Tag: caffeine

8 Foods For Our Moods

Everything has a vibration. Whatever you do,say,eat and drink has an effect on you. It either builds you up or breaks you down without your knowledge. An unhealthy diet comprising of less vegetables and organic food can effect your mood drastically. Other than obesity, It also attracts sadness, frustration and negativity as a whole.

Having organic food and a balanced diet has a contrary effect.  It makes us feel energetic, refreshed, alive and happy. In simple words, it boosts our mood and lifts our vibes. It assists us in attracting what we desire . Good health and good mind are very closely related to each other. Let us look into some of these uplifting foods:

 

• Green Leafy Vegetables: Leafy Vegetables are organic and the fresher they are, the better. Spinach, chard and other dark leafy vegetables contain magnesium which positively