In the offices and homes of people around the world, a
caffeinated drink to get the day underway is a ritual so
common that it’s arguably a habit. Looking ahead to the
goals we often make in the New Year, addressing your
relationship with caffeine is the low-hanging fruit of
health resolutions.
Although extremely popular,
caffeine also boasts a list of negative side effects and
it’s easy to over-indulge when on the go. Dehydration
(caffeine is a diuretic), dizziness, shakiness, insomnia,
anxiety, dependency, and withdrawal aren’t exactly
attractive reactions to your favoured caffeinated brew –
and the list doesn’t stop there.
Yes, you can safely
have one coffee in the morning without becoming a quivering
mess, but what goes up must come down! In a 2021 New York
Times article, neuroscientist Seth Blackshaw explains that
caffeine prevents adenosine – a chemical that builds sleep
pressure – from binding to brain receptors. This means you
feel temporarily more awake, but adenosine is still building
up in your body, and once the caffeine wears off you are
left with a high level of sleep pressure. Does the word
‘slump’ sound familiar
The article goes on to
explain that building up a tolerance to caffeine is common.
As your liver adapts by making proteins that break it down
faster, you end up needing more of it to feel the same
effects. You can see how it can spiral from here. So, how
else can you sustain your energy throughout the
day?
Taking a brisk walk can do wonders; it increases
your blood circulation, sending more oxygen and nutrients to
your brain and your muscles. This is particularly helpful if
your job involves lots of sitting. Some research has shown
that small brisk walks (pay attention, office workers and
truck drivers) can help lower your blood sugar more than one
longer walk.
Speaking of blood sugar, avoiding peaks
and troughs by considering the glycaemic index of the foods
you are eating is another excellent way to sustain energy.
It can be as simple as swapping rice flake cereal for
porridge in the morning.
Keeping your blood glucose
low prevents an insulin spike, which carries the sugar out
of the blood, and can result in levels dropping low enough
to feel hungry, lethargic, and even dizzy. While it may not
always be feasible to avoid a sweet treat, they’re best
not to be consumed on an empty stomach, to slow the
digestive process and avoid an energy crash.
Bee
pollen has long been recognised as a great source of
sustained energy. One of the reasons is its high vitamin B
profile, a group of vitamins which work to convert the food
you eat into energy. While B vitamin supplements are
commonly isolated into subsets, bee pollen contains a range
of the B group, which have been shown to work
together.
David O Kennedy explains in his PubMed
Central article that there are closely related functions of
each of the B vitamins, and while 9, 12, and 6 are commonly
focused on, it is their collective effect that can optimise
functions such as energy production.
These are just
some of the ways in which you can support your energy levels
without reaching for the coffee (or black tea!). It’s time
to step off the caffeine rollercoaster.
By Keren Cook,
NatureBee
© Scoop Media
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