food related - age / tiredness question

[Mirinjawbro]

Hello

has anyone here noticed that from the age of maybe 30+ there overall energy / tiredness levels are getting worse?

my diet used to be insanely bad - 0 veg, crisps, chocolate, cakes, sweets. from a kid to around age 30

last 3-4 years due to always being sluggish and tired ive cleaned it up easily 90%. however the overall energy & tiredness is still there.


can our bodies develop random intolerances as we age? is it just down to age and we need better care?

one thing i get now after my evening shake (100g oats + 1 scoop protein) i get so tired i could easily fall asleep. i have read that this can be down to melatonin being released from the oats.

i've had paid allergy tests and call came back fine.

caffeine has been 0 for 14 days now (was over 500mg per day when this tiredness started)

i can't fix it because i don't know the answer.

if anyone has had similar i'm looking to try anything.

thanks

[21TonyK]

I don't think I can be that much help here but I know there a few on PH who can offer decent advice. Might be worth posting in "Health Matters".

In general though, yes the older you get the more important nutrition becomes.

[MOBB]

You might want to get a testosterone level test

[Slowboathome]

It would be worth asking your GP to do a full blood panel. It could be any one of a lot of easily fixable things (thyroid, iron or B12 deficiency etc etc).

[Mirinjawbro]

paid for and done all of these sadly.

the only thing that ever came back slightly low was folic acid (b12). but nothing crazy

everything else has always been green

ive tried

- no dairy
- no meat
- gluten free

sleeping more
no caffeine
making diet better

each year just gets worse.

im still thinking its something im eating / drinking.

the next step soon will be eat an exact basic meal plan for a week same thing everyday and test

[Steve H]

Mirinjawbro said:

paid for and done all of these sadly.


im still thinking its something im eating / drinking.

Why?

Got to suggest that there’s a lot of other possibilities and if some pretty serious changes to your diet haven’t done the trick you should consider them.

On the other hand, is there a possibility that "cleaning up" your diet has removed something that was giving you a hit of energy?

[sherman]

Is it S.A.D?

Have you been out in the sun much in the past few years with covid etc. Have you been on holiday ?
You could be lacking Vitamin D .

Try going on a sunbed to see if it helps?

[frisbee]

Ditch the oats and protein shake? Excess carbs will make you drowsy, protein will as well.

[craigjm]

It might not be food related. How are you sleeping for instance? And I mean in reality not your perception? If you have any kind of sleep issue, sleep apnea being the most common, you will have the symptoms you suggest but you won’t realise you’re not sleeping. Get a test

[Mirinjawbro]

my diet is very high protein and carbs, even calories. currently 3700 ish a day for the last 12 weeks.

although when dieting down is does go down to 2k at its lowest and nothing changes

sleep apnea is one thing ive not thought off as assumed it was always for overweight people. could be worth looking into.

some good ideas coming though

thanks

[Mirinjawbro]

sherman said:

Is it S.A.D?

Have you been out in the sun much in the past few years with covid etc. Have you been on holiday ?
You could be lacking Vitamin D .

Try going on a sunbed to see if it helps?

i take vitamin D supplement most days.

omega 3s

interesting symptoms when googling though.

[popeyewhite]

Mirinjawbro said:

one thing i get now after my evening shake (100g oats + 1 scoop protein) i get so tired i could easily fall asleep. i have read that this can be down to melatonin energy crash from carbs, serotonin (tryptophan release) from protein being released from the oats.

I would suggest eating more, smaller meals throughout the day. Get your protein from proper food, not processed powder. Both carbs and protein can contribute to tiredness.

[Derek Smith]

I complained to my doctor that I felt tired all the time. I saw that he wrote TATT on my notes - didn't take a lot of working out that I'd been classified.

I went to a rugby club's doctor, and just mentioned. Gave me a few pointers. I returned to my doctor and asked for specific blood tests. It was discovered I was borderline hypothyroid, had low levels of vitamin B12 (I used to work in an area with high lead content). This can be a trigger for those with a specific congenital disease. Also, and easily treated, was a slow response to low sugar levels. The was the major problem for me, and one that still persists to a limited extent. All I have to do is eat something sweet after exercise. Or rather, before. After cycling into work off-road I was, more or less, completely knackered. A sweet - which I don't particularly like, nor chocolate come to that - was all I needed. Nearly 20 years trying to cope with that.

The point was that it can be easy to pigeonhole patient. When I told my doctor on the subsequent visits I used to work in a high lead zone, he sort of blamed me for not telling him. The same with feel exhausted after exercise. I thought such a reaction was normal. He thought I was just Tired All The Time.

Keep being tested.

[Mirinjawbro]

popeyewhite said:

energy crash from carbs, serotonin (tryptophan release)

thats the one

this is within 15 mins of eating it. i have this meal twice a day. breakfast (which never gives me this crash). then last one around 8pm. this is the one that hits me super hard

i eat around 5 meals currently.

[Mirinjawbro]

Derek Smith said:

I complained to my doctor that I felt tired all the time. I saw that he wrote TATT on my notes - didn't take a lot of working out that I'd been classified.

I went to a rugby club's doctor, and just mentioned. Gave me a few pointers. I returned to my doctor and asked for specific blood tests. It was discovered I was borderline hypothyroid, had low levels of vitamin B12 (I used to work in an area with high lead content). This can be a trigger for those with a specific congenital disease. Also, and easily treated, was a slow response to low sugar levels. The was the major problem for me, and one that still persists to a limited extent. All I have to do is eat something sweet after exercise. Or rather, before. After cycling into work off-road I was, more or less, completely knackered. A sweet - which I don't particularly like, nor chocolate come to that - was all I needed. Nearly 20 years trying to cope with that.

The point was that it can be easy to pigeonhole patient. When I told my doctor on the subsequent visits I used to work in a high lead zone, he sort of blamed me for not telling him. The same with feel exhausted after exercise. I thought such a reaction was normal. He thought I was just Tired All The Time.

Keep being tested.

ive just checked my last medichecks test for overall body performance.

all vitamin levels were fine.

im gonna stick to no caffiene + total plain clean of of diet and report back.

very very annoying

[Mirinjawbro]

very very annoying

also to add its a total lack of energy most of the day - going to the gym even the warmup set feels like effort

the tiredness is usually either on or off.

[popeyewhite]

Mirinjawbro said:

thats the one

this is within 15 mins of eating it. i have this meal twice a day. breakfast (which never gives me this crash). then last one around 8pm. this is the one that hits me super hard

i eat around 5 meals currently.

I'm on four meals a day, balance of protein/carbs. I still can get a crash about an hour after lunch (slice of wholemeal, chicken broth, cottage cheese, wholegrain crackers) if I'm not careful (sit at the pc, warm room etc), so I try to keep active at this time. I'm not overweight or unfit..I think some people are just more susceptible to this effect than others.

Regarding your 8pm crash I think this may be due to circadian rhythms - your body is winding down and the effect of digestion of the carbs/protein is thus more extreme than earlier in the day.

[craigjm]

Mirinjawbro said:

very very annoying

also to add its a total lack of energy most of the day - going to the gym even the warmup set feels like effort

the tiredness is usually either on or off.

Sounds very much like my post above. Get a sleep test done

[Mirinjawbro]

are the online kit sleep apnea tests worth it?

[ZedLeg]

Your body does start to process energy differently as you get older, I tend to just let myself nap after dinner if I eat a lot of carbs instead of going down the rabbit hole of progressively more restrictive diets.