Now that you've read the previous blogs on being 'tired all the time' (TATT), hopefully they've shed some light on the how and the why. In this blog we look at what YOU can do about it to make sure you're not left stranded in the cul-de-sac of TATT and low-grade inflammation (LGI). This is where you make your U-turn and get back on the road to resilience and health!
Review the following and see which may be missing from your life. Try incorporating one or two to begin with and then build up to bringing in the rest:
- Ensure you get 6-8 hours quality sleep every night. Men need a bit less sleep than women do, but still, 6 hours is on the low side. Too much sleep, i.e. over 9 hours, can be just as bad as too little sleep, so aim for the right amount. You can't scrimp all week and then expect one lie-in at the weekend to compensate.
- Remember that we're built for famine and not for feast - our protective mechanisms in the body turn on with fasting and off if we stuff ourselves continuously through the day. We just don't need as much food as we've been led to believe we need. Streamline your eating to 3 good, quality, meals a day and cut out the snacks. You can balance your blood sugar much more effectively by cutting out the starchy refined carbs and upping your protein and healthy fat levels. Our cell walls are made up of protein and good fats, so if they're not in our diet in sufficient quantity, then every cell in the body suffers. A no-carb protein like NuZest's Clean Lean Protein can be very useful as an on-the-go shake. Mix it with half coconut milk and half water to make you feel fuller for longer. Take a look at this food plate by the Alliance for Natural Health International, it's been designed to address LGI and bring a return to metabolic resilience.
- Use extra virgin olive oil on your salads and veggies. It contains an active ingredient called hydroxytyrosol, which is not only one of the most powerful antioxidants known to man, but it also helps create new mitrochondria the energy powerhouses in your cells. If you're suffering from TATT, your mitochondria need a lot of TLC and as many new buddies as you can make!
- Guess what? Exercise also helps make new mitochondria, but don't overdo it if you're TATT. When you feel like it, get out and do what you can. Being in nature is way better for your body than being indoors so swap the treadmill for the forest and get your bare feet on the ground as much as you can, for as long as you can.
- Take honest and truthful stock of your emotional life. If you're carrying a 'backpack' full of sorrows, regrets or fears you need to lighten the load so that your immune system knows the sabre-toothed tiger has been vanquished (see blog 2 ) and it can stand down. Emotional pain, stress and anxiety have the same effect on our immune systems as an infection. It's a wound of a different kind, but it still needs healing so that our 'engine' doesn't have to idle so high. Look into relaxation and mindfulness techniques or you may want to see a practitioner for some more focused support.
- The same can be said for having a head full of toxic, negative, thoughts and being surrounded by people that don't feed you with the right positive energy. If this resonates with you then it's time to clean house, in more ways than one.
- As a rule it's always food first. Get your nutrition right and you body will reward you. If you're suffering with TATT you can be sure that you'll have a level of low-grade inflammation running in the background, so it's best not to fuel the fire anymore. Make a pact with yourself that you're going to cut out the two main food allergens that can drive inflammation and autoimmune conditions - gluten and dairy - for at least 8 weeks, 12 or more is better. You're meant to be off starchy, refined carbs anyway so the gluten shouldn't be such a problem!
- Last, but absolutely not least, add in a targeted body-ready, food matrix supplement like Good Green Stuff to your daily regime. Did you know that Good Green Stuff has been formulated to feed into our energy cascade and support all 12-body systems, as well as being chock-full of powerful antioxidants?
