Many people skip breakfast, believing that it is a good way to lose weight. Then, in the middle of the morning, they start to feel emaciated and ready to drop. They run for a quick energy fix: a candy bar, a soda, or worse, one of the newer caffeine-and-sugar-filled energy drinks. And it does, indeed, give them a jolt, but it’s relatively short-lived. By lunchtime they are again exhausted and ravenously hungry. No one wants a roller coaster morning like this, and besides, it’s a surefire way to overeat and gain weight. But it can be avoided by eating the right foods. These foods give you a steady stream of energy that will keep you feeling great throughout the day.
Glucose
The energy you need to get through the day comes from the conversion of the food you eat into glucose and the absorption of this glucose by the cells of your body. Food comes in three forms: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. For the most part, our energy comes from carbohydrates (or at least it should). Unfortunately, carbs have gotten a bad rap lately, and people have been told to avoid them as much as possible. The problem with this is that it applies to only one type of carbohydrate, and carbohydrates come in two varieties: complex and simple. Complex carbohydrates consist of long molecular chains that slowly release their energy into your body. Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, consist of short molecules that release their energy quickly. Simple carbohydrates require little breakdown and their energy goes almost directly into the bloodstream, so they are fast acting. As a result, they should be avoided as much as possible.
If your body runs out of energy from carbohydrates, it actually turns to fat and protein. Both can be broken down into glucose, but the process is more complicated (compared to carbohydrates) and produces several undesirable byproducts. Protein is not “clean burning” like carbohydrates are; produce ammonia and urea as byproducts. The breakdown of fat into glucose is also very complicated. Also, some types of fat are unhealthy. However, both protein and fat are important in our body.
We will mainly concentrate on the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose. And we’ll start with the rate at which it’s converted to glucose and fed into the bloodstream. How it stays in the bloodstream and how well cells absorb it and convert it into energy is also important, but we’ll save that for later. A measure of how long it takes after we eat a certain food for its glucose to reach our bloodstream has been around for several years; is called the glycemic index (GI). The higher this number, the faster the glucose is activated. The scale is set to glucose itself which has a GI of 100; on this scale, GIs over 70 are high and GIs under 55 are low. This is helpful because we don’t want to eat foods that are converted to glucose very quickly and are consumed quickly.
But there is a problem. The GI only takes into account the carbohydrates in a food, and most foods contain other things, such as fiber, water, fat, etc. As a result, carrots (only 7% carbs) have a relatively high GI of 47, and watermelon (which is mostly water) has a GI of 72.
To get around this, another measure is now used: it’s called the glycemic load (GL). It is obtained from the GI by the formula: GL = GI/100 × carbohydrate content of food (minus fiber). The guidelines for this scale are: GLs below 10 are low and desirable; GLs over 20 are high.
The best high energy foods
What we want are high energy foods, with their energy distributed to the blood slowly over a long period of time, and we would like the GL to be less than 10. Also, fiber slows the burn rate, so They also want foods with considerable fiber in them.
Below is a list of the best high energy foods based on the above. They are in a rough order of effectiveness.
1. Oats. This is one of the best for energy. It will keep you going all morning if you eat it for breakfast. The two main types are oats and oat bran. The GL for oats is 13; the GL for oat bran is 3. They have plenty of fiber (particularly oat bran) to slow your burn rate, and you don’t have to worry about excess calories making you fat.
2. Whole grains. Whole grains of any kind consist of three parts: the endosperm (starchy part), the bran, and the germ. When refined, the bran and germ are discarded, but these two parts contain 87% of the polyphenols and most of the overall nutrition. So it is best to eat whole grains. They are high energy and packed with nutrients and fiber.
3. Yogurt. Low-fat yogurt has a GL of 10 and is very nutritious. It contains various B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and is a good source of protein. But of particular importance, it contains live cultures that are critical for a healthy colon.
4. Nuts. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews are great because they can be eaten as a snack when you’re hungry. Eat them instead of candy bars, chips, soda, or energy drinks. They have a low CG; cashews, for example, have a GL of 3.
5. Seeds. Another excellent energy food that can be eaten as a snack. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds (which must be ground) are best.
6. Fruit. Fruit is an excellent energy food. Some of the best are oranges, grapefruit, apples, and bananas. Both are high in energy and fiber, and have a low GL. An orange has a GL of 5, an apple has 6, and a grapefruit has 3. Apples are particularly good when you start to feel drowsy while driving.
7. Blueberries. Most berries are good, but blueberries are particularly good because they are the best known source of antioxidants. They are also rich in fiber, magnesium and vitamin K.
8. Broccoli (spinach). These two are the most nutritionally dense vegetables known and have a GL of only 1. Additionally, they are effective in fighting cancer.
9. Beans (all types). Beans are particularly helpful in preventing blood sugar from rising too quickly. They are also very high in fiber and have relatively low GLs. The GL of the baked beans is 6.
10. Eggs. It may not seem like eggs are a high-energy food, but they are. In addition, they are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
Several other foods like fish, chicken, and avocado are also good energy foods, but the above list should give you a good idea of what to eat when you’re low on energy. Finally, it is important to remember the water. Approximately 2/3 of your body is made up of water, and it is fundamental to how you feel.
