Fatigue:
This is one of the most common complaints of what my patients come in with. They often see their family doctor and are told that nothing is wrong in their labs and there isn’t any clinical reason to why they are tired.
Here are a few things to consider when you do feel tired:
- Your iron level – Optimal ferritin levels are around 60-80ng/mL. When your ferritin is around 12 or even lower, this means that you have been deficient in iron for many months. The most typical reasons for low iron are heavy periods, lack of iron in diet or also problems with absorption. Supplementing with iron could make a big difference in energy but can take many months of taking iron to bring up those stores to optimal.
- B12 levels – B12 is so important for many metabolic processes in the body and can help improve mood, support the nervous system and also help with energy. If we have issues with absorption (such as reflux) or do not eat many foods high in B12, this could also be a contributing factor to low energy.
- Nutrition – I find most people struggle to incorporate enough protein in their diet. When they eat carbohydrates as snacks or even for most meals, this causes rises in our blood sugar that can causes crashes during the day. It is so important to incorporate protein at every meal and even our snacks to keep our blood sugar more level
- Chronic Stress – This one is the can play a big role and can also affect other hormones including your thyroid and also your reproductive hormones. The feelings of stress can manifest itself as chronic fatigue, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, poor immunity, depression and also physical symptoms such palpitations, headaches and dizziness. All of these symptoms can be warning signs for your take a break and identify what your stressors may be.
Knowing why you are tired and how to fix this can be complex in addressing all of these symptoms. Just know that there are many supportive ways to get to the root of your fatigue naturally. Many natural therapies such as vitamins, herbs and supplements can make a marked improvement in energy and get you back on track!
