Are you sluggish and tired all the time? Don’t feel like talking to anyone or doing any of the things you used to enjoy? These symptoms can stem from undiagnosed and untreated physical conditions.
Hormones Can Affect Your Energy Level
What, exactly, are hormones? Hormones are substances secreted by various glands such as the adrenal gland, the thyroid and the pancreas and dispatched to different destinations in the body. Hormones act as chemical “messengers” to signal different organs and tissues to perform specific functions.
Fatigue can be caused by adrenal dysfunction. Adrenal exhaustion prevents a sufficient production of cortisol, and that can lead to tiredness, sluggishness, and low energy.
Testosterone is the key male sex hormone that regulates fertility and sex drive. It also increases bone density and signals bone marrow to make red blood cells as well as performing other physiological functions. Low testosterone levels in men can cause an inability to focus, irritability, and feeling generally low. Diminished testosterone levels are not limited to older men; young men can suffer from that too.
Women also need a certain amount of testosterone. It is produced in small amounts in a woman’s ovaries. Combined with estrogen, the female sex hormone, testosterone in a woman helps with the growth, maintenance and repair of the bone mass and the reproductive tissues. Low testosterone levels in a woman can lead to a lack of muscle tissue and decreased sex drive. “Women’s hormones” such as estrogen and progesterone can also have an influence on energy level.
Low thyroid function can cause low energy, weight gain, hair loss and other symptoms including exhaustion and lethargy. Excessive thyroid hormones can cause insomnia, fatigue, irritability, and a number of other symptoms.
Hormones do not act in isolation; they coordinate their actions much as the musicians in a symphony play the different instruments in an orchestrated fashion to create a harmonious whole. Imagine how the music would sound if there were too many kettle drums, not enough reed instruments, and half of the strings on the violins were broken. It’s the same with hormones — if there is too little or too much of one hormone, it can throw the other hormones out of harmony.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Did you know that low iron can cause fatigue? When your iron is depleted, you don’t get enough oxygen to the brain and your brain feels like it’s in a constant state of starvation. What happens then? Most often, any mild exertion leaves you winded, and all you want to do is lie down on the couch.
Your body absorbs the nutrients in the food you eat through the process of digestion. The friendly bacteria that reside in the digestive system break down food molecules into useable fuel for the body. These bacteria also produce vitamins and they help protect the body from disease. Additionally, they affect the body’s production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine. If you have an insufficient amount of friendly digestive bacteria or if you have a history of digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or colitis, your body’s ability to absorb nutrition and to generate neurotransmitters is impaired. This can result in fatigue.
Green Apple Health Care practices Cause Based Medicine™ which is the systematic process of finding and treating the core cause of health concerns by using a classic naturopathic approach combined with scientific research to optimize patient outcomes.
Our focus is cause-based. We are relentless in identifying the root cause, the “why” behind the symptoms, and we address our treatment programs to the cause of the health condition, not the symptoms.
Call us at (780) 485-9468 to book a consultation. If you prefer, online booking is available for both new patients and repeat patients.