49: How To Have More Energy When You Have Crohn's and Colitis

Chronic fatigue comes with Crohn's and Colitis but you can get your energy back! I'm going to show you you're so tired, where energy comes from and how you can get more energy, right now!

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• How energy is made in your body
• 3 ways that IBD and IBD treatments deplete your energy
• 3 things you can do right now to get more energy

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Transcript

🎧 Reversing Crohn’s and Colitis Naturally

Episode Title: Crohn’s and Colitis Drain Your Energy

Host: Josh Dech

🎙️ PART ONE: How Energy Is Made & Why It’s Not Working

 Josh Dech:
Crohn's and colitis drain your energy.
And the medications that they give you actually make it worse.

You see, your doctor insists that it's normal and that you just have to live with this chronic fatigue.
 But that's a lie—and you can get your energy back.

Today I'm going to show you the first thing:
 How energy is supposed to be made—because we can't fix it unless we understand it.
 The second thing: the three biggest reasons why you don't have enough energy.
 And of course, number three: three things that you can do right now to improve your energy.

[Introduction – 0:33]
Contrary to what your doctors told you, Crohn’s and colitis are reversible.

I've helped hundreds of people reverse their bowel disease, and I'm here to help you do it too—
 Because inflammation always has a root cause.
 We just have to find it.

This is the Reversing Crohn's and Colitis Naturally podcast.
Now, I do these live trainings in my Facebook group every single week
And put the audios here for you to listen to.

If you want to watch the video versions of these episodes, just click the links in the show notes to get access to our Facebook group and YouTube channel.
 And for weekly updates, information, tips, and tricks, you can sign up for our email list by clicking the link in the show notes below.

[Who I Am – 1:06]
Now, if you don't know me, my name is Josh Dech.
I'm an IBD specialist, medical lecturer, and physicians consultant
For bowel diseases like IBS, IBD...

And I'm here to show you that IBD—that’s Crohn's and colitis—and all of its symptoms are reversible.

And today, I'm going to show you how you can get your energy back
 So that, of course, you can get your life back.

🔋 How Energy Is Made – 1:28

Number one, I want to talk about how energy is made.
 There's a couple of things that have to happen for us to make energy.

But step one is a simple transfer of food to fuel. Duh.

We eat.
 Your body takes that and turns it into energy.

Your body breaks down the food.
 It breaks it down into glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids.

All these nutrients—these are the building blocks your body needs to make energy.
 You can't make energy out of nothing.
 You have to eat—and your body turns it to energy.

💨 Oxygen Meets Fuel – 2:00

The second thing that happens is going to be dealing with oxygen.

Your body actually has to take oxygen
 And it combines it with that fuel and it produces something called ATP.

This stands for adenosine triphosphate.

This is a little molecule that your cells need to have all the energy.

These are the building blocks that we're using here.

These building blocks—from oxygen and food—travel to your mitochondria inside the cells.
 This is where energy is made.

⚙️ Inside the Mitochondria – 2:36

They travel to the mitochondria.
 These are like tiny energy factories.
 There are thousands of them in every single cell.

And inside that mitochondria, oxygen combines with this fuel and it creates that ATP energy.

Tada.

If you think of ATP—it’s kind of like your body’s rechargeable battery, right?
 It powers everything—from thinking to movement and exercise and the works.

We need it for cellular health.

♻️ Waste Must Go – 3:03

Then what happens after this mitochondria is made?

We have to take the waste—or the byproducts—and send them out of the body.

Your body gets rid of the waste.
 It makes ATP—just like when you eat, you pee and poop.

Your mitochondria produce byproducts like carbon dioxide and water,
 And your body needs to remove it to keep things running smoothly.

You wouldn't want to run around with a full bladder or bowels full of everything.
 You have to get it out.

So you're a mitochondria, right?

We take food → turn it to fuel → it goes into the cells → combines with oxygen → makes energy → and we get rid of the waste.

That’s how energy is made. That’s the simplest form.

🎙️ PART TWO: Why You’re Tired (And What’s Messing With Your Energy)

[The Problem with IBD – 3:42]
The problem is, IBD—Crohn’s and colitis—interrupt the process for a few reasons.

Now, if you're dealing with fatigue—let me know. Drop a comment below.

Rate yourself from 1 to 10.
 10, it's like, “Dude, I can't get out of bed.”
 1, like, “Man, I could join the Olympics right now. I got so much energy.”

Let me know from 1 to 10—how tired are you?

🔥 Reason #1: Inflammation – 4:23

Inflammation.

