Our modern lifestyles are demanding. Working, training, socialising, and commuting are all responsibilities that many of us encounter daily, and sometimes they can take their toll. It’s important, in times such as these, to look after your health, body, and wellbeing more than ever before.
Are you eating a balanced diet with the right nutrients to support you daily? Are you giving your brain and body all of the tools they need to keep them happy, healthy, and energised?
Let’s look at a brief guide on foods that give you energy and advice on how to boost energy when tired, so you can make the necessary changes in your diet, lifestyle, and health to support you in reaching peak mental and physical everyday performance.
Energy boosting foods your diet needs
Complex Carbs
Carbohydrates are universally recognised as energy boosting foods, so it’s important that this food group features in your diet. However, not all carbohydrates are created equal.
‘Simple’ carbohydrates such as baked treats, biscuits, and sugary cereal should ideally be avoided, because they are essentially sugars which can be bad for you when unmoderated. They’re broken down very quickly by the body because of their simple molecular chains, so they offer very little in terms of long-lasting energy.
Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are high in fibre and help manage blood sugar levels. Their fibre concentration means they’re slower to digest, giving you vital slow-release energy, and can keep you fuller for longer.
Examples of complex carbohydrates to include in your diet are:
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Wholewheat bread
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Beans
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Bananas
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Brown pasta and rice
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Oats and wholegrains
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Nuts
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And chickpeas
Tomorrow morning, when you’re sitting down for your morning turmeric shot and breakfast, opt for some wholegrain cereal to keep you going for longer. When you feel yourself tiring in the afternoon, snack on a banana.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Foods that give you energy don’t have to be bread and grain-based, there’s also plenty of energy boosting foods available in the fresh fruit and vegetables aisle.
Fresh fruit and vegetables that give you energy include:
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Apples are a source of rich natural sugars that are strung together in complex molecular chains, so they too are slow to digest and therefore provide slow-release energy.
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Avocados, as well as being delicious, are rich in healthy fats that not only aid the body’s absorption of nutrients, but around 80% of their carbohydrate content is fibre, keeping you fuller for longer.
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Leafy greens like spinach and kale are an unparalleled source of nutrients such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium; all vital to keeping your body fuelled, alert, and full of energy.
Caffeine
Foods rich in caffeine are some of the more obviously opted-for when you need foods that give you energy. Coffee and tea are rich in caffeine, which quickly passes into your bloodstream to stimulate the increased production of the hormone epinephrine, a stimulant.
For those who are not coffee fans, green tea also contains caffeine alongside a compound called L-theanine, which helps to moderate the negative effects of caffeine.
If you are someone who feels jittery or anxious after drinking coffee, then a green tea will give you the energy boost you need without these unwanted side effects.
However, you can also get a small caffeine fix (and other beneficial compounds such as antioxidants) from foods like dark chocolate.
Fatty Fish
Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna are full of nutrients like protein, fatty acids, and B vitamins, making them very popular with athletes and professional sports players.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce tissue and muscle inflammation, which is a common contributor to decreased energy levels and tiredness. The vitamin B12 also present in fatty fish works to produce red blood cells and improve the function of iron in your body, staving off fatigue.
Don’t be put off by the fact that they’re ‘fatty’ fish, because this fat is natural and a far cry from saturated fats found in most processed foods. In fact, these fatty acids may deliver plenty of benefits to your heart, brain, and lungs as well as your energy levels.
How to boost energy when tired
We’ve discussed dietary needs, but identifying the cause of your fatigue is also important when identifying why and how to boost energy when tired.
Lifestyle implications such as lack of sleep or dehydration can be fixed by you yourself making a conscious effort in your day-to-day life, but other fatigue factors such as mental and physical burnout or simply feeling rundown can be a little more abstract.
Missing out on your peak performance can dampen your mental outlook as well as your physical energy levels and vice versa, which is why the two often go hand-in-hand.
When you’re looking for advice on how to boost energy when tired and you’ve already committed to memory our above resource for foods that give you energy, then perhaps we could help…
Start your morning with a ‘kick’
As well as starting your morning with some wholegrain cereal for that slow-release energy, why not also add in a turmeric shot – either straight from the bottle or mixed into a smoothie or juice. You could even try our turmeric smoothie recipe.
For something energy boosting, we’d recommend our raw turmeric and beetroot shots. The nitrates present in the beets improve endurance and everyday performance by supporting the mitochondria responsible for energy production in your cells.
Over continued use, you’re likely to see increased energy levels and a decrease in fatigue, both physically and mentally.
Combat burnout
Mental burnout is just as big of a barrier to your energy levels as physical burnout is, but luckily there are energy boosting foods that can help with this.
Ginger root, for example, has been shown to increase the levels of dopamine and serotonin – the happy hormones – in your brain to keep you focussed, productive, and positive. This is why ginger is used as an ingredient in a lot of smoothies and juices, as well as its many other benefits such as high levels of antioxidants and promotes gut health.
This is part of the reason why we offer raw turmeric and ginger shots too because these little roots have been shown to work wonders for both physical and mental performance.
We are firm believers in our turmeric shots as energy-boosting supplements because they are specifically formulated to aid in supporting your immune system, everyday performance, recovery and health.
Alongside a balanced diet of foods that give you energy and fuel your body, you can feel mentally and physically fortified against fatigue whether you’re training, recovering, or simply looking for an extra kick.
Shop today with The Turmeric Co. to harness the power of natural roots in liquid shot form and all of the goodness they have bursting inside them.
