4 Lifestyle Changes to Combat Chronic Fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is defined as long-term fatigue that makes it difficult to accomplish everyday tasks during waking hours. The fatigue is often debilitating and resistant to traditional treatments. Currently, medical professionals are unsure of the specific causes of CFS, but it’s possible that the condition is more of a symptom of another problem.
Whatever the cause of CFS, patients will need more than a cup of coffee to overcome it or even function daily. In fact, more natural approaches, with support from your hometown fatigue specialist, can make a significant difference.
Lifestyle Changes for Treating CFS
If you suffer from CFS and nothing seems to improve your symptoms, don’t despair. Many patients report significant relief or even complete reversal of their fatigue after taking a natural, whole-body approach to treatment. Here are four natural approaches that can help you finally get control over your CFS:
1) Assess Your Diet
While modern medical professionals rarely acknowledge nutrition’s influence on health, it’s clear that making poor food choices can adversely affect your body. A local physician who works with CFS patients can help you initiate an elimination diet, which involves removing certain foods from your meal plan for at least 3 weeks and then gradually reintroducing each one until you identify the problematic food. This method helps you detect certain food sensitivities, allowing you to adjust your diet accordingly.
Despite the effectiveness of elimination diets, food sensitivities aren’t always so obvious. It’s possible that you’ve been consuming a food you’ve been sensitive to your entire life. Food sensitivities can cause even subtle problems like brain fog, acne, gastrointestinal distress, mental illness, fatigue, and more.
Patients don’t often link their CFS symptoms to their favorite food, which means the sensitivity goes undiagnosed for a long time. Foods that cause sensitivities can include dairy, wheat, shellfish, plants in the nightshade family, corn, soy, and many more.
In addition to an elimination diet, patients should consider watching both their macro and micro nutrients through an online nutrition calculator like Cronometer. This tool allows you to log what you’ve eaten for the day and see if you’ve met all your nutritional goals.
2) Get Plenty of Exercise
While exercising may be challenging when you have chronic fatigue, it’s an important part of any CFS treatment plan. Exercise boosts your immune system and helps regulate autoimmune conditions that potentially cause chronic fatigue.
If you’re struggling with severe daytime sleepiness, try keeping your workouts short and low in intensity until you build up stamina. Swimming and biking are great ways to stay fit when you’re coping with CFS.
3) Try Nutritional Supplementation
Consider using a multivitamin formula designed to cover all your nutritional needs. You can add B-complex for further support. Other supplements that may help with daytime fatigue include D-ribose and panax ginseng.
4) Get Treatment from a Health and Wellness Center
Most wellness centers employ an integrative or holistic approach when it comes to treating a condition and its underlying cause(s). When working with a local holistic fatigue specialist, many people with CFS report considerable relief.
A provider at Blatman Health and Wellness Center will assess your condition and medical needs to recommend a treatment plan for your chronic fatigue. They’ll likely recommend the previous three natural strategies and perhaps additional interventions.
Don’t Go at It Alone – Manage Your CFS with Support
Chronic fatigue is a challenging condition that’s often misunderstood and difficult to treat. If you live with CFS, you don’t have to deal with it alone. Dr. Blatman is a primary chronic fatigue physician and therapist who’s committed to supporting you through your healthcare journey. Also, being able to turn to the supportive team at Blatman Health and Wellness Center can make your recovery much more pleasant.
