Need more energy? I treat chronic fatigue on a daily basis and it's easy to miss the most important cause of chronic fatigue and that is environmental toxicity. Toxicity and its relationship to chronic fatigue is a complex subject but essential to understand that there is a very real relationship between fatigue and chronic environmental exposure. Toxicity can be associated with our day to day exposure and there are many factors that affect people who have chronic toxic overload. These factors include toxic exposure in work, hobbies, and home.
Common sources of work exposure include chemicals, solvents, printer toner, computer circuitry, manufacturing and agricultural. In the typical office environment, stress, new carpeting, new paint, office furniture, building materials, reduced ventilation and offices that lack windows that open to the outside all contribute to toxic accumulation in the body. In the home, renovations, mold, toxic cleaning agents, lead paint, carpeting, water contamination, pesticide or herbicide usage, pets that have flea and tick treatments, skin care products, hair care products, hair coloring products, asbestos, chemical sprays or air fresheners are all sources of toxicity in the home. Hobbies are often a place where people are exposed to toxins without realizing the detriment to their health. This includes oil painting or painting of any kind with cadmium containing colors, automotive work, especially brake work, stained glass, smoking, golfing (due to pesticides), target shooting, camping and the use of bug spray, gardening and herbicides and non-organic pesticides all contribute to our day to day load of chemical accumulation in the body.
As long as our bodies are not overly stressed and with a good genetic gene pool we generally can do well to detoxify our bodies and recover from our toxic exposures easily and without much difficulty. The problem with chronic fatigue is that our cells and the mitochondria within them are being over run with toxins which then suppress the cells and their power supply, the mitochondria to do their normal activity. With the mitrochondrial function suppressed many people feel lethargic, fatigued and often find themselves gaining weight. They end up developing thyroid problems, adrenal problems and are diagnosed with anxiety or depression. People then are prone to catching infections and have difficulty fighting off viruses and bacterial problems. They can be prone to developing yeast infections and allergies all which further indicate that their systems are unable to deal with the toxic load. People who live in agricultural areas or who have toxic water supplies coupled with stressful lives are all susceptible to chronic fatigue. Sometimes the chronic fatigue is insidious and difficult to pinpoint exactly when one develops the fatigue and sometimes it is a result of an infection or injury or working too many long hours that takes it’s toll on one’s body. Regardless of cause, the resolution starts with becoming aware of chemical toxins in your food, water and environments of work, play and home. Improving ventilation, eliminating as many toxic foods and chemicals out of your life is the first step toward health. I like the environmental working group’s website call the cosmetics database, originally started to help us identify toxins in our skin and hair care products but has expanded to most home care products including detergents, soaps, sunscreen etc. Check our your product’s toxicity level at the Cosmetics Database.
The second step in recovering from fatigue is to help reduce your body’s load of toxins. There are many ways to do this but the most useful is utilizing a detox protocol that I use in my work with Mitogenx as their Chief Science Officer. This protocol is safe and effective for adults of all ages and health conditions with little to no side effects. The products were designed by Dr. Walter Crinnion who is an expert in treating environmental illnesses. The protocol is as follows:
- MitoLife at one ounce twice daily to improve mitochondrial function, reduce allergies and improve immune system response.
- Amino ICG: 1 scoop twice daily to improve glutathione production to assist your body in detoxification and anti-oxidants to reduce the effects of the toxins.
- Freedom Formula: 2 capsules, 3 times daily: for reducing the production of stress hormones and improving regenerative sleep. Stress hormones affect the pH of our body’s tissues making it much more difficult for us to detoxify in the presence of stress hormones.
- Clear and Restore: 4 capsules at bedtime with 8 ounces of water. Especially important if you are constipated or irregular but very important if you have toxic overload in helping the body bind and eliminate fat soluble toxins that the liver is excreting.
- Extra credit: Primary Toxin Shield: 2, capsules, 3 times daily A terrific multiple vitamin with extra detox support in a form that your digestive system can easily absorb and utilize. Great for day to day support and as a part of a comprehensive plan for detoxification.
- Extra credit: R-defense: An extra boost of anti-oxidants to assist the body in its repairing process. 1, 3 times daily is optimal, especially if you are dealing with a serious chronic illness or need extra support in dealing with toxins.
As we all become more aware of the toxicity that we are battling on a day to day basis, it’s no wonder that many of us are dealing with chronic fatigue and the effects of life’s toxicity weighing us down. For those with chronic fatigue, this gentle detox process should be continued for 3-6 months. In my practice, I usually combine a process called cellular drainage to enhance the detox process and test people for heavy metal toxicity which needs to be dealt with separately with a version of the above treatment plan. If you want to get started on a detox protocol of your own, give my office a call, I find that many of us can get back into our routines now adjusted for toxic exposure so that we can live a full and vibrant life without the burden of fatigue.