Fatigue – Is it related to your diet?

All too often, we accept fatigue as a side effect of our busy lives. Work commitments, family responsibilities and spreading ourselves too thin can leave us feeling both mentally and physically exhausted, particularly if we don’t have much time to recharge our batteries. While there’s no denying the demands placed on us can zap our energy levels, it’s worth considering the effect our diet can have too. The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ is well known for a reason; the food we put into our bodies and our eating habits can make us feel as fatigued as we can be energised. Fatigue is a symptom of food intolerance. If you’d like to learn more about your diet and how it can boost your energy, read below!

Not enough iron

If your diet doesn’t contain enough iron, it can have a big impact on your wellbeing because your body can’t circulate enough oxygen to fuel its cells. Although tiredness is the most common symptom of an iron deficiency, other symptoms to look out for include breathlessness, pale skin, feeling weak and experiencing heart palpitations. If your diet is typically low in iron, it’s worth booking an appointment with your GP because they may send you for a blood test to measure your ferritin levels. In the meantime, try increasing your intake of iron-rich foods such as red meat, lentils and beans, and dark green veggies like spinach, broccoli and kale.

Avoiding sugar

As much as we’re often made to think of sugar as the enemy, our bodies need sugar to function. This is because sugar is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in many foods and is used to supply glucose to the brain and provide energy to cells around the body. It goes without saying that eating too many products with added sugar can have adverse effects on your health. Still, sugar can also occur naturally in food and drinks, along with other essential nutrients. An apple, for example, is full of vitamin C and contains approximately 13g of sugar, making it a better energy source than coffee. So don’t be fooled into thinking you need a sugar-free diet to stay healthy. Avoiding it altogether will leave you feeling tired, and you could miss out on essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to work correctly.

Big gaps between meals

Although the food we put into our bodies directly impacts our energy levels and overall health, it’s also worth looking at the eating patterns we adopt, and the amount of time between our meals. As a rule, going more than four hours between meals can cause blood sugar levels to dip and fatigue to kick in. To keep energy levels up, it’s a good idea too much on healthy snacks such as fruit, veggies and mixed nuts that are also full of fibre. Apple and peanut butter or carrots with hummus are perfect for snacking on during the day and will stop you from feeling tired and sluggish if your dinner is a few hours away. A banana is also good for an energy boost and provides your body with enough glucose to be productive without the sugar crash you’ll get from munching on a chocolate bar.

Protein to start the day

If you’ve got into the habit of missing out on breakfast and grabbing a cup of coffee instead, you’ll likely feel low on energy as the day progresses. Mid-morning fatigue is very common, and if it’s affecting you, it’s a good idea to re-consider the food you consume in the morning (or begin to eat some if you skip breakfast completely!) Porridge with fruit, smoothies made with yoghurt, peanut butter on wholewheat toast and poached eggs all contain protein that will help to balance your blood sugar and slowly release energy throughout the morning. As well as keeping fatigue at bay, eating a protein-packed breakfast will help to keep your tummy full and make you less tempted to reach for sugary treats.

Fatigue is a food intolerance symptom – take an intolerance test to find out what is causing it

If you’d like to learn more about our intolerance tests and how they can improve your health and energy levels, please email [email protected] or fill out the contact form on our website.