When you wake up in the morning, do you not want to get out of bed? Do even the simplest tasks seem overwhelming? Would you sleep all day if you could? Are you often restless and pessimistic? Do you frequently suffer from infections? If you have musculoskeletal pain, sleep disorders, concentration problems, and lack of energy, but your blood tests are normal, you have no organic pathology or psychiatric disorders, and this has been going on for six months, we can talk about chronic fatigue syndrome, which was first described in the 19th century.
So why this fatigue when everything seems normal? You’ve probably heard of mitochondria, those beautiful little cellular organelles. They are the energy powerhouses of our bodies, of all our cells. If I start talking about free oxygen radicals, oxidative stress, and inflammation, this will become a boring article, so I’ll just call them “rusting” in Turkish. Our cells are rusting. Our mitochondria can’t produce energy. So what can we do?
Let’s eliminate the causes of rust from our lives. Sugar is our biggest enemy, addictive and something we should never, ever eat. Getting rid of sugar addiction will protect you from many diseases. Of course, I’m not just talking about sugar cubes. We don’t add sugar to our tea, and we don’t eat baklava, chocolate, bread, or packaged products. By incorporating antioxidant-rich foods into your life, as Hippocrates said, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food.” I will discuss nutrition in more detail later, but I suggest you make a commitment to yourself in the new year to eliminate all sugary foods from your life. I know that fighting your cravings is the hardest part. For this, you can declare one day a week as a cheat day to curb your cravings, but without overdoing it, of course.
We must stay away from toxins that clog our energy centers. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead in cosmetic products, toxins such as parabens, BPA, SLES, SLS, and xenoestrogens in cleaning products, organophosphates we consume through out-of-season vegetables, pesticides, mold we breathe in our homes, fluoride in toothpaste, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes, radiation, and alcohol are all toxins that contribute to our aging. Let’s not be lazy about checking the ingredients in every product we use, friends.
The quality of our sleep and our melatonin levels are important determinants of our energy levels during the day. Sleeping for 7-8 hours uninterrupted in a dark room at night will provide the rest our body needs. Factors that affect sleep quality include staying away from phone and TV screens for at least an hour before bed, not having a cell phone in the room where you sleep, and not eating for the last three hours before bed. If you have trouble falling asleep, I recommend trying the 3/6/6 breathing exercise. Close your eyes, inhale for 3 seconds, hold your breath for 6 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds, and focus on your breath while performing this exercise.
We have once again scientifically understood the importance of yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises in processes such as coping with stress, accepting things as they are, being aware of our own strength, understanding our mission in life and ourselves, that is, in our mental health.
In the age of technology, our biggest enemy on the dark path to obesity is inactivity. I’m not saying everyone should go to the gym, but if you can’t do anything else, you can walk for half an hour three days a week. We can make movements like doing 10 squats while waiting in front of the refrigerator or 20 sit-ups while playing with our children a part of our daily lives.
In addition, you may need dietary supplements such as vitamin D, magnesium, omega, NADH, and melatonin under a doctor’s supervision. You can also benefit from ozone therapy and intravenous glutathione, vitamin C, and alpha-lipoic acid. In summary, we will clean the pipes of our body’s washing machine and reduce the dirty laundry. Wishing you a healthy body and a clear mind.