Introduction: Do you often find yourself feeling exhausted, despite getting a full night's sleep? Does fatigue seem to be a constant companion, making daily tasks feel like uphill battles? You're not alone. Many of us struggle with tiredness, but it's essential to understand that there can be various underlying causes. Today in part one of this series, we'll delve into the world of tiredness, exhaustion, and a more severe condition known as adrenal fatigue

Let's start by unraveling the mystery behind the many causes of tiredness.



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Symptoms of Fatigue:

This might sound silly but there’s more to worry about if you suffer from fatigue than just being a little tired. Fatigue will affect your whole body, causing physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive problems.

1.     Daily Productivity: Fatigue can significantly reduce a person's ability to concentrate and perform tasks efficiently. Simple daily activities, such as working, studying, or even household chores, become more challenging and time-consuming. This can lead to decreased productivity and increased frustration.

2.     Physical Function: Fatigue often manifests as physical weakness and low energy levels. This can make it difficult to engage in physical activities, exercise, or even take a leisurely walk. Reduced physical function can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, which, over time, can contribute to weight gain and overall decreased health.

3.     Mental Health: Persistent fatigue can take a toll on mental health. It can lead to mood swings, irritability, and increased stress and anxiety. This, in turn, can strain relationships, as those experiencing fatigue may have less patience and lower tolerance for stressors.

4.     Social Life: Fatigue can limit a person's ability to socialize and enjoy leisure activities. They may decline invitations to social events, miss out on quality time with friends and family, and become more isolated. This social withdrawal can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression.

5.     Quality of Sleep: Paradoxically, fatigue doesn't always guarantee restful sleep. Some individuals with fatigue may struggle with insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns. This results in a vicious cycle where inadequate sleep exacerbates fatigue, further impacting daily life.

6.     Nutrition: Fatigue can affect eating habits. Some people turn to sugary or highly processed foods for quick energy boosts, which can lead to poor dietary choices and weight gain. In contrast, others may lose their appetite, leading to inadequate nutrition.

7.     Responsibilities: Meeting family, work, and household responsibilities can become overwhelming when fatigue is a constant companion. Missing deadlines, neglecting duties, or feeling unable to provide adequate care for loved ones can lead to guilt and additional stress.

8.     Emotional Fulfillment: Fatigue can dampen a person's ability to experience joy and pleasure. Hobbies, interests, and activities that once brought happiness may lose their appeal. Life can begin to feel monotonous and devoid of passion.

9.     Self-Esteem: Persistent fatigue can erode self-esteem. Feeling unable to keep up with daily life and responsibilities can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. This, in turn, can negatively impact a person's overall self-image and confidence.

10. Long-Term Health: Chronic fatigue, if left unaddressed, can have long-term health consequences. It can contribute to the development of conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, it can weaken the immune system, making the body more susceptible to infections and illness.

Understanding the Causes of Fatigue:

1. Poor Dietary Choices: One common culprit behind persistent fatigue is our diet. The food we eat directly impacts our energy levels. Consuming a diet high in processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats can leave us feeling sluggish and drained.

These foods are typically the most processed foods with nutrients lost in processing, baking, or packaging. Therefore, a diet lacking sufficient lean protein, and lots of chewy and crunchy vegetables that contain fiber will lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It's there, nutritional deficiencies that can play a significant role in tiredness.

2. Inflammatory Foods and Nutrient Absorption: Consuming a diet high in inflammatory foods can also inhibit nutrient absorption. For most people common foods like dairy, eggs, and wheat cause an irritation of the stomach lining. Since these are foods that are eaten frequently the gut never has a chance to heal. This can lead to chronic inflammation, which will cause symptoms such as an acidic stomach, heartburn, belching, bloating soon after eating, and antacid use. Chronic inflammation in the gut will disrupt your body's ability to extract essential nutrients from food. Without these necessary vitamins and minerals, needed for the running and maintenance of our body, you will be left feeling fatigued.

3. Bloat and Poor Digestion: Bloating and poor digestion can not only hinder nutrient absorption, leading to fatigue but it is an important sign that you have nutrient malabsorption. Any digestive symptoms is a two-edged sword, making it necessary to find the cause but also the effect. Too much fat in the diet and poor digestion, due to not enough gastric acid or enzymes can cause bloating. However, the effect of bloating will lead to poor digestion and insufficient nutrient absorption further down the digestive tract. That's why with the seemingly benign digestive symptoms like bloat, gas, and constipation it's so important to find the cause. If you suffer from any digestive symptom, we need to know the cause and effect.

When your digestive system isn't functioning optimally, you may not absorb essential vitamins and minerals efficiently, even if you're eating the best food. This will cause you to be tired and fatigued.

4. Hormonal Imbalances and Iron Deficiency: Hormones have a profound influence on your energy. For women, of any age, hormonal fluctuations, affecting their cycle can lead to iron deficiency, which in turn contributes to fatigue. It's essential to address these imbalances for lasting energy.

I've found in many of my perimenopause and postmenopausal clients, iron deficiency. These women had terrible menstrual cycles earlier in life. Unfortunately, iron deficiency is not commonly checked for in postmenopausal women.

These women are suffering senselessly. These types of case histories break my heart and why it's important to know what's in your blood (and what's not there) is the key to living energetically in a strong healthy body. Without testing there's only guessing.

Menopausal hormone imbalances especially involving progesterone and estrogen will cause hot flashes, night sweats, and poor sleep which lead to fatigue and irritability.

In relation to progesterone and estrogen, they should never be taken without the other. I never advise only taking progesterone for fem-meno symptoms.

5. The Burden of Excess Weight: Carrying excess weight can feel like lugging around a heavy backpack or a small child. It's exhausting. The added strain on your body can leave you perpetually tired. Shedding those extra pounds can make a world of difference in your energy levels.

Carrying as little as an extra fifteen pounds will put a greater demand on your knee and hip joints, as well as increase back pain and muscular fatigue.

If you're carrying laundry up and down the steps and carrying extra weight you understand how tiring that can be after a couple of trips up and down but losing weight will improve your fatigue and give your overall health a boost too!

6. Medication-Related Nutrient Depletion: I want to inform you that certain medications, such as antacids and diuretics, can block nutrient absorption and cause the loss of minerals through urine. It's crucial to be aware of these potential side effects and explore alternatives if necessary.

Antacids, including Tums, Mylanta, Pepto-Bismol and medications such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Pepcid alter the acidic environment of the stomach and small intestine needed to absorb nutrients, especially minerals. It's not uncommon when I interpret labs preventively that I find vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and iodine deficient.

If you feel you need to continue on these medications, it's best to have a nutritional understanding of their effects on your body, especially mineral status. Healthy mineral levels are needed for persons with hypothyroidism, A-fib, osteopenia, osteoporosis, and those on these stomach-altering medications.

7. Underlying Conditions: Certain underlying health conditions are often accompanied by fatigue.

a. Celiac Disease: Individuals with celiac disease often struggle with nutrient absorption due to damage to the small intestine. This condition can lead to fatigue and a range of other symptoms.

b. Gallbladder Disease: Gallbladder issues can affect digestion and nutrient absorption, contributing to fatigue and discomfort.

c. B12 deficiency: In my experience, all B vitamins are necessary in balanced proportions to support mitochondria and energy production. Most people focus only on B12 but should be taking a balanced B vitamin and a B12 lozenge since B12 isn't absorbed well in the stomach. Also, most B12 comes from animal protein sources so vegans and vegetarians should definitely have their B vitamin and B12 levels checked periodically.

8. Hormonal Conditions: Hormone imbalances and poor receptor health can be a cause of fatigue.

a. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: An autoimmune thyroid condition like Hashimoto's can disrupt hormone production and lead to hypothyroidism, causing fatigue and other symptoms.

b. Hypothyroidism: An underactive thyroid can slow down metabolism and energy production, resulting in persistent fatigue.

c. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Hormonal imbalances associated with PCOS can lead to fatigue among other symptoms, such as insulin resistance.

d. Insulin Resistance (IR): Another hormone-related cause of fatigue and tiredness is insulin resistance. It occurs when your body doesn't respond properly to insulin, which is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin helps your body use glucose from carbohydrates in food for energy and keeps blood sugar levels under control. When you have IR, too much glucose builds up in your bloodstream because it's not being used effectively, which can zap your energy levels.

e. Diabetes: Diabetics have too little insulin production which can cause fatigue. The body has to work overtime to get the blood sugar into cells, so it uses up much of your energy stores.

9. Adrenal Fatigue - Chronic Exhaustion: While many experience occasional tiredness, some face a more severe form known as adrenal fatigue. This condition is often the result of prolonged exposure to stressors such as childhood trauma, unresolved relationship issues, poor health, caregiving, or the loss of a loved one. It leads to the depletion of essential hormones like cortisol and DHEA, leaving you feeling utterly drained.

As the adrenal hormones get depleted over time symptoms become more severe and last longer. If you have adrenal fatigue, it’s important to give us a call so we can get the specialized testing you need to help you heal your body and mind.

Case History: A busy working woman in her late 40s. She juggles a demanding job, takes care of her family, and manages a household. Over the years, the stress has built up, she's gained some weight and now she's gaining it faster but not eating more or differently.  She notices a constant sense of fatigue. When I spoke with her, and she was obviously overwhelmed and as we talked further a previous relationship and being treated poorly throughout her life became her focus.  I knew she had suffered lifelong emotional stressors that had now accumulated, adding to her current stressors.  I ordered specialized hormonal testing and found she was in a state of adrenal fatigue.  It was such a relief for her to know that there was something wrong and that it wasn't, "in my head."  This woman represents countless individuals who may be battling similar challenges.

The Path Forward: Feeling tired all the time shouldn't be the norm. It's a signal that something isn't quite right in our bodies. In the upcoming posts in this series, we'll explore practical steps to address these issues. From improving your nutrition to managing stress and hormonal imbalances, we'll guide you on the path to renewed energy.

Take the 10-Days to Boundless Energy Quiz: Before we continue this journey, we encourage you to take our "10-Days to Boundless Energy Quiz,” and get instant insights into the causes of your fatigue.

Don't let tiredness hold you back; it's time to discover boundless energy.