Maybe it is the same story every day. You wake up tired, drag yourself through the day and collapse exhausted on the couch in the evening. Sound familiar? You are not the only one. Many people struggle with fatigue, and we often look for the solution in more coffee or energy drinks. But what if the answer is simply on your plate?
What causes tiredness and fatigue?
Fatigue has all kinds of causes. Too little or poor sleep naturally makes you feel listless. Stress, too little exercise and even the weather can also make you feel tired.
But there is one factor that is often forgotten: what you eat and drink. If your body gets the wrong nutrients (or has deficiencies), you notice it directly in your energy. Compare it to a car that you give the wrong fuel: in the long run, it will not run well either.
What does food do for your energy?
Food is literally the fuel of your body. Everything that happens in your body (from your heart beating to your brain thinking, from your muscles moving to small wounds healing) needs energy. And that energy? You largely get it from what you eat and drink.
Food for immediate energy
For quick energy you need carbohydrates. Your brain uses a lot of energy and constantly asks for fuel. Carbohydrates contribute to the maintenance of normal brain function.* Here are a number of healthy choices for quick energy:
- Banana: natural sugars with fiber, so your energy does not immediately drop again.
- Dates: give you quick energy without a dip later on.
- Apple with nuts: the apple gives quick energy, the nuts keep you full longer.
- Oatmeal cookie: complex carbohydrates that your body can easily use.
- Drink enough water: water contributes to the maintenance of normal physical and cognitive functions.* Try to drink about 2 liters per day.
Food for long-lasting energy
For energy that lasts all day, you need more than just carbohydrates. Your body needs various vitamins and minerals to extract energy from food. These nutrients help you with that:
- Iron: contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism* and contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.* Iron is found in foods such as: meat, fish, legumes, green leafy vegetables.
- Magnesium: contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism* and contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.* Magnesium is found in: nuts, seeds, whole grains, green vegetables.
- Vitamin B: vitamin B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism.* You find these B vitamins in: meat, fish, dairy, eggs, whole grain products.
- Vitamin C: contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism* and increases iron absorption.*
Which nutrients and substances are better avoided?
Some things actually make you tired instead of energetic. Alcohol, for example, disrupts your sleep and dehydrates you. Too much sugar makes your energy shoot up first, but then it comes crashing down again. Too much caffeine also works against you and disrupts your sleep.
Heavy, fatty meals are also not a good idea when you are tired. Your body has to work so hard to digest them that you feel even more sluggish than before. So go for lighter meals with vegetables, lean proteins and whole grain products. Then your body gets energy without becoming overloaded.
Do supplements help against fatigue?
It can be difficult to get all the necessary nutrients through food. Iron supplements can help if you need extra (do have this checked by your GP), a vitamin B complex is useful if you eat little meat, and vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the muscles.*
Omega-3 fatty acids are also popular. EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart* and DHA is good for the brain* and helps maintain sharp vision.*
Remember: supplements are an addition, not a replacement for healthy food. Are you structurally tired? Talk to your GP, because sometimes there is a medical cause behind it. But often you already help yourself enormously by eating and drinking better.
*Approved health claims from the EFSA. The beneficial effect for heart and brain function is obtained with a daily intake of 250 mg of EPA and DHA. For vision, 250 mg of DHA per day applies. For brain function, you need 130 grams of carbohydrates per day.
