Fatigue

Feeling overly tired or have little energy?

Fatigue may be caused by simple factors like a lack of sleep or coming down with a cold or the flu. However, it can also be caused by underlying health conditions.

In most cases, fatigue can be remedied by lifestyle or dietary modifications, correcting a nutrient deficiency, or treating an underlying medical condition. 

Deficiencies in certain nutrients — such as iron and vitamins B12 and D — may cause fatigue. 

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of iron deficiency anemia, and it typically improves once iron stores are restored.

B12 is critical for oxygen delivery and energy production, so low levels of B12 can cause extreme fatigue.

Additionally, a vitamin D deficiency may cause fatigue. Low vitamin D levels are associated with poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration which are the common causes of fatigue.

Finally, you should never, ever skip breakfast. Skipping breakfast causes your blood sugar levels to drop, meaning you might start to feel moody and tired.

References:

Ferrer-Cascales, R., Sánchez-SanSegundo, M., Ruiz-Robledillo, N., Albaladejo-Blázquez, N., Laguna-Pérez, A., & Zaragoza-Martí, A. (2018). Eat or skip breakfast? The important role of breakfast quality for health-related quality of life, stress and depression in Spanish adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(8), 1781.

Nowak, A., Boesch, L., Andres, E., Battegay, E., Hornemann, T., Schmid, C., ... & Krayenbuehl, P. A. (2016). Effect of vitamin D3 on self-perceived fatigue: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Medicine, 95(52).

Tardy, A. L., Pouteau, E., Marquez, D., Yilmaz, C., & Scholey, A. (2020). Vitamins and minerals for energy, fatigue and cognition: A narrative review of the biochemical and clinical evidence. Nutrients, 12(1), 228.