A 2016 study by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth think tank revealed that many Americans are overworked, meaning they work more than 40 hours a week. A third of managers and law professional work 45-plus hours a week. People in farming, fishing, forestry, architecture, business, finance, and engineering are also often overworked. Then there are parents, students, and busy people that are so overworked they feel exhausted.
Other things that lead to fatigue (not counting illness) include dehydration, insomnia, stress, excess alcohol use, sugar rushes, and malnutrition. These situations can often be remedied by foods that fight fatigue together with overall healthy living.
But what exactly are these foods for fatigue and how do they help, you ask?
To help, we’ve put together nine foods that help with fatigue, Keep reading to find simple solutions to boost your energy so you can be busy and still work and play as hard as you like.
To have energy, your body needs all the right nutrients. This includes carbs, which are sugars. But you want the unprocessed healthy carbs, like fruit, vegetables, and grains, not processed sweets.
You don’t want the carb rush either. Protein helps your body doll out the carbs slowly so the energy lasts and you don’t crash. Protein also is needed to build cells. Also important is metabolism. You need nutrients and a healthy digestive system to even get your body to absorb everything.
Here are some basics to aim for. This will give you a well-rounded diet that will keep your energy levels stable and high. Also, aim for balance. If you have to have sweets, just have a little. And if you find one food here that really helps, there’s no need to go overboard with it either.
Try to get protein, unprocessed carbs, magnesium, potassium, iron, CoQ10, carnitine, creatine, and B vitamins. Most foods that fight fatigue offer these basics. And then there are things to imbibe that hydrate. That’s what we’re starting with.
Weight and Exercise
Being overweight can also cause fatigue. Your body needs to work so much harder just to carry you around. And when you eat too much, your blood and energy spend a lot of time in your stomach digesting rather than flowing through your brain keeping you alert. Thin people tend to have much more energy. Also, they have fewer toxins. Toxins also lead to fatigue. If you’re serious about upping your energy and need to detox and/or lose weight, you can do a cleanse and energy boost with a system like this: https://www.isatonic.com.au. You can do your own cleanse and diet, but most people like to get it done fast and easily.
It’s important to exercise daily, even if it’s just a walk. This gives you a natural endorphin energy boost. It also helps your metabolism work well by building muscle. This helps in weight loss. When you sweat, you also get rid of toxins.
Okay, this is a beverage but we have to put it up top. Dehydration causes tiredness and lack of concentration. And if you’re a woman and drink less than eight glasses of water a day, chances are you’re often dehydrated. For men, the cut off is 10 glasses of water. Drink up, people!
2. Green Tea
Wow, there we go again with another beverage. We had to put this one too. And guess what? Tea counts for your hydrating eight glasses. We don’t recommend more than a little bit of caffeine a day but in green tea, the caffeine combines with L-theanine to give you both a body and brain boost.
So if you’re working those late hours or cramming for a test, green tea is much better than an energy drink or sweet snack because it has staying-power. With sugar, you’ll only perk up for a short time, and then you crash and hit the bottom of the tired scale. Also, green tea has a ton more health benefits. Read 10 of them here: https://harcourthealth.com/10-scientifically-proven-health-benefits-of-green-tea/.
This fatigue fighter covers a few basic bases. It’s a grain so it gives you carbohydrates but it also has protein. Bam! Oatmeal only brings a low glycemic load, which means it helps stabilize and balance blood sugar.
Bananas come packed with potassium. That’s on your must-have nutrient list. They also come packed with vitamin B6, magnesium, and fiber. Athletes love to eat a banana during training for an energy bump thanks to the natural sugar as well.
5. Chia Seeds
These mini power pops come from desert flora that’s in the mint family. It’s called Salvia hispanica. Back in the day, Mayans and Aztecs ate chia seeds as part of their diet and as a survival ration during tough times. Athletes love this edible seed when they need nutrition, especially for long hauls, like a marathon. It has so much to offer, including fiber, protein, and fats. In fact, it has more of the good fatty acids that we need than any other type of plant.
It’s also great for hydration as it absorbs water that you can then tap into.
Another energy-boost favorite, almonds give you protein and more of those healthy fats and carbs. Grab a handful when you’re hungry or your energy wanes during the day.
7. Lean Meats
Go for lean, organic, preferably grass or grain fed chicken or beef. Go for wild salmon and other fish. Protein is needed for balanced metabolism and building cells. It keeps you from having that crash when you eat carbs. Always combine a tiny bit of protein with your carbs.
Animal protein and fish rock that basic nutrient list we mentioned. Here’s how. Find CoQ10 in white-meat poultry, pork, beef, trout, herring, and sardines, to name a few. Find iron in beef and pork. Find carnitine in beef and white-meat poultry. Find magnesium in beef, pork, poultry, halibut, and salmon. Find vitamin B in beef, chicken, and shellfish. Find creatine in beef, herring, salmon, and tuna. Find potassium in pork and halibut; who knew?
8. Fresh Fruit
Go for organic and get your carbs in with tasty, fresh fruit. We already covered our energy favorite bananas, but let’s break it down again with the other fruit we love. Find magnesium in strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, apples, lemons, oranges, and raisins, to name a few. Find CoQ10 in apples, strawberries, and oranges. Find potassium in blueberries, oranges, lemons, strawberries, dates, cantaloupe, and Goji berries. Find iron in Goji berries.
9. Fresh Vegetables
The less cooked, the better here, but do your best. Again, go for organic whenever possible. These contain carbs but you can also surprisingly find protein in avocado, squash, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli, and asparagus, to name a few. Find magnesium in avocado, asparagus, sweet potato, squash, spinach, carrots, and others. Find potassium in asparagus, avocado, carrot, broccoli, sweet potato, spinach, cauliflower, and more. Find CoQ10 in broccoli and cauliflower. Find iron in spinach. Think Popeye with that.
Foods That Fight Fatigue for You
Now that you know some of our favorite foods that fight fatigue, you’re ready to go out and boost your energy so you can work, play, and live as hard as you like. Did any of these foods pop out at you? Do you think you might not be drinking enough fluids? Start there. Eat the foods to fight fatigue and eat healthy all around. Drink enough water. Get to your healthy weight. Get enough sleep. And be sure to exercise daily for that nice energy boost.
One thing not to do is go on a crash diet to get to your target weight. That’ll also lead to fatigue. Click here to read what really happens to your body on a crash diet.