Unlockinq Your Enerqy Potential

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you enjoy the energy boost from a quick candy bar and soda lunch but hate the energy low you have later in the day? Then switch on your secret source of energy and unlock your energy potential! The human body is a miraculous combination of interacting parts that all need one thing to operate: food. But your food decisions can make or break your energy potential. Making a conscious effort to eat energy-rewarding rather than energy-depleting foods can make a difference in just a matter of days!

Below are a few lifestyle adjustments that can at the very least give you a quick energy boost, and at the most improve your body's metabolism for increased, long lasting energy:

1. Become more active. As the Nike saying goes, "Just do it." Get up and do anything to get your heart pumping. Something as simple as 10 jumping jacks or taking the stairs instead of the elevator can give you an energy boost.

2. Become more physical. Activity feeds oxygen to your cells. Regular exercise helps you overcome stress-one of the biggest energy zappers. Elevating your heart rate for at least 20 minutes three times per week triggers your body to burn more calories with aerobic oxygen use, even in-between exercise sessions.

3. Refresh yourself with a mini-break. Try a brisk walk, or roll your head gently from side to side. Roll your shoulders forward and backwards or do some simple stretches. Five to ten minutes of relaxing and deep breathing, (not worrying about what isn't getting done), will help your mind to refocus and recharge your cells with oxygen.

4. Plan your schedule according to your pace. Arrange activities during your peak energy times, whether morning, noon, or night. If you find you have more physical energy after 6pm, schedule your exercise or chores for that time. Likewise, if you find your mental focus sharpens in the late morning, schedule your mentally demanding tasks for that time of day.

5. Avoid fatigue by avoiding sugar. The initial rush of sugar causes your body to release extra insulin (sugar metabolizer). The insulin metabolizes the sugar causing your sugar high to turn into a sugar low. Instead of the quick candy bar and soda pop break, eat or snack on foods that are filled with complex carbohydrates: fruit (fresh or dried), whole grain products (toast, bagel, pita bread, muffin), vegetables (preferably raw), and legumes.

Tip: Try a small amount of honey in a cup of herbal tea for a long-lasting energy boost.

6. Shed fatigue-causing weight. Simply losing weight means less energy is expended on day to day functioning. If you adjust your schedule according to your peak performance times, making health-conscious decisions for meals and snacks, and increasing your activity level through exercise, weight loss will be a natural consequence.

7. Wash away fatigue. Falling water has an energizing effect. Taking a brisk shower will recharge your battery. The negative ions in the falling water stimulate you nervous system and replenishes your energy reserves.

8. Eat a good breakfast. Your blood sugar is at it's lowest after a night's sleep. Eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals to give your body a long lasting boost. Try whole-grain cereal with low fat milk, fresh fruit, whole grain rolls, bagels, or muffins. Opt for non-caffeinated coffee/tea. As you will soon see, caffeine is an energy thief.

9. Eat a light but energizing lunch. Skip the burgers and soda which are high in fat, animal protein, and sugar and will only cause fatigue. Because so much energy is required to break down fats and proteins for metabolization, there is little energy left over for activity and alertness. Instead eat raw vegetables, salad, pita bread wraps, a bowl of light vegetable soup, legume salad, and caffeine-free beverages. These foods metabolize easier, fortify your body with nutrients, and give your body a more enduring source of energy.

10. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine sets off an insulin reaction in your body that is similar to the sugar high/low cycle, except it takes longer for the energy low to surface. The chemicals in caffeine stimulate the entire body, including the pancreas. This causes a release of insulin to metabolize excess sugar in the blood. The problem is that there isn't any excess sugar for the insulin to act upon. What little sugar is in the blood is metabolized, and when the buzz from the caffeine wears off, there is very little energy left to expend. It has already been used up by the insulin and leaves you feeling more drained of energy than you were before.

11. Take B-complex vitamins for a buzz of energy. Energy blahs can arise from even the tiniest deficiency of any of the B vitamins. These vitamins prompt your body to metabolize the food you eat into energy. Plan your meals to include a variety of whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, oatmeal, peas, nuts, soybeans, potatoes, bananas, brewer's yeast, and lecithin. These are natural sources for B-vitamins. Or you can include a vitamin-B supplement in your regimen.

