T&T Heart Foun­da­tion

For some of us, com­ing out of the hol­i­day sea­son and in­to the new year can be a drag. Es­tab­lish­ing your New Year res­o­lu­tions, you may have picked up a new ex­er­cise rou­tine that has left you feel­ing drained. If you’re look­ing for a boost in en­er­gy, you may in­stinc­tive­ly reach for some­thing sug­ary, but that may not be the best so­lu­tion. As such, you may be won­der­ing which foods may be the best help to main­tain your alert­ness and fo­cus through­out the day.

But doesn’t all food boost en­er­gy?

Yes, all foods give you en­er­gy in the form of calo­ries. How­ev­er, not all foods af­fect your en­er­gy lev­els the same way. Sug­ary drinks, can­dy, and pas­tries put too much fu­el in­to your blood too quick­ly. Foods like these are usu­al­ly de­scribed as sim­ple carbs. Their fast di­ges­tion rate means that they cause a rapid rise in your blood sug­ar and en­er­gy lev­els but is typ­i­cal­ly fol­lowed by a crash, leav­ing you tired and hun­gry again.

What about caf­feine?

Men­tion en­er­gy boost and the most com­mon re­sponse may be a cup of cof­fee, it’s where many of us get our morn­ing caf­feine jolt. Caf­feine is the most wide­ly con­sumed stim­u­lant in the world and is pri­mar­i­ly sought af­ter to help com­bat fa­tigue and drowsi­ness. Nev­er­the­less, be care­ful about the type of caf­feinat­ed prod­ucts you choose as en­er­gy drinks and caf­feinat­ed so­das tend to be high in added sug­ars, which can in­crease the risk of obe­si­ty, type 2 di­a­betes, and heart dis­ease.

So, what are some more sat­is­fy­ing op­tions?

1. Oat­meal

A bowl of cooked oat­meal breaks down to be­come en­er­gy that’s slow­ly ab­sorbed by your body. It’s a com­plex car­bo­hy­drate. That means it’s full of fiber and nu­tri­ents. Oat­meal is slow­er to di­gest and sup­plies en­er­gy even­ly, in­stead of all at once. Choos­ing the plain ver­sions of in­stant pack­ets of oat­meal, steel-cut oats, or old-fash­ioned oats is best as they aren’t filled with ex­tra sug­ar.

2. Eggs

A sin­gle egg has just around 70 calo­ries (varies de­pend­ing on the size and how it is pre­pared), and yet is a rich source of pro­tein. That pro­vides fu­el that gets re­leased slow­ly. It al­so has more nu­tri­ents per calo­rie than most oth­er foods, which helps it sat­is­fy hunger. As a re­sult, you’re more like­ly to skip that mid-morn­ing sweet treat in the of­fice that will spike your blood sug­ar and crash your en­er­gy.

3. Yo­gurt

If you’re look­ing for a quick boost be­fore a work­out, yo­gurt is an easy grab-and-go snack. Yo­gurt con­tains lac­tose, a milk sug­ar, which is eas­i­ly used for en­er­gy. It al­so has a good amount of pro­tein, which helps slow down the ab­sorp­tion of that lac­tose, mak­ing the en­er­gy boost last longer.

What about wa­ter?

You shouldn’t for­get about hy­dra­tion, ex­er­cise and sleep, as these are al­so key to in­creas­ing your en­er­gy lev­els.

OK, so it’s not a food, but drink­ing wa­ter is es­sen­tial for op­ti­mal func­tion­ing of the body. Al­though wa­ter doesn’t pro­vide ac­tu­al en­er­gy in the form of calo­ries, hy­drat­ing prop­er­ly dur­ing the day helps fa­cil­i­tate the en­er­getic process­es in the body, which is an en­er­gy boost in it­self and helps fight feel­ings of fa­tigue. Not drink­ing enough wa­ter can lead to de­hy­dra­tion which may re­sult in dif­fi­cul­ty con­cen­trat­ing, headaches, ir­ri­tabil­i­ty, lethar­gy, and sleepi­ness. Sip on wa­ter through­out the day, and try to swap out so­das, cof­fee, and oth­er drinks for a glass of wa­ter.

While all foods pro­vide en­er­gy, eat­ing a whole­some di­et and hav­ing healthy snacks on hand is a great way to stay en­er­gised and pro­duc­tive. In ad­di­tion, be sure to ac­com­pa­ny a well-bal­anced di­et with enough ex­er­cise, hy­dra­tion, and am­ple sleep to im­prove your en­er­gy lev­els and re­duce fa­tigue.