Now this might sound like an obvious one—but why does it happen?

IBD is inflammatory bowel disease.
That means—you are inflamed.

When you are inflamed—you are not absorbing the nutrients properly.

If you have an ankle that's swollen or inflamed—its job is to walk.
 You can't walk as well or as far.

But if your bowels are inflamed—they can’t do their job either, which is absorbing nutrients and bringing them to the cells.

So, you're going to be deficient in all kinds of stuff like:
 B12, iron, B9 (which is folate, not folic acid).

When we're depleted in nutrients—we're depleted in energy production.
 We need these building blocks to create energy.

🦠 Reason #2: Infections – 5:19

The second reason you're going to be exhausted is due to infections.

What do infections have to do with it?

We have something that bacteria make—bad guys.
 They make these byproducts—we call them LPS.

This stands for lipopolysaccharide.
Another easy word? Endotoxins.

We have all kinds of toxins in our body when we’re inflamed.

And a big driver of IBD is also mold. We see this a lot.
Probably 80% of cases have mold as a layer—either a big one or a little one.

So these toxins—like mold toxins (mycotoxins) or LPS from bacterial overgrowth—
They actually damage your mitochondria.

We call this cellular toxicity.

When you have damaged mitochondria, you have less oxygen delivery.
 You have less ATP.

That’s energy production. Therefore—you have less energy.
 You're fatigued.

💊 Reason #3: Medications – 6:16

The third reason you’re so tired is going to be prescription medications.

They may not tell you this—unless you read the box insert by yourself—
 But steroids, immunosuppressants, certain types of antibiotics, if not most antibiotics—
 Will damage your mitochondria in a couple of ways

They actually increase something we call ROS—reactive oxygen species.

Now, reactive oxygen species are good things, right?
 They’re reactive—they carry oxygen, interact with cells and stuff in your body.
 These molecules can be really beneficial.

They help fight infections in small amounts.
 But when you have too many?
 They damage your mitochondria.

They damage the cells.
 And so, you're not producing energy—because the power plant has been damaged.

⚡ They Damage the Assembly Line – 7:23

The second thing?
 They actually inhibit something called the ETC—the electron transport chain.

Think of this like a power line to the cells.
 It moves electrons from the food you eat into the mitochondria like an assembly line to make ATP.

Or better yet—imagine this:
 The electron transport chain is a conveyor belt that passes electrons down a line—like a relay—one to the next.

At the end, oxygen catches the electrons, which creates ATP—the energy—and creates water.
 That’s what keeps your cells and your energy up.

But medications damage this assembly line.

Imagine there’s a fire in the house.
 You’ve got 30 people lined up passing buckets.
 What happens if a bunch of people just drop dead?

Those buckets don’t get passed.
 The fire doesn’t get put out.
 And now we’ve got depleted energy.

That’s a problem.

🧃 Meds Deplete Nutrients Too – 8:18

Another thing medications do?
 They actually deplete nutrients.

We talked about inflammation depleting nutrients—
 Well, medications do the same thing.

They actually deplete nutrients your mitochondria—that powerhouse—needs to make energy.

Like:

• B1, B2, B3, B6, B12
• Magnesium
• CoQ10

These are vital to the electron transport chain.

Medications stop that.
 They just physically shut off—or impair—your body's ability to get energy where it needs to go.

⏰ Corticosteroids Wreck Cortisol Rhythms – 8:55

Corticosteroids are another one.
They suppress adrenal function.

Now your adrenals aren’t just there every day when you get scared.
 They do other things too.

When you're on corticosteroids, it messes up this rhythm—this cortisol rhythm.

Now, cortisol is a good thing.
 We kind of demonize it.
 But cortisol is anti-inflammatory.
It gets you up in the morning.

It actually helps repair injuries.
 It helps give you energy—it’s part of the whole system.

But when you're on corticosteroids?
 It damages that cortisol rhythm—like your circadian rhythm.

Like your sleep-wake cycle.
 It’s part of your natural body rhythm: to go to bed, wake up, have energy, be rested.

Cortisol works similarly.

When that gets messed up?
 You get energy crashes.
It's dysfunctional.

🧠 Immunosuppressants Disrupt Hormones – 9:43

Another thing?
 Immunosuppressants—the drugs they give you because they say, “Well, it’s autoimmune—let’s suppress your immune system.”

First of all—it’s not autoimmune.
That’s another conversation for another time.

But immunosuppressants interfere with thyroid function.
And your thyroid? A huge part of mitochondrial function.

