My Online Health Articles and Healthy Recipes

Chances are you spend a lot of energy juggling career, family, household chores, social engagements, community involvement and any number of other day-to-day concerns. With so much to much to do, it wouldn’t be surprising if you were exhausted before the end of the day.

You might be tempted to have coffee or soda to give you a caffeine lift, but there are consequences that come with that kind of energy: caffeine can affect brain function, hormone balance and sleep patterns. And don’t go for the “sugar high” of a candy bar or cookies. Sweets raise your blood sugar level, which does provide a short burst of energy, but after about 20 minutes your glucose level will rapidly drop and you’ll be more tired than you were in the first place.

Instead of those questionable methods, try using natural rejuvenators instead. The following suggestions are safe and effective ways to give yourself an energy boost:

Breathe
Getting oxygen into your bloodstream is a great energy-booster that can make you feel more calm at the same time. Breathe in slowly until your chest is expanded to its full capacity; then exhale slowly. The more often you do this, the better you’ll feel.

Try peppermint
The aroma of peppermint may help release tension and alleviate fatigue. Sniff peppermint oil or drink a cup of caffeine-free peppermint tea.

Drink water
Dehydration drains your energy. Studies show that if your body has as little as 1/2 cup less water than it needs, your brain and your body start to lag. Try to drink eight glasses every day — more if it’s hot or you’re exercising — to make sure you are always well-hydrated.

Eat a starchy snack
A complex carbohydrate snack (e.g., a whole wheat bagel or toast, a banana) provides a sustainable source of energy. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and so the release of glucose into your bloodstream is gradual (rather than the quick burst that comes from a candy bar), which helps fight energy dips.

Give yourself acupressure
Sometimes considered as “acupuncture without needles,” acupressure uses gentle finger pressure in specific areas. Give yourself an energy boost by rubbing your ear lobes between your thumb and forefinger, or by pulling your second toe (the one adjacent to your big toe) and then vigorously rubbing it.

Get moving
Taking a brisk walk, performing stretching exercises or jogging in place is a good way to increase the oxygen content in your blood, which helps to rejuvenate you.

Take a bath
Fill the tub with warm water and add sea salts or essential oils. The scent of orange, rosemary or lavender extract is especially rejuvenating.

Use nutritional supplements
Certain supplements can improve your energy:

• Bee pollen helps increase physical strength, stamina and energy. Ginkgo biloba improves blood and nutrient flow to the brain for enhanced alertness and mental clarity.
• Co-Q10 provides an energy boost by increasing metabolic efficiency.
• Ashwaganda, also known as Indian ginseng, improves energy and calms the response to stress.
• Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) and Reishi mushrooms restore and enhance energy.

Take a shower
Stand under a warm shower for a couple minutes and then alternate the water temperature between warm and cool. This stimulates your circulation and is a refreshing pick-me-up. (Note: This technique is not advisable for anyone with high blood pressure or a heart disorder.)

Take a nap
Don’t overlook the obvious: A 20-minute snooze will revitalize both mind and body. Elevate your feet with pillows so they are higher than your heart. That way, extra blood will get to your brain and you won’t feel groggy when you wake up.

Photo by Sanja Gjenero

Iron-rich foods that help keep anemia under control can taste good too! The Beetroot-Fruit Cocktail and Ham and Beans recipes below prove it.

Commercials for a famous tonic that addressed “iron-poor blood” started appearing in the mid-twentieth century. That tonic, Geritol, still exists today, which tells you that a lot of people must be having problems with anemia — a blood disorder attributed to the deficiency of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12.

No wonder people search out a tonic if they have anemia: The disease causes dizziness and fatigue, even during non-strenuous activities. Iron-deficient anemia is the most common type, and occurs when your body doesn’t have the required iron content to produce hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen to all parts of your body and provides energy for you to carry out your daily activities.

Iron is of two types – heme which is easily absorbed by the human body and non-heme which is not. While non-vegetarian foods like red meat and eggs are rich sources of the heme form, vegetarians have to augment their intake of iron from foods like beets (also known as beetroots), blackstrap molasses and green leafy vegetables. It’s important to also include foods rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, because they help in the absorption of non-heme iron.

Here are two recipes – one vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian – for dishes that are rich in iron and can help keep anemia at bay:

Beetroot-Fruit Cocktail
Serves 2

• 1 medium-sized beet
• 2 ripe pears
• 1 small lime
• ½ red bell pepper
• 1 handful of basil leaves

1. Wash the beet and the pears.
2. Peel them and then chop them into small pieces, and place them in a blender.
3. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the blender.
4. Wash, de-seed and chop the bell pepper, and place the pieces in the blender.
5. Wash and use a course chop on the basil leaves, and place them in the blender.
6. Run the blender until you get the consistency juice of juice you want. You can also use the same ingredients in a juicer.

The juice has to be consumed within an hour or so after preparation to ensure you get all the nutrients. It’s a good recipe for those prone to anemia because beet juice is rich in both iron and folic acid, and lime is rich in vitamin C, which is the catalyst that helps the body absorb iron from non-heme sources.

Ham and Beans
Serves 6

• 3 lbs smoked ham
• 2 lbs dried Great Northern beans
• 2 dried peppers
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ cup blackstrap molasses
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup mustard

1. Rinse and dry the beans.
2. Fill a Dutch oven with the amount of water indicated on the package directions for the beans, and then add the beans. Cover and cook at the temperature indicated in the directions.
3. Add the ham and remaining ingredients when the beans are cooked half-way, based on the time in the package directions.
4. Cook for the remaining indicated time.

This dish contains both red meat (ham) and blackstrap molasses, both of which are rich in iron and help enrich the hemoglobin content in your blood.

And here are some quick concoctions that can also help prevent anemia or address it if you already have it:

• Twice a day: eat a ripe banana dipped in 1 tbs. honey.
• Once a day: drink a mixture of beet juice, apple juice and one tbs. honey.
• Once a day: drink a mixture of apple juice and tomato juice.
• Soak currants overnight, de-seed and eat in the morning.

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of
Care Plans. She invites your questions at her personal e-mail address:
sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Beets image by Quadell

You might also be interested in these other healthy recipes:

• Asparagus Recipes
• Blueberry Recipes with Antioxidant Power
• Broccoli Recipes
• Garlic Recipes with Antiviral Power
• Pasta Recipes to Boost Your Immune System
• Recipes to Control Blood Sugar
• Recipes to Help Your Vision