12. Change your scenery; variety is the spice of life. Getting away, if only for the weekend, will recharge your batteries. It will give your brain a chance to sort and organize all of the information thrown at you on a daily basis so you can return with a fresh outlook and improved focus. Be sure to physically separate yourself from your obligations and open yourself up to new activities and experiences. Include some new activities with your tried and true vacation favorites. (This means no working vacations or non-vital phone calls from work.)

13. Noise is an invisible threat to your energy. Have you ever noticed that when you are alone, without the noise of daily life invading your sanctuary, you feel a sudden peace and discover an ability to focus your energy like a laser beam? Every day you are bombarded with the noises from music, construction, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, lawn mowers, street noises, and work-related noise pollution. Just imagine what you could accomplish if you could eliminate the noise pollution in you life to sustain that level of focus! A basic rule of thumb is if you cannot have a normal conversation, your environment is too loud and siphons away your energy. Get away from this energy thief!

Try This!

Instant pep tonic--revitalize yourself in minutes!

Combine 1/2 tsp. of brewer's yeast to any fresh fruit or vegetable juice.

Add a bit of honey for flavoring if desired.

Mix well with spoon or in blender. Drink slowly.

The interaction of the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) with the B-complex vitamins in the Brewer's yeast promotes an onrush of many enzymes that activate your metabolism, giving an abundance of energy. An added bonus is that the fructose of the juice and amino acids of the honey will metabolize more slowly, preventing a sugar rush and instead providing a sustained energy source disguised in a sweet treat.

BREATHE!!!!

Poor posture results in breathing in a way that minimizes oxygen intake and absorption. When your oxygen levels are decreased, the result is an overall fatigue. Warning signs that your posture needs improvement are tingling, coldness, numbness in the fingers, anxiety, and frequent sighing or yawning.

1. Test your Breathing: From a sitting or standing position, put one hand on your chest, one hand on your abdomen. As you breathe, both hands should rise with each breath. Either one or the other not rising'? Then you are probably taking shallow, rapid breaths and hyperventilating.

2. Natural Energy Booster: Correct your posture. Breathe in and out fully two times. Breathe from your nose with your mouth shut. Repeat this exercise for a few moments whenever you feel tired or stressed. This will revitalize your body and mind.

How to feed your brain and energize your lifestyle

The brain uses almost 25% of the energy your body metabolizes from food every day. In addition to energy, the brain requires a vast array of vitamins and minerals; a slight deficiency of any one can cause "brain blahs" or a tired brain. You can check if your brain is tired by answering the following questions:

Have you noticed an increased difficulty remembering old or new information?

Do you feel like you brain is "full" after learning just one or two new things?

Are you more easily distracted than you used to be?

If you answered yes to any of the above, your brain may be deficient in one or more nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are required by the brain to "file" recently acquired knowledge, recall previously stored information, learn new and different information, and ability to focus on a single task. Read on to find certain brain foods that can restore your mental clarity:

1. Choline: Choline is a B-complex member and is one of the few substances able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, providing direct sustenance to the brain. This nutrient stimulates certain brain cells to enhance their ability to form memories. Choline is found in egg yolks, meat, and fish which are also high in fat and cholesterol and should only be eaten in moderation due to the health implications. But choline is also found in lecithin, a granular food made from soybeans or sunflower seeds. It can be sprinkled over salads and cereals, or added to muffins or puddings. There is no limit for how much lecithin to enjoy, but the usual dosage is one or two tablespoons per day. Try adding it to your energy tonic for an added brain boost.

2. Herbs: Herbal derivatives are found in many modern pharmaceutical products. The herbal advantage is that the potentially harmful chemicals used to isolate the chemical component in pharmaceutical drugs are not present in the herbal equivalent. This results in fewer side-effects, which can hurt more than the drug actually helps.

