Is coffee your best friend in the morning? Even with 2 cups of coffee, you still feel tired and exhausted yet you push through the day.
By 3.00 pm, you need another cup of coffee and the thought of cooking dinner is daunting at best.
What Causes Chronic Fatigue?
Not Sleeping –
Especially if you get to sleep, okay but then you wake up wide awake. There are many causes for poor sleeping including hormone imbalances especially with cortisol, the hormone that is released when you need blood sugar and have not eaten in a while, i.e. sleeping.
Other causes are imbalances in your neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) including melatonin, histamine, and glutamate. The number one food intolerances that lead to poor sleep is histamine and glutamate intolerances.
Chronic Stress
Not only does worrying and stressing over what is going on in your life going to keep you awake at night, but it will also eventually cause adrenal fatigue which can lead to underactive thyroid and lack of those neurotransmitters, dopamine, and serotonin – those feel-good neurotransmitters. And, serotonin is where melatonin comes from – the neurotransmitter that keeps us asleep.
Recognizing adrenal fatigue is crucial to overcoming chronic fatigue. Start by taking an inventory on what is going on in your life and see it might be time to take a break with mediation, mindful walks, and detoxing baths. To dive a bit deeper – testing for adrenal fatigue and using healing herbs to balance your hormones is easily done with at-home urine test.
Nutritional Deficiencies
The first one that comes to mind with fatigue is iron which leads to iron anemia.
But did you know that B vitamins especially vitamin B6 plays a crucial role in forming red blood cells that provide the oxygen and energy that you need to get through the day or that tennis match?
So you could have plenty of iron but not enough of the other nutrients that promote healthy red blood cell formation leading to fatigue.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction
The mitochondrial is the powerhouse of the cell – every cell in your body has mitochondria! The mitochondria depend on multiple nutrients – B vitamins, CoQ10, and magnesium. Without these nutrients which can be robbed with chronic infections, poor gut health, chronic stress, they cannot provide energy to your body.
Eileen Schutte, MS, CN, FMN – One of my biggest passions is to help clients overcome food intolerances like histamine intolerance and sensitivities so that they can enjoy food again. My other passion is nutrigenomics, speaking to your genes through nutrition with focus on digestive health, autoimmune conditions, and skin health. I hold a master's degree in functional nutrition from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut graduating Summa Cum Laude. After completing my masters I went on to get my certification in Functional Medicine Nutrition, and am a Certified LEAP Therapist (food sensitivities program). In addition, I am pursuing advanced education in Nutrigenomics through the American College of Nutrition.
