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Anyone juggling a career, personal life and an exercise regime that involves more than a walk at the independence square (like my boss) knows energy isn’t as easy to come by as it was back in the day when sports were an integral part of the day.
The problem is that with increasing demands from both professional and personal ends, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain energy levels like you used to. This isn’t exactly uncommon and is the very reason for pre-workout supplements that stack shelves in stores.
Most people resolve to increasing their daily food intake in order to combat fatigue but unfortunately feeling exhausted isn’t always a matter of not eating enough; in fact it’s most often to do with not eating right.
Fatigue can occur as a result of a wide range of things like dehydration, lack of sleep, inadequate nutrition or even underlying psychological conditions. One of the easiest ways and probably most effective ways to tackle the lack of energy is by incorporating more complex carbs and eliminating or minimizing simple carbs.
Several common foods can also help you get over the slumps. If you’re tired of being tired, start incorporating these foods into your diet more regularly.
Water
Hate to be Mr. Obvious over here and I know water isn’t technically a food but it doesn’t get more critical than this. The recommended water intake is 1.2 to 2 liters which roughly works out to about 6 to 8 glasses while it’s not exactly practical to keep track of your water intake in liters, a better way to follow your progress is to check the colour of your urine.
If your urine isn’t clear that’s a good indicator that you’re not getting enough water. Just to drive the point home, researchers have found that even a 1.5% level of dehydration can significantly alter mood, mental functions and energy levels, there’s food for thought, or rather water for thought.
Coffee
Once again not a food I know but is there really a better pick-me-up than coffee? The caffeine content in coffee is known for significantly alleviating energy levels; however coffee is also under a lot of controversy with regard to the pros outweighing the cons and the possibility of it being vice versa.
Findings suggest that a dosage above 500mg of coffee may in fact worsen mood and cause anxiety while a dosage at a lower level is generally met with a positive reaction.
Almonds
Whoever came up with the expression “big things come in small packages” probably had almonds in mind. Almonds are packed with healthy monounsaturated fats; contain fiber, magnesium, protein and an entire serving of calcium in only seven nuts.
Clinical trials have shown that eating almonds can help lower LDL cholesterol, fight inflammation, lower blood pressure and help with weight loss when substituted for complex carbohydrates. In a study carried out on diabetes patients, consumption of almonds was shown to be more beneficial than a cholesterol lowering diet. Almonds are extremely potent and lend a great hand to muscle building as well.
Broccoli
Known to be the king of vegetables, Broccoli has the added benefits of being an excellent nutrient source in addition to its energy supply. Broccoli has been found to effectively battle cancer growth cells and the vitamin content is known to be effective against free radical action.
The way Broccoli is consumed has a great impact on its nutrient content, boiling Broccoli is known to cause it to lose 30% of nutrients in five minutes of boiling and up to 50% in ten minutes.
Spinach
Seems like Popeye got it right with his choice of diet, the much fabled about green leaf actually contains a whole host of nutrients, each of which assist in the maintenance of a healthy functioning system and simultaneously a high level of energy.
Spinach is an excellent source of B-vitamin folate a nutrient which was found to be lacking in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome. In addition to the B-vitamin folate, Spinach is also rich in selenium, vitamin C, zinc, niacin and riboflavin.
Sweet Potato
Low blood sugar levels are a common cause of fatigue and can be fixed with a quick sugary snack, the problem however is that the simple sugar quickly depletes in the system and your back on square one in a matter of hours.
The more efficient and sustainable solution is to minimize on refined carbs and stick to complex carbs like sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are mostly complex carbs and don’t cause a sudden spikes in blood sugar levels, allowing a more sustained release of energy into the bloodstream.
By Dilshan Senaratne
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