Preventing Energy Crashes and Cravings

It is very common for our energy to take a dip and cravings for sugar, salt, and caffeine to rise mid-afternoon. By 3pm you’ve already put in a full day – you likely got yourself and the kids ready for work and school, made breakfast and lunches, cleaned the kitchen, worked out, answered emails, completed tasks, had meetings, ran errands, and more.

Think about everything you do in the first 8 hours of your day! We exert a lot of energy, mental focus and have secreted and used up so much cortisol and other stress hormones to manage our day.

What we could all benefit from at this time of day is a cat nap! Most of us can’t or don’t take it, and so we crave sugar, salty snacks and caffeine for the pick-me-up we need to keep going for another 8 hours!

There are some key nutritional strategies however that can help manage your energy and help you to be more resilient and adaptive to stress and to prevent that cortisol from dipping too low mid-day.

1. What you do at the start of your day influences the entirety of your day! Start your breakfast with protein, fats and vegetable fiber like an egg and veggie omelet with a side of avocado or Breakfast Muffins. Drink Tulsi tea over coffee to support your adrenals, balance your blood sugars and energize you.
2. Make sure your lunch is focused on protein, essential fats and vegetable fiber like a salad with fish or meat, topped with olive oil and hemp seeds.
3. Have an elixir after lunch that includes some medicinal mushrooms. I like Botanica and Harmonic Arts elixirs. They have no sugar and use adaptogenic mushrooms which elevate energy and allow you to handle your stress more optimally.
4. Take time for a mid-afternoon snack. The adrenal glands are a sodium dependant gland, so this is a great opportunity to focus on snacks that contain natural sodium such as:

• Bone broth
• Mineral broth
• Seaweed Snacks
• Celery with natural nut butter
• Apple with a piece of unpasteurized cheese
• Handful of nuts and a piece of fruit
• Avocado with sea salt
• Olives
• Veggies with hummus

5. To accompany your snack, also add in an adrenal supporting tea like Licorice Root tea.
6. Enjoy a balanced dinner of protein, steamed or roasted veg and a root vegetable (squash, yam, sweet potato)
7. Finish your day with a cup of calming herbal tea. I like Stress Soother from Traditional Medicinal Teas.
8. Insert a calming self-care practice like an Epsom salt bath, meditation, stretching, breathe work, sauna, games with your family, puzzling, reading, etc. Whatever you love that makes you feel relaxed.

If  you take care of your adrenals throughout the day you will experience maximized energy, productivity, mental acuity and feel emotionally poised and have less cravings.

Yours in health & vitality,
Amy

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