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Fatigue. One of the hardest pieces to overcome with digestive issues. So today I want to share my 5 best natural remedies for fatigue plus how to test for it.

What is Fatigue?

Fatigue is what your body experiences when, no matter if you feel like you’ve gotten enough sleep or not, you’re always feeling exhausted.

​It can also feel like burnout or simply just a lack of energy.

But no matter what, you simply feel drained most of the time.

For those who struggle with fatigue, you know – because it’s miserable.

Testing for Fatigue

Before treating fatigue, and if it has persisted for six months or more, you might want to test for fatigue. to make sense of your symptoms.

This is because, at this point your symptoms of fatigue may be due to measurable deficiencies or imbalances in your body.

One excellent way I discovered for testing is through Labcorp OnDemand’s Fatigue Test, which can shed light on potential imbalances, providing insights you need to begin investigating your symptoms. 

Note: There is no blood test to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome. However, this test may provide proactive insight into chemical or functional imbalances that can contribute to extreme fatigue.

Here are 4 reasons to consider this test:

1. Understand your symptoms. It can be frustrating to feel extreme tiredness and not know why, which, in turn, makes it worse. This test captures insights from common tests that may reveal vitamin, nutritional or other chemical imbalances related to your symptoms.
2. Are your symptoms affecting your health? Fatigue symptoms may not feel like a big deal, but extreme tiredness can lead to a decrease in general health or overall wellbeing.
3. What is causing the fatigue? Abnormal levels of iron (ferritin), metabolic hormones and/or blood glucose could expose serious conditions impacting your health —like anemia, thyroid disorders, or diabetes.
4. Long C$vid. You may be experiencing symptoms of persistent fatigue after recovering from C*VID-19.

So, when you take Labcorp OnDemand’s Fatigue Test, here are the things you’ll find out:

1. Thyroid status via testing your hormones starts with a simple TSH blood test.
2. Complete Blood Count test: This CBC blood test is the first step to detecting illnesses that can affect your overall health.
3. Diabetes Risk (HbA1c) Test: This test helps determine if diabetes may be a concern for you.
4. Comprehensive Metabolic Panel: The CMP blood test measures key components for insights on your metabolism, liver and kidneys.
5. Ferritin Test: Get a unique view of the iron levels in your body with a ferritin blood test.

Good News, Easy Process

If you want to start with this test for understanding more about the fatigue you are feeling, here are the simple steps:

1. Purchase your test (the Labcorp OnDemand’s Fatigue Test HERE): Simply purchase this test online. A healthcare provider will review and approve your test requests; no healthcare provider visit is required.
2. Provide your sample: Visit a Labcorp location near you for sample collection. Visits may be scheduled online.
   1. Note on preparation: Fast for 12 hours (no food or drink, except water) before sample collection. If you’re taking a supplement containing biotin (also called vitamin B7 or B8, vitamin H, or coenzyme R), commonly found in products promoting nail, skin, and hair health, it is recommended that you wait at least 72 hours from your last dose before sample collection.
3. Get your results: View your easy-to-read results online in your Labcorp Patient™ account. For certain results that require prompt attention, you will also be contacted by phone or mail.  You will receive results just 1 day from when your sample arrives at their lab.

Note: HSA/FSA are both accepted.

5 Best Natural Remedies for Fatigue

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Okay, so you have determined fatigue is definitely dragging you down. And now you want to address it head-on. 

Here are 5 natural ways for addressing fatigue.

1. Ensure You’re Getting Quality Sleep

Even though many people think they are getting enough sleep, so many are not getting quality sleep. And not getting quality sleep still equates to a lack of sleep because you are experiencing too many sleep-wake cycles (that you might not even be aware of).

Here are 3 home remedies for getting more + better sleep:

1. Diffuse essential oils blends through a diffuser. HERE are 23 of my favorites.
2. Consider a high-quality magnesium (in the glycinate form) prior to bed to help with a good night’s sleep. 
3. Get blue light blocking glasses. This is my latest and greatest way to get quality sleep. I’m obsessed with THESE, and they are cute + priced extremely reasonable. I am hardly without them on a daily basis….not even an $18 investment.

By the way, I get at least 8 hours of sleep every single night by following the above.

And also, I know what it’s like to have a brain that is constantly working. This is one of the reasons for not getting quality sleep.

The best way I have found for overcoming this is by keeping a notebook and pen next to my bed so that if I can’t get it to shut off, I just start writing whatever is on my mind. It always makes me tired 🙂

2. Make Sure You’re Consuming a Healthy Diet

I’ve found from working with thousands of women over the years that oftentimes what we constitute to be a healthy diet and/or healthy lifestyle in general isn’t all that healthy.

And, most importantly, every body typically does best with a different version of a healthy diet. 

