The Energy/Mental Health Connection

Are you tired? Sad? Feeling depressed more often than you'd like to admit?

Do you have memory or anxiety issues?

In response to feeling this way, do you drink a lot of coffee or crave sugar?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you may be battling depression and anxiety from mental fatigue.

You are not alone in any type of mental health battle. About 9% of adults in the United States report some degree of depression. Another 18% of adults report battles with anxiety. A whopping 38% of US workers have reported feeling too fatigued to function properly. So, we keep drinking coffee, and we keep eating sugar, and we keep feeling sick.

As a nutritionist I believe strongly that these three major issues are all connected and share a common cause. Cellular fatigue can cause anxiety and depression. It's not the only cause, because sometimes depression stems from life events, but it can definitely contribute to the cause and delay recovery. Your brain needs healthy amounts of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, to feel good. You can't manufacture enough serotonin, GABA, dopamine OR acetylcholine if your brain cells do not have the energy to do so. Your brain needs an array of nutrients from food in order to support optimal brain energy and basic function.

There can be many causes of mental fatigue, but the over consumption of refined sugar is likely the #1 cause.  All of the nutrients that were stripped away from it in the refining process are still  required by the body for processing. Since  the refined sugar doesn't have the nutrients, your body has to get creative and will find them in other places. Your body will deplete nutrient stores and it will also steal nutrients from the healthy food you eat in order to be passed through your system. This leaves fewer nutrients for your current energy production needs. If you aren't eating enough healthy food to balance out the refined sugar intake, then you basically feel terrible most of the time (without coffee or more sugar). Sugar is an energy robber which makes it a serotonin killer.

If you have been tired and used coffee as a crutch, then you probably have a lot of healing to do. The good news is that if we change our response to the fatigue and sadness, we can greatly reduce it. We can heal our minds and refresh our energy levels.




Healing mental fatigue takes time. You can start feeling better within a couple of weeks, but total healing can take up to 6 months of completely changing the way you eat. Here are a few of the dietary changes I would suggest as a nutritionist, to start you down the right path.

1. Stop eating refined sugar immediately.  Fruit is still good for you to have, especially berries, but you should stop eating packaged cookies, cakes, ice cream, muffins, pastries, cake, pies, chocolate, etc. When you stop eating refined sugar, you may have withdrawals.. This is because your brain may be addicted to the "high" it gets from the fast energy. However, it will soon adjust to getting more sustainable energy from other sources. Expect this to take about 3-4 days.

2. Make sure your carbs are complex. Carbs are good; your brain needs them, but only complex carbs support healing from mental fatigue. Good examples of healthy complex carbs are sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, beans, and just about any vegetable and most fruits. Most of your carbs should come from eating 5-9 servings of vegetables per day.

3. Eat fish 2-3 times per week. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids that help protect and renew the fatty membrane surrounding every cell of your body, but most especially significant in brain cells due to memory and moods.

4. Limit coffee to 1-2 cups per day. I do NOT recommend to try to come completely off coffee while you are battling mental fatigue, but limiting coffee is extremely important. A little bit of coffee can be helpful. A lot of coffee can increase anxiety and make you more tired and irritable. If you can switch to earl grey tea that would be ideal. Also, make sure you drink water before coffee. 

If you try these 4 tips for about a month and do not have success, then you may need additional supplemental support. Rather than list the supplements here, I'd rather suggest that you work with a nutritionist that is experienced with mental fatigue issues and can help you find the right  supplements. Remember that mental fatigue is a real issue; it will get worse unless you deal with it and give your brain what it needs to start healing. You can do this, and God's design for better nutrition is the right way.

Commit to wellness.
Trust the process.
Enjoy the results!

Tressa