Most of health comes down to digestion. When digestion is poor, it has a domino effect on the rest of the body. Basically, your digestive system takes the food you have eaten and metabolises it to give you energy.
Some foods are full of energy, some are full of vitamins, nutrients, and healthy oils, some are just full of sugar, and whilst they give you a quick fix, they are detrimental to your health.
The small intestine works by funneling nutrients into the bloodstream so your body can use them as fuel. You know how you feel human again after eating a meal when you’re starving? That’s the principle at work. The problem is many of us aren’t digesting our food well enough for our bodies to extract those nutrients for energy.
Life is often fast-paced, hectic, and stressful, so it is not surprising that many of us are low in energy. The issue is when we feel tired for long periods of time, we can, unfortunately, have long-lasting negative effects on our bodies, rather than just feeling tired.
Love Yourself – If you are feeling tired more days than not, then you may have some underlying issues. These can include:
- Adrenals – ‘adrenal fatigue’ is a deep, deep fatigue. You feel like you need to sleep all the time. Exercise is the last thing on your mind. You crave sugar and salty foods. Your sleep is erratic. You are irritable even when you don’t mean to be.
- Thyroid issues – ask your doctor to test your thyroid levels, especially your T3 levels.
- Overexercising – exercise to feel good, not until exhaustion. As always, tune into your body to find out what works for you.
- Poor nutrition – processed foods high in trans fats, additives, preservatives, refined carbs and sugars do not fuel your body in the right way. Eating a wholesome, balanced diet with good iron levels will give you all the energy you need.
- Clogged up liver – when the liver is clogged up it can be from excessive alcohol, sugar, caffeine, pollution, and medications, it can’t do its job properly. Fatigue is a common symptom of an overworked liver.
- Poor sleep – prioritise quality sleep for better energy levels.
Love Yourself – Vitamins for Energy?
With guidance from a health practitioner, these supplements may be healthful in boosting your energy:
- B complex
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Fish oil and/or flaxseed oil
Processed foods and refined carbs have become staples in modern-day diets. They’re making our digestive systems sluggish and leaving us with that ‘heavy’ feeling in our stomachs. In addition, the microbiome (gut bacteria) has a huge impact on energy.
Love Yourself – Healthy Eating Tips to Increase Energy
- Avoid gluten (except for oats) for 4 weeks
- If you feel tired after eating eggs, cut them out.
- Try to enjoy good fats at every meal, such as avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, tahini are just a few.
- Include protein in each meal.
- Stick to 1 coffee per day. Have it before 10 am and drink it with or after food. Whilst caffeine picks us up, we can benefit well without it.
- Give up refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. Use stevia or cinnamon to sweeten your food instead
Kickstart a Healthy Lifestyle with Love Yourself
Love Yourself believes that everyone deserves to eat delicious and healthy meals, but we know that sometimes our busy lives get in the way. We cook fresh each day with fresh ingredients with no additives, preservatives, or processed foods. With numerous calorie options to suit everyone, all food is prepared by a gourmet Chef and nutritionist ensuring all meals are balanced and full of natural goodness.
Every meal is scannable via the MyFitness app to help you keep track of calories and macro-nutrients/ Love Yourself has a range of tasty menus using locally sourced, fresh ingredients, which are prepared with you and your dietary requirements in mind.
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