Superfood Ideas to Rejuvenate Your Body and Mind

Many people, tend to become sluggish throughout the course of a regular day, especially at work! The worst time of day is usually early afternoon. After lunch, your body wants nap time, and your brain often has a hard time convincing it otherwise. If this sounds familiar to you, pay attention to what you read here. These are some great superfood ideas to help you make it through those energy droughts, and make the most of your day.

One of the key things to remember in order to keep energy levels on an even keel is to eat smaller, and more frequently. This helps regulate your blood sugar levels to avoid spikes and dips. When you eat large meals, your body has a lot more to handle all at once, and has to slow itself down in order to cope.

Choosing the right combination of foods for these smaller meals and snacks is obviously important. By ingesting the proper nutrients your body gets the much-needed boost it needs to sustain itself properly, even through those slumps later in the day. When it comes to snacking, or quick meals, the trend tends to be to go for “quick and dirty” junk type food. To get the most out of your meals, ditch the high sugar junk foods and try out some of these superfoods to get that boost you need.

Fresh fruit, such as peaches, apples, pears, oranges, and strawberries, are a great source of vitamins and fiber. Summer especially is prime time to take advantage of fresh fruit! Choose a peach, for example, and get plenty of dietary fiber, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium, beta carotene and vitamin A, in addition to high amounts of vitamin C. Niacin is important for providing energy for cell tissue growth. Along with regulating fluid balance, potassium helps maintain the electrical stability of the cells of your heart and nervous system and is important for cell and muscle growth. Vitamin B12 plays a role in red blood cell formation, nerve function, and metabolizing protein and fat.

Dried fruits, such as apricots and raisins are a healthy, low-fat, low-cholesterol, and low-sodium snack with significant amounts of potassium, phosphorus, copper, and iron. Mix raisins with low-fat yogurt, and you also get riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin B12, as well as a high amount of calcium, which is needed not only for strong bones and teeth but also plays a key role in the normal functioning of the heart and other muscles. The vitamin A in apricots contributes to healthy vision, bone growth, and reproduction, and helps fight infection. In addition, apricots are a great source of potassium, which is important in regulating your body's fluid balance.

Baby carrots and sesame sticks are a tasty treat that will provide significant amounts of beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B9, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, copper, and fiber. Beta carotene helps to protect against diseases like heart disease and some cancers. Vitamin A is important for healthy skin, for better night vision, and to fight infection and respiratory ailments. Vitamin B9, helps to form red blood cells and break down proteins, and playing a key role in cell growth and division.

Peanut butter on some whole grain crackers is an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin, and fiber. Peanut butter on celery is a classic snack, has great staying power, and the celery is stuffed with numerous vitamins, minerals, and is high in fiber. Low-fat string cheese is a good quick source of protein and calcium. They come in easy-to-carry individual servings and you can add a piece of fresh fruit for extra fiber.

So from the superfood list above, you should be able to get some good ideas of what to eat to keep your body and mind fully fueled throughout the entire day, not just a few hours here and there. By ensuring you get everything you need to maintain high levels of nutrition, you'll find its much easier to make it through that long work day, from the moment you wake up in the morning, till your head hits the pillow that night.