THESE 3 FOODS THAT CAN ZAP YOUR ENERGY LEVELS!

3 Foods That Can Zap Your Energy Levels!

Do you find yourself having a mid afternoon energy slump? It is tempting to turn to caffeine or sugar in the hope of a quick energy burst, there are better ways to stay awake and productive.

So let us take a look at 3 foods that drain your energy. 

Your digestion is an energy dependent process, any food or process that compromises your digestion will drain your energy.

Your blood carries oxygen to your cells for energy production, if any food you eat interrupts that process, your energy will be zapped.

Your adrenal glands help you deal with stress. Any food or process that weakens your adrenal glands will affect your ability to cope with stress and your energy will be lowered.

Taking into account all the above, you can do your body a favour and limit your intake of the following 3 energy zapping foods.

Wheat and Gluten



Wheat and gluten are pretty much the same when it comes to energy zapping. Gluten is a protein found in many grains like wheat, barley, and rye and it has now been linked to more than 190 auto-immune diseases such as celiac disease which is a condition where your immune system attacks your small intestines.

If the small intestines are continually irritated by eating grains etc, then this could result in a leaky gut where large food particles are able to pass into the bloodstream by pores in the intestinal wall.  Your body identifies these food particles as a threat and mounts an immune response to neutralize them. This is how food sensitivities develop and how your immune system becomes overworked.

Wheat is hard to digest because it is a seed and the biological role of a seed is to propagate.  That’s how plants continue to flourish, they spread their seeds, which will eventually end up in the soil where they develop into grown plants or trees which will bear more fruits and seeds and so the cycle continues.

Wheat and gluten are not fit for human consumption.  We are being told that wheat equals fibre and we need to eat more fibre right!.  You can get all the fibre you need by eating more fruits, vegetables and nuts.  

Sugar and Caffeine



These two go hand in hand and have almost identical effects on your energy levels

The adrenal glands are your “fight or flight” organs – releasing cortisol and adrenaline during periods of stress.  These same hormones are secreted when stimulants like caffeine and sugar enter your bloodstream.

When you become stressed or have sugar or caffeine, your adrenals start up their activity. They release adrenaline and cortisol, which break down your energy reserves for immediate use.  Your body will think it needs to fight so it needs that readily available energy.

Cortisol, when chronically present in your bloodstream, is a detrimental hormone leading to quick stored carbohydrates depletion leading to a rise in blood sugar and in turn will lead to weight gain.

This in turn gives you that feeling of a rush and results in an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and carbohydrate breakdown into blood sugar. This rush will quickly be followed by a crash and your body will do its best to recover from the stressful situation whether its coffee or sugar.  Having these 2 hormones circulating in your blood is not ideal.

There is another problem with having high levels of both cortisol and adrenaline, they breakdown your stored carbohydrates for energy, releasing glucose (sugar) into the blood for immediate use, your pancreas is then called into action and eventually into overproduction.  Your pancreas produces and secretes the hormone insulin to remove glucose out of the blood to be stored in your muscle, liver, and fat cells.

Your insulin levels will rise as blood sugar does and over a period of time, your body’s cells can become desensitized to too much insulin, leading to a condition called Type 2 Diabetes (insulin resistance).

Insulin removes excess sugar from your blood, high blood sugar levels lead to high levels of removal (via insulin), leading to low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia).

When your blood sugar crashes, all you can think about is - I need sugar and this is when you start feeling jittery, anxious, and in desperate need of a quick sugar or caffeine fix.  Even more bad news, high and low blood sugar levels also drain your adrenal glands and this will result in fatigue.  Eating sugar or refined carbohydrates will increase your blood sugar and adrenal stress almost immediately upon entering your mouth.

Chronic stimulation ie. stress, sugar, coffee of your adrenals wears them down and can eventually lead to adrenal fatigue.  This in turn is why you feel drained almost instantly when dealing with stress, your adrenals can't handle it.

If your blood is sluggish, you will be too.  You have been led to believe that these foods give you energy when in fact they are crippling you inside and out on a daily basis thus zapping your energy levels by slowly wearing away at your blood sugar levels, pancreas, adrenal glands and other systems in your body.

So we all need to reduce the intake of these foods where possible and eat more fruit, vegetables and nuts!

All the Best

Andrea Howard