255. 6 Nutritional Deficiencies Associated With Fatigue

Transcript Of Today's Episode

Announcer: You're listening to "The Doctor is in" podcast brought to you by martinclinic.com. During the episode the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.

Dr.Martin: Well good morning everyone. What I want to talk about this morning is the nutritional... Possible nutritional deficiencies that we look for [00:00:30] when someone is tired and they just can't get over that. So let me just go over some of the deficiencies, and I've talked about this in the past, but it's always worth repeating because these are things that are often missed. And so let's talk about a couple. Number one that I believe is on the hit parade in terms of low energy is B12. [00:01:00] Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin for energy. All B vitamins are important, but B12 is the one that if you're low in it, it can often give you a sort of an unexplained fatigue. You won't feel well with low levels of B12. And one of the problems I have with B12 is the blood test for B12 and it seems to me that [00:01:30] for years now, doctors don't even talk about B12 anymore and it ... the medicine... Unless you're completely deficient in it... Well there's two things that happen.

Dr.Martin: One, if you're extremely low, then they'll recommend you get B12 shots. If you're extremely high, according to the blood tests, then they panic and I always wonder why they panic. B12 is a water soluble vitamin and most people are deficient in it. If someone [00:02:00] says to me, I got high levels of B12, I go, good. That's what we're aiming for. That you have optimal levels of B12. And today, listen, if you're on any kind of medication, any kind, I don't care what it is, it can be Metformin for diabetes, it can be high blood pressure medication, it can be a medication, especially for acid reflux at all, at all, at all. If you're on any medication, you should [00:02:30] just, a rule of thumb would be, I am low in B12. So I highly recommend you take a supplement of B12 and B12 should be taken sub lingually.

Dr.Martin: It should be... Make sure that it's methylcobalamin, it's the right kind of B12 and it should be taken sub lingually. If you get B12 shots from your doctor, good for you, but usually what you get once a month, a B12 shot, good luck. Most doctors don't even [00:03:00] do it anymore. And if they do, it's because you're so severely low and it's good for about a week, but you should top up your B12, because that's a very important vitamin. Your body does not work properly, your cells don't work properly without B12. So, that's number one. Number two, I won't spend a lot of time with this because we've talked about this so many times in the past, is vitamin D. Vitamin D is important [00:03:30] even for energy, guys, like people think of vitamin D, yeah, maybe it's good for your immune system, it's good for your bones and it is.

Dr.Martin: But every cell in your body has a receptor for vitamin D and vitamin D, why do you think you feel better in the summer? Think about it. People that have adrenal exhaustion feel better in the summer when the sun's out. If they can get their butts down to Florida in the winter, [00:04:00] not everybody can do that, but if they can, they feel better. It's amazing why vitamin D is essential even for energy. If you have low energy, oftentimes you have low levels of vitamin D and the vast majority of people have low levels of vitamin D. They're scared of the sun, they don't get in the sun or they use sunscreen. If you have dark skin, you need even more vitamin [00:04:30] D. That is an essential vitamin for energy. Here's another one, Omega three. Omega three. Now, the problem that we have in our society today, and it's like an epidemic, is that we have high levels of Omega six from crappy industrialized.

Dr.Martin: You can run your car on vegetable oils. It sounds good, a vegetable oil. Oh [00:05:00] yeah, but your potato chips and your ketchup and your pretzels and your, almost everything that you get in the middle aisles of your grocery store, the reason that they last is because they're industrialized. They have Omega sixes and, okay, the problem with Omega six is its relationship to Omega three and we're somewhere, depends on who you listen to. Somewhere between a 20 to one ratio [00:05:30] to 30 to one ratio of Omega six over Omega three and you know what? That is a dangerous thing. That is a dangerous thing. It creates an inflammatory process in your body and it can create fatigue. This imbalance between Omega six and Omega three, so up your levels of Omega three and Omega three, guys, is in the animal [00:06:00] kingdom. It's not in the vegetable kingdom.

Dr.Martin: Okay. Vegetables are great, but you don't get Omega three. You get Omega three... The highest source of Omega three is grass fed beef. Enjoy your steak and roast beef and hamburger. That is where you get Omega and fish. Of course a fish, fish, fish. So [00:06:30] you need to change that ratio between Omega six and Omega three. Here's another one, iron. Now, most people, again, look guys, if you're pale, I mean you don't have to be a rocket scientist. If you're pale, okay? The first thing I do when patients come into my office, is I look at their skin. I can tell in five seconds if they are low in iron and B12, I mean it. [00:07:00] I can tell. I just look at their skin, their pale. They look like Casper the ghost and I look at their circles under, that dark circle under the eyes and I tell them, look, you're low, you're low in iron and today people are scared of eating meat.

Dr.Martin: Then there are women, ladies, it's chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken. I love chicken and salad. Well stink. Chicken is [00:07:30] good, it's full of protein, but it ain't got no iron in it, and you need iron. Cam-iron, my son calls it hem-iron, I call it hemiron because I think of the hemi engine in the Dodges, they always advertise it's got a Hemi engine and that's the way I remember Hemi iron. And maybe it's sub lingually and maybe it's hemi, I don't know, but I don't care. All I'm telling you is, you need that iron [00:08:00] because it makes red blood cells. And if you're low in iron and listen, red blood cells are made by iron in your red blood cells, they're made in your, your spleen and your bone marrow, but they need iron to do it. They need iron to do it, and ladies, especially with heavy menses and you lose blood every month and this is a big problem.

Dr.Martin: And you know what? Often [00:08:30] times mostly women, but some men, they're low in iron. If you're a vegetarian, if you're a vegan, you are not getting heme or Hemi, iron. You're not getting it. Don't fool yourself. Okay, here's another thing. So iron, you need, okay? And you just want to make sure you're getting enough iron. Okay? So the other one, the other deficiency that's possible, there's two of them, and I'll put [00:09:00] these two together, are magnesium. Look, magnesium is no longer in the soil, so don't... I know there's green leafy vegetables and nuts and seeds and all these things have magnesium in them, but they don't have the magnesium they used to be because the soil is depleted of magnesium and when the soil is depleted of magnesium, it's not in the food. That is why I'm so big on taking magnesium supplements [00:09:30] because magnesium... Your body doesn't... Your ATP.

Dr.Martin: ATP is what... Is your energy. So when your mitochondria, your battery packs within your cells, produce ATP from the food that you're eating, you need magnesium to get high levels of ATP and potassium. Potassium is another important mineral that we're deficient in [00:10:00] and a lot of people don't get enough potassium. Doc, I eat my bananas, yeah, but you're not getting enough potassium. It's not in the soil. So it's not in the bananas like it used to be. And avocados have good levels of potassium but not like they used to.

Dr.Martin: And I'm not... I want you to eat all those things, guys, I do, but I just want to reemphasize the importance of these deficiencies that are often prevalent [00:10:30] in our society today. And this is what I look for. This is what I try and get people to understand. So, these are the deficiencies that I see most often in the office in terms of possible factors when it comes to energy. You need these things. Okay? So, you guys have a great day. Enjoy your day and if you get a chance to share this with others, [00:11:00] send me in topics that you would like me to talk about, I'll try and cover each and every one in these short little teachings. Thank you.

Announcer: You've reached the end of another The Doctor is in podcast with your hosts, Dr. Martin Jr and Sr. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening.

Back to blog