What you eat each day can play a role in how you cope and how much energy you have throughout the day.
THE diet what you eat and drink works for your body like gasoline for a car and gives you the energy you need.
Which foods are the best and worst for giving you energy? Dietitian Beth Czerwony explains.
Thanks to your metabolism, everything you consume is converted into energy for your body. However, although all foods provide energy, not all of them affect our bodies in the same way.
Foods and drinks that give you energy
The best nutrition plans include a balanced diet filled with a variety of nutrient-dense foods.
Complex hydrocarbons
Complex carbohydrates are easy to include in your diet. Foods that are considered complex carbohydrates are common rich in fiber and starch. These foods are more complex at the molecular level, making it harder for your body to break them down and absorb them. This slow process is ideal for maintaining a continuous energy supply.
Foods that contain complex carbohydrates include:
- Whole grain foods
- fruits,
- Vegetables like sweet potatoes, asparagus, broccoli and corn.
- Legumes, such as beans and lentils.
- Lean proteins
When we say lean protein, we mean it foods such as chicken or fish, eggs and legumes, and not red meat with a high fat content. This forces your body to “work harder” and you feel more tired than energized.
Also, never forget to hydrate. Being tired can be a sign that you are dehydrated. Even mild dehydration can cause feelings of fatigue. Low fluid levels in your body force your heart to work harder, slowly but surely depleting your energy. Therefore, on hot days, we feel more tired and need to drink more water.
Foods and drinks that can make you tired
Caffeine consumption gives us an extra “boost” of energy for a while, but the levels drop quickly and we feel more tired than before.
Caffeine can also make it difficult to sleep and affect overall energy levels. The key to caffeine is moderation
Also, simple carbohydrates and sugars are among the foods that do not give us the energy we need and make us feel tired.
As the name suggests, simple carbohydrates are not very complex molecularly. This allows your body to quickly break down and digest simple carbohydrates, it quickly raises your blood sugar to give you energy.
This rise is followed by a steep descent, which can put you to sleep. Foods that fall into the category of simple carbohydrates include:
- White bread, pasta and rice
- Sweet
- Soft drinks and other sugary drinks.
- Yogurts with added fruit sweeteners
- Alcohol
Other factors that affect our body’s energy levels are the amount and frequency we eat, as well as our lifestyle how much we sleep, smoke and exercise.