22

By David Steinman

Put the bounce back in your step with these good-for-you ways to boost your energy.

Have you ever had one of those days? You wake up totally fatigued; all you want is return to sleep. By 11:00, you're on your third cup of coffee. At noon, you plow through a quick lunch of pasta, but by 3:00 you're so sleepy you dash to the corner grocery for a quick sugar "fix" and pick up a bag of potato chips or candy bar. You spend the last hour at work looking busy, but in reality you're unfocused, the result of depleted energy levels. Finally it's 5:00 and a few friends ask if you want to go to the gym, but all you want is get home, eat dinner and go to sleep. Unfortunately, even after 10 hours of sleep you wake up the next morning as fatigued as the day before. It's a tiring cycle.

    If you're not yet in the high-energy zone, this may be a good time to reassess your nutritional strategies. Optimal nutritional habits including the intelligent and informed use of dietary supplements are the key to entering and staying in the Energy Zone.

Energy Basics

Energy is the capacity for vigorous activity or the feeling of having an abundant or adequate amount of such vigor. Every aspect of living requires energy. You need energy for muscle activity, secretions of hormones from the glands, for maintaining cell membranes, for thinking, even for absorbing foods from the gastrointestinal tract. The question most people ask is how to maintain their energy levels—or how to get more.

    The human body makes use of chemical energy stored in the bonds of food molecules. The process of releasing chemical energy from food is known as energy transfer and involves transporting chemical energy stored in food to a special energy carrier molecule in the body, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Think of ATP as your cells' energy "currency." ATP works within various portions of cells, especially within their energy factories (called the mitochondria), to help the body to break down chemical molecules in food and to make energy constantly available for all of the body's cellular processes.

    Three types of nutrients are required by the body as fuel for the manufacture of energy—proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For this reason, a high-energy diet must contain foods rich in each. The key is proportion—precisely where many people have gone wrong, according to Barry Sears, Ph.D., author of the best seller The Zone (Harper Collins), who also consults with a host of elite athletes including NBA star James Donaldson of the Utah Jazz and former Stanford swimming star Angie Wester-Krieg.

    Current so-called "healthy" diets, says Sears, contain about 70 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent fat and 15 percent protein. This type of eating is a recipe for fatigue and weight gain, he says. The balancing act between two of the body's most important energy-regulating hormones, insulin and glucagon, is vital to enhanced energy levels. The levels of these two hormones are, in turn, influenced by carbohydrate and protein intake.

    Sears points out that when we eat a high-carbohydrate meal, particularly grains, pasta, bread and cereals, the body breaks it down into simple sugars, especially glucose. Glucose is the primary source of energy for all living organisms. In fact, while all sugars first pass through the liver, only glucose is released directly from the liver back into the bloodstream; other sugars such as fructose (found in fruits) and galactose (from dairy foods) must first be converted to glucose before reentering the bloodstream.

    In response to sugar's entry into the bloodstream, the pancreas secretes insulin; the more sugar in the bloodstream, the more insulin the pancreas releases. Thus, glucose stimulates the body's highest levels of insulin.

    Insulin tells the liver and muscles—the body's primary storage areas for glucose— to take sugar from the bloodstream and store it. So when you eat a big bowl of pasta with garlic rolls for lunch, you've just entered what Sears calls carbohydrate hell. All those carbos have poured almost directly into your bloodstream, converted to glucose and greatly increased the body's levels of insulin, which is now telling the body to take that sugar and store it. Three or four hours later, the body, particularly the brain, craves more sugar for fuel and needs to access its stored fuel supplies in the liver and muscles. However, the body's overproduction of insulin is still sending that storage signal to the muscles and liver, which refuse to release vital fuel. Hence, the 3:00 run to the grocery for a bag of corn chips or candy, which supply the body with more carbohydrates and sugar. The problem is, these foods once again stimulate the body's overproduction of insulin. It's a vicious cycle.

