Do you feel sluggish?

Lacking energy?

Experience Brain Fog?

If you’re unsure why you feel this way a great place to start is making small adjustments to your nutrition! You are what you eat, right? So to eat for boundless energy and clarity of the mind we’ve compiled a list of foods that you can start incorporating into your diet straight away.

TO SUPPORT YOUR ENERGY:

PROTEIN

Foods rich in protein are very satiating and help to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. To support energy during the day, aim to include a source of protein at each meal.

Foods to eat are eggs, lean red meat, tofu, legumes, white-meat poultry or seafood.

Iron

Iron is essential for energy because it’ a building-block for the red blood cells that transport oxygen around the body – which explains why constant tiredness is a tell-tale sign that you are low in iron. Iron deficiency is a common nutritional gap with almost 1 in four women having low iron intakes.

Foods to eat to increase iron levels: meat, fish, tofu, green leafy vegetables, eggs, sunflower seeds, apricots and whole grains such as brown rice. For enhanced absorption eat your serving of red meat with Vitamin C (either as a Vitamin C tablet or have a glass of orange juice) plus avoid having dairy with your meal as this can block iron absorption.

MINERALS

The thyroid gland regulates our metabolism and its function can impact energy levels.  Zinc, iodine and selenium are all nutrients/minerals needed by the thyroid to convert inactive thyroid hormone into active, the form used by the body. If our dietary supply is low, this conversion may be hampered and leave us with feelings of fatigue.

Zinc: beef, capsicum, egg yolks, ginger, oysters, pumpkin seeds and wholegrains.
Iodine: seafood, seaweed, asparagus, dairy, mushrooms and sunflower seeds
Selenium: brazil nuts, alfalfa, celery, eggs, fish, garlic, cashews and tuna.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates provide a slow release of energy and also contain B-vitamins. An adequate intake of B-vitamins is necessary for food to be used as energy by the body. Aim to include a source of complex carbohydrates at each meal and snack.

Foods include green vegetables, whole grains such as brown rice or quinoa, starchy vegetables such as sweet potato, corn and pumpkin.

Remember to hydrate!

Women should drink 1.6litres of fluid a day – the equivalent to 8 glasses of water. By cutting down on your caffeine intake you will improve your hydration also!

FOODS THAT ARE MAKING YOU FEEL FATIGUED:
Biscuits, cakes and sweets

It is critical to cut refined sugar to notice a positive impact on your energy levels. It’s common knowledge, refined sugar is quickly broken down and whilst such foods offer an initial burst of energy, this energy is only temporary and will be followed by a crash.

Bottled Commerical Juice

Generally speaking, commercial fruit juice lacks fibre from fruit pulp. Fibre is necessary to slow down the absorption of sugar in fruit juice. Drinking fruit juice without fibre can cause a quick rise in blood sugar and provide little sustenance. Try making your own at home to avoid drinking too much sugar, choose a green juice over other fruity juices and when possible include the pulp or add another form of fibre, such as soaked chia seeds or psyllium husk.

Cut Soft Drinks

Soft drinks are usually sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners provide very little energy to the body and when consumed trick the body into thinking its going to receive food. The body is then fired up to receive food so will feel excessively hungry and energy levels will drop if not provided with real food! To put it in perspective a 500ml can of coke has 53 grams of sugar that’s 12 teaspoons of sugar!