Dr Lark.com: Fatigue Nutrition

June 13, 2004

Fatigue & Low Energy

The Anti-Fatigue Diet

What you put in your body plays a huge role in

how it supports you in what you do. 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. Briefly, here’s how the process works:

Proteins are broken down into amino acids, complex

carbohydrates become simple sugars, and fats are turned into fatty

acids. For these conversions to occur, food is acted on by stomach

acid, hormones, pancreatic enzymes, and fat emulsifiers, then reabsorbed

from your digestive tract through your blood and circulated to your

cells. If you’re already drained of energy, eating foods that add

to your acid load and require a great deal of energy just to break

them down adds no value.

When you begin to alter your eating patterns for

a healthier diet, try these three tips:

• Strive to eliminate dairy and avoid

  wheat products.

• Ease your digestion by eating

  right for your pH type.

• Reduce caffeine consumption.

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, all components

of dairy products—fat, protein, and milk sugar—are hard

to digest. The saturated fat in dairy products not only contributes

to fatigue and depression, but to other more serious illnesses as

well. Dairy foods also stimulate the production of short-lived hormone-like

chemicals called series-2 prostaglandins. (See red meats section

below.) And finally, the amino acid tryptophan in milk has a sedative

effect that can 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. Use soy cheese instead of cow’s milk

cheese, and flaxseed oil or almond butter instead of milk-fat butter

on whole grain muffins or buckwheat pancakes.

Reduce Caffeine Consumption

Coffee, black tea, sodas, and chocolate—the very drinks we

use to pick us up in the afternoon or get us going in the morning—are

poison for women experiencing fatigue. While caffeine provides a

brief burst of energy, it’s at a tremendous cost. Caffeine actually

depletes energy and physical reserves by stressing the nervous system

and exhausting adrenal glands. Ultimately it increases fatigue and

causes 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, such as Postum. If you’re a chocolate lover, switch

to carob. Also drink lots of water, which neutralizes acidity.

Read More on Fatigue & Low Energy:

Getting Started

Acid Overload

Stress Can Wear You Out

Conquering Fatigue: A True Tale

Keep it SIMPLE Energy tip — Chamomile

Tea

Nutritional Therapies

Anti-Fatigue Diet

Nutrients for Boosting Energy

Mighty Minerals that Fight Fatigue

Foods Rich in Potassium and Magnesium

Complementary Therapies

Energizing Soup Recipes

Acupressure for Fatigue Relief