    Moreover, when you have an overabundance of glucose, much of this excess sugar is converted into fat and stored in the body's fat cells. Not surprisingly, as people have increased the amounts of carbohydrate-rich pastas, cereals and bread in their diets, more and more people are becoming obese. Indeed, one in three persons—more people than ever before in this carbohydrate-fatigued nation—is overweight (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1994, vol. 272, no. 3). The antidote, according to Sears, is to consume foods rich in protein.

    Protein stimulates the pancreas to produce glucagon. Glucagon acts in opposition to insulin in regulating blood glucose levels. When insulin levels are high, glucagon levels are low. This hormone tells the body to release stored sugars back into the bloodstream. Glucagon stimulates the body to burn sugars it's stored, meaning when your glucagon levels are high, your trips to the corner for candy bars will be low.

    In his high-Energy Zone diet, Sears urges people to try a more balanced approach to meals, making sure they eat about 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent fats. Keep saturated fats such as those found in red meats to a minimum because they tend to raise insulin levels, he notes. However, since other fats are an important energy fuel—especially for athletes — Sears suggests you consume monounsaturated fats, which have little effect on the insulin/glucagon axis. These are found in foods such as olive and canola oils, olives, macadamia nuts and avocados, which typically make up the Mediterranean diet.

    Besides paying attention to your dietary balance, you should consider that other nutrients influence the body's energy levels by optimizing the many biochemical reactions involved in energy transfer processes. These include herbs, vitamins and minerals.

    Obviously, nobody is going to take all the following nutrients. By experimenting and working with a qualified health professional, however, you can discover which are suited to your body's unique requirements.

The B Complex: Energy Vitamins

A full-spectrum B vitamin supplement can aid people suffering from low energy levels. Members of the vitamin B complex, found most abundantly in foods such as brewer's yeast, wheat germ and liver, are essential to the body's energy transfer processes. Most of the B vitamins, however, are water-soluble, and the body stores them only briefly. Symptoms of deficiency can show up within a few days. In one study, restriction of the intake of the B vitamins led to decreased endurance within only a few weeks (Sports Medicine, 1985, vol. 2, no. 3).

    Vitamin B₂ (riboflavin) is essential for optimal function of mitochondria, where many energy processes take place, and it's quickly depleted in active people (British Journal of Nutrition, 1993, vol. 69, no. 2).

    Vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine) is essential for regulating the body's blood glucose levels, for synthesizing hemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues), and many other enzymatic reactions. Yet, this B vitamin is often deficient in our diets. In fact, more than half of American women don't receive even 70 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin B₆, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The more intensively you exercise, the greater your needs for replenishing vitamin B₆ (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1983, vol. 38, no. 4).

    Another important member of the B family, folic acid, promotes growth and maturation of the body's red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Folic acid also helps synthesis of nucleic acids, which contain the body's cellular blueprints and play a vital role in cell growth and division. In one study, people who became easily fatigued were found to have low levels of this B vitamin. As their folate levels rose, symptoms of fatigue also disappeared (Clinical Psychiatry News, April 1976).

    A deficiency of pantothenic acid, which protects against anemia, can also cause feelings of tiredness and other symptoms that go along with fatigue, insomnia, sullenness and depression (Nutrition Science Vitaminol., August 1970).

    Vitamin B_l2 is integral to healthy nerve tissue and normal blood formation. People complaining of tiredness who were given large amounts of vitamin B₆ daily for two weeks found these helped treat their fatigue (British Journal of Nutrition, 1973, vol. 30).

Energy Minerals

Several minerals are important to the body's energy processes. Magnesium, for example, is needed for glucose metabolism, protein and nucleic acid synthesis, muscle contractions, electrical balance of cells and transmission of nerve impulses. The USDA has termed magnesium a "problem nutrient" because of its low levels in most people's diets. In one study, supplementation with magnesium relieved tiredness in 198 of 200 people (Magnesium in Health and Disease: Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Magnesium, Spectrum Books).

