If you’re battling winter fatigue or simply feeling especially tired for some reason, researchers may have found a solution. A single supplement has showed to help relieve fatigue symptoms by 50 percent.1

Swiss researchers set out to find if this supplement would help otherwise healthy women. They published their finding in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. For the study, 200 women with unexplained fatigue randomly took either 80 mg of this supplement or a placebo for 12 weeks. At the end of the study the women who took the supplement had an almost 50 percent decrease in fatigue.

Another study found similar results. The study published by BMJ followed 144 women between the ages of 18 and 55.2[2] Again, women took either 80 mg of the supplement or a placebo. After just one month on the supplement, the women showed a 29 percent decrease in fatigue.

If you’re feeling unusually tired, what should you add to your daily regimen?

Iron.

You probably already know you should add it to your diet. But you may not realize just how important it is…or that you may not be getting enough.

How does iron help boost your energy? Iron is responsible for getting oxygen to your entire body.3 A lack of oxygen leads to a lack of energy. If your cells don’t have oxygen, they can’t perform. And if they can’t function, you can’t function.

If you have extreme iron deficiency, you can become anemic. But low iron does not always lead to anemia. It can simply result in fatigue, lack of concentration, decreased immune function, and difficulty maintaining body temperature.4

Iron is easy to obtain through diet. Great sources include red meat, poultry, fish, and dark green vegetables. But even with adding iron-rich foods to your diet, you can still be low. That’s because iron still has to be absorbed by your body. And that’s where many run into a problem. Certain foods and medications can interfere. Coffee, tea, calcium, and antacids can prevent the body from absorbing iron. Especially if you ingest them at the same time.

Also, to have proper iron levels, you must have enough vitamin C in your body. Foods rich in vitamin C help the body absorb iron.

A blood test will tell you if you are iron deficient. But you don’t need a blood test if you are just looking for a little pick me up. Just add iron-rich foods to your diet. But again, remember to eat them with vitamin C-rich foods to help absorb the iron. If you don’t notice a change in your energy levels, then you should consult a doctor.

When it comes to supplementing with iron, we don’t recommend it unless it’s absolutely necessary.  There are dangers of having too much iron in your body. If your body doesn’t get rid of excess iron it gets stored in the liver, heart, and pancreas.5 That can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and heart disease.  It’s safer to just up your intake of iron-rich foods and then supplement with vitamin C.

As the studies show, you don’t need to be anemic to benefit from iron. In as little as a month you can see a decrease in your fatigue and an increase in your energy.

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References:
1 http://cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/07/09/cmaj.110950
2 http://bmj.com/content/326/7399/1124
3 http://webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/iron-deficiency-anemia-topic-overview
4 http://medicinenet.com/iron_and_iron_deficiency/article.htm
5 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/a-host-of-ills-when-irons-out-of-balance/