Top Ten High Energy Foods
Many people skip breakfast because they think it is a good way to lose weight. Then in the middle of the morning, they start to feel haggard and are ready to fall. They run for a quick fix of energy: a chocolate bar, a soda, or worse, one of the new energy drinks that are packed with caffeine and sugar. And it does give them a jolt, but it’s relatively short-lived. By lunchtime, they are exhausted and hungry again. Nobody wants a roller coaster morning like this, and it is also a surefire way to overeat and gain weight. But it can be avoided by eating the right foods. These foods provide you with a constant flow 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, carbohydrates 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 to 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 by-products. Protein is not “clean-burning” like carbohydrates; they produce ammonia and urea as by-products. The breakdown of fat into glucose is also very complicated. Also, some types of fats are unhealthy. However, both proteins and fats are important in our body.
We will focus primarily on the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose. And we’ll start with the rate at which it is converted to glucose and fed into the bloodstream. How it stays in your bloodstream and how well it is absorbed by your cells and converted into energy is also important, but we’ll save that for later. A measure of the time it takes after eating a certain food for glucose to reach our bloodstream has existed for several years; it’s called the glycemic index (GI). The higher this number, the faster the glucose will be activated. The scale is configured with the glucose itself, which has a GI of 100; On this scale, GIs over 70 are high and those under 55 are low. This is useful because we don’t want to eat foods that turn to glucose very quickly and are consumed quickly.
But there is a problem. GI only takes into account the carbohydrates in a food, and most foods contain other things like fiber, water, fat, etc. As a result, carrots (with only 7% carbohydrates) have a relatively high GI of 47, and watermelon (which is mostly water) has a GI of 72.
To avoid this, another measure is now used: it is called the glycemic load (GL). It is obtained from GI using the formula: GL = GI / 100 × carbohydrate content of food (less fiber). Guidelines for this scale are: GLs less than 10 are low and desirable; GLs over 20 are high.
The best high-energy foods
What we want is food with a lot of energy, with its energy distributed to the blood slowly over a long period of time, and we would like the GL to be less than 10. In addition, fiber reduces the rate of burning, so who also wants foods with a considerable amount of fiber.
Below is a list of the best high energy foods based on the above. They are in approximate order of effectiveness.
1. Oatmeal. This is one of the best for energy. It will keep you active 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 are high in fiber (particularly oat bran) to slow the burn rate, and you don’t have to worry about excess calories causing you to lose weight.
2. Whole grains. Whole grains of any type have three parts: the endosperm (starchy part), the bran, and the germ. When refining, the bran and germ are discarded, but these two parts contain 87% of the polyphenols and most of the general nutrition. That is why it is better 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 several 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. Walnuts. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews are great because they can be eaten as a snack when you’re hungry. Instead, eat them in candy bars, potato chips, soda, or energy drinks. They have a low GL; cashews, for example, have GL of 3.
5. Seeds. Another excellent energy food that can be eaten as a snack. The best are sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds (which must be ground).
6. Fruit. Fruit is an excellent energy food. Some of the best are oranges, grapefruits, apples, and bananas. They are both high in energy and fiber, and have low GL. An orange has 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 nutrient-dense vegetables known and have a GL of just 1. They are also effective against cancer.
9. Beans (all types). Beans are particularly helpful in keeping your blood sugar from rising too quickly. They are also very high in fiber and have relatively low GL. The GL for baked beans is 6.
10. Eggs. Eggs may not sound like a high-energy food, but they are. In addition, they are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Various other foods like fish, chicken, and avocado are also good energy foods, but the list above should give you a good idea of what to eat when your energy lags behind. Finally, it is important to remember the water. About 2/3 of your body is made up of water and it is critical to how you feel.
