Fatigue is one of the most common reasons that people visit their doctors. Many of the contributing factors include: stress, depression, anemia, allergies, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, weight gain, caffeine and lack of sleep. Whatever the fatiguing factors may be there’s one ingredient that underlies most cases – poor nutrition. One important aspect of beating most cases of fatigue is giving your diet a good ‘fall’ cleanup by tossing old energy-robbing foods and bringing in a fresh set of energizing foods.Nutritional tips to pump up your declining energy levels
Iron: Anemia, which is often caused by iron deficiency and usually causes fatigue in women of all ages. Women tend to shy away from iron-rich foods, so they have depleted iron stores, says Susan M Lark, M.D. in her book Chronic Fatigue and Tiredness. Without iron, red blood cells can’t do their job – transporting oxygen to all the places it needs to go in the body. The result is fatigue.
Excellent sources of iron from non meat sources include Cream of Wheat, tofu and quinoa (a grain that can be cooked like rice).
Supplement options: Choose a nonheme iron supplement or 500 milligram capsules of hydrolyzed (liquid) liver extract a day, says Michael T. Murry, N.D.
Caffeine Craze: Too much coffee, soda or energy drinks may be the cause of your energy loss. Caffeine steals B vitamins from the body and interferes with the absorption of essential minerals like iron. Without sufficient amount of B vitamins, your body has a tough time converting the nutrients from your food into energy. Plus the more chronic your caffeine consumption becomes so does the energy dips.
If you can’t eliminate caffeine from your diet completely try limiting your consumption by consuming only 1-2 cups of coffee or switching to tea. That’s about 300 milligrams of caffeine per day.
Supplement options: Choose a B-complex vitamin supplement that will help keep energy levels naturally stable throughout the day.
The Sweetest Pair: Nothing goes better with a cup of coffee than a crumble coffee cake – right? Unfortunately, sugar, like caffeine, provides the body with a false sense of energy. Sugar can also deplete your B-vitamins and essential minerals, which increases anxiety, forgetfulness and irritability. Sugar has also shown to decrease energy and impair your immune system.
Instead reach for high fiber packed foods like dried fruit (1/2 cup), nuts (1/4 cup) or yogurt (satisfy that sweet tooth).
Nutrients Vital For Life & Energy
It’s no secret, our food is less nourishing than in past decades, we over eat and we don’t exercise enough. Add to the mix our high stress lifestyles, polluted environment and overly medicated society and our bodies become depleted of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, essential proteins, good carbs and fatty acids. Supplementing is key to maintaining a healthy body both inside and out!
Most experts recommend that people with fatigue issues take a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Make sure you have a healthy B-complex vitamin for healthy brain function and energy regulation. Don’t forget your beta-carotene, a potent antioxidant that sweeps up free radicals, keeping the body healthy and with loads of energy.
To see Sequence XO’s supplement line please visit our website at www.spanutrition.com.
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