Top 3 Nutrients for Fatigue

by Ali Bolch

Fatigue is one of the most commonly experienced symptoms. It can interfere with your day to day life dramatically and drain you both physically and mentally. We all know that feeling too well, when you have great intentions to go out, see friends/family or have a productive day planned. But instead you find yourself half asleep drooling on couch pillows… No? Just me?

While finding the individual cause of your fatigue is crucial in resolving it, there are some amazing nutrients that can help bring our tired bodies back to life. Here are my top 3 nutrients to help support fatigue. 

Coenzyme Q 10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was a game changer when it came to my physical fatigue and exercise. After consistent supplementation for a period, paired with good nutrition, I felt like the energiser bunny in my training and runs.

So what is it? CoQ10 is an essential component in our energy creating systems within the body. Adequate CoQ10  is required for our mitochondria to do its job. That job being creating ATP (ATP= energy) which is essential for every cell in our body [1]. The mitochondria is the ‘Power House’ of our cells and when dysfunctioning, it can be crucial culprit in the cause of fatigue [2].
Therefore when we are feeling fatigued, it makes sense that we look to the systems within our body that create energy. As such, supplementing CoQ10 can not only help improve energy but also sustain energy [3].

A wonderful study showed the supplementation of CoQ10 in chronic fatigue (150 mg/d for 12 weeks) resulted significant reductions of their presenting fatigue symptoms, improvements in cognitive function, sleep and depressive symptoms [4].

Deficiencies of CoQ10 can be due to pharmaceutical drug use,  genetic failure, ageing, disease and more.


B Vitamins

B vitamins are like your hype squad, when you’re feeling down and fatigued they rally around you and hype you up, putting that pep back in your step. I didn’t think it was possible to love a collection of vitamins until the over worked and under slept student Ali had the pleasure of taking her first vitamin B complex. 

B vitamins are micro heros that are central nutrients for our energy production. Each B vitamin is required in various steps and systems within the body to help the production of energy [5]. Furthermore, they are required for neurotransmitter production and therefore an essential part of a healthy functioning nervous system [6]. 

These incredible nutrients not only increase energy production but do so while supporting a healthy stress responses during times of fatigue.

But there are a lot of factors that can deplete our B’s. As they are water soluble vitamins, anything that is diuretic (increases loss of water) [7] such as; alcohol, pharmaceutical medications, coffee [8] can reduce levels. As well as the tannins in coffee and tea, these can interfere with some of the B’s absorption, so taking these 2 hours away is recommended [9].

Magnesium 

Magnesium is that friend that is good at everything, you know the one that can try anything once and effortlessly be the best? That is magnesium. It has so many uses and benefits for the body that it’s required in over 300 metabolic reactions in the body [10]. Magnesium is essential for energy production, with approximately 90% of magnesium within the cell being associated with ATP and energy production [11]. Helping our bodies to combat fatigue and exhaustion when dietary intake is lacking.  Muscle weakness can also be attributed to magnesium deficiency and can be made worse by excessive exercise [12], especially when you are already fatigued and under nourished. Alas, magnesium deficiency is common, with an Australian survey finding about 40% of all Australian adults consume inadequate levels of magnesium daily [13]. Things that decrease our magnesium levels include alcohol, caffeine, some pharmaceutical medications, stress, exercise/excess sweating, diarrhoea/vomiting, and heavy menstruation to name a few [14]. With everything, it’s so important to work with a health professional. While fatigue is common there are still some red flags that your practitioner will need to rule out, especially severe or persistent fatigue. I know Dr Google can be tempting but when it comes to our health, let’s leave it to the professionals.

This article is intended to be informational only and represents the opinion of the author. It is not intended to be used as medical advice and does not take the place of advice from a qualified health care practitioner in a clinical setting. Please check with your healthcare practitioner before embarking upon any of the treatments discussed.

References  

[1] Olek S, Ventura HO. Coenzyme Q10 and utility in heart failure: just another supplement? Curr Heart Fail Rep. 2016 Aug;13(4):190-5. doi: 10.1007/s11897-016-0296-6.
[2] Filler K, Lyon D, Bennett J, McCain N, Elswick R, Lukkahatai N, et al. Association of mitochondrial dysfunction and fatigue: a review of the literature. BBA Clin. 2014 Jun;1:1:12-23. doi: 10.1016/j.bbacli.2014.04.001.
[3] Yang YK, Wang LP, Chen L, Yao XP, Yang KQ, Gao LG, et al. Coenzyme Q10 treatment of cardiovascular disorders of ageing including heart failure, hypertension and endothelial dysfunction. Clin Chim Acta. 2015 Oct;450:83-89.doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2015.08.002.
[4] Fukuda S, Nojima J, Kajimoto O, Yamaguti K, Nakatomi Y, Kuratsune H, et al. Ubiquinol-1- supplementation improves autonomic nervous function and cognitive function in chronic fatigue syndrome. Biofactors. 2016 Jul 8;42(4):431-40. doi: 10.1002/biof.1293
[5] Tardy, A., Pouteau, E., Márquez, D., Yilmaz, C., & Scholey, A. (2020). Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients, 12. DOI:10.3390/nu1201022
[6] Calderón-Ospina, CA, Nava-Mesa, MO. B Vitamins in the nervous system: Current knowledge of the biochemical modes of action and synergies of thiamine, pyridoxine, and cobalamin. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2020; 26: 5– 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.13207
[7] Paolo M. Suter, M.D., M.S., Wilhelm Vetter, M.D., Diuretics and Vitamin B,: Are Diuretics a Risk Factor for Thiamin Malnutrition?, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 58, Issue 10, October 2000, Pages 319–323, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2000.tb01827.x
[8] Arve Ulvik, Stein Emil Vollset, Geir Hoff, Per Magne Ueland, Coffee Consumption and Circulating B-Vitamins in Healthy Middle-Aged Men and Women, Clinical Chemistry, Volume 54, Issue 9, 1 September 2008, Pages 1489–1496, https://doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2008.103465
[9] Braun L, Cohen M. In: Herbs and natural supplements: an evidence-based guide. 4th ed. Vol 2. Sydney (AU): Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone; 2015. p. 1060.
[10] Gropper SS, Smith JL. Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. 6th ed. Belmont (CA): Wadsworth. 2013:433-449.
[11] Gropper SS, Smith JL. Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. 6th ed. Belmont (CA): Wadsworth. 2013:433-449.
[12] Huang CL, Kuo E. Mechanism of hypokalemia in magnesium deficiency. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2007 Oct;18(10):2649-52. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2007070792. Epub 2007 Sep 5. PMID: 17804670.
[13]  Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Australian health survey: usual nutrient intakes 2011-12 Canberra, ACT: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2015 [cited 2017 Jan 13]. Available from: www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.008~2011-12~Main%20Features~Magnesium~406
[14] Braun L, Cohen M. Magnesium. In: Herbs and natural supplements: an evidence-based guide. 4th ed. Vol 2. Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone, Sydney. 2015:677-692.