    Potassium is essential to the body's energy processes. Potassium carries an electrical charge that governs muscle function; it also aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, release of insulin and proper functioning of digestive enzymes. A potassium deficiency, particularly in older people, can cause malaise along with muscular weakness, as shown in a study that found that people with low levels had weakened grip strength (Gerontologia Clinica, 1971, vol. 13).

   Supplementation with zinc is integral to regulating insulin metabolism, tissue regeneration and sexual maturity and can improve muscle strength and endurance. Zinc also aids the body's production of enzymes known as peptidases, which are important for digestion of proteins. Although many people may suffer marginal zinc deficiencies, athletes have even greater zinc requirements. Exercise depletes the body's zinc stores (International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 1994, vol. 4). In one study, after 15 days of zinc supplementation, strength and endurance significantly improved (Acta Physiol. Scand., 1982, vol. 116, no. 3).

    As with magnesium, most Americans have chromium deficiencies; yet, this mineral is necessary for the proper utilization of glucose, one of the body's main energy fuels. In a study of 26 young adults, those receiving chromium daily had improved insulin sensitivity (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 1995, vol. 28, no. 3). Many other studies have shown that supplemental chromium improves the body's sensitivity to insulin and helps it to use glucose more efficiently.

Complementary Duo: CoQ₁₀ & Carnitine

    Coenzymes are molecules that are necessary for carrying out biochemical reactions in our bodies. The benefits of coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) in fighting heart disease are well-established; however, researchers have discovered that CoQ₁₀ can also improve the body's energy levels. In one study, six healthy sedentary men underwent bicycle endurance testing before and after receiving 60 mg. of CoQ10 twice daily for four to eight weeks. Significant improvements were noted in endurance after about four weeks (Biomedical & Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q₁₀, 1981, vol. 3).

    Carnitine, which helps transfer fatty acids to the mitochondria for energy production, is another important endurance-nutrient. In one study, six long-distance competitive walkers began taking L-carnitine daily; after two weeks, their endurance, strength and energy increased by 6 percent (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 1985, vol. 54, no. 2). Although the research is preliminary, there's some indication that taking both these nutrients together may produce synergistic results (International Journal of Tissue Reactions, 1990, vol. 12, no. 3).

DMAE: Biochemical Stimulant

Another effective energy supplement, dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), provides a mild stimulating effect. Once sold as a prescription "drug" for hyperactive children, DMAE is a naturally occurring nutrient and one of the most efficient precursors of the brain's major neurotransmitting chemical, acetylcholine. DMAE, a brain stimulant, works by providing the body with a highly usable form of choline, the building block of acetylcholine. Studies have shown that in addition to feeling mildly stimulated, people who use DMAE sleep more soundly and avoid morning lethargy (Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 1959, vol. 1, no. 3). Maximum benefits may take several weeks to appear.

Botanicals for Energy

The English equivalent of the Chinese word "seng" is "essence," and it's thought that the ginseng plant's root, shaped like the human figure, embodies the Earth's essence. The Chinese believe that this herb is the crystallization of all of the complexities and energy of the Earth's soils. The studies documenting ginseng's energizing properties convincingly show that ginseng preparations improve endurance, concentration and facilitate the body's response to daily stress.

    Some energizing herbs act directly on the brain. Guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a climbing evergreen that's native to the Amazon regions of Brazil and Venezuela. Its seeds are pulverized and roasted and have long been a favorite South American energy source. Guarana's stimulant effect is due to its caffeine content (Basic Life Sciences, 1992, vol. 59). Caffeine, scientists believe, is an energizer because of its molecular resemblance to adenosine, a substance that dampens brain activity. Once ingested, caffeine molecules occupy the same receptor sites on brain cells that would be occupied by adenosine, blocking its activity. This, in turn, causes an excited brain state whose effect can last several hours. Kola nut, also used in energy products, works similarly.