Herbs to help energize your brain: Try any of these as a tea, supplement, or tincture.

a. Sage: Sage carries the traditional meaning of wisdom. Herbalists generally believe that sage can improve the vitality of the brain, enhance memory, and boost intelligence.

b. Rosemary: Garlands of rosemary were worn by students in Greece to boost their powers of memory. Rosemary will help sweep away the cobwebs from the mind.

c. Ginkgo: Ginkgo was utilized in ancient China for restoring a youthful mind and is reportedly able to increase the flow of blood to the brain.

d. Ginseng: The ultimate mind energizer, it reportedly enhances learning ability, memory and protects against stress. In particular, ginseng is able to alert the immune system in the fight against dangerous microorganisms in the body.

3. Chase away fatigue with Zinc. Daily intake of less than 100 milligrams can enhance you immune system's response to invading microorganisms. Zinc is a trace mineral that can also protect against fatigue. It does this by increasing the ability of the brain to bounce back from mild infections or nutritional deficiencies. Zinc is found in legumes, whole grains, brewer's yeast, lima bean, mushrooms, pecans, pumpkin seeds, soy lecithin, soybeans, and sunflower seeds.

4. Boost energy with refreshing scents. It is believed that certain scents alert important chemical messengers in the brain that help overcome fatigue. Enjoy an occasional whiff of pine, eucalyptus or peppermint to invigorate, lemon or jasmine to stimulate, or lavender or chamomile to relax.

5. Iron: Natural Energy Booster. Iron is necessary for the correct functioning of all your body cells. The iron your body metabolizes becomes part of hemoglobin, the red colored portion of the blood. The hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen from your lungs to the various organs and muscles that burn food for energy. An iron deficiency reduces the hemoglobin in the blood cells and reduces the cell's oxygen carrying ability, which leads to anemia. Symptoms of anemia are: feelings of tiredness, irritability, short attention span, pale complexion, breathlessness, brittle nails, lack of stamina and lowered resistance to infections.

Food sources for iron include whole grain cereals, oatmeal, prune juice, dried apricots, cooked lima beans, cooked kidney beans, and cooked peas. Animal sources include beef liver, roast or ground beef, and turkey. Use the animal sources only occasionally and focus on the vegetable sources because they are lower in fat and cholesterol. If, after all of this healthy eating, your anemic symptoms do not disappear, talk to a doctor about taking a ferrous sulfate supplement.

6. Folic Acid: Folic acid is involved in the production of red blood cells, which only have a life span of 120 days. A deficiency of folic acid means that not enough new cells are being made to replace those that are expiring. The symptoms of folic acid deficiency are tiredness, lethargy, and general weakness, similar to iron deficiency. Generally speaking, iron and folic acid travel hand in hand. Consequently, so do their deficiencies.

Food sources of folic acid include all green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cooked beets, oranges, asparagus, romaine lettuce, banana, carrots, and cantaloupe. A simple plan for keeping your folic acid levels up is to enjoy et least one raw fruit or vegetable every day. Try not to cook them though; the boiling leeches many nutrients out of the vegetable.

Try this power-packed energy drink:

Add two tablespoons of blackstrap molasses to one glass of fresh fruit juice.

Add chunks of sun-dried apricots and some pitted prunes.

Process in blender for two minutes.

The iron in the molasses combines with the vitamin C of the fruit juice and the folic acid of the apricots and prunes to enter your blood stream and instantly nourish your cells.

Another energy packed treat:

In a tall glass, add a half teaspoon of brewer's yeast, several pitted prunes, chunks of sun-dried apricots, orange juice poured almost to the brim.

Process in blender for two minutes.

Sprinkle with sun-dried raisins, if desired. Enjoy!

Are you sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? You have the power to release your full energy potential with just a few conscious adjustments to your eating habits to include some of Mother Natures tastiest treats. Who knew the potential for better health and more energy contained in the foods readily available to us? Don't be afraid of this new awakening. Embrace it and enjoy a variety of foods, tonics, and snacks. Accept the rewards of energy-boosting foods and reject the energy-robbing impostors. Discover for yourself how rewarding your life will become when you unlock your Energy Potential.