How to Boost Energy Levels – Does coffee really boost your energy levels?

18th April 2011 by SevenSeasLife | 2 Comments

Coffee certainly wakes you up…..it gives your mind a signal that it is time for some serious action – get ready to go, go, go! The effect of this is the release of adrenaline, the emergency signal for the body which releases sugar into the blood stream from you stores, increases your heart rate, tenses your muscles, and sharpens your mind ready for whatever is about to be thrown at it. The problem is that on your average day, you probably won’t physically react to an emergency by running away or fighting off a predator -you will be more likely to sit in traffic, stress over a phone call or deal with a stubborn toddler, not using any of the extra sugar in your blood stream at all. There it sits, unused, until your systems notice the overload, and releases insulin to remove the sugar and store it away as fat –normally in the most accessible place, your middle.

But once we have started on this ride, this is not really our fault. When we raise our sugar levels with caffeine or sugary breakfasts, our body overcompensates for the sugar high using insulin to bring sugar levels, sometimes to a crashing low. Low blood sugar levels can cause symptoms such as poor memory and concentration, sugar cravings, irritability and fatigue. We have all experienced the mid afternoon slump – when we reach for something sweet to pep us up. The chances are you are so desperate for food and energy that there is a risk of cramming as much sugar as you can find into your system before you run off to the next task of the day. These habits do not help with appetite control or weight management. In short, they make us fat, especially when combined with this feeling of being stressed.

Our ‘caffeine in the morning’ habit is also combined with other bad advice – like ‘healthy’ breakfast cereals loaded with sugar or ‘wholemeal’ toast with jam, may be a croissant or pastry from a coffee shop? These all further disrupt our sugar levels in our blood stream. So here’s what to do to increase energy levels:

• Start your day with a wholesome breakfast, allocate time to eat it. Breakfast ideas include: Muesli or porridge with fruit, nuts, ground seeds and live yoghurt for a nutritious start to your day. Eggs are also a good idea, boiled or scrambled with wholegrain or rye toast.
• Fibre slows down the release of the sugars in foods, so avoid all ‘white’ or refined foods as these have had majority of the fibre stripped out in processing, they include pasta, bread, cakes, pastries, biscuits, rice and of course sugary snacks and sweets – read the label. 4g of sugar = teaspoon. Replace these with wholegrain options (not wholemeal, it is still refined and nutrient depleted) and eat at least your five a day.
• Protein in every meal also slows down the release of sugar into the blood stream and leaves us with a feeling of being full or satisfied. Aim to eat some protein in every meal, for example.

• Eat three meals a day and two snacks a day, all following the principles above.
• Snacks should be eaten between meals to avoid major fluctuations in blood sugar.

They should be free of added sugar and contain some protein to give a feeling of fullness. For example: Fruit with nuts or seeds, oatcakes with houmous, cottage cheese, tuna or chicken, vegetable sticks with houmous, look out for snack bars containing protein, these can be found in the major supermarkets.

As far as drinks are concerned:

• Avoid alcohol as this not only releases energy quickly but depletes B vitamins required for energy production.
• Replace tea and coffee with:
• Dandelion or Nettle tea- great for helping with detoxification
• Rooibos tea- a South African caffeine free tea, containing natural antioxidants. Drink with or without milk as preferred.
• Peppermint Tea- may aid digestion
• Fresh juices (not too sweet try vegetable juices) mixed with water
• Experiment – it is fun and delicious!

Smoothing out a roller coaster of blood sugar highs and lows is also a good idea because living in a constant state of self induced ‘emergency’ will eventually exhaust our body’s supply of adrenaline and other stress chemicals and we can lose our ability to get up and go effectively through sheer over use – leading to feeling exhausted.

Some nutrients are associated with helping to rebalance blood sugar including:

• B vitamins in the form of a complex as found in a good quality multivitamin and mineral, these help with energy production in the body and are depleted in times of stress –self induced by sugar and caffeine or otherwise.
• Chromium helps insulin to be more effective in the control of sugar highs.
• Magnesium is a natural relaxant in the body especially the muscles.
• Increase your intake of fish to the government recommended two times a week with one meal containing oily fish, if you are unlikely to do this, consider a supplement that contains Omega 3. The insulin receivers or receptors in the walls of every cell in your body are made from these essential fats and your blood sugar regulation could be improved if you ensure adequate intakes.

The recommendations above assume that a person is healthy and is not suffering from any underlying health problems. If you are on any medications consult your GP before taking supplements. If you are experiencing extreme fatigue or exhaustion, unexplained weight gain, a light head, dizziness or energy dips, an increased need to urinate or you just feel that ‘something is wrong’, consult your GP immediately and insist on being properly tested.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Other articles about Everyday Health

• Probiotics benefits for the immune system and digestion

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Disclaimer: Seven Seas Life is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The articles are based on peer reviewed research, and discoveries/products mentioned in the articles may not be approved by our regulatory bodies, you will find no mention of Seven Seas products within the pages of the Seven Seas Life Section..Read more

Disclaimer: Seven Seas Life is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The articles are based on peer reviewed research, and discoveries/products mentioned in the articles may not be approved by our regulatory bodies, you will find no mention of Seven Seas products within the pages of the Seven Seas Life Section..Read more