Last Updated on March 18, 2013.
Feeling Youthful & Energetic: Eating Healthy – By TSMMA Princeton
To begin to understand how to gain energy and feel youthful, you need to know that energy needs to be produced. Energy in your body comes from the things you eat. Depending on what you eat will decide what kind of energy your body will be provided with. And yes there is a “bad” kind of energy.
The energy your body produces comes from all the different kinds of food you eat. Making sure you eat the right kinds of food will provide you with the best type of energy.
“If you don’t have a healthy and balanced diet, it can make you feel sluggish.”
Something that is essential to energy is eating carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose. Glucose or blood sugar is essential to providing you energy. There are two forms of carbohydrate: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are the kind that will be quickly broken down and absorbed. These sorts of carbohydrates can be found in things such as fruit and dairy products. Limiting high sugar fruits and using low fat or no fat dairy products as carbs is important to getting the right kinds of carbs. It can also be found in sweets but that sort of carbohydrate should be limited or avoided. The reason to avoid these is because although they provide simple carbohydrate, they are just sugar and just provide a “sugar rush.” These can be artificial fruit juices, candy, soft drinks, and desserts. This is a bad source of energy to consume. This causes that crash feeling you get after having a sugary drink or energy drink when it wears off. Complex carbohydrates take time to break down and will provide a more steady and prolonged amount of energy. Complex carbohydrates tend to be healthier for you. This type of carbohydrate can be found in vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and peas. They can also be found in grains, but choosing a healthier grain is best. For example you should stick to the general rule of eating “browns.” This means brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat and multigrain breads.
“… protein is a key nutrient needed.”
To sustain your muscles and continue building strong muscles, protein is a key nutrient needed. Protein also helps your immune system fight and destroy harmful substances, helps in making hormones and enzymes, and maintain fluid and acid base levels. Proteins provide energy when there are no carbohydrates available. Without protein your body will shut down. There aren’t really any bad sources of protein. When eating protein, the one thing you have to look out for is the fat content in it. Lean sources of protein are always the best choice. Sources of protein come from meats, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, and beans.
“Fats are also an important part of your diet but they should be monitored.”
Fats are also an important part of your diet but they should be monitored. Fats should be consumed at a minimum. There are different kinds of fats that we eat. There are potentially unhealthy fats for you. Saturated fats should be eaten in very small amounts since they can be harmful. These are found in animal proteins that are fatty. The other potentially harmful fat is trans fat and should be avoided. This type of fat is synthetically made. Eating these two kinds of fats in large quantities provides another bad source of energy but also makes us feel like we have lost energy and are sluggish. The two types of fats that our bodies use in a potentially beneficial way are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These can be found in plant based foods and oils, nuts, and fish. The fats that are good for you are the ones you should be eating and the potentially harmful ones should rarely be eaten with the exception of having small amounts of saturated fat in meat.
“Making sure you eat the right kinds of food will provide you with the best type of energy.”
One way to feel more energetic is eating smaller meals. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, try to eat about 5 smaller meals a day. If you are unable to eat 5 meals a day try to eat 4 and a snack at some point as well. This will provide a more consistent amount of food to your body throughout the day instead of waiting between meals and getting hungry. If you’re hungry your body has already begun to lose energy. Eating healthy and having a balanced diet will provide you with essential vitamins to gain energy. If you don’t have a healthy and balanced diet, it can make you feel sluggish. This can be due to your body reacting to the unhealthy food and lacking in essential vitamins. Eating too much can cause the sluggish and lazy feeling as well. This is due to your body wanting to put its effort into digesting the food.
Making sure you are eating the right way will help you gain energy and make sure your body is ready to be used. Having this energy will make you feel better and lead to a more youthful body. Receive the proper nutritional guidance by one of our instructors here at Tiger Schulmann’s!