Where’s Flourishing Wholeness When I’m Tired all the Time?
A couple months ago I was asking myself that question. I’ve done a bit of research and found there can be quite a number of reasons why a person might feel tired so much.
Based on my experience with cancer 25 plus years ago, and through the years since, I have come to understand that getting to the root cause of a problem and learning what can help remedy it is most beneficial. And my experience has been that addressing the root cause for one particular issue often means that you are also helping to heal numbers of other health challenges.
I think people who are struggling with any kind of health issue should have tests run to see what they’re actually dealing with. For several reasons I prefer, however, to pursue natural approaches to health issues, rather than medical, when at all possible. One main reason is that natural remedies are not just remedies – they also address root causes for problems, while assisting toward healing at a deeper level and on a broader scope.
I found it interesting in my recent research to discover again how some other issues I was dealing with were all related to my feeling tired.
Here is a partial list of reasons for chronic tiredness:
- Anemia
- Blood sugar issues
- Dehydration
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Emotional stress
- Depression
- Thyroid issues
- Adrenal fatigue
- Too much caffeine
- Leaky gut
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- And other auto-immune disorders.
I also found it interesting to realize once again, that all these health challenges point to a few common core causes.
Understanding the core causes, however, is only the beginning for finding help. I needed to know how to address the issues. I was tired of being tired all the time. I needed to restore my sense of well-being and wholeness.
Thankfully, I found several helpful suggestions.
I was actually encouraged to discover confirmation once again, that we can experience significant healing for so many health issues simply through diet.
Did I say “simply”? . . .
Well . . . actually, diets can become a bit complex . . .
And it’s certainly not always “easy” to follow certain diets. Especially when you really like to eat your favorite foods that are not allowed in the diet, especially when the diet also requires long-term lifestyle changes.
I love to eat! And I love to eat what I want to eat! Which is often the yummy foods that are just not contributive to vibrant health. The discipline required to eat the right things and stick to it over a long period of time is just not easy.
That may be a major factor why I got cancer in the first place. No doubt there were other lifestyle factors involved as well, but I really did love to eat all the wrong things. While I did eventually take chemo therapy, in order to fight the cancer on all fronts, the changing of my diet and making other lifestyle changes was not easy. But my oncologist said that it probably saved my life.
I do still say that it’s encouraging to know that “simply” changing your diet can make such a huge difference in your health, and how you feel.
Choosing an effective diet can be a challenge.
I was especially encouraged in my recent research, to discover that so many health practitioners in recent years are highly recommending the Paleo diet. It seems that over time it has proven to be perhaps the most effective long-term approach to not only maintaining good health, but also to substantially reversing numbers of health challenges.
Including the auto-immune diseases:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Lupus
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – like Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Type 1 diabetes
- Psoriasis
- Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism)
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (hypothyroidism)
- And other autoimmune diseases in which the immune system sees various parts of its own body as the enemy, and starts attacking it!)
The Paleo diet is basically a return to the basics.
It’s an holistic approach to healthy living that involves eating nutrient-dense WHOLE REAL foods.
Here are some of the core principles of the Paleo diet:
- Higher protein intake (20-35%)
- Lower Carb intake – particularly of complex carbohydrates
- LOTS of non-starchy vegetables – 35-45% of daily calories
- High fiber – with vegetables and fruit (not with grains and legumes)
- Nutrient dense foods – like bone broth! 🙂
- Higher fat intake – good fats vs. bad fats
- Minerals – these are important, especially from foods that are high in magnesium and potassium.
- No grains – they are harder to digest and very acidic. It’s important to balance acidic foods (meats, fish, salt, coffee 🙁 , dairy, etc.) with alkaline foods (vegetables and fruit)
- High vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant dense foods – especially from vegetables, fruit, and herbs
It’s helpful to see a list of what I can and can’t eat in a healthy diet.
Like I said, I love to eat! So it’s not really fun to see this list. But I do like to feel good.
So here are the basics for the Paleo diet:
Can Eat:
- Meats – grass fed, but hormone and antibiotic free
- Fish and seafood
- Eggs
- Bone broth – LOTS of it! 🙂
- Nuts and seeds
- LOTS of vegetables
- Small amounts of fruit
- Healthy oils (like coconut, olive (uncooked), palm, avocado, walnut, macadamia, flaxseed oils)
Can’t Eat:
- Cereal grains (including rice, wheat and corn)
- Beans and legumes (including peanuts and peanut butter)
- Dairy
- Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners – sweeteners should be minimal and completely natural
- Potatoes
- Processed foods – they are food-like products rather than REAL food.
- Salt – or moderate amounts are recommended of Himalayan or Celtic sea salt.
- Vegetable oils (canola, sunflower, rice bran, etc.)
Good news!
Often, many people have found that, if they don’t have serious chronic illnesses, they can eventually move to a modified Paleo diet. After several weeks on a strict Paleo diet (elimination diet) they may be able to gradually add back into their diet minimal amounts of:
- Coffee 🙂
- Dairy – milk is easier to digest from goats or A2 cows (Jerseys and Guernseys). Fermented foods (including dairy – yogurt and kefir) also contains beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that are important for digestion and gut health.
- Brown rice
- Ancient grains (quinoa, spelt, einkorn, sorghum)
Gratefully, I’m feeling much better now. 🙂 I know it’s a challenge to maintain a healthy diet. But I really don’t like to feel dreadful all the time. The worst part to me, is that I can’t be at my best for God, my family, nor for myself. When I don’t have the energy and stamina to do all the things that I feel God wants me to do, and that my family and others need me to do, that is really demoralizing and depressing.
Feeling tired all the time is not contributive to my pursuit of shalom wholeness.
I much prefer to enjoy wholesome energy and vitality! That makes it worth it to me to engage the discipline of endeavoring to eat a heathy diet as much as possible. I’ve learned over the years that maintaining a healthy diet brings amazing rewards that make it all worth the effort.
Let’s do this together . . . For the benefit of those we love and care about around us! As well as for our own sense of well-being and wholeness.
And especially for our greater usefulness to the Master – for God’s honor and glory! 
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