9 Ways To Get Your Energy Back By Eve Kalinik

Get your energy back with Eve’s simple diet tweaks. Incorporating the right foods can boost you almost instantly, but without the side effects of the usual sugar and caffeine hits. Goodbye sickly energy drinks, hello spirulina! Eve Kalinik is a fantastic Nutritional Therapist working with prestigious brands. She is an expert at creating realistic programmes for her clients - because she understands how hard it can be to make the changes!    



Eve, over to you: 

When the lovely people at Organic Burst asked me to write about energy I knew that this was going to be a topic that resonates with most (if not all) of us and it’s certainly something that I often address with my clients.

I think we all know that feeling of having maxed it out too much whether that’s at work, home, socially, gym or a combo of all of these. It’s tricky balancing all the plates and sometimes we can feel them crashing around us particularly when we are too busy to find time to eat the right foods, sleep well and have time for relaxation (often not nearly enough of the latter!). It’s not really rocket science to make sure that you are eating regularly and taking out the obvious stimulants but it’s a question of what to eat and when, as well as creating healthy and delicious alternatives to the energy zappers.  So what are the core things we need to keep our energy levels soaring…..

1. GET THE BALANCE RIGHT An obvious one but very important is regular eating. Skipping meals is going to affect blood sugar balance which is crucial for consistent energy. This also doesn’t mean eating constantly eg. the snack and graze habit. You want to be having three balanced meals per day with a 5 hour-ish window between each mealtime as a general guide. If you need a snack add this in mid afternoon. Cucumber sticks with hummus is a good option.
    
2. PROTEIN POWER Make sure that you are having a good quality protein with every meal which can be organic grass fed meats (once per week max), free range chicken, wild caught fish and the plant proteins which includes legumes & pulses such as lentils or beans and nuts & seeds. Organic Burst Spirulina is an excellent source of amino acids that form the building blocks of protein so adding this to a smoothie or juice can be another way to pack in your plant protein sources. It’s also super bioavailable which means it’s absorbed very easily so your cells get an almost instantaneous boost!
   
   
3. ACE YOUR ANTIOXIDANTS The great thing about superfoods is that they are brimming full of antioxidants which help protect against cell damage from free radicals in the environment either through the foods we eat, pollution in the air and even radiation. Too much of this damage can affect cell functioning leading to feelings of lethargy and fatigue. Organic Burst Chlorella is excellent at binding to toxins and helping to shift them out of the body and the potent vitamin C content in Organic Burst Baobab is great for giving a boost.
   
   
4. EFAs aka essential fatty acids found in the Omega 3 family are crucially important to keep cell membranes fluid and flexible so messages can be transported across between cells into the energy powerhouses of cells called the mitochondria. You can find these in the oily fish family – wild salmon, mackerel, sardines and pilchards as well as plant sources such as chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts. 
   
   
5. EAT MORE GREENS! I like to call these guys nutritional heroes which include kale, broccoli, spinach, rocket, cabbage, chard and herbs such as parsley, basil and coriander. Not only are these mighty greens full of magnesium, B vitamins, and alpha lipoic acid which are all essential component of energy production but they also contain a substance called chlorophyll which gives them their vibrant green colour. This substance has a similar chemical composition to haemoglobin which helps to transport oxygen around the body so getting your greens really does put a spring in your step. 
   
   
6. AVOCADOS re one of my favourite foods as they provide a good source of healthy oils as well as B5 which is important for adrenal health that help us to manage the physical effects of stress. But avos are also a great source of N-acetylcysteine which is an important nutrient for energy. Starting the day smashed on gluten free toast will keep you firing through those morning meetings. Or even blended into a smoothie with banana, plant based milk and some acai is a simple and quick way to start the day on a natural high. 
   
   
7. MORE MOJO WITH MACA Used by the Incas as they went into battle, this mellow golden powder has long been used for its stamina boosting benefits and its simply delicious added into a smoothie or with raw desserts. Since maca is also an adaptogen this means it helps to moderate our response to external pressures.
   
   
8. DITCHING THE DRAINERS Caffeine, alcohol & sugar are energy leeches and whilst the initial “hit” leaves you feeling more pepped you will soon crash afterwards. These also affect good quality sleep and we know this is important to give our bodies the rest and recuperation it needs. Try replacing your coffee with a green tea or green juice and use Organic Burst Maca or Baobab to sweeten.
   
   
9. AND SMILE!…Laughter is the best energy booster you can get…