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We are human, we are creatures of habit. Which means that time changes—whether it’s daylight saving or traveling to another part of the country—can make us feel lethargic.
Not surprisingly, sleep and exercise can help right the ship, but so can your diet. Dr. Neil Barnard, MD, FACC, explains that if you were to look at glycogen (our muscle’s energy source) under a powerful microscope, it would look like a long, branching string of beads. Each “bead” is a molecule of glucose or simple sugar. Marathoners eat a lot of rice, bread, pasta, and other starchy foods, because when starches are digested, they release glucose, which the body stores in the muscles and liver like an extra battery.
“My two favorite endurance athletes are Brendan Brazier and Scott Jurek. Most people would be proud to run a marathon,” says Bernard. “Brazier leads the pack in Ironman triathlons and 50-kilometer ultramarathons, and is as particular about food as a Formula One driver is about racing fuel.” Brazier’s diet is loaded with healthy carbohydrates. Bernard Explaining that early in his racing career, Brazier found that animal products slowed his recovery after exercise. With a completely vegetarian diet, his energy returned quickly and he was ready to compete again.
And perhaps no one has more power than Scott Jurek. In 1999, Jurek entered the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run. He and 334 other runners set off, and not only did Jurek win the race — he went on to win the race every year for the next six years, setting the course record in 2004 at 15:36:27. Like Brendan, Bernard explains, Jurek left animal products off the menu and instead stuck to a high-carb, vegetarian menu.
If the marathoners’ menu—rice, bread, pasta, and other starchy foods—seems like a dream, it’s important to remember that not all carbohydrates are created equal. For energy, you want carbohydrates with staying power, and consulting the glycemic index chart can help guide you.
Foods that score high on the index, such as sugar, white and wheat bread, white potatoes and most cold cereals, are digested very quickly and cause your blood sugar to rise. Then, as your blood sugar drops, your energy flags and cravings begin. Another reason to avoid high-glycemic-index foods? They increase serotonin in the brain, which can make you sleepy.
But low-glycemic-index foods have a much gentler effect on blood sugar, helping stabilize energy without highs and lows. Some good choices are oatmeal, beans, rye or pumpernickel bread, pasta (yes, even though it’s made with white flour, it has a lower glycemic index), yams, and sweet potatoes.
Foods that drag you down
In addition to sugary and high-glycemic-index foods, fatty foods are also problematic. “You know that sluggishness that many people feel after a meal, especially a huge holiday dinner loaded with meat, cheese and gravy? It turns out that animal fat — and any kind of saturated fat — makes blood more viscous, or “thick,” Barnard said. “Your blood is less like oil and less like water. I suspect that this is the main reason that many people feel tired after a heavy meal, and it is also why many people who go vegetarian notice that their energy increases.”
Coffee and energy drinks can provide a short-term pep, but the main function of drinking a caffeinated beverage each morning is to combat the withdrawal caused by drinking the day before. “Caffeine withdrawal reduces alertness and mental clarity and causes headaches,” explains Bernard. “A morning cup of coffee puts you out of your withdrawal temporarily.”
Energy drinks like Red Bull combine the amino acid taurine with caffeine (about the same amount as a small cup of coffee) and other additives to enhance athletic performance. It is not yet clear whether its effects are caused by caffeine or its other ingredients, but many people report withdrawal syndrome similar to caffeine.
For sustained energy that doesn’t drag you down, the bottom line is simple: Get a good night’s sleep, exercise regularly, eat plenty of healthy complex carbohydrates and plant-based protein, and avoid sugar, fatty foods, and caffeine. After that, you should have power to burn.