Fuel the Engine: Energizing through Hormones and Nutrients
Fatigue is caused by imbalances in each area of our five point model: hormones, nutrients, toxins, mind, and body. Today we are focusing on preventing fatigue by "fueling the engine": energizing through hormones and nutrients.
How Hormones affect our Energy
Suboptimal levels of thyroid, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone and cortisol can be major factors in contributing to fatigue. Often these hormone levels may be in the “normal” range, but not the “optimal” range (>75th percentile) . It is not necessary to take each of these hormones, since several of them can convert to the others. For example, progesterone can convert to DHEA and cortisol.
Getting your Hormones to their Optimal Levels
Measure your hormones in blood, saliva or urine and optimize levels with bio-identical hormones. Progesterone and Melatonin can be especially helpful to induce 8 hours of solid recovery sleep. Start thyroid if there are no symptoms of anxiety or heart palpitations and tachycardia.
How Nutrients Affect Our Energy
Although all vitamins and minerals are required for optimal energy, there are a few that are known to be vital to our energy production pathways. Those include: B-12, B-6, magnesium, and vitamin C, which are needed for the adrenal glands which produce “cortisol,” and iodine, zinc and selenium, which are required for thyroid activation.
Getting your Nutrients to their Optimal Levels
Measure your nutrition status with Spectracell™ blood analysis and optimize levels to the 75% percentile and above. Results take 4 weeks.Interventions which may be used include:
- IM injections of methyl form of B-12 and folate weekly
- High dose “stress B’s” and multivitamin /mineral support for adrenals and thyroid with Active forms of B-Vitamins, Zinc, Selenium and Iodine (Essentials 5 in 1)
- High dose Magnesium Glycinate/ATA (MagnesiumRx) and Vitamin C 4-8 grams
- For the first 4-8 weeks, IV delivery of these nutrients may be useful (Myer’s Cocktail) to boost energy levels. IV delivery is initially useful especially when there are gastric/intestinal symptoms indicative of poor absorption.
- Dietary interventions (such as increasing raw plant intake and reducing refined flours) should take place slowly as energy levels improve.
