Chronic Or Continuous Fatigue

By Author: Sulamita Berrezi
Total Articles: 115
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Fatigue refers to a feeling of tiredness or weariness. It can be temporary or chronic. Almost
every person has to work overtime on certain occasions, sacrificing rest and sleep, which may
cause temporary fatigue. This condition can be remedied by adequate rest. Chronic or
continuous fatigue is, however, a serious problem which requires a comprehensive plan of
treatment.
Chronic fatigue can result from a variety of factors. A specific character trait, compulsiveness,
can lead to continuous fatigue. Many persons constantly feel that they cannot take rest until they
finish everything that needs to be done at one time. These persons are usually perfectionists,
tense and cannot relax unless they complete the whole job, no matter how tired they may be.
Causes
The chief cause of fatigue is lowered vitality or lack of energy due to wrong feeding habits.
Fatigue is an indication that the cells of the body are not getting sufficient live atoms in the food
to furnish them with a constant flow of needed energy. The habitual use of refined foods such as
white sugar, ...
... refined cereals and white four products as well as processed, tinned and preserved
foods have a very bad effect on the system in general. Foods 'denatured' in this way are
deprived, to a very great extent, of their invaluable vitamins and minerals. Such foods lead to
nervousness, tiredness, obesity and a host of other complaints prevalent today.
Certain physical conditions can cause fatigue. Anaemia is a very common ailment leading to
tiredness. It is known as 'tired blood' disturbance. In anaemia, very little oxygen reaches the
tissues with the result energy cannot be produced normally. This causes constant tiredness and
mental depression. Anaemia usually results from deficiencies of iron and vitamin B12.
Sometime deficiencies of vitamin B6 and folic acid are also involved.
Insomnia or lack of sleep can be a cause of torturing fatigue. Sleep induced by sleeping pills and
other drugs does not banish fatigue. Intestinal parasites can also lead to fatigue as they rob the
body of good nourishment and gorge themselves on rich red blood. Other ailments which can
cause fatigue are low blood pressure, low blood sugar, any kind of infection in the body, liver
damage, a sluggish thyroid and allergy in foods and drugs caused by additives including artificial
flavours, colours and preservatives.
Mental tension is one of the major causes of fatigue. A person who is tense and cannot relax
has all the muscles of his body more or less contracted. This leads to needless waste of
unusually large amounts of energy. Food is continuously burnt, lactic acid accumulates more
rapidly than it can be carried to liver for conversion to body starch. Persons who are high-strung,
nervous and irritable usually suffer from this type of fatigue.
Treatment
Nutritional measures are most vital in the treatment of fatigue. Studies reveal that people who
eat small mid-meals suffer less from fatigue and nervousness, think more clearly and are more
efficient than those who eat only three meals daily. These mid-meals should consist of fresh or
dried fruits, fresh fruit or vegetable juices, raw vegetables or small sandwich of whole grain
bread. The mid-meal should be small and less food should be consumed at regular meals. They
should be taken at specified time such as 11 a.m. , 4 p.m. and before retiring to bed.
The patient should eat health foods which supply energy to the body. Charles De Coti Marsh of
London in his book 'Prescription for Energy' prescribes foods to relieve fatigue and gain energy.
He says, " Regenerating must begin with foods..... They must be taken in their natural state.
These cereals are corn seeds, wheat seeds, rye seeds, maize seeds, barley seeds and oat
seeds. They must be freshly milled. In uncooked cereals, we do have one perfect food for
perfect health which contains essential vitamins and energy creators." In addition to cereal
seeds, Marsh recommends fresh raw nuts taken directly from the shell and root vegetables. He
says, "Any seed or root vegetable that will grow again will renew human vitality."
The patient should take an optimum diet made up of (i) seeds, nuts and grains, (ii) vegetables,
and (iii) fruits. Roughly, each food group should supply the bulk of one of the three meals.
Sprouting is an excellent way to eat seeds, beans and grains in raw form. Sprouting increases
the nutritional value of foods and many new vitamins are created or multiplied in seeds during
sprouting. The patient should supplement the three health-building food groups with special
protective foods such as milk, high quality cold-pressed unrefined vegetable oil and honey.
The patient should also take natural vitamin and mineral supplements as an effective assurance
against nutritional deficiencies, as such deficiencies have been found to be a factor in fatigue.
Lack of pantothenic acid, B vitamin in particular, leads to extreme fatigue as deficiency of this
vitamin is associated with exhaustion of the adrenal glands.
In fact the entire B-complex protect nerves and increases energy by helping to nourish and
regulate glands. The vegetarian foods rich in vitamin B are wheat and other whole grain cereals,
green leafy vegetables, rice polishing, milk, nuts, banana, yeast, pulses and peas.
Minerals are also important. Potassium is especially needed for protection against fatigue. Raw
green vegetables are rich in this mineral. Calcium is essential for relaxation and is beneficial in
cases of insomnia and tension both of which can lead to fatigue. Sodium and zinc are also
beneficial in the treatment of fatigue.
Raw vegetable juices, especially carrot juice, taken seperately or in combination with juices of
beets and cucumbers, is highly valuable in overcoming fatigue. The formula proportions
considered helpful in the combination juice of 500 ml. are carrot 300 ml. and beet and cucumber
100 ml. each.
The patient should avoid depending for an energy lift, on crutches such as taking aspirin,
tranquilizers and other drugs, drinking coffee or alcohol, smoking , eating some sugar or sweets.
They give only a temporary boost and this is soon followed by a downward plunge of energy,
leaving a person worse than before.