Don\\\'t Let Fatigue Become a Chronic Disease

Feeling tired and fatigued can be a frustrating mystery. Fatigue is considered to be the number one symptom of every chronic disease, so where does a doctor begin? You could look at yourself in a mirror and start at your head and name every organ to try to figure out which body part is participating in your fatigue.

Your health history must be taken into account including age, recent stressors, diet, drugs taken, etc., which helps narrow down what medical tests to utilize. There are a number of disease categories to consider: vascular, inflammatory, proliferative cancers, poisonings, nutrient deficiencies, infections, conditions from birth, autoimmune, traumatic injuries, and endocrine.

It is quite a list that makes it difficult to narrowing it down to a "cook book" diagnosis so it is highly recommended to seek the attention of a qualified health care professional. The main problem with fatigue and feeling tired is that these problems are associated with lifestyle habits. If a major disease cannot be pinpointed through medical testing, looking at a persons day to day choices can be quite revealing.

Another way to view fatigue is by assessing where the body is stressed. We usually have too little or too much of something that interferes with healing and metabolism. Getting the right balance of rest, exercise, and diet is the first line of defense to support health.

This is where natural health practitioners provide a counter balance to the allopathic approach. Rather than assess symptoms, they choose to first assess life style factors. A natural health practitioner will advise a behavioral plan rather than a drug prescription. The first benefit is the feeling of increased empowerment as someone realizes he or she can actually influence well being through healthy activities.

While a behavioral plan requires a time commitment, regaining health gives people their time back that was usually spent in bed or on the couch. If diet and exercise changes are not relieving the low energy dilemma, the natural health practitioner will have to consider if someone is suffering from "technology interferences" that don't seem as obvious because they are so ubiquitous in our society such as micro-waved foods and electromagnetic pollution.

The sad fact is prolonged fatigue eventually weakens the body and invites a disease process to take hold. Education and prevention are the best ways to make sense of this misunderstood problem.

Lisa Ann Homic, M.Ed. D.C. is a chiropractor and Vital Aging Coach in Auburn, NY. Get her free reports on pain, fatigue, and weight loss at htpp://www.DrHomic.com.