Top tips: 5 Steps to Re-vitalise your life
1. Sleep, sleep and more sleep!
A good night's sleep is so important for maintaining energy levels. This may seem obvious but many people have great difficulty sleeping. To encourage restful sleep, avoid exercising too late in the day. Stay away from caffeinated products such as tea, coffee and alcohol especially in the evenings. These act as stimulants and can keep you awake for hours. Make sure you have adequate curtains that block out the light. Avoid anything that might keep your mind busy like reading, watching TV or working on your P.C. A warm relaxing bath before bedtime really helps to get your body ready for sleep.
2. Balance your Blood Sugar
Keeping blood sugar balanced throughout the day can have a huge impact on maintaining energy balance and preventing slumps. To avoid the highs and lows, make sure you eat protein at every meal, even if it's just a few nuts with a piece of fruit as a snack. Include complex carbohydrates like oats, wholegrain bread and pasta, fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils. These provide the body with a perfect source of energy that is released slowly into the blood. This maintains a steady supply, preventing the sudden dips that find you diving for the biscuit tin for a quick fix. On that note, sugary and highly processed foods should be avoided as although these may give an instant lift, this is short lived and will lead to sudden drops in blood sugar levels, causing fatigue and irritability.
3. Up your energy nutrients
The body needs a whole range of vitamins and minerals to convert food into energy. B vitamins in particular are essential for energy production and many people have diets that fall short of these vital vitamins. Taking a B vitamin complex is a simple way to ensure an adequate supply. Finding a supplement that provides highly bioavailable B vitamins is crucial for the body to maintain its energy levels.
Another nutrient of particular importance is vitamin C. Researchers have identified that vitamin C is essential for the synthesis of Carnitine which plays a key role in transporting fatty acids to the cells for use in energy production. Without vitamin C as part of the equation, our energy levels would be seriously compromised. Iron is also necessary for maintaining adequate energy levels as it helps to carry oxygen to our cells. There are several dietary factors that can impair the absorption of iron including low stomach acid, phytates found in wheat bran or soya, oxylates contained in spinach and tannins found in tea. Vitamin C however, helps to increase the absorption of iron. Well worth remembering!
Make sure to supplement with a really well-absorbed Vitamin C such as Altrient C. This vitamin C supplement is liposomal, making it many times more powerful than other standard oral forms of Vitamin C because of its unique delivery formula. Liposomes are microscopic bubbles that protect the vitamin C from digestive juices, effectively transporting it directly into the blood stream whilst avoiding the absorption barriers that normally limit the levels of Vitamin C vastly.
4. Get moving!
Although 'exercise' for some is a swear word, it can't be emphasised enough how just adding 30 minutes a day of something as simple as walking, cycling or swimming can energise your life.... Exercise reduces stress, improves your circulation, transports oxygen and nutrients around the body, lifts your mood, improves your sleep, protects your bones and gets your muscles working. You owe it to yourself to squeeze it in somewhere. Try a half an hour walk during your lunch break, or a 30 minute exercise DVD before breakfast in the morning and see the almost immediate difference it makes.
5. Don't forget to drink
Dehydration leads to lethargy, brain fog and fatigue. It's important to drink lots of fluid throughout the day. Water is ideal but tea and coffee can also add to your fluid intake, just remember - too much caffeine is not great for a good night's sleep. Fruit and vegetables also contain lots of water, not to mention other energy raising nutrients, so aim for 5 to 10 servings a day.
Set yourself the 5 step challenge, make a note in your diary and be amazed at how much better you feel after just one week!
A good night's sleep is so important for maintaining energy levels. This may seem obvious but many people have great difficulty sleeping. To encourage restful sleep, avoid exercising too late in the day. Stay away from caffeinated products such as tea, coffee and alcohol especially in the evenings. These act as stimulants and can keep you awake for hours. Make sure you have adequate curtains that block out the light. Avoid anything that might keep your mind busy like reading, watching TV or working on your P.C. A warm relaxing bath before bedtime really helps to get your body ready for sleep.
2. Balance your Blood Sugar
Keeping blood sugar balanced throughout the day can have a huge impact on maintaining energy balance and preventing slumps. To avoid the highs and lows, make sure you eat protein at every meal, even if it's just a few nuts with a piece of fruit as a snack. Include complex carbohydrates like oats, wholegrain bread and pasta, fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils. These provide the body with a perfect source of energy that is released slowly into the blood. This maintains a steady supply, preventing the sudden dips that find you diving for the biscuit tin for a quick fix. On that note, sugary and highly processed foods should be avoided as although these may give an instant lift, this is short lived and will lead to sudden drops in blood sugar levels, causing fatigue and irritability.
3. Up your energy nutrients
The body needs a whole range of vitamins and minerals to convert food into energy. B vitamins in particular are essential for energy production and many people have diets that fall short of these vital vitamins. Taking a B vitamin complex is a simple way to ensure an adequate supply. Finding a supplement that provides highly bioavailable B vitamins is crucial for the body to maintain its energy levels.
Another nutrient of particular importance is vitamin C. Researchers have identified that vitamin C is essential for the synthesis of Carnitine which plays a key role in transporting fatty acids to the cells for use in energy production. Without vitamin C as part of the equation, our energy levels would be seriously compromised. Iron is also necessary for maintaining adequate energy levels as it helps to carry oxygen to our cells. There are several dietary factors that can impair the absorption of iron including low stomach acid, phytates found in wheat bran or soya, oxylates contained in spinach and tannins found in tea. Vitamin C however, helps to increase the absorption of iron. Well worth remembering!
Make sure to supplement with a really well-absorbed Vitamin C such as Altrient C. This vitamin C supplement is liposomal, making it many times more powerful than other standard oral forms of Vitamin C because of its unique delivery formula. Liposomes are microscopic bubbles that protect the vitamin C from digestive juices, effectively transporting it directly into the blood stream whilst avoiding the absorption barriers that normally limit the levels of Vitamin C vastly.
4. Get moving!
Although 'exercise' for some is a swear word, it can't be emphasised enough how just adding 30 minutes a day of something as simple as walking, cycling or swimming can energise your life.... Exercise reduces stress, improves your circulation, transports oxygen and nutrients around the body, lifts your mood, improves your sleep, protects your bones and gets your muscles working. You owe it to yourself to squeeze it in somewhere. Try a half an hour walk during your lunch break, or a 30 minute exercise DVD before breakfast in the morning and see the almost immediate difference it makes.
5. Don't forget to drink
Dehydration leads to lethargy, brain fog and fatigue. It's important to drink lots of fluid throughout the day. Water is ideal but tea and coffee can also add to your fluid intake, just remember - too much caffeine is not great for a good night's sleep. Fruit and vegetables also contain lots of water, not to mention other energy raising nutrients, so aim for 5 to 10 servings a day.
Set yourself the 5 step challenge, make a note in your diary and be amazed at how much better you feel after just one week!