What is it?
By the term fatigue we mean a pathophysiological condition, very common among people, so to speak on the agenda. In fact, the World Health Organization today recognizes it in the register of pathologies, even if the diagnosis and the causes are still difficult to interpret.
We can define fatigue as a pathophysiological condition that affects all children, adolescents, adult women and men, the elderly. Housewives or career women, malnourished children, teenagers engaged in study, men stressed by work, the elderly due to age can all feel fatigued.
It is a pathology not to be underestimated, to the point of leading to the patient’s social isolation in chronic cases.
Symptoms
Fatigue is a pathology associated with highly heterogeneous symptoms that vary from person to person:
- Tachycardia
- Sleep disturbances such as insomnia and sleep apnea
- Migraine
- Muscle aches or cramps
- Digestive fatigue or ulcer in severe cases
- Stomach cramps
- Colitis
- Meteorism
- Aerophagia
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Boredom and mood swings
- Irritability
- Change of voice
- Disorders of the thyroid gland
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Mental confusion
- Changes in the menstrual cycle in women
- Lowering of the immune defences
Causes
The causes can also be very heterogeneous:
- Stress
- Concerns
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Weight problems such as excessive thinness and obesity
- Diabetes
- Anemia
- Infections
- Inflammations
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Food intolerances and allergies
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Diets high in saturated fat
- Dysbiosis
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Medicines such as cortisones
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of fatigue is carried out by a specialist through a visual examination and then analyzing the presence of indicative conditions such as insomnia, sleep apnea, eating disorders, smoking or alcohol abuse, use of depressive drugs. Of course, diagnostic tests, such as blood counts, thyroid analyzes and bacteriological or viral analysis, can be made to help making the diagnosis.
Natural remedies
There are several plants that help improve both physical and mental fatigue:
- Ginseng reduces the perception of fatigue and has an energizing action.
- The acai fruit has an energizing action and is rich in vitamins and minerals.
- Rhodiola helps fight insomnia and states of nervousness or depression.
- Schisandra is a highly energizing plant with a strong antioxidant action.
- Birch seeds greatly improve brain performance, they are recommended for all students suffering from mental asthenia.
- Thyme essential oil has a trophic action for neurons, improves memory and brain activity.
- Ginger essential oil has an energizing action and improves brain memory.
- Rosemary essential oil has an anti-inflammatory action for neurons, is excellent for fatigued and stressed people, it also has a cardiotonic action and therefore excellent for those suffering from tachycardia or hypertension.
Diet
Diets that contain a variety of fresh, nutrient-rich foods can help reduce feelings of fatigue.
The most important thing is that the foods are fresh and organic, not packaged and frozen, to keep the nutritional properties intact, especially in terms of vitamins and mineral salts.
It is therefore advisable to eliminate from the diet all packaged products, enriched with food additives, simple sugars, solvents or pesticides that could hinder the body’s detoxification capacity.
Therefore, the patient should follow the classic Mediterranean diet, rich in whole grains, legumes, fish, extra virgin olive oil, organic vegetables and fruit.
A diet characterized by foods rich in magnesium, such as dark chocolate, dried fruit such as walnuts, almonds and peanuts, dark green leafy vegetables is essential.
In addition, it is advisable through nutrition to maintain certain clinical parameters in homeostasis such as blood sugar, liver activity and intestinal bacterial flora.
As for blood sugar, it must certainly remain within physiological values, in order to avoid the alternation of peaks of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, at the basis of both mental and physical fatigue.
The liver is vital for the detoxification and destruction of endogenous and exogenous substances that are harmful to the body. If the liver detoxification process fails, physical fatigue worsens.
For the intestinal bacterial flora, it is advisable to eradicate or prevent dysbiotic conditions, as the latter increases intestinal permeability, resulting in the passage of toxins and metabolic waste from the intestine into the blood. We remind you that dysbiosis is caused by poor nutrition and food intolerances, rebalancing the intestinal bacterial flora will improve mental, metabolic and immune performance.