For example, while something as simple as whole grains might be touted for a healthy diet, if you have Celiac disease it’s definitely not healthy for you. 

Therefore, you’ll have to work with your practitioner on the best diet for you and/or sort through it with a food journal. (And yes even fatigue is one of the key elements I teach you track in my journaling system because it is indicative for many different health conditions.)

Anyways, while I can’t tell you exactly what will be part of your healthy diet, I can tell you some things that are part of a poor diet that are not in your (best-energy) favor:

1. Highly processed foods 
2. Caffeine, energy drinks, extra coffee, and then some
3. Too much sugar and artificial sugars
4. Industrial seed oils like cottonseed oil, and vegetable oil
5. Fried food

3. Consider Science-Backed Nutrients

There are many herbs (and other nutrients) which are known for helping to fight fatigue. HERE is a list of 10, to which I’m going to highlight my top 5:

1. Asian ginseng (aka Panax ginseng or Korean ginseng). Ginseng has been extensively studied and found to support health energy, stress management and more. As part of a massive article I wrote on ginseng, here are the relevant health benefits as they relate to fatigue: may reduce inflammation, might help boost the immune system, could increase energy levels, might lower blood sugar., and helps boost mood.
2. Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is part of the adaptogenic herbs which helps maintain already-healthy cortisol levels and fight fatigue. When I interviewed Dr. Taz for the A Gutsy Girl podcast, she made note about this regarding ashwagandha: this herb is very helpful in regulating the nervous system. It is a great way to naturally lower cortisol levels and is usually taken in capsule form.
3. Rhodiola rosea. In 22 adaptogens for hormones, this is noted on Rhodiola: Rhodiola, or Rhodiola rosea, helps prevent fatigue, stress, and the damaging effects of oxygen deprivation. Evidence also suggests that it acts as an antioxidant, enhances immune system function, and can increase sexual energy. 
4. Maca root (Lepidium meyenii). This well-known herbal favorite also has adaptogenic properties. Sometimes called Peruvian ginseng, maca supports endurance, and may fight fatigue. Maca was huge for me during my IVF journey. It does many awesome things for the body, but my favorites are: increase energy and endurance, enhances fertility, enhances memory, learning, and mental ability, helps build muscle and is good for healthy teeth and bones.
5. Green tea. You can both relax and recharge with green tea. And by the way, if you’re like me and don’t love green tea, HERE is a way to consume more without trying.

Other ones included in the article are:

1. Eleuthero root (Siberian ginseng)
2. Holy basil
3. Schisandra
4. Forskolin
5. French oak wood

4. Ensure Proper Hydration

One of the major side effects of not being properly hydrated is fatigue.

As dehydration sets in, your blood pressure drops, leading to poor circulation and reduced blood flow to your brain. This causes feelings of sleepiness. (source)

Science courses states hydration as, 

the process of replacing water in the body. This can be done through drinking water, eating ice chips, eating foods that have high water content, drinking other fluids or an intravenous or IV line. Being dehydrated is when your body is lacking the water levels necessary to function optimally.

In addition to reaching for an extra glass of water, also be cognizant of overall electrolyte balance. Electrolyte deficiency in particular leads to symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and muscle cramps.

5. Reduce Stress

And my 5th natural remedy for fighting fatigue is to reduce stress.

Oftentimes we don’t have enough energy simply because we are too stressed and stress takes up a lot of energy. 

Being in fight-or-flight mode for the long term not only slows digestion and flow of food to prepare for action, but it also means that your heart rate and blood pressure increase. And this means you’re probably breathing more quickly and heavily, which is helping move nutrients and oxygen out to your major muscle groups. Ultimately, over time, energy production reduces. (source)

Here are some ways to reduce stress:

1. yoga or tai chi + practicing breathing techniques
2. get regular exercise, even just a little movement can go a long ways
3. don’t engage with too much high-intensity physical activity (which can go against you if you’re struggling with fatigue)
4. sit in silence
5. keep a gratitude list
6. color or draw

For my full list of 28 ways to reduce stress, click HERE.

Lifestyle Changes

It’s not always easy to make changes, but so often the causes of fatigue come back to some sort of lifestyle factor.

Keep in mind also that if you are able to get the Labcorp OnDemand Fatigue Test, it can give you a good idea for why you’re having the health problems you’re experiencing. 

And once you know, then you can make the necessary changes to help in the long run.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. ​Best Foods for Hormone Balance
2. Printable SIBO Diet (Reasonable SIBO, Heal Your SIBO)
3. Does Coffee Cause Leaky Gut {+ 9 other factors slowing your healing, Episode 71, Bites #18}

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by LabCorp. All opinions started here are 100% my own. I appreciate your support, as this compensation helps with expenses to keep this website up and running, and for me to continue sharing all that I can with you. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Xox,
SKH