Boost your energy without caffeine

CONSUMING caffeine is one of the quickest ways to boost your energy. However, whether it’s due to the taste, the adverse effect it has on some people who are considered to be caffeine sensitive, or because of its addictiveness, many people opt out of consuming beverages with high levels of caffeine.

Nutritionist Dr Vanessa White-Barrow spoke with All Woman about ways in which you can boost your energy without caffeine. She mentioned eating foods with carbohydrates in the mornings to give your body enough energy throughout the day.

“From the point of nutrition, your energy really comes from consuming foods with carbohydrates,” she said, though warning that people should also eat foods laced with carbohydrates in moderation because they might develop lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

“Ensuring that you have a breakfast that starts your day with carbohydrates to break the overnight fast is one of the ways you can ensure that you have adequate energy to start the day [and] to boost alertness,” Dr White-Barrow said.

Carbohydrates are found in a number of healthy and unhealthy foods. Healthy options include bread, beans, milk, corn, raisins, bananas, mangoes, and grapes. Foods high in carbohydrates provide the body with glucose, which is then converted to energy used to support bodily functions and physical activity.

Adding that eating fruits with high levels of vitamin E is also helpful in boosting energy as it is a fat-soluble nutrient, Dr White-Barrow stated that getting regular exercise will boost your energy as well.

“Engaging in regular physical activity to maintain your fitness level is another natural way of ensuring that you boost your body’s ability to make use of natural chemicals like adrenaline, that on a daily basis help to keep you energetic,” she said.

Fruits with high levels of vitamin E include mango, avocado, kiwi fruit, olives, blackberry, and cranberry.