Lifeplus Wellness

How to get a natural energy boost with superfoods

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:01:00 +0100

Reading Time: 3 minutes

It’s so easy to run out of energy. We lead busy lives, full of responsibility and we have to find time to work, relax, sleep and of course, enjoy ourselves though the things we love, like socialising and keeping fit. All of these things require energy, which can be difficult to come by, but with the help of certain superfoods, we can tap into it naturally.

Superfoods are known for their wide variety of health benefits, with one of these benefits being the ability to give you a natural energy boost. Here are four of some popular superfoods that do just that!

Almonds

Easily found on most supermarket shelves, the humble almond is actually a powerful superfood that can do wonders for your energy levels!

Converts sugar into energy. Studies have shown that almonds are one of the most nutrient-rich form of food available¹ and they are a rich source of magnesium, which plays a key role in converting sugar into natural energy.

Sleep regulation. Almonds are beneficial in helping you sleep well due to their high levels of magnesium.

Goji berries

These little berries are fantastic for adding a pop of colour to your plate and what’s even better is that they are delicious and so good for you! Tiny red goji berries are packed full of antioxidants with scientific evidence to support the following claims:²

Immune system support. The antioxidants in goji berries are known for their immune-boosting qualities and their ability to reduce inflammation and protect against harmful free radicals, keeping you in great health and full of energy.²

Stabilises blood sugar. Goji berries may be helpful in controlling how sugar is released into the bloodstream, with research showing that they can help to balance insulin and glucose levels in the blood.³ As energy slumps can be caused by dips in your blood sugar levels, keeping them balanced is a great way to avoid those slumps.

Improves sleep. Lack of sleep is a key trigger for tiredness during the day, so one of the best ways to feel full of energy is to make sure you get enough. That can be easier said than done, but a study has shown that goji berries can improve your quality of sleep, leading to increased energy levels, a better ability to focus and greater mental acuity.⁴

Guarana

Native to the Amazon basin, this Brazilian plant is a black seed with a white covering, about the size of a coffee berry and encased in a red shell. When the seed is processed into a powder and consumed, it delivers a range of science-backed health benefits proving it to be a great superfood in terms of delivering a natural energy boost:

Reduced fatigue. Guarana is an excellent source of natural caffeine, which helps you maintain your mental energy and focus. This is because caffeine has been shown to block the effects of adenosine, a compound that helps your brain relax.⁵

Rich in antioxidants. Like goji berries, guarana is particularly rich in antioxidants, which are great for giving your immune system a boost and helping to keep you feeling well.

May boost memory. Studies have been conducted into the effects of guarana on your memory and have concluded that it can help you maintain focus, pay more attention to tasks and complete them more quickly.⁶

Chlorella

A form of single-celled, freshwater algae, chlorella is a powerful nutritional supplement that studies have shown to have many natural energy boosting health benefits:

Acts as an antioxidant. A number of the compounds contained within chlorella, including chlorophyll, vitamin C, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein are antioxidants. Antioxidants keep us in good health with optimal energy levels.

May enhance aerobic endurance. Positive effects were demonstrated in a study that looked at the effect of chlorella on aerobic endurance, with it showing a significant improvement in the ability to saturate oxygen into the lungs.⁷ This might be due to chlorella’s branched-chain amino acid content, as there have been further studies showing that this collection of three amino acids can also improve aerobic performance.⁸

Superfoods are super for a reason. As well as helping to boost our energy, they boast health benefits ranging from anti-aging effects to glucose regulation and immune function support. As they taste great too, adding them to your diet is a fantastic way to deliver some immediate health benefits.

How can you improve your memory?

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 11:08:00 +0200

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Some people seem to be able to retain information and reel off facts and figures easily, while others might frequently struggle to remember even the simplest of things.

It’s important not to panic if you find yourself become more forgetful, as studies have shown that memory will naturally decline as we age, so it’s not always a sign of something more serious.¹ Becoming forgetful can be annoying though – from the embarrassment of forgetting someone’s name to the frustration of not knowing where you left your house or car keys.

Be kind to your mind

Thankfully, there are steps we can take to improve our physiological health. While memory loss is a natural part of the aging process and can also be influenced by our genetic makeup, the good news is that there are things we can all do to ensure a healthy mental state and to improve our memories:

1. Consume less sugar

We all know too much sugar isn’t good for us, but aside from the impact it can have on our bodies, did you realise that it could impact your memory too? Sugar has been shown in studies to lead to poor memory and reduced brain volume, especially when it comes to short-term memory. So for better health, and better memory, try your best to cut back on the sugar.²

2. Eat oily fish or take a fish oil supplement

There are many studies to suggest that fish oil, which is naturally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, can slow mental decline.³
If you like fish like salmon and mackerel then great! Fill your plate and enjoy them knowing that they offer memory-boosting benefits. If you don’t like, or don’t eat fish, you can still take a high-quality omega-3 supplement to reap the same benefits.

