What exactly is the relationship between food and fatigue? Have you ever finished a meal and felt so tired you couldn’t do anything?
Most people believe that their energy levels depend on the types of food they eat and rightly so.
Eating smaller portions and choosing whole foods and foods with little processing may help you feel less tired.
What you feed your body is what keeps it going. Making sure you eat the best food possible is the best way to maximize the amount of energy you get from what you eat.
In addition to what you eat, when you eat can also change how much energy you have.
Did you ever notice that after a big lunch or dinner, you feel tired? That’s because your body is using its energy to digest that big meal instead of giving energy to the rest of your body.
The easiest way to avoid the coma that comes after a big meal is to eat several smaller meals throughout the day. This will give your body a steady supply of fuel and might even help you lose weight.
Let’s look at some of the most amazing foods you can take to reduce the feeling of fatigue and improve your general health.
1. Unprocessed foods
Even though a cheeseburger and fries might make you feel better while you’re eating them, they’re not very good for you. Some packaged or canned foods, candy, boxed meals, and precooked meats are often full of preservatives, additives, sodium, trans fat, and other artificial ingredients that can slow you down.
2. Fruits and vegetables that are fresh and in season
The more nutrients your food has, the fresher it is.
Fresh foods usually have more nutrients than processed foods, which may lose nutrients to make them last longer. When you eat fruits and vegetables that are in season, it means they ripened on their own.
3. Drinks without caffeine
Caffeine is fine in small amounts and has been shown to be good for your health. Even though it gives you a short-term boost, it doesn’t give your body energy.
The first few sips might wake you up, but if you don’t give your body good nutrition and well-balanced meals and snacks, you’ll start to feel tired.
If you need your fix, choose black coffee or tea without sugar. Sodas and energy drinks can contain a lot of refined sugar and artificial ingredients that can make you crash and cause other health problems if you drink too much of them.
4. Lean proteins
When you eat red meat that is marbled with fat, you get more saturated fat.
Leaner meats like chicken, turkey, and fish still have good protein, but they have less saturated fat. Salmon and tuna, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, can add good fats that are good for your heart.
5. Whole grains and carbs with lots of sugar
Just like processed foods, processed carbs like sugar and white flour don’t add much nutrition. Choosing whole-grain foods and complex carbs makes sure that your body gets all the benefits of the hull of the grain, which adds fiber to your diet.
6. Seeds and nuts
Some of the best foods to fight fatigue and hunger are nuts and seeds. Getting a variety of nuts and seeds in your diet can give you energy and healthy nutrients.
Try almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds. It is best to eat raw, unsalted versions. And they’re the perfect snack for the middle of the day.
7. Water
Getting enough water is important for the body to work well. Even though water doesn’t give energy in the form of calories, it helps the body’s energy processes work better, which is a boost of energy in and of itself.
Try to replace sodas, coffee, and other drinks with a glass of water throughout the day. This small change can make a big difference, and before you know it, you’ll feel better.
8. Vitamins and supplements
If your food isn’t giving you everything you need, you might want to take a daily vitamin. You could start taking nutritional supplements if you have talked to a nutritionist or a doctor.
Talk to your doctor about any nutritional supplements you are thinking about taking.
9. Bananas
A study compared bananas to carbohydrate-based sports drinks for long-distance cyclists who needed steady energy. They found that the banana gave the riders the same amount of energy as the drink.
Yes, Bananas, right?
It turns out that bananas have a lot of potassium, fiber, vitamins, and just the right amount of carbs to give you a big natural energy boost. Also, a banana usually costs less, which is a great deal for something that gives you so much extra energy.
10. Oats
You don’t have to eat them for breakfast.
A big bowl of oats is full of fiber and even a little bit of protein. Also, it helps people whose blood sugar goes up and down when they eat other processed breakfast cereals.
The best instant packets of oatmeal, steel-cut oats, or old-fashioned oats are the plain ones, which don’t have extra sugar added.
Then you can decide what to put in it, like milk, a little honey, and a mix of berries. Then you’ll have more energy to get through the rest of the day.
11. Chia Seeds
Even if you aren’t training for an endurance event, chia seeds may be a good source of long-lasting energy because they have carbs, healthy fats, and fiber.
Chia seeds have about 24 grams of carbs and 4.8 grams of omega-3s, which are good for the heart and reduce inflammation.
Six endurance athletes took part in a small study that found that eating chia seeds gives the same amount of energy as drinking carbohydrate sports drinks.
For everyday use, adding a few tablespoons of chia seeds to your morning smoothie or a scoop to your afternoon yogurt may give you just enough energy to keep you from getting tired.
Takeaway
Keeping your energy up can be done in a healthy and effective way by paying attention to what you put on your plate. During depressive episodes, you can keep a healthy level of energy if you work out regularly and eat well.
