The vitamins and minerals that we source from good quality health foods are important for more than just immune function. We need them for everything from better joint functionality to improved cognitive (brain) function and improved energy availability.
We know that it can sometimes seem like you’re hearing a broken record play when yet another health or medical professional says that we should all be eating better food, but the truth is that it’s the key to unlocking a higher quality of life.
HOW EATING HEALTHY FOODS AND LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CAN BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE
When you think about it at a basic level, our food is our fuel. If you tried to run a car using low quality petrol or diesel then it wouldn’t be very efficient. Your body is the same.
Quite often we find that unless somebody is overweight, then they don’t think that they’re eating badly. It’s perhaps time to alter your thought process a little if you’re one of these individuals.
The truth is that weight isn’t the only area to consider when it comes to functioning healthily. You’ve also got to consider everything from your social interaction to your professional performance.
Health Food And Work Based Performance
We’re going to start this section off by blowing the lid wide open on a very controversial subject. That subject being carbohydrates.
No matter what your opinion is on carbohydrates (including the likes of bread, pasta, rice and fruit) what you may not know is that your brains primary fuel source is glycogen (aka sugar.) You can mainly get this from eating these food types.
More importantly, the quality of your carbohydrate intake also plays an enormous part in the effectiveness of your brain performance.
If you’re eating low quality sugars that get absorbed rapidly leading to energy crashes, this means that your brain performance won’t be able to sustain at an optimum level for long, either.
The key to ensuring that you’re firing on all cylinders at work is to have slow release carbohydrates like oats, whole-wheat spaghetti and rye bread rather than the common “white” (white pasta, bread and pure sugar) alternatives.
Slow release carbohydrates burn for longer, meaning that your brains performance will be sustained for longer too.
Improve Your Social Interaction Through Healthier Lifestyle Habits
When you consider what we’ve said about your brain function and carbohydrates, think about all of those occasions outside of the work place where you might have struggled to feel motivated to see friends and family due to tiredness and lethargy.
Or what about that time when your partner came home and you felt super disengaged and burnt out?
You’d be amazed at how these drops in energy can easily be avoided when you’re taking in the right vitamins and minerals in conjunction with a regular water intake.
If you read our post on healthy eating to boost the immune system then you already know that water is the basis for every chemical reaction in the human body. Without it nothing about us and how we function works properly.
If we combine low water intake with a lack of healthy carbohydrates and the essential vitamins and minerals needed for energy release then suddenly our “down” periods start to make a little more sense.
You need a wide array of essential vitamins and minerals including vitamin C for immune support, vitamin B for energy release and vitamin E to fight off disease whilst taking in water regularly alongside slow releasing carbohydrates to maintain and increase your energy levels.
This means that you’ll always be in a good frame of mind to enjoy quality engagement with others.
Improved Mobility And Physical Function Through Food And Exercise
Tired of aching and feeling like you don’t want to perform physical exercise or do much of anything physical, for that matter? You might just need a natural boost from healthy food.
It might sound too simple to be true, but you really can improve pretty much any ailment and alleviate aches and pains through effective nutrition. You can impact your motivation levels too.
Calcium and vitamin A are vital for improving joint and soft tissue strength for example, whilst powerful antioxidants like raspberries, spices and even drinks like green tea can help to remove the toxins that make us feel unwell and negative about moving more often.
Your lack of motivation for exercise often isn’t simply because you don’t want to. There’s always a reason why we don’t want to do something and if we aren’t taking in the right resources to feel great and move properly, that’s often the answer in itself.
Interestingly too, the more we move, the easier movement becomes. Our aches and pains may even be due to a lack of mobility frequency. You need to use your body regularly whilst also providing the ingredients it needs to move well.
If you nail this winning combination, you’ll be surprised at how fast any aches, pains and spells of lethargy you’re experiencing start to improve.
WHAT’S YOUR REMEDY?
Which foods do you turn to when you’re experiencing energy lows or struggling to move as frequently as you’d like due to lethargy or stress? Or what about when you’re not feeling like you’re in the mood to see friends and family?
What gets you going again? Do you turn to your friends? Or perhaps a life coach to help you identify barriers to healthy eating and how to make simple but effective changes to your daily habits?
We’d love it if you could share this post to inspire others to focus on improving their eating and lifestyle habits whilst sharing some of your favourite food “pick me ups” and top tips for making positive changes with them too. We all need a helping hand once in a while.