As an entrepreneur, you need energy throughout your day in order to stay at the top of your game. There are a number of foods that can actually drain your energy. Here are the top 8 energy draining foods:
- Caffeine – You may not have expected this to be on the list, but in reality it is. Caffeine, over time, will lead to adrenal exhaustion and fatigue. Also, caffeine causes spikes in blood sugar similar to sugar. You may get a burst of energy, but you’ll crash later and need another jolt of caffeine.
- Foods with Sugar – You may get a burst of energy from eating sugar, but later you’ll crash and your blood sugar will be lower than before you ate the sugar. It’s a vicious cycle that ultimately drains your energy.
- Fatty & Fried foods – Foods that are high in fat will take a while to digest. Eating them caused much of your blood supply to be diverted to digestion, leaving you with little energy.
- Processed Foods – White bread, white pasta, etc; really any flour product that is not 100% whole grain, will drain your energy levels. They consist mostly of starch as the fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals have been removed. Hence, they cause blood sugar spikes followed by crashes; similar to eating foods with sugar in them.
- Alcohol – Alcohol is a sedative that slows down your nervous system. Red wine is especially bad since it also contains melatonin.
- Low Iron Foods – Anemia (iron deficiency) is a frequent cause of fatigue. Foods low in iron include chicken, broccoli, pork & peanut butter. If you eat these at lunch time, combine with vegetables high in iron such as spinach, greens,green peas, green beans; or nuts, seeds or legumes.
- MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) – One effect that MSG has on the body is to cause an energy drain. MSG is in more than just Chinese food. In fact, it’s found in many processed foods, where it’s used as a flavor enhancer and to make you feel like you’ve eaten more than you actually have.
- Skipping meals – Well, not exactly a food. But if you skip meals, you’ll likely find you lack energy. Not eating can cause low blood sugar and fatigue. You’re metabolism slows down causing you to have less energy.
If you want to know what to eat that will combat fatigue, see this post on high energy foods.
Thanks for stopping by! This blog posts gets a TON of visits. That tells me that a lot of folks are running on little to no energy. Does that include you?
Feel free to contact us if you’re looking to make some changes to improve your energy!
Photo courtesy abardwell via Flickr.
I love to cook. I’m also a health coach, a path I chose after going through a health crisis which taught me the importance of eating healthy meals. Now, I want to combine the two — health coaching and cooking — to help people learn to cook healthy meals. To plan healthy meals. And to eat healthy meals. For more, please visit Your Cooking Coach.
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