    Supplements containing caffeine may not be an ideal choice for some people because, when misused, they can disturb sleep and contribute to heart palpitations and benign breast disease. However, when used moderately,caffeine-containingsupplements have been shown to delay fatigue, particularly for prolonged periods of exercise, and they have the ability to increase the rate of fat breakdown (International Journal of Sports Medicine, 1994, vol. 15).

    Bee pollen, collected from the stamen of flowers, is also used for energy enhancement. Pollen is a "strong biological stimulant," says Naum Petrovitsch Joirisch, author of Bees in the Service of Humanity. Petrovitsch, associated with the former Soviet Union's Far East Institute of the Soviet Academy of Science in Vladivostok, notes that bee pollen has regenerative properties for the entire human organism. Among the aged it seems to help restore morale, a sense of spiritual well-being and actual physical health. 

    Pollen consists of the male seeds of flowers which fertilize plants. As pollen is capable of reproduction, it's extremely nutrient dense and contains the full range of nutrients essential for life. Called one of nature's most perfectly balanced foods, pollen contains carbohydrates, fatty acids and proteins including all 22 amino acids, 27 minerals, and virtually all of the B-complex vitamins.

    Bee pollen is an even richer source of amino acids than beef, eggs and cheese. A source of glutamic acid, pollen is an especially important energy food, as this amino acid is one of the primary brain fuels, besides glucose. Pollen is also rich in natural electrical energy, says Eric H. Erickson, Ph.D., an entomologist at the University of Wisconsin, where volunteers who consumed pollen samples were monitored with electronic devices that noted an increase in their bioelectricity or body energy.

Boosting the Cells

Our energy resources are also determined by the health of specific bodily organs such as the adrenal glands, liver and the pancreas. Among the chemicals produced by the adrenals, a pair of glands located above the kidneys, are epinephrine and norepinephrine, which help the body metabolize carbohydrates and adapt to stress. The adrenal glands, however, can be damaged by overuse of stimulants such as tea, coffee, chocolate, cola, alcohol, tobacco, drugs and excessive stress. One of the symptoms related to adrenal exhaustion is chronic fatigue.

    The liver is essential to metabolizing and storing sugars, but it can also be damaged by environmental toxins, as well as alcohol. The pancreas secretes both glucagon and insulin, which are also integral to producing energy. It can also be damaged by exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides.

    Alternative healers have long used glandular extracts to rejuvenate the body's organs. "Glandular therapy is based on the ancient therapeutic principle of `like cures like,"' notes Gary Ross, M.D., of San Francisco, who uses alternative healing methods in his practice. "The fundamental concept of glandular therapy is that glandular extracts can help strengthen the same glands or organs in humans, if they're weakened or damaged."

    Thus, Ross points out, an individual who is suffering from adrenal failure would be given raw adrenal extract; similarly, glandulars consisting of liver or pancreas are used to revitalize these organs.

    The main benefit of glandular therapy is improving the body's overall processes including energy production, says Tom Smith, M.D., of the International Clinic for Biological Regeneration in England and the Bahamas. Numerous scientific studies have shown that glandular extracts improve organ function and can contribute to enhanced energy performance, says Michael Murray, N.D., author of Glandular Extracts: What You Should Know (Keats).

    Energy may be thought of as the currency of life. One of the keys to increasing your energy levels is improved diet, together with specifically selected nutrients. Together, these may be just the key to making sure you're operating at maximum energy levels all day, every day. Be patient. Several weeks of supplementation are often required before noticeable increases in energy are felt. But then, you'll be in the Energy Zone, too, and a high-energy lifestyle will be yours for the rest of your life.

David Steinman is a former representative of the public interest at the National Academy of Sciences and author of Diet for a Poisoned Planet (Ballantine) and The Safe Shopper's Bible (Macmillan).