It is critical to realize that all the above symptoms are related to a severe energy deficit. Many of the above symptoms represent various adaptations to burnout. That is, the person is compensating for his lack of energy by changing his behavior. One may be attracted to various stimulants and/or drugs, to relieve his depression and provide him with a semblance of feeling alive and well.

Dietary Changes In Burnout
    Obsessive cravings and dietary habits that are common in our society today are often attributable to burnout. Some of these include the chocolate habit, vegetarianism, sugar addiction and appetite disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

Chocolate
    Is there some special reason why almost everyone craves chocolate? Chocolate is almost a perfect food for the person in burnout because it contains large amounts of sugar, which provides a short-term energy boost to a person with a low energy level. (Later, however, there is a rebound effect.) Chocolate also contains relatively large amounts of magnesium; an essential mineral required for energy production and release of stored energy.
    In addition, chocolate contains high quantities of copper. Copper is also essential for energy production and to reduce excessive glucocorticoid activity. People in burnout usually suffer from an inability to properly mobilize copper. Although copper is present, it is biounavailable, largely due to an adrenal insufficiency problem. These individuals often benefit from taking copper.

Vegetarianism
    As a person moves toward burnout, hydrochloric acid production decreases and the ability to adequately digest animal protein diminishes accordingly. Copper toxicity and zinc deficiency also interfere with the ability of the pancreas to secrete trypsin and chymotrypsin. These are required for adequate digestion of meat protein.
    Meat protein can cause heaviness, sluggish digestion, gas and bloating in those with burnout. Initially, the problem is only with red meat. As the condition progresses, the same occurs with poultry and fish. Finally the individual finds himself preferring a totally vegetarian diet. The extent to which one avoids meat protein is an excellent criterion for measuring the extent of one's burnout problem.
    Often, other reasons are given for the vegetarian regime, to save money and to prevent animal cruelty, etc. However, upon the careful questioning of many vegetarians, the essential reason is they are no longer able to adequately digest meat protein.
    The vegetarian craze today is undoubtedly due in part to the widespread incidence of burnout. We know this to be true because as a person recovers from burnout, they reacquire their taste for animal protein. So we find that vegetarianism represents a defensive or adaptive measure that is needed when a person is near or in burnout.

Sugar Addiction
    An individual in burnout has a very difficult time maintaining normal blood sugar levels. The reason is that the normal energy pathway for production of glucose from carbohydrates and fats is not operating well. Hence one desires to consume sugar directly to provide fuel for the cells.
    Blood sugar regulation depends upon many factors including optimal adrenal activity, the secretion of insulin and cortisone, optimal liver function, as well as adequate digestion and assimilation of carbohydrates and fats.
    Many people in burnout have wildly fluctuating blood sugar levels for the above reasons. Others suffer from chronically low blood sugar levels or hypoglycemia. Others have diabetes (high blood sugar), but they are unable to utilize or burn all the sugar they have in their blood. Any of the above malfunctions will result in an intense craving for sugar and simple carbohydrates.
    Because sugar is the simplest form of fuel, it can practically be used or burned in the body for energy exactly as it is. Sugar craving may be a necessary defense measure needed to avoid an impending catastrophe. The brain does not have the ability to store sugar and if glucose levels drop below about 65 mg/100 ml, an individual will frequently experience extreme anxiety, confusion and nervousness. People have become violent when blood sugar levels fall precipitously.
    Alcohol craving can also occur for the same reasons as above. Alcohol can be used as a substitute fuel instead of sugar. Based upon our research, many alcoholics are in a state of burnout.

Anorexia/Bulimia
    Zinc is one of the elements that is specifically depleted in burnout victims. Zinc is essential in appetite regulation. As zinc levels diminish, loss of taste and smell develop resulting in a loss of appetite and disinterest in food. This is why copper toxic individuals suffer from a loss of appetite.
    Copper, another essential mineral which is also intimately involved in appetite regulation, is out of balance with zinc in 100% of burnout sufferers. Depending on the severity of the zinc/copper ratio imbalance, numerous metabolic dysfunctions including anorexia or bulimia can easily develop.

How Does Burnout Develop?
    Although burnout essentially represents a physical energy breakdown, it can be brought on by any kind of stress - physical or emotional. Many types of stress, if severe enough or of long enough duration, can result in burnout.
    Stress can include excessive physical activity, family tensions, job related stress, emotional upsets and even negative attitudes and thoughts. These have a detrimental effect upon behavior and body functioning.
    Essentially, stress causes depletion of specific vital nutrients faster than they can be replaced by one's dietary intake. As the body's nutrient reserves become depleted, the energy producing glands - the thyroid and adrenal glands - are unable to function normally (maintain homeostasis) and distressing symptoms begin to appear or present symptoms are magnified.
    An inadequate diet of course hastens the burnout process. However, it must be cautioned that burnout can occur in the presence of an apparently adequate diet.
    All too often, as vital nutrients are depleted, toxic metals accumulate in the tissues. Lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum and specifically copper, interferes with the normal functions of critical enzyme systems, further impairing the body's energy system.
    Burnout may occur rapidly, following a single severe stress, but more often than not burnout occurs slowly and insidiously from a combination of stress and an inadequate diet. A particular event can trigger burnout, but in the great majority of cases, it may only be the straw that broke the camel's back. For example, a divorce, or a death in the family, commonly triggers a burnout condition in susceptible individuals. However in all too many cases, one's health is extremely fragile and the stressful event is the final blow that triggers the burnout syndrome.

Who Suffers From Burnout?
    There is a prevalent myth that only busy executives suffer from burnout. Nothing could be further from the truth. Housewives are equally or in certain instances, more prone to burnout than men and while some occupations are known for their ability to produce burnout, it can occur with any occupation.
    Burnout is no respecter of age. Today, we commonly find children in burnout. This occurs because their mothers were approaching or in burnout while pregnant, so the child's body chemistry is abnormal from birth.
    Today we are seeing more and more burnout babies. These babies tend to suffer from chronic ear infections, poor appetites, sugar cravings, failure to thrive syndrome and often hyperactivity.
    Some children survive infancy intact, but family and school pressures combined with junk food diets precipitate a burnout crisis at a very early age. These children frequently develop allergies, dark circles under their eyes, suffer from learning disability problems, attention deficits and other vague complaints.
    The teenage years are one of the most common periods in which we see burnout occurring. Peer pressure and puberty add to and perpetuate stress. Because the body is growing rapidly, nutrient requirements are exceptionally high. At the same time, teenage diets are notoriously inadequate. The result is overwhelming fatigue, inability to concentrate in school and attraction to alcohol and drugs. In all too many cases, suicide seems the only way to relieve the feeling that life is not worth living in burnout.
    If physicians, nurses and mental health workers were able to detect the simple symptoms of burnout, no doubt many lives could be redeemed. Often it only requires one simple question. Do you feel exhausted upon arising in the morning?
    In summary, burnout can occur at any age in both sexes.

Burnout And Body Chemistry
    Our bodies continually process food and convert it to energy to support vital life functions. Energy synthesis is analogous in a vague way to the fuel system of an automobile. Adequate energy production depends upon;