Three easy ways to beat fatigue

We need a little extra help to lose that ‘tired all the time’ feeling through the dark winter months

Feeling ‘tired all the time’ is so common it has its own acronym (TATT), and with less sunlight around at this time of year this fatigue can feel even more pronounced. Our bodies produce the sleep hormone melatonin when it’s dark, so it’s natural to feel more lethargic in the winter months.
Thankfully diet can help. Here are three key micronutrients to keep you feeling awake and alert…
A common cause of fatigue, often alongside headaches and light-headedness, is iron deficiency anaemia. If you are experiencing these symptoms it’s worth getting your blood levels checked as you may need supplements. Milder cases can be rectified by eating more iron-rich foods like dark-green leafy vegetables such as kale, as well as fortified cereals and bread, red meat, dried fruit like apricots, prunes and raisins, and pulses (beans, peas and lentils).
Adding foods high in vitamin C to your diet, such as berries, tomatoes, peppers and citrus fruit, will help your body absorb more of the iron. Try this super salad recipe which does the job for you, combining iron- and vitamin C-rich foods.
Toast a couple of tbsp of pumpkin seeds in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes. Place a bag of washed baby spinach leaves in a large bowl, add ½ can of drained chickpeas, a few chopped apricots, a handful of quartered cherry tomatoes and some halved black olives. For the dressing, mix 1 tbsp olive oil, juice of ½ lemon, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp dried thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad ingredients and toss well to coat. Crumble 40g of feta cheese on top and sprinkle over the toasted pumpkin seeds.
A lack of nuts and vegetables in the diet can lead to magnesium deficiency, characterised by fatigue as well as muscle weakness and cramps. There are lots of delicious magnesium-packed foods that will help resolve this, such as wholegrains (brown rice, bulgar wheat, oats etc), leafy greens, nuts and seeds, avocados, bananas and dark chocolate.
A tasty way to top up your magnesium is with this nutty, chocolatey snack mix. Combine 100g chopped cashews, 100g chopped almonds, 50g pumpkin seeds and 50g dark chocolate chips and store in an airtight container, it will keep for several weeks. Although this mixture is full of goodness it is quite calorific so, for weight management purposes, stick to a daily portion size of 30g.
An adequate supply of the various B vitamins is needed to produce energy within our cells. Older adults, pregnant women, people with autoimmune conditions such as Crohn’s disease or coeliacs, or those on restrictive diets are more at risk of vitamin B deficiencies. The most common is vitamin B12 deficiency, which affects around 6% of the population under 60, rising to 10% in those over the age of 75.
Key sources for vitamin B12 are oily fish, shellfish, meat, eggs and dairy. Plant-based sources are harder to come by, but look out for fortified soy milk, tofu and cereals as well as good old-fashioned Marmite.
For a delicious B vitamin hit, combine 100g crab meat with one mashed avocado, ½ tsp curry powder, 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp lime juice, some chopped coriander leaves, 1 small chopped tomato and ½ small red onion, finely diced. Taste and season. Serve on top of toasted granary bread.

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