3. Take time to meditate

As well as lowering blood pressure and reducing stress, meditation has also been shown to have potential memory-boosting benefits.⁴
Meditation isn’t just good for your body, but it’s good for your mind too!

4. Watch your weight

One of the best things you can do for your body is keep your weight at a healthy level. This can help to avoid weight-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as to reduce the pressure on your joints. Keeping a healthy weight is also good for your mind. That’s because, as well as being associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, obesity can change the genes associated with memory.⁵

5. Ensure you get enough sleep

We all know how awful it feels to be tired and how much harder it seems to function. So, it’s no surprise that lack of proper sleep has been linked to poor memory, with research showing that not getting enough sleep does actually affect your cognitive ability to remember things.⁶

6. Cut back on alcohol

Alcohol doesn’t just affect you in the moment, but afterwards too. Studies have shown that binge drinking can alter the brain and cause memory deficits, and repeated episodes of binge drinking can actually damage the hippocampus – the part of your brain that is responsible for your memory.⁷

7. Give your brain a workout!

If you want to be good at sports, you would have to train. Having a good memory is no different – your brain can be trained just as your body can! Brain games such as crosswords and sudoku are fun ways to pass time and come with the added benefit of giving your brain a challenging workout.

8. Exercise your body too

Exercise is important for mental health as well as physical health and research has indicated that it can help memory retention in people of all ages. Regular exercise during mid-life in particular, is associated with a reduction in the risk of developing dementia.⁸

9. Treat yourself to some (dark) chocolate

The great news for chocoholics is that cocoa is packed full of antioxidants known as flavonoids, which are particularly beneficial for your brain. Studies show that people who consumed dark chocolate had better memory retention than those who consumed white chocolate, which does not contain any flavonoids.⁹

Losing your memory is something that concerns many people and of course, there are many who will still suffer from this. Whatever stage of life you are at, there’s always time to do what you can to give your physiological health a boost and put yourself in the best position for retaining a strong memory.

How can training your brain help with physical performance?

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 13:52:00 +0200

Reading Time: 3 minutes

We all know that our brains and bodies are linked.

But how do our cognitive abilities and our psychological health affect our physical abilities? How, for example, does training our brains help to improve response times, visual accuracy, memory and more? Sports performance requires a wealth of cognitive functions, such as attention, decision-making and working memory, to be functional at optimal levels in stressful and demanding environments – such as a sporting environment.¹

Brain training, also known as cognitive training, involves a series of targeted mental exercises to help improve your brain function. Cognitive performance exercises are often practiced by professional athletes as part of their training plan – by first focusing on their brain function, they are then in a stronger position to focus on their physical abilities.

Why is brain training relevant for sports professionals?

Studies have shown that brain exercises can help boost our psychological health and enhance certain cognitive skills such as memory attention and problem solving.²

Sports require more than physical skill and ability. To be a good sports person, you also need to tap into a number of cognitive functions. By increasing your cognitive abilities of perception and decision making for example, sports professionals will be in a better position to predict their opponents movements, which will help them determine their own accuracy and speed when competing against them.

Cognitive skills fall into a number of main areas. Each of these are important if you want to excel at the sport you are competing in:

Attention

Sustained: It’s important to be able to sustain long-term attention and focus
Selective: You need to be able to mentally block out any external distractions
Flexible: Being able to transfer your focus from one thing to another

Memory

Long-term: Retaining knowledge for future performances
Working: Tapping into what you know to work in your favour

Visual Processing

Visualisation: Creating mental images and scenarios in your mind
Visual span: Taking in peripheral information at a glance
Discrimination: Distinguishing between small differences that will affect your performance

Sensory integration and thinking

Timing/rhythm: Split-second timing and moving to the best rhythm
Planning: Short-term and long-term planning
Decision speed: Being able to make decisions quickly

How exactly do you train your brain?

It is of course difficult to replicate certain sporting scenarios without physically being in them, but there are still ways to train your brain for when you do meet these scenarios. Here are some ideas to help get your brain in the best mental condition:

Visualise the win. If you tell yourself that you are here to do a job and to win or complete the challenge or workout, you will find that the win comes easier.
Practice mindfulness. By practising mindfulness in your daily life, you will find that when you are in your sporting situation, you will find it easier to see what is meaningful and what is abstraction.
Plan your success. Think about how exactly you are going to win. Visualise it. Before taking part in your sport, play through the scenario in your mind.
Focus on positivity. There will always be positive and negative influences around us. If there is a lot of negativity around you, focus on the positivity inside you. Focus on what makes you happy and what motivates you.

In order to be the best you can be, you need to focus on more than your physical sporting abilities. When it comes to training, training your brain is just as important as training your body. It’s often said that the mind gives up before the body does, so by making your mind as strong as it can be, you are giving yourself the best possible chance of success.

The mental health benefits of exercise

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 17:15:00 +0100

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What role does regular exercise play in your mental wellbeing?

The health benefits of physical exercise are many and varied and, given the obvious affects it has on our fitness, shape and health, it’s understandable that this is where attention is often focused. Exercise is not just about increasing fitness and gaining bigger muscles though – it’s also a major gamechanger in understating mental health. Findings from research indicate that exercise is associated with improvements in mental health and research on acute exercise indicates that 20 to 40 minutes of aerobic activity results in improvements in anxiety and mood that persist for several hours.¹

Can exercise help us to feel more energetic?

If you run a marathon you are going to feel exhausted, but the cumulative effect of exercise actually has the opposite effect and makes you feel more energetic. This is because regular physical activity increases the blood flow within your body and improves your cardiovascular health and fitness. In turn, this makes it easier for blood and oxygen – and therefore energy – to get to the parts of your body where they are needed.

Can exercise improve our quality of sleep?

Physical activity can contribute to more restful sleep. It increases the time spent in deep sleep which is the most restorative sleep phase which helps to boost immune function, support cardiac health and control stress.² In addition to improving the quality of sleep, exercise can also help you increase the duration of your sleep. The energy you expend when being active helps you to feel more tired.

Can exercise be used as a relaxation technique?

Exercise doesn’t have to be about sweating through a heavy cardio session – Yoga, Pilates and Tai-Chi are all forms of exercise that are good for your body and also help you to relax. Exercises like these focus on breathing. Breathing slower, more deeply and more focused is known to reduce stress and increase relaxation.

Can exercise increase our self-esteem?

Exercise helps to change the condition of our bodies, making us feel stronger and look the way we want to – it’s not all about weight loss though. Exercise also strengthens and tightens your body to increase your self-confidence. Certain types of exercise create a challenge and accomplishing those results is an inevitable sense of achievement. Your challenge is unique to you, but whether it’s going for a short walk or running up a mountain, achieving it is an accomplishment that is sure to boost your self-esteem.

Can exercise improve our memory?

A research article published demonstrated that exercise can reduce the harmful effects of other stressors. The potential effects of exercise on the aging process and on mental health were discussed and the overwhelming evidence present in the literature today suggests that exercise ensures successful brain functioning.³ Furthermore, it was concluded that regular exercise releases brain chemicals key for memory, concentration and mental sharpness, as it stimulates the region of the brain that is involved in memory function.⁴

Can exercise release feel-good hormones?

Exercise produces endorphins, the ‘feel-good’ chemical that acts as a natural painkiller and stress-inhibitor. Studies show that exercise is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive function.⁵

With more and more people wanting to understand mental health, and how it can be improved, exercise is a clear winner in delivering results.

What will boost your mood?

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 12:05:00 +0200

Reading Time: 3 minutes

You could try chocolate – a tried and tested go-to for most of us. And we know, scientifically, it can help.

Chocolate contains a small amount of tryptophan, an amino acid used by our brains to make serotonin (the neurotransmitter linked to feelings of happiness). ¹ But we also know it’s likely to have an effect on our weight and this may not make us feel quite so good. Luckily there are many other ways we can look to stimulate our brains and improve our moods without any potential negative effects.

Ways to boost your mood

This is going to sound incredibly obvious but, seriously, do something you enjoy! This could be anything from watching the sunrise or the sunset, cooking, exercising, walking in the countryside or the city, to spending time with your family and friends. If you can’t do it immediately, make a date and keep to it. Have something to look forward to.

Can exercise boost your mood?

The simple answer is yes. Exercise is probably the best and most immediate way for us to get out of that slump. An early morning walk or jog is a great way to lift our spirits. It’s a natural antidepressant as, not only will it increase your endorphins (our feel-good hormones), it will help our vitamin D intake through the sunlight and, as with chocolate, increase our serotonin levels.

Should the weather not be so accommodating, working out indoors or at a gym will be equally as mood boosting. We have lots of information on how and why exercise is beneficial in Lifeplus formula so please do take a look around.

And don’t forget mindfulness is a great way to focus on the present and take time out to reflect. A quick 15 minute session will help – you can even weave it in during a regular daily activity such as brushing your teeth, eating your breakfast, or ironing your clothes. Meditation is another good way to boost your mood. Not only is it a calming way to reduce stress and anxiety, it may also help your memory and your ability to process information.²

Things to boost your mood

Another way is to stimulate your mind. Do something to boost your mental energy. There are many studies which scientifically evidence the impact lifestyle habits can have on our brains and the importance of keeping our minds stimulated – if looking to reduce age-related cognitive decline. Despite headlines we may have read, there is controversy around the longer term impact on our likelihood to develop dementia-causing diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the good news is that doctors think it may help build up a ‘cognitive reserve’ which could mean we retain our abilities for longer even if we do get such a disease.³ But what about the here and now? What can we do to stimulate our minds today? Here are some ideas:

Jigsaw puzzles: according to Dr Patrick Fissler et al, ‘jigsaw puzzling taps multiple cognitive abilities and is a potential protective factor for cognitive aging’. ⁴

Card games: researchers from Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison found card games can lead to greater brain activity and could improve memory and thinking skills.⁵

Use your senses: In the report, ‘A multisensory perspective of working memory,’ researchers found using all our senses can actually help strengthen our brains.⁶ So try focusing on your senses more when you’re out and about, or even cooking your evening meal. It can help stimulate your mind.
Other examples are the Chinese martial art of Tai Chi, renowned for its health benefits and now linked positively with our brain functions ; dancing and learning a new skill (which could be Tai Chi!).⁷

Foods to boost your moods

Curcumin, found in turmeric, has already been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It can now be linked to improved memory and our moods according to Dr Gary Small, Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behaviour at UCLA. Small et all’s research found that, those taking curcumin ‘experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities,’ whilst the subjects who received placebo did not. Small found that those taking curcumin also had ‘mild improvements’ in their mood.⁸ So it seems, perhaps, a curry might be a good a replacement for chocolate?

So there you have it. There are many ways to kick that slump. All you have to do is be bothered to do one – and as we know sometimes that’s the hardest thing of all!

Guarana as a natural energizer

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 19:45:00 +0200

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What is guarana and how does it work?

Guarana, also known by its scientific name of Paullinia cupana, is popular as a natural energy booster and can be added to drinks as an alternative to drinking tea or coffee. Guarana extract naturally contains caffeine, but studies have shown that it can also have a positive effect on health.¹ Centuries before these studies were conducted though, the Amazonian people were already using guarana as a stimulant.
A relative of the maple plant, guarana has a more vine-like structure, with bright red seeds displaying a central black and white large dot, making them look a little like an eye. Imagine combining a redcurrant with a black-eyed pea, that’s what guarana looks like.
Guarana was traditionally prepared by roasting the seeds and grinding them into a powdery paste to be used by Brazilian tribes who relied upon its healing and energy-boosting properties.

Guarana and caffeine

Guarana contains even more caffeine than coffee, and guarana seeds contain at least four times more caffeine than coffee beans.² The natural stimulating effect comes from a substance called guaranine, which has a similar chemical structure as caffeine and gives guarana its energizing effect.

Available forms of guarana

In Brazil guarana is still commonly used today in food and beverages,³ with over 70% of the guarana produced going to the beverage industry and the remaining 30 percent turned into guarana powder.⁴ Its natural energy effects have become better known worldwide too, with the United States and Europe also being big consumers. Guarana is most commonly found in syrup or powder form and has a fruity taste with woody, or earthy, undertones.

Guarana as natural energy booster instead of coffee

The natural caffeine that is derived from herbal guarana extract complements its other chemical components to slow down the absorption of the caffeine, levelling the energy boost and helping you to benefit from it for longer. While coffee and caffeinated soft drinks provide a quick hit of energy, this tends to plummet as soon as the caffeine has been metabolized. Guarana has a more extended effect though, and the energy-increasing impact of a guarana drink is much stronger than that of caffeine on its own.

Guarana health benefits

Guarana is said to have a number of health benefits and there are several studies which suggest that this is because of the antioxidants contained within the guarana seed extract, which also help to give it its energizing effects.²
The antioxidant properties of guarana are certainly impressive; guarana seed extract contains compounds boasting valuable antioxidants like caffeine, theobromine, tannins, saponins and catechins,⁵ which studies have suggested may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are beneficial to health as studies have shown that they can neutralise the free radicals associated with skin aging or heart disease.⁶

Guarana can reduce fatigue and improve concentration

Guarana is associated with improved mood, greater memory and better mental alertness, and studies have been conducted which indicate that guarana can be beneficial for cognitive health⁷ by improving the ability to learn and remember. This is much like ginseng, which is also said to be good for the brain; both guarana and ginseng improved memory and test performances in a cognitive study.⁸

Does Guarana have side effects?

Guarana is generally safe to take, but it can have a few mild side effects similar to those you would experience from drinking too much coffee, particularly when it is consumed in high doses.⁹ These side effects can include an increase in heart rate, or heart palpitations, sleeplessness, anxiety and restlessness, headaches and shakiness.

Guarana as an alternative source of caffeine

If you would like to try an alternative beverage to coffee or tea, you can drink guarana and see for yourself why the Amazonians have been using it for generations. Health benefits have not yet been fully researched, but guarana has an obvious invigorating effect due to the caffeine it contains. On the basis of the available studies, people should decide themselves whether they would like to give this natural Brazilian stimulant a try.