Spring Energy Rush

Whether I am talking at an event, reading on the internet, or browsing Facebook one of the most common questions is “how do I get more energy?”

We are starting a series on your body and how it makes and uses energy with this email, and will be following up with 3 more that will cover the following:
1) Where does our energy come from and where does it go?
2)What dietary strategies and nutritional supplements can I use to get my energy back?
3)What lifestyle habits and exercise habits get me in AND out of trouble?
4)What kind of testing is available to learn more about what’s going on inside me?
After this series is over we will be holding an in-office workshop on April 12th that will bring it all together to make this summer a great one!

Right off the bat I will admit that when we talk about energy production we can QUICKLY get into the weeds. This is one of the most interconnected processes in the body and there are many steps. I will do my best to make this usable, and not just as a sleep aid, so that with each newsletter you have something to take action on.

I want you to start by thinking of the food we eat or the supplements we take as your body’s money. With every bite you take you are making a deposit or a withdraw. When we are taking in food the “money” we get pays for our ability to make energy. When it gets down to the very first place energy comes from a little organelle called a Mitochondria. That little guy is the power plant for your body. Unfortunately, that power plant is easily upset.

It really is too bad that one of the most critical functions in our bodies is also one of the most vulnerable!

Our bodies typically give us what we need. IF you need more energy usually the body will give you more. For example, when you start exercising, the first few weeks are an intense process of soreness and up and down fatigue. After the first month you start settling into a routine, and a few months in you are seeing the swing in increased energy and ability to exericse at levels you would have not thought were possible.

Withdraws in our “money” start coming from day one. The environment is a harsh one and at times the air we breathe, the foods we eat, the chemicals we are exposed to, and the products we use start taking those reserves. When we start evaluating just the environmental burden we are under it is no wonder we start having energy issues as we get older!

The next place we start seeing energy loss is stress. The daily wear and tear of life from a stress standpoint is different for all of us. Often when we are managing a career, family, school, and so on, the hits to our stress levels come often. When we have prolonged stress we start to put a serious drain on our energy savings. This strain can lead to physical illness, repetitive injuries, and poor recovery just to name a few.

Sleep is probably an obvious one, but how often have you wondered looking at children, “how do they stay so active?” or “I wish I had energy like that!” Most kids take 1-3 naps per day and sleep 10+hours! I would argue that most of us adults look at a good nights sleep as 4-6 hours uninterrupted, and another 1-2 tossing and turning. For anyone who has an infant or a spouse that snores, you know what deep sleep debts feel like. When you are REALLY tired you feel it in your bones.