I’m not one to flaunt BUT when you’ve passed the 40 mark and have the energy of a 20-year old, you share your energy secrets with the world!

Almost every client I work with lists fatigue as one of their top 5 health concerns. I also struggled with low energy at one point – felt like a zombie despite doing all the right things like eating well, exercising moderately, and getting plenty of sleep.

So what else could be at play? Well lots to be honest.

Energy production is a highly complex process and there are SOO many factors that can get in the way but let’s focus on toxins as the first big one.

Heavy metals are huge energy zappers; they literally block the energy production cycle. No ATP being produced = bye bye energy.

How do we fix this?

Well first, do your best to reduce your exposure to heavy metals. Silver amalgam dental fillings are 50% mercury. Consider working with a biological or holistic dentist who follows the SMART prototol to safely remove and replace them if you have any. You can search for a biological dentist in your area here: https://iaomt.org/for-patients/search/

Eating large amounts of tuna and larger fish can also increase the mercury burden. Instead, choose wild-caught salmon and smaller fish like sardines.

Go organic to avoid arsenic and lead found in agricultural pesticides, conventional chicken, and avoid smoking and second-hand smoke to reduce cadmium exposure.

Choose fresh over canned foods, especially acidic foods like tomatoes which can leach aluminum from the lining. Also consider replacing your aluminum cookware with ceramic (check my healthy kitchen swaps), and avoiding aluminum-based anti-perspirants.

Still with me?

Next, help support your body’s natural detoxification abilities by eating more cruciferous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula and kale. Vary them and get them in daily. You can also add in natural chelators like cilantro and chlorella which help grab and escort heavy metals from the body.

Got What It Takes to Make Energy?

In order for a recipe to be successful, you need all of the ingredients. Otherwise you end up with dough instead of a nice fluffy cake, right?
Well, the same is true for making energy. So here’s what we need most:

1. Good, strong digestion. This is a BIG one! It’s one thing to eat the right food, but it’s another to properly break it down, absorb it into the blood, and then get it into the cells where it’s needed to make energy.

I recently discussed how important stomach acid is for digestion. We need it for breaking down proteins and for absorbing B vitamins and other minerals like magnesium & iron which are all key ingredients for making energy as well.

If you struggle with acid reflux, heartburn, burping or belching after meals, bloating, and feeling full early, these are all signs that you need help with digestion and it should be your focus first and foremost for getting your energy back.

2. Carnitine. This is an amino acid (a building block of protein) that our body can make on its own if we have enough vitamin C and get this – it helps burn fat for energy inside the cells! Bonus right?

The bad news is that our ability to produce carnitine decreases with age and so does our energy as a result.

The good news is that by supporting digestion, eating good quality proteins, and supplementing with L-Carnitine when needed, energy levels can usually be improved or restored.

3. CoQ10. This is another super important nutrient & antioxidant for making LOADS of energy that unfortunately decreases with age. And it’s even worse for those who are on cholesterol-lowering medication because statin drugs deplete CoQ10.

Supplementing with ubiquinol, the reduced form of CoQ10 is often warranted, but consult with your health care practitioner first.

Remember, it’s one thing to eat a nutrient-dense diet but it’s a whole other ball game to get these nutrients INSIDE the cells to get you feeling like the Energizer bunny.

Is Your Oven Working Properly?

You can have all the ingredients to bake a cake but if you don’t get that pan into the oven, you end up with batter. The same with energy. We need to be able to have good digestion and get those B vitamins, iron, and other nutrients INTO the cells where it actually matters!

How?

1. Oxygen – yup, seems pretty obvious but believe it or not, many people have unaddressed anemia which affects the size of their red blood cells. If they’re too large or too small, this affects the amount of oxygen circulating in the blood needed for energy!

You’ll also want to address asthma, sleep apnea, and as always STRESS! When you’re stressed, breathing becomes more shallow. So learn to sloooow dowwwn and breaaathe from that belly!

2. Healthy FATS!!! The outer “skin” of every cell in our body is mostly made up of fats and needs to be flexible.

If you eat fried foods, processed vegetable oils like corn and canola oil, and trans fats (listed as “hydrogenated” oil on food labels), your cell walls become rigid like rocks and don’t allow nutrients to go in and out of cells to make energy!

Instead choose coconut oil, grass-fed butter or ghee for cooking, and extra virgin olive oil for cold dressings. Also include some soaked nuts, seeds, avocados, olives as other healthy sources of fats.

3. Magnesium! It plays such an important role in energy production and is an extremely common deficiency. If you get spasms, muscle tightness, crave chocolate all the time, and get constipated, consider increasing magnesium-rich foods like leafy greens and/or supplementing with magnesium.

Quality matters so be sure to work with a professional if you’re unsure.

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.

And remember, we do better when we know better!