What do mitochondria do?
 They’re the powerhouse of the cell—they produce ATP.
 So, if your thyroid is sluggish—your energy is too.

🧫 Gut Microbiome Gets Hit – 10:12

Other medications as well:
 Antibiotics.
 Corticosteroids.
 Your “inflammabs.”

All these drugs damage your gut microbiome.

And we need these microbes.

To:

• Produce vitamins
• Break down food
• Digest
• Absorb
• Heal and seal the gut
• Regulate inflammation

Which—surprise—leads to energy depletion.

So these meds damage your gut, which leads to more LPS (same thing infections do), which leads to damaged mitochondria → less ATP → less energy.

🧠 Why You’re Inflamed in the First Place – 10:57

Here’s the thing...
 You’re inflamed due to some kind of reason.

There are three reasons we get sick:

1. Toxins
2. Deficiencies
3. Microbes

☣️ Toxins – 11:01

Toxins can be anything.

We talked about infections.
 Toxins can be mold.
 Heavy metals.
 Pesticides. Glyphosate. Microplastics.

Even chronic stress or blood sugar swings—those are toxic too.

💨 Deficiencies – 11:18

Deficiencies:
 All your basic vitamins.
 Minerals.
 Amino acids.

Sunlight.
 Exercise.
 Oxygen.
 Fresh air.
 Movement.

If you’re deficient—you get sick.

🦠 Microbes – 11:26

Microbes:
 You’ve got infections that are overgrown or undergrown.
 We have imbalances—which also lead to toxins.

That’s why we get sick:
 Toxins.
 Deficiencies.
 Microbes.

So, inflammation, infections, and medications all contribute to those root causes—
 Which then contribute to a breakdown of your cells and mitochondria—
 Therefore… less energy.

🔧 What Can You Do Right Now? – 11:52

So the question has to be asked—
 What can you do right now to improve your energy?

Here are three things you can do to start improving it today.

Number one, we’re going to start on earthing.

I’m going to put this together with stress management.

What is earthing?

Earthing is exactly what it sounds like.
It is touching the earth.

When you're barefoot—come into contact with the sand, or water that’s connected to the earth, or grass...
 You touch trees—like a tree hugger hippie.

This actually discharges all these negative ions inside of your body.

And what happens?
 It’s really interesting.

Remember we talked about why you're so exhausted?
 Poor oxygenation is a big one.

So earthing improves oxygen. I’ll show you how.

When you're inside a building—indoors—surrounded by EMFs, Wi-Fi, cell phone signals, and all kinds of stuff...

What happens inside your bloodstream?
 Your blood cells—they tend to aggregate together.

Kind of like static cling. They're charged the wrong way.

What happens when you go earthing—just 10 to 15 minutes barefoot on the grass—
 And then you come back inside and look at your blood under a microscope?

Suddenly—they’re all spread out.

What does that do?

It increases the surface area—meaning you have more room for oxygen to bind.
Which can increase your energy by increasing mitochondrial function and ATP production.

🧘‍♀️ Bonus: De-stress While You’re at It – 13:16

And of course, while you're earthing—it de-stresses you.

We talked about those cortisol rhythms.
 Well, if you're stressed out chronically on a nonstop basis—guess what happens?

It further disrupts that cortisol rhythm—making you more tired.

So earthing and stress management—number one.
 These are some of the easiest things you can do. And they’re free.

Stress management can be through breath work.
 Through humming.
 Through music.
 Through creative outlet.

However you've got to manage your stress—doesn’t really matter.

You see this thing I’m wearing now? I’m not sponsored by them—I just love them.
 It’s called the Apollo Neuro.

It’s my wearable that I use—which regulates stress and all kinds of cool stuff.
 But that’s another conversation.

🍓 2. Supplements & Diet – 13:56

Number two.
 Let’s talk about supplements and diet.

We talked about how all these processes damage your cells—
 They increase ROS, or reactive oxygen species.

You get oxidative stress.
Oxidative damage.

So we want to be consuming what?

Antioxidants.

There are some people who advocate for carnivore.
 I'm a big fan of animal-based—but I eat like a pound of berries a day.

I’ll go and get the organic frozen berries and make like an ice cream out of it.

These dark berries:

• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Pomegranates
• Raspberries

If you're into leafy greens—they also contain antioxidants, which can help your body repair some of the damage.

💊 Targeted Nutrients – 14:40

While we’re on it, we’re giving our body the nutrients it needs.

There are supplements that we can take.
 Now—you may still have trouble with absorption.

So taking extra amounts or supplementing can make sure you have enough that your body might actually absorb.

