“I see so many clients who suffer from fatigue. I’ve been there myself and it’s becoming almost too common with adults these days. In fact, fatigue is one of the top health issues I see clients about in clinic, along with weight loss and gut health issues.
With our face-passed busy lifestyle, never-ending to-do lists, long hours at work, families to look after, house chores to keep on top of, errands to run, family/friends to catch up with the lists never ends. It’s easy to put ourselves at the bottom of the list, but what happens if you get sick, run down, get adrenal fatigue and can’t get out of bed for weeks or months? Who will run the show?
Yes, fatigue is very common, but it doesn’t mean it’s normal, especially if it’s not relieved by a good night’s rest. There is a difference between feeling tired and being fatigued. Tired is temporary, and can be relieved from sleep and some r &r. However, feeling tired all day every day which isn’t relieved with sleep and some r & r, that’s no longer temporary.
In order to perform at your best every single day whether that’s at work, at the gym, keeping up with the kids and doing everything you want to do you need to look after #1, YOURSELF!
As a holistic nutritionist, I consider all aspects of my clients lives (sleep habits, exercise habits, stress levels, functions of body systems), but one of the biggest things I consider is diet. What is my client eating, what nutrients are they getting, are they getting the right nutrients, what’s missing from their diet?”
What can cause fatigue
Iron deficiency
B12 deficiency
Blood sugar imbalances
Lack of sleep
Underactive thyroid
Nutrient deficiencies
Over exercising
Under exercising
Mitochondria dysfunction
Gut issues
Long-term stress
Immune system dysregulation
Unhealthy eating habits – food restrictions
Food sensitives
Regular use of alcohol or drugs
As you can see there are numerous things to consider when it comes to fatigue, which is why when addressing this issue diet is a crucial place to start as it plays a huge role in fatigue. Poor dietary choices can affect so almost all of the above concerns.
Foods to reduce to improve fatigue:
Processed and refined foods
Caffeine (yes, it can actually do harm sometime when fatigued)
High sugar foods
Energy drinks
Foods to increase to improve fatigue:
Fresh vegetables and fruit
Good quality protein – organic meat, eggs, fish, beans, legumes, tempeh, hemp hearts
Healthy fats – nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut milk/cream, yoghurt, cheese, olive oil
Whole grain carbohydrates – oats, brown rice, quinoa, millet, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin
How can nutritional medicine help?
As a registered clinical nutritionist, Natalie can help you get to the root cause of your fatigue. She can help you work out what nutrients are missing from your diet and together we can implement some dietary and lifestyle changes to suit your needs. There are also specific supplements which can help beat fatigue and can be extremely useful when wanting to feel better faster. You can discuss this option and if there any specific supplements necessary for you during your consult (if you are interested).
If you’re at that point, where you’ve tried it all, don’t want to say any more excuses, or are overwhelmed and confused with all the information out there please get in touch with Natalie she’ll help you get back to being your energetic, happy self. You deserve to feel good!