Do you fall out of bed, crash around 3pm, and sofa snooze before supper? Registered nutritionist Jackie Lynch and author of Va Va Voom* explains how you can put the spring back into your step.
There seems to be something of a low-energy epidemic going on in the UK; so much so, that TATT (tired all the time) has become a popular shorthand amongst doctors, often used to describe patients who consistently complain of tiredness when tests reveal no apparent medical cause.
In my nutrition clinic, I constantly see people who simply put up with their fatigue as if it’s completely normal to be dragging themselves out of bed in the morning; kick-starting themselves with coffee; wilting at their work-station; struggling with the dreaded mid-afternoon slump and snoozing in front of the TV in the evening. If they think about it at all, they usually put it down to their age and a busy life, but whether they’re 29 or 69, in most cases diet and lifestyle are the main culprits.
Yet it doesn’t have to be this way, because it really is possible to make a big difference to energy levels in a very short space of time with the right nutrition and lifestyle. We already hold the key to our energy ignition — we just need to know how to switch it on and keep the engine running effectively.
In my clinic, I have seen different types of tiredness, so it was important for me to explore how tiredness can vary. In Va Va Voom, readers can take quizzes to help discover their energy weak point: lack of strength and stamina; energy highs and lows; loss of focus and concentration; or a constant feeling of exhaustion are all different ways that people experience fatigue. Understanding the nature of your tiredness is the first step to finding the best diet and lifestyle solution.
In my clinical experience, there are four key areas that most commonly contribute to lack of energy, once medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, coeliac disease or iron deficiency anaemia have all been ruled out. The principles behind my 10-day energy diet relate to these four areas:
This story is from the Spring 2018 edition of Optimum Nutrition.
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This story is from the Spring 2018 edition of Optimum Nutrition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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