What Can Cause a Lack of Energy?

1.  Take a look at your diet.
   The modern typical Western diet is the biggest energy thief of them all! If we know what we need to pay attention to we can start adapting our diets to something that boosts energy rather than sapping our resources.
   • Sugar is the biggest thief of all!
     Sugary foods definitely appeal to us as a quick fix when we feel our energy dropping. So coffee and a do-nut or a chocolate or a soft drink or energy drink seem like an ideal solution. And in the very short term we certainly do feel an energy boost.

     The problem is that a few hours later we are back where we started and need another booster. In this way we set up a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows throughout the day. This has all sorts of negative effects on our health and well being, including insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and eventually diabetes. It also robs our bodies of essential vitamins and minerals needed to keep going until bedtime.

     We need to find alternatives to sugary foods!
     Some suggestions are nuts, apple slices and peanut butter, fruits and raw vegetables, unsweetened yoghurt and berries. As you see they are rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals and fibre – the things our bodies need to function optimally.

   • Processed and refined grains
     Refined grains are pretty well devoid of nutritional value! They no longer provide us with essential fibre, and they also no longer provide many essential oils and other vital nutrients. Essentially, they are a source of easily digested carbohydrate which is immediately converted into sugar. And we already know why that’s a problem.

     As for processed foods, there probably are some which are acceptable, but most are not. Many are in fact low in essential nutrients and fibre. But worse still is everything that is added to the mix. They contain added sugars and other refined carbohydrates, numerous artificial ingredients including chemical flavourants, preservatives, colourants and texturing agents to name a few.

     Then there are the health problems related to these kinds of foods: heart disease, elevated cholesterol levels, hypertension (raised blood pressure), diabetes, obesity , some cancers and even depression.

   • Fast and fried foods
     These foods are generally high is trans fats which are damaging to our health in many ways. In general, trans fats are solid, rather than fluid. Our body needs certain essential fluid oils as structural building blocks of membranes. If these are in short supply it will use the trans fats instead, and the cell membranes will be inflexible and unable to perform their essential functions of controlling what enters the cells and how much, and what leaves, including waste material. Simply put, sick membranes lead to sick cells which lead to sick people.

     The foods are also generally of poor quality, with little nutritional value, and indeed, the heated, oxidised oils are toxic to our systems. In fact, they are thought to be an underlying factor in developing dread diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

   • Coffee
     We often use coffee in the same way as we use sugary treats – to get a quick energy boost. It’s the caffeine that helps here – as well as all the sugar we tend to add to the drink! As with sugar, it does not last long and then we repeat the process, all the while ignoring the body’s real need, which is good nutritious food that supplies all the minerals, vitamins and other goodies that it has to have on board to product our energy.
   • Eating too few calories
     Yes, strange as it may seem, if we eat too little we can’t produce the energy we require.
     And going hand in hand with getting too few calories is the fact that we are getting to few of the other essential nutrients at the same time.
2. Stress
   There are many different things that contribute to our stress levels. We need to identify them and then try and deal with them if we want to feel well and energetic. Common areas of stress are our diets, emotional issues, environmental factors and even physical stress! Yes, it is possible to do too much exercise! When we are stressed we are constantly in fight or flight mode and that puts immense strain on our adrenal glands and also pitches us into a state of chronic inflammation. This situation in turn devours our nutrients and we are unable to do the normal functions properly, energy production being one of these.

    

3. Late bedtimes and too little sleep
   Sleep is an important part of our health regime! It is when the brain clears out all the debris of the day – and fixes the circuitry of new information that we have learned. It is also when the adrenal glands get to rest and reboot. Interestingly, the best times for the adrenals to regenerate are between 10pm and 2am so it’s an important time to be asleep! Depleted adrenal glands lead to adrenal fatigue and eventually burnout. The adrenal glands are responsible for normal energy production, muscle, bone and joint health, immune health, depression and more!

    

4. Toxic environment
   We are constantly being exposed to toxins – from a poor, processed diet to our cleaning products, personal care products and also to pesticides, herbicides and other poisons that exist in our environment. When these build up in our bodies our liver is placed under strain and our ability to produce sufficient energy for our needs is compromised. We need to make decisions all the time as to what we can control in our environment – and then take the necessary measures to do so. Living clean and green is vital to our well-being.

And a regular detox is a great idea too to help the process along!

For the past 30 years, ever since I began paying attention, it has become clear to me that it is pretty well impossible to get all the nutrients we need, in sufficient quantities, to stay really healthy. So, unless you have the time and energy and inclination to focus on what you feed yourself and your family three times a day, and make sure that all the boxes are ticked, I strongly recommend that you consider good, whole-food supplementation.

If you’d like to chat to me about that I am available, and would love to make contact.

084 506 3643

andre.positiveoptions@gmail.com

If that seems like too much effort you can make a really good start here, for the grown-ups:

https://neolifeafrica.com/positiveoptions/shop/coreproducts

And here for your kids:
https://neolifeafrica.com/positiveoptions/shop/childrenshealth