function, or hypothyroidism, is a primary cause of fatigue, accompanied by feelings or tiredness, sluggishness, fluid retention, constipation and feeling the cold, to name a few. A blood test for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and the thyroid hormones T4 and T3, is the standard way of diagnosing hypothyroidism. However there is new thinking that the so-called "normal" ranges for thyroid hormones in these tests should be re-evaluated. For example, the current normal range is 0.4 – 4mmol/L for TSH but people with under 0.4 are exhibiting signs of hypothyroidism but are being told they are fine. They are actually "sub-clinical" hypothyroid and should be treated for it..
A simple accurate way to check your own thyroid function is to take your basal body temperature every morning while lying in bed, before rising, for a week. You need to lie still and do it for at least 5 minutes, under the arm or under the tongue, and it needs to be over 36.4?C. If it is less than this for more than 3 days out seven you may be hypothyroid and you may need to consider taking some Kelp and/or Tyrosine for a couple of months to see if that helps.
Deficiency?
The only way really to definitively check for Iron, Folate and B12 deficiency is to have a blood test. These deficiencies are easily rectified with supplementation but do make sure you take the right form and dose. Some forms of Iron are quite constipating, such as Ferrous sulphate, so choose a good organic iron such as Ferrous fumarate or Iron amino acid chelate.
Folate and Vitamin B12 are also important nutrients for the formation of healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen and nutrients around the body. 1000mcg of B12 once or twice a day orally has been shown to improve B12 status as well as a B12 injection and the minimum recommended daily intake for Folate is 400mcg. Smaller amounts will usually be in Iron supplements.
But remember that sometimes deficiencies don’t simply come about by dietary inadequacy. Malabsorption can be a problem and may come from stomach or intestinal problems like depleted stomach acid or digestive enzymes or diseases like gastric atrophy or Coeliac disease.
Adrenals?
This now brings me to probably the most common factor in the development of fatigue – adrenal depletion – or you may know it better as "burning the candle at both ends"! Unfortunately stress, doing too much and running around like a headless chook makes our body think it is in a perpetual "fight or flight" response. Normally we only have this response when we are under some sort of threat and our body pumps out substances, like adrenaline and cortisol, to help us to deal with the perceived threat. These substances do things like increase blood flow, heart rate, breathing and increase conversion of amino acids and glycogen to glucose for energy.
Our adrenal glands, sitting on top of our kidneys, regulate this response and if it goes on too long or is stimulated artificially by busy full-on lifestyles, we suffer adrenal overload! Not to mention high blood pressure, high blood sugar and diabetes, thrombosis and immune suppression! It can even be a factor in some kinds of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
If this overload is not arrested and dealt with, it can go even further and become adrenal burnout - one of the major causative factors in chronic fatigue syndrome. It’s like our bodies and our adrenals just can’t keep up with us! So - to get more energy it might seem paradoxical that we need to slow down, rest and get plenty of quality sleep.
There are a couple of different phases of the Stress Response ( a term coined by Hans Selye in the 20‘s) and they need to be treated quite differently. Often when we are tired and worn out we automatically reach for the stimulants like sugar and caffeine, but this can actually make it worse.
In the stage where you feel strung out, stressed, not coping, not sleeping well and you feel like everything is just irritating you, you actually want to avoid sugar and caffeine. Your blood sugar is already high and your glands and heart are already overworked. You need calming, soothing, nourishing herbs and minerals. You need to take time out, take in some exercise and fresh air in nature, sleep lots and eat nourishing foods. Good calming nourishing herbs are Valerian, Chamomile, Kava, St Johns Wort, Passionflower, Brahmi, Siberian Ginseng and Withania (also known as Ashwaganda). Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium help to "feed" the nerves.
If you have truly gotten to the burnout stage, you need nourishing certainly, so the minerals, the Siberian Ginseng and Withania are still useful. But this is where you need more tonic herbs and adrenal restoratives. Korean or Panax Ginseng is excellent and herbs like Licorice or Rehmannia are fantastic for the adrenals. Did you know that one of the other main uses for Vitamin C is for supporting the adrenals and that the B vitamins, particularly B5 which assists cortisol production, should be taken.
There is also a South American herb called Maca that is sold in a powdered form. It seems to work primarily as a glandular tonic, assisting the adrenals and reproductive organs in particular. There is not a lot of scientific research on Maca, but it is high in nutrients, fatty acids and sterols and many use it successfully for fatigue, energy and stamina, athletic performance, fertility and hormonal health.
Cells?
The last area that may need to be explored is actual cellular energy production. All the cells in our body, except fat cells, have tiny powerhouses called mitochondria. If these are compromised, often by toxicity, nutrient depletion, inflammation or immune issues, they can be severely underfunctioning.
A substance called Co-enzyme Q10 is one of the major substances these mitochondrias use for making energy. The processing of energy is called the Kreb or Citric Acid cycle in the mitochondria, and other nutrients utilised include Magnesium, Lipoic Acid, Carnitine, Vitamin B3 and omega 3 fatty acids.
These little powerhouses need energy to make energy so booting them up with some of these nutrients can help get you back on track. Buying a lot pf supplements is often hard on the budget and some of these nutrients are a little costly, including CoQ10. However, often if all else has failed and B vitamins and herbs haven’t helped, it is this cellular energy production that needs to be addressed. Daily doses of 200mg CoQ10, 500-600mg of elemental Magnesium and at least 50mgh each of all the B vitamins can often get things going.
As you can see fatigue can be a complex and multi-factorial condition but I firmly believe that if the causative factors can be identified, it can be well managed. Always seek the advice of a Naturopath, Herbalist or Nutritionist, to find out what is best for your individual situation, as we are not all the same. Just because Ginseng helped your friend when she was tired doesn’t mean it will suit you and you need to make sure nothing interferes with any standard medications you may be on.
Written by Sara Hopkins