Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: VOISIN / PHANIE / PHANIE VIA AFP
Can fatigue be a consequence of our diet and lifestyle? For Laurence Plumey, nutritionist and founder of EPM Nutrition, the School of Nutrition and Napsotherapy, the answer is clear. guest in Well done for youthe specialist assures that to be in shape, you have to think about three important pillars: food, physical activity and sleep.
Beware of veganism
“Food? Yes, there can be deficiencies, which is the first cause of fatigue,” says Laurence Plumey at the microphone of Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez. The specialist points out that the body is a “wonderful machine” that needs protein, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates, 13 vitamins, six minerals and a multitude of trace elements every day. Faced with this, she warns about veganism. “It is the food mode that exposes the most to deficiencies. No meat, no fish and no dairy products, this represents a high risk of deficiency in vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega three, calcium, and I’m going,” she says. For her, when a person embarks on this mode of food, it must be supervised and advised. “We do not launch into veganism on a whim. So we must be advised to supplement on each of these points. Whereas by eating a variety, we would not need to supplement”, assures the nutritionist.
To optimize your sleep and be in good shape, Laurence Plumey advises eating light in the evening. “We must avoid meals rich in sauce, avoid bread, cheese, glass of wine or sweet dessert. Because all this increases the residence time in the stomach. Between a light meal and a heavy meal, it will s elapse a difference of two hours. When you go to bed with a stomach that is still digesting, it is difficult to fall asleep”, she underlines. Therefore, to respect an ideal bedtime, it is important to eat between 7 and 8 p.m. and go to bed 3 to 4 hours after eating.
An adult needs 8 hours of sleep on average
Because for Laurence Plumey, sleep plays an essential role against fatigue. On the other hand, the French have been sleeping less and less in recent years. “People go to bed more often after midnight. And when they have to get up at 7 a.m. for work, they only get an average of 6 hours of sleep per night, whereas an adult’s brain has need 8 hours on average,” she says. When a person misses an entire cycle per night, it means that per week, he imposes on his brain a sleepless night. “We must correct this lack of sleep and systematically go to bed before midnight”, admits the specialist at the microphone of Europe 1.
One hour walk per day
But for the founder of EPM Nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle would also explain a lot of fatigue. According to her, the less we move, the more we are tired. “You should know that 40% of our body weight is represented by muscles. We have 600 muscles in us. It’s like having a sports car and driving at 30 km/h all the time. So we are made for movement”, recognizes Laurence Plumey. For this, she advises doing one hour of walking per day and two to three muscle strengthening sessions per week. “When the muscles are in action, they release hormones including adrenaline which is extremely invigorating. And it also releases endorphins which are a source of pleasure. So, when you don’t move, you deprive yourself of both”, laments the nutritionist.