Nell Robertson was tired all the time. She did manage to hold down a full-time job, but she was so tired that she had to go to bed when she arrived home each evening. It took a couple of hours’ rest before she could get up and make a meal. She would wash up, watch the news, have a shower and go straight to bed again. The weekend was taken up by the shopping, cleaning and more bed. There was no fun to be had at all. Life was just existence.

She came to the clinic, and told me about her problems. I explained that almost all the vitamins and minerals are needed to convert proteins, fats and carbohydrates into useful energy. In particular, if we don’t have enough B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, iron and copper, we shall not have the energy we need.

Many people in the West are short of magnesium. This essential mineral is in nuts, seeds, pulses, green leafy vegetables and bananas, but not everyone likes these foods. People who are short of magnesium are likely to be tired, and tense. Being tense uses up valuable energy, and tense people find sleeping difficult, which makes them more tired.

It turned out that Nell was easily upset by small disagreements that did not bother other people. She found it difficult to fall asleep, and often woke a few times in the night. Her blood pressure was a bit high, which often
occurs in magnesium deficient people. She did not have osteoporosis, but she had been found to have osteopenia, or lowish bone density, which can also be a consequence of magnesium deficiency.
Moreover, magnesium deficiency can make bones weak as well as too light. She had to pass urine more often than other people, which also suggested magnesium deficiency.

I suggested she take some magnesium in the well-absorbed form of magnesium amino acid chelate. I also suggested some inositol, part of the vitamin B complex, to take at bedtime, and if she felt particularly tense in the day. This is a relaxing substance, that is part of the membrane of all cells in the body. I suggested a good quality multivitamin and mineral tablet. She had not realised that the one she had been buying contained very small amounts of the nutrients she needed, but also contained counter-productive substances like lactose, carrageenan, sunset
yellow and boron.
She agreed to bath in Epsom salts a few times a week, as these supply magnesium and sulphate, which are absorbed through the skin. Sulphate helps the body deal with toxic chemicals. Epsom salt baths are a good way of relaxing before bedtime. I suggested eating plenty of fish for the essential omega three fats, but to avoid tuna, and other fish listed as often having much mercury or other contaminants. The sugar in milk is very much associated with
artery disease. So I suggested eating hard cheese for her calcium, as the milk sugar is pressed out of this cheese, and it is not associated with artery problems.

Nell agreed it would be better to watch the news early in the evening, as the state of the world worried her as she lay in bed. She agreed to give up tea and coffee, as caffeine can make it hard to sleep. She thought that she would never be able to wake up properly before work, without a cup of coffee, but found out that she no longer woke up in a state of caffeine withdrawal. So she no longer needed coffee to pick her up. She did have a bad headache the weekend she gave up coffee, and she was glad I had suggested starting her change of diet on the Friday evening.

She told me that she ate her lunch at her desk, often disturbed by telephone calls. She had tried the canteen, but it was noisy, the food unappetising, and everyone talked shop. She agreed to have a short walk at lunchtime, and to sit outside when the weather allowed.
She told me that she was often too hot in bed. She agreed to try a blanket rather than a duvet in the hot weather. She agreed to buy some more generous sheets, so they would tuck in better, and not wake her up in a mess during the night.
Nell came back to see me a month later, feeling much brighter, sleeping better, and much more able to cope with the stresses at work. She needed less time in bed, and found more time to cook healthy meals, and even to go out with her friends. She was delighted.