Signs of chronic fatigue
Do you feel tired when you wake up despite a good night's sleep? Do you have a foggy feeling in your brain that only coffee can dispel? Do you have difficulty carrying out daily activities?
Do you regularly suffer from headaches, digestive disorders, muscle or joint pain, mood or concentration disorders, depression or other?
All these ailments, if they last for more than 6 months, can be signs of chronic fatigue.
Normal fatigue VS abnormal fatigue
Fatigue is normal and physiological. If you've just run a marathon, taken an important exam that required your full attention, or had a busy day at work, it's normal to feel tired.
What is abnormal is when the fatigue persists and is prolonged. Because this fatigue, which qualifies as “chronic”, can have significant repercussions on your entire body.
What causes chronic fatigue?
Chronic fatigue can be the symptom of a physical illness (hormonal, infectious, metabolic, digestive, neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, hepatic, autoimmune, etc.). In this case, the cause must be identified with your attending physician.
But it can also simply be linked to:
- unhealthy lifestyle;
- excessive sedentary lifestyle or, on the contrary, too intense physical activity;
- psychic factors;
- nutritional deficiencies etc.
Professional exhaustion or burnout
In addition to chronic fatigue, there is also the phenomenon of professional exhaustion (or burn-out) which generally evolves insidiously.
It starts with an escalating workload. Then, stress sets in and increases over a long period of time. The people concerned are often tend to neglect their own needs.
After a while, this leads to great physical, nervous and emotional fatigue and a permanent state of stress. Despite effort, performance decreases.. You feel that you no longer want to go to work at all and you may even feel a great inner emptiness and a feeling of uselessness.
Filling up on vitality: it starts on your plate !
Chronic fatigue is often linked to a disruption of these large chemical wheels that turn inside each of our cells, and more specifically our mitochondria, to provide them with all the energy they need, and which scientists call the Krebs cycle.
These large wheels are a series of eight chemical reactions essential to the body. And each of these reactions needs certain basic elements to keep the wheels turning. But a simple grain of sand in the cogs of the Krebs cycle, for example a deficit in a single vitamin or a single trace element, is enough to produce a malfunction. This beautiful mechanism will be slowed down and in the long run, it may result in chronic fatigue and then, if nothing is done, a general exhaustion of the whole body.
Since the body's energy systems depend on vitamins and minerals, it is essential to establish a diet rich in nutrients essential for the production of energy by the mitochondria (the energy powerhouses of our cells) and to correct and prevent any deficiencies that may arise.
Chronic fatigue, exhaustion/burn-out: focus on nutritional therapy
Nutritional therapy offers you to increase the energy yield with fewer empty calories and impoverished in nutrient substances (such as those from ultra-processed and refined products).
These empty calories will be replaced by a diet rich in essential nutrients such as:
- Good carbohydrates which are the first source of essential fuel for the proper functioning of the energy centers of your cells. Opt for slow carbohydrates and avoid fast sugars from the agri-food industry which will quickly and strongly increase blood sugar and contribute to glycemic ups and downs and therefore to repeated pump strokes.
- Good fats such as Omega 3 fatty acids that provide flexibility to our red blood cells which carry oxygen and have to squeeze through the narrow alleys of our capillaries. Like slow carbohydrates, Omega 3 are also a very powerful source of energy. It will naturally be advisable to avoid excess Saturated Fatty Acids and Omega 6 (fatty meat, cheese, butter) and trans (margarine, industrial products) which counteract the positive effects of Omega 3.
Chronic fatigue and dietary supplements
A change in diet alone cannot solve chronic fatigue syndrome.
However, by eating better you will provide your body with the right fuels that will allow it to produce all the energy it needs to fight against exhaustion and overflow with vitality. These same good fuels that will positively impact your daily life, your mood, your well-being and your health.
Supplements should also be used to correct any nutritional deficiencies and boost your energy, such as (but not limited to):
- Magnesium, provides energy which, moreover, improves the management of stress and tension
- Co-enzyme Q10, essential for energy production and antioxidant properties
- Certain B vitamins involved in the conversion of carbohydrates into energy
- Omega 3 as mentioned above
Also, remember to breathe well because oxygen is needed to burn calories!
If you are interested in anti-fatigue nutritional support, do not hesitate to contact me for more information.
