Fighting Fatigue

The other day, I happened across the Dr. Oz show and they were discussing how to fight fatigue and increase energy. I didn't have time to watch it right then so I recorded it and watched it this morning.

Dr. Oz had a doctor on who discussed how she researched and learned about the best ways to fight fatigue and fix your whole body/system and "get your energy back."

Dr. Jennifer Landa discussed four critical steps that can help you get your energy back right away (my own paraphrased transcript of show. See a video of this Dr. Oz show here):

1. Recognize the connection between gluten and iron. If you are sensitive to gluten ("25% of us may be sensitive to gluten") the gluten attacks the intestinal cells causing inflammation; causing us not to be able to absorb nutrients like iron which can lead to anemia. When you eat you should feel more energized. If you're gluten sensitive, you feel more tired after eating.

Fatigue Fighting Solution: Cut the gluten (do as much as you can to reduce foods with gluten) and add Vitamin C (citrus, peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc) which will help you absorb iron.

2. Increase your Iodine. "Iodine is the building block of thyroid health." "Research shows that 1/3 of the population is not getting enough iodine." Why? As people try to reduce and/or cut salt out of their diet, they no longer get the iodine that has been added to the salt. One way to know if you are deficient in iodine is exhaustion. In addition to that, trouble losing weight and losing your hair - especially the outer third of your eyebrows (!) are thyroid symptoms. This is what really got my attention because I've noticed over the years that my eyebrows have gotten shorter. Now, I have no idea if I really have a iodine deficiency or thyroid problem but I do know that I've been using sea salt for the last few years and never even thought about it not having added iodine like table salt.

Fatigue Fighting Solution: Get more iodine in your diet. Seaweed has a lot of iodine but the easiest way is to make sure you are buying iodized salt. They now have sea salt with added iodine - make sure it says "iodine" on the label. Dr. Oz specified "we're not telling you to add more salt to your diet, we're simply swapping out the kind of salt that you're eating."

3. Recharge Your Liver. The liver is the powerhouse of metabolism in the body. It breaks down everything that we eat and turns it into energy. It also gets rid of toxins in the body. If you have too many toxins in your body it slows down the functions of the liver and makes you sluggish.

Fatigue Fighting Solution: Drink Dandelion Tea twice a day. It helps the liver work more efficiently so you have more energy.

4. Boost Testosterone. For women who have a tenth the amount of testosterone as men, testosterone is critical for our energy, our emotions, helps with "foggy brain" and helps get fat off while maintaining muscle. Stress (cortisol) lowers testosterone levels. To bring testosterone up, you need to figure out how to lower stress and cortisol levels.

Fatigue Fighting Solution: Pranayama Yoga Breathing. Sit on knees or Indian style. Belly breathing - block one nostril with thumb while breathing in and out. Then block other nostril with fingers while breathing in and out. Take nice, deep belly breaths. Do this for 5 minutes a day (twice a day is even better). If you have to, Dr. Oz recommends going to the bathroom where no one will bother you.

Following this, Dr. Oz and Dr. Landa discussed Monk Fruit (Lo Han Guo) - a fruit used as sweetener for centuries in Southeast Asia. Traditional Chinese medicine has been using this to treat diabetes and obesity for centuries. It has a very low glycemic index and stimulates insulin secretion. You can get it in packet form (orange), drops, and even scoopable forms for baking and recipes.

I am always so tired, no matter how much I sleep that I wonder if (hope?) some of these things could really help. I suppose they can't make it any worse so you really haven't got anything to lose.

I'd love to know your thoughts and/or if you try any or all of these Fatigue fighting Solutions...