I’ve found some formulas for curing chronic fatigue.  I started with high fiber: a raw vegetable, fruits, nuts, seeds, and beans diet, which has transformed into what it is today.  And my energy and mood are a thousand times better than what they were before.  With that said, here are ten of my best secrets for combating chronic fatigue.

Eat a breakfast of champions.  I eat a bowl of porridge with berries, drink almond milk with greens powder, take a tablespoon of hemp seeds, and chase it down with a can of sardines.  That’s my breakfast.  Sardines sound gross, but because I have a brain-related condition, I get endorphins shooting off whenever I eat omega-3 fatty acids, mainly from sardines.

Take ice-cold showers.  If we’ve ever splashed cold water on our faces and felt instant relief, we can guess the benefits of ice-cold showers.  The best thing a person can do for a quick hit of energy when suffering chronic fatigue is to have an ice-cold shower.  And research supports its benefits.

Get seven hours of sleep.  I used to think I needed eleven hours of sleep, which made me sick and even more tired.  But, weirdly, I discovered I have the most energy when I have seven hours of sleep.  So, I stay up until midnight learning Unreal Engine for virtual reality game design.  And then I go to bed, waking up the following day at around 6:45 AM.  Interestingly, my chronic fatigue is cured by less sleep.  And I go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.  This brings us to the next point:

Have a vocation we are passionate about.  And fill our day—from morning to bedtime—with productivity: working, learning, and doing all the things we love.  Passion cures fatigue in surprising ways.  But to discover our passions, take personality and career tests to plan our academic and career paths wisely.  Acquiring a profession that we love is essential if our goal is maximum enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm and passion are great healers of chronic fatigue.

Develop greater integrity.  Learning to love unconditionally, serve others, and demonstrate compassion and kindness are vital traits for mental health.  If we pick up a book on positive qualities, we’ll find plenty of positives that are uniquely us.  The key is adopting new ones or better refining current ones.  Read spiritual or religious books, go to church or a temple or mosque, or read self-help books.  After all, integrity heals like nothing else.

Exercise.  And consider lane swimming.  Swimming in cold water is highly therapeutic for fatigue.  When I was dying from chronic fatigue, I started walking the hallway for ten minutes a day.  Now, I swim laps for two hours a week, lift weights, and do martial arts two additional days a week.  It’s my sweet spot where I make gains and my mood is at its peak.  Any more exercise and my mood takes a hit.  So, find our sweet spots of training for optimal mental and physical health.

Cut out all added sugar.  Added sugar is the kiss of death for people with chronic fatigue.  If sugar is on the “ingredient list,” don’t eat it.  But if a food contains sugar but is not an added “ingredient,” it should be okay to eat.  For instance, plain Greek yogurt contains sugar, but sugar is not on the “ingredient” list.  The only sweet I ever eat anymore is 100% dark chocolate.

Cut out all oils.  I read a book on lupus, a condition my dear friend has.  (And she gets chronic fatigue.) A medical doctor wrote the book.  The doctor said to cut out oils.  Cutting out oils was a central premise of the book.  And I discovered the same when I had chronic fatigue.  The tipping point of nausea was always reached whenever I consumed oils.  So, I get my fats from nuts, seeds, salmon, and avocadoes instead.

Cut out all packaged foods with more than five ingredients on the list.  These are typically processed foods.  And cut out any food items with words in the ingredient list that are so complex we can barely pronounce them.  In other words, cut out all processed foods.  Processed foods are sent to factories where they are modified to make cooking faster.  Hot dogs, cold cuts, potato chips, breakfast cereals (especially cereals that feature a cartoon on the box), canned soups, packaged macaroni, and so much more are toxic for people with chronic fatigue.  Instead, hang out at the raw meats, vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, mixed beans, steal-cut oats, and organic sections.

The tiniest wrong thing to eat tipped me further into the dying cycle.  But a strict diet and intense exercise turned my world into one of health.  Just today, I woke up after seven hours, had my breakfast of champions, went to a neighboring town for a swim, and returned home with peak energy, ready for a day of work and fun.  I believe we can all turn around any ailment if we become strict with our lifestyle choices.  Remember that 100% effort is easier to achieve than 99%.  And if our doctors aren’t diagnosing our ailments despite multiple tests, then diet and exercise may be more significant to our healing than we may have banked on.