Fatigue isn't a diagnosis, it's a signal. And every root cause of chronic fatigue points to the same place: mitochondria that can't make energy fast enough. The question is what's damaging them.
Key Takeaway
Every major root cause of chronic fatigue, parasites, mold, heavy metals, Lyme, emotional trauma, converges on mitochondrial dysfunction. When the cell's energy factories are under assault, sustainable ATP production collapses. Chasing individual symptoms without addressing what's damaging the mitochondria is why most fatigue protocols produce only temporary results.
What are the Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue?
Are you plagued by daily exhaustion? Is it difficult for you to do daily tasks? Are there days where it takes all of your energy to get out of bed? While it is normal to experience fatigue from acute stress, exercise, injuries, and viruses, it is not normal to experience fatigue everyday.
To begin, what is chronic fatigue? This phenomenon occurs when our bodies' mitochondria are dysfunctional. The mitochondria are intracellular powerhouses that are within every cell of the human body that converts nutrients into available energy for our bodies to use. Every root cause of chronic fatigue affects the mitochondria, hence creating a generalized symptom of fatigue.
How Does Mitochondria Work?
Mitochondria converts glucose (sugar) and other nutrients from food and binds them to oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of our cells. Essentially, fatigue is signaling that the mitochondria are asking for help.
What Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Chronic Fatigue?
1) Nutritional Deficiencies: Vitamins and minerals are essential to a variety of metabolic pathways that support fundamental cellular functions. The most common nutritional deficiencies associated with chronic fatigue include: B vitamins, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, zinc, and glutathione.
Nutritional deficiencies happen three different ways:
- Diet: A diet with inadequate vitamins and minerals may cause chronic fatigue.
- Infections: Parasitic infections may rob the body of nutrients. A 2004 review states that "parasitic infections are thought to contribute to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency through subtle reduction in digestion and absorption, chronic inflammation and loss of nutrients."
- Malabsorption: If an individual has a clean and balanced diet but is still experiencing nutritional deficiencies, this may be due to malabsorption. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) "consumes part of the ingested macro- and micronutrients and may therefore cause malnutrition."
2) Malabsorption: Additionally, intestinal hyperpermeability (leaky gut) is common amongst those with chronic fatigue. This condition occurs when the tight junctions of the intestinal wall become loose, allowing toxins, bacteria, and other harmful substances to sneak through the walls and invade the bloodstream.
3) Microbial Infections: Parasitic infections, Lyme disease, viral infections (such as Epstein-Barr Virus), and bacterial infections all cause mitochondrial damage and chronic fatigue.
4) Environmental Toxicities: Mold/mycotoxins, heavy metals, and chemicals like glyphosate are all known "mitochondrial poisons" that disrupt ATP production and cause chronic fatigue.
5) Emotional Trauma: Chronic stress and unresolved trauma cause dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and suppress mitochondrial function, contributing to chronic fatigue.
How Can I Address Chronic Fatigue?
To address chronic fatigue, it is important to identify and address the root cause. This includes opening drainage pathways, addressing parasitic infections, mold toxicities, heavy metals, and other infections, and supporting the mitochondria with proper nutrition and supplementation.
Some supplements that support mitochondrial health include: CT Minerals by Cellcore, Hydroxygen by Cellcore, and CoQ10.