Do you find yourself reaching for a soda, energy drink or a cup of coffee to get you going in the morning or to keep you going in the afternoon?
Energy and motivation can become quite elusive as we age. Have you noticed
a dip in your energy a little or maybe a lot recently, or over these last few years?
This summer I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend while walking my dogs on the beach. I learned that she needed some help with her health, so we reviewed her goals and discovered she really wanted more energy. But she was afraid to say it. Because she was afraid of what she would do with that extra energy. I had never thought about that before – being afraid to have too much energy.
We talked through her fears and eventually she became excited about the possibility of having the energy to do the things she loved that she had not been able to do. So we got started, and you can too.
Here is a list of some of the BIG energy zappers as we age
- Low testosterone
- Tired adrenal glands
- A sluggish thyroid
- Food intolerances or poor diet
- Poor digestion
- Lousy sleep
- Little or no movement
- Chronic infections
- Anemias
- Toxic overload
- Mitochondrial dysfuntion
raising your energy levels:- Get more sleep in a healthy way – without medications. Go to bed no later than 10pm and get at least 8 hours of sleep to start. You may need to use some 5HTP, for sure magnesium (300mg of glycinate chelate), some GABA, and maybe even build your progesterone either with bioidentical hormones or herbs like Chasteberry.
- Clean up your diet. Eliminate alcohol, caffeine, and sugar and start noticing what makes you feel great, and what brings you down. Grains can really zap my energy. Dark chocolate will give me a nice burst of energy right then, but at night I don’t sleep so well. So it really zaps my energy. Sugar too. I get a dry mouth and don’t sleep well at night. Be sure to eat enough clean protein and lots and lots of vegetables every day. I need to avoid grains, dairy, chocolate and sometimes eggs. What do you need to avoid?
- Detox Toxins may be clogging up your system and thyroid. Drink more water (spring water is best), take a liver support supplement for a month, add in some extra fiber like flaxseeds, chia seeds or psyllium seed husk (ground) to help bind to toxins for removal.
- Test don’t guess. Do you need extra iron, B12 or vitamin D? Do you have any chronic infections going on? What about inflammation? Check it out.
- Support digestion. Your gut lining completely rebuilds itself every 3 days, so try some l-glutamine, digestive enzymes, betaine HCL and some probiotics to see if you can heal your gut for better nutrient absorption and energy.
- Boost adrenal and thyroid function: you can do this by following the tips above, and supporting these awesome glands with adaptogenic herbs like rhodiola, ashwagandha, selenium (eat a brazil nut every day), amino acids, a regular eating schedule, getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning, eating a higher protein breakfast, and managing your stress…i.e. enjoying pleasurable activities regularly. Even singing helps to stimulate the thyroid gland. I also like adrenal and thyroid glandulars to support healthy function.
- Get moving! Walking is amazing for restoring the body. So start by walking. Restorative yoga, SUPping (stand up paddle boarding), hiking, tai chi, Qigong, surfing, tennis, dancing or anything that you enjoy is fabulous for raising hormone (like testosterone) and brain chemistry levels and reducing stress.
Let me know what you’ve tried and how you’re feeling. Sometimes just changing one thing can make a huge difference. Notice what works when – sometimes we just need to change things up a bit.