That can look like:

• Magnesium
• Zinc
• CoQ10
  These are super important for mitochondrial function.

Of course:
 B vitamins—and you get what you pay for.

If you get cheap B vitamins, you're going to get cheap results.
 You want methylated, proper B vitamins.

We can also use:

• Omegas (Omega-3-9 blends)
• L-carnitine—your body takes fatty acids, gives it to the cells, turns it into energy
• Vitamin D
• Selenium—your mitochondria need it to clean up junk
• ALA (alpha-lipoic acid)—great for inflammation and mitochondrial health

There are some mitochondrial blends—or cellular health blends—that'll have all this good stuff in it.
So you don’t have to worry about trying to find each one.

🧫 3. Repair Your Gut & Microbiome – 15:47

The third thing you gotta be doing is looking to repair your gut and your microbiome.

This might sound like a stupid one—dealing with IBD—but here’s the thing:

You’re not inflamed randomly.

IBD is not this random, autoimmune, genetic condition.
 I have lots of conversations on that through videos and podcasts.

We're not going into it now.
 But we’ve shown through the data:
 It’s not autoimmune.
 It’s not genetic.
 And it’s not random.

There’s lots of reasons why this happens.

🌪️ Get to the Root – 16:10

What we have to do is figure out your root causes.

We get sick, remember, for three reasons:

1. Toxins
2. Deficiencies
3. Microbes

☣️ Mold Is #1 – 16:22

The number one toxin I see in IBD is mold.

Even if you don't think you have any...
 “I don’t see it in my home.”
 “My home is new.”
 Doesn’t matter.

It could still be mold.
 That’s the number one toxin I see—next to heavy metals, environmental poisons, stress, glyphosate, those things.

⚠️ More Root Imbalances – 16:38

The second thing is deficiencies.

Again:

• Basic movement
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Sunlight
• Water
   All the good stuff.

The third thing we see—hugely implicated—is fungal overgrowth.

These are your microbes.

We see:

• Parasitic infections
• Clostridia (overgrown bacteria)
• Dysbiosis
• Hidden viral infections like Epstein-Barr or CMV (cytomegalovirus)

All kinds of stuff—hidden in the depths.

🧯 Fix the Fire and the Leak – 17:12

But your roots are some kind of:

• Toxin
• Deficiency
• Microbe

Those are the only three reasons human beings get sick.

When you find those—it’s like pouring gasoline on a fire, then suddenly stopping the gasoline.

It may still be burnt up—but we can repair that microbiome,
Repair that gut lining...

But we have to take steps to stop the thing that’s causing inflammation.

🤔 But What About Supplements? – 17:28

Someone’s going to be listening to this and going:
 “You know what? That sounds awesome. What supplement can I take?”

Not the answer.

You have to get through the roots—
 Through a very carefully curated, understood process of what your roots are.

You can take all the supplements in the world to repair your gut lining and your microbiome—
 Take all the probiotics, all the mitochondrial stuff. That’s great.

I’m not arguing with that.

But if you’re trying to put out the fire—
 You have to find and turn off the gas leak.

Otherwise, you’re constantly chasing the symptom of inflammation—
 Rather than going to the reason why you're inflamed.

🎯 Final Message – 18:10

So—we have to go through those root causes first.

I got tons of videos on that. Dive into those—you’re welcome to get to them.
I have a whole podcast on just IBD.

But for those of you who are like,
 “Man, I don’t want to figure this out on my own. It doesn’t make sense to me. I spent years trying to figure it out—and I’m sick of it.”

We can help.

If you’re watching on YouTube or listening on the podcast, and you want to get some help,
 There’s a very easy way to do that.

Check the links in the notes below.
 We’ll jump on a call—see what’s going on—if we can help you, what that looks like, and we go from there.

One of my favorite things to hear as an IBD specialist is something along the lines of:
 “I learned more from you in 15 minutes than from my doctor in 15 years.”

And if this—for the first time—is really starting to click...
 And it’s starting to make sense...

You’re going,
 “Wait a minute. This might be reversible. I think there’s more that I can do. This condition came out of nowhere. It happened to me out of the blue. I was healthy for 10, 20, 30, 40 years—and suddenly I wasn’t. And you’re telling me there’s no cause?”

If you’re understanding finally that there is a cause...
That something is driving this...

I want to invite you to check the link in the show notes below.
 Send me an email.
 Ask a question.
 See if a program is the right fit for you.

Because I promise you...

This doesn’t have to be a lifelong sentence.
 You're not doomed to this.
And IBD can be reversed.