August 28, 2008

Many patients have come to me complaining of fatigue—feeling “run down”, or “too tired to do it all.” Fatigue isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that your body is stressed beyond its natural limits, and this is what drains your energy. That’s because stress affects your adrenal glands, hormones, and even the acid-alkaline balance in your body—making you feel worn out.

The main thing to realize is that you can combat fatigue and your everyday energy will be restored.

One of the Greatest Energy Drains Faced by Women

Many factors can contribute to fatigue, but stress is one of the most common. And your body simply does not know the difference between “good stress”—like a promotion—or the typical bad stresses we’re all familiar with. It responds exactly the same to both types, draining your physical and mental energy.

Plus, it’s not just the big stresses that can wear you out. Even something as little as getting caught in traffic on the way to a doctor’s appointment can cause a stress response inside your body. And when you pile that on top of rushing to make dinner, worrying about all the things you need to get done, and the stress of finding five minutes for yourself, it’s no wonder you’re exhausted.

And I want to caution you against doing what many of us do—reaching for coffee, soda, or a candy bar. As you probably know, these “solutions” will always backfire, giving you a quick burst of energy followed by and even deeper slump.

Stress Taxes Your Adrenal Glands — Leaving You Exhausted and Irritable

Your body has its own “stress management department”—called your adrenal glands. When you’re worried and tense, your adrenal glands produce three neurotransmitters (or stress-managing chemicals): epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. In the right amounts, these chemicals will support your body and enable it to remain in good health.

But when you’re under any type of stress (good or bad) on a regular basis, as most of us are, your adrenal glands become over-taxed. Then, instead of protecting you from stress, they produce too much of these chemicals—leaving you exhausted, mentally drained, and irritable. The over production of stress chemicals also increases pre-menopausal and menopausal symptoms.

To learn more about Dr. Lark’s top recommendation for energy, click here.

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Re-Energize Your Entire Body by Giving It the Nutrients It Needs to Stay in Balance

Over the years, I’ve seen so many patients who are suffering from exhaustion that I put together a “five-step plan” that will help restore your energy.

The good news is, this isn’t like another “to do” list. Even better, there are some recent nutritional breakthroughs that have made it even more effective. When you take these new nutrients, you could feel a difference in your physical and mental energy almost immediately—or it may take a few days or weeks for some women. But stick with it, because I believe you will feel a difference.

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Nutrients for Boosting Energy

These wonderful nutrients promote your everyday energy.

In addition, you may try taking 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda or potassium bicarbonate mixed in spring water every two to four hours to neutralize acidic waste products within the body and restore your energy. If you have a hard time finding potassium bicarbonate, I recommend Alka-Aid (a potassium and sodium bicarbonate blend available at most drug stores). You can find all of these nutrients in Daily Balance Energy Vitalizer.

This formula gives you a simple, complete solution for helping to recharge your energy and vitality.

To learn more about Dr. Lark’s top recommendation for energy, click here.

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The Anti-Fatigue Diet

Your diet is a critical player when battling fatigue. Every time you put food in your mouth, you either nourish and support your body, or gum it up and damage it with hard-to-digest foodstuffs and toxic additives. Food must be digested before you can extract energy from it, and digestion takes a lot of energy.

Try these three diet tips to help boost your energy:

Keep a journal of any new health endeavor so that you have a record of what you did and what that measure accomplished for you.

Eliminate Dairy Products

Don't believe industry hype. Dairy products contain a type of protein called casein that is difficult to digest. In fact, most components of dairy products—fat, protein, and milk sugar—are hard to digest. The saturated fat in dairy products not only contributes to fatigue, but to other more serious illnesses as well. And, the amino acid tryptophan in milk has a sedative effect that may increase fatigue.

You don't need to depend on dairy products, even for calcium. There's an abundance of foods that are as good as, or better than, dairy for meeting calcium needs—including beans, peas, soybeans, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and green leafy vegetables. Certain fruits such as raisins, blackberries, and bananas are excellent sources of calcium and magnesium.

When following recipes that call for milk, substitute with soy milk, potato milk, or nut milk, available at grocery stores everywhere. Soy milk is particularly good and comes in many flavors. Many nondairy milks are good sources of calcium and can be used for drinking, eating, or baking.

Use soy cheese instead of cow's milk cheese. It is lower in fat and salt, and the fat that it does contain is not saturated. You can use soy cheese as the perfect cheese substitute in sandwiches, salads, pizzas, lasagnas, and casseroles.

Flaxseed oil or almond butter are the best substitutes for milk-fat butter. Flaxseed oil, in particular, is delicious on anything you’d normally top with butter—toast, rice, popcorn, or steamed vegetables. It is a rich, golden oil that looks and tastes quite a bit like butter.

Reduce Caffeine Consumption

While your doctor may say it’s okay to drink one cup of coffee or one soda per day, that rule doesn't apply once you start experiencing fatigue. Caffeine actually depletes energy and physical reserves by stressing the nervous system and exhausting adrenal glands. Ultimately it increases fatigue and may cause anxiety, irritability, jitteriness, and sleeplessness.

Instead, try herbal teas, such as peppermint, ginger, and chamomile, that naturally boost energy and soothe anxiety and irritability. If you like tea sweetened, use honey. To wean yourself from coffee, switch to decaffeinated, then to a coffee-like substitute made from grain. If you're a chocolate lover, switch to carob. Also drink lots of water, which neutralizes acidity.

There are very real reasons why you’re feeling fatigued—and there are nutrients that can significantly boost your everyday energy, both physically and mentally. You can stop feeling exhausted, moody, and worn out.

To learn more about Dr. Lark’s top recommendation for energy, click here.

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2 cups water
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon peppermint leaves
1 teaspoon honey (if desired)

Bring water to a boil. Add ginger and peppermint to water and stir. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add sweetener if desired.

This drink is an excellent coffee substitute. Both ginger and peppermint are stimulating herbs that can help raise your energy level: ginger also helps relieve digestive problems, while peppermint may help quiet muscle spasms.

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