One way to think of fatigue is like a checking account where you are constantly spending more than you are putting in. Where is the energy going? Are you not making enough, or spending so much on repair that there isn’t enough to go around? Fatigue is a whole-body issue, rarely limited to one organ or gland dysfunction. The foundational functions of breathing, digesting, and elimination must be functioning well to provide the materials for energy production and to remove the substances that interfere with energy production. Inadequate stomach acid (often the cause of acid reflux symptoms) is an example of one dysfunction causing a cascade of dysfunctions which lead to fatigue. With low stomach acid your body can’t extract amino acids from your foods. These are needed to make enzymes for metabolism, allow your mitochondria to make energy molecules (ATP), promote detoxification pathways, and build tissues. Vitamin B12, needed for multiple metabolic pathways including making new blood cells, can’t be absorbed. Minerals, needed as cofactors for most energy producing and detoxification pathways, need the acid to be absorbed. Poor stomach acid leads to leaky gut/intestinal inflammation issues, which requires a huge energy expenditure from your body to try and repair. Liver and kidney congestion/dysfunction are also common components of fatigue. Unresolved infections can play a significant role also, but the question returns to what is keeping your immune system from doing what it knows how to do? Fatigue can make it hard to motivate to address what needs to be addressed but take steps to change this by identifying where your body needs to start in the repair process. There is a solution to your fatigue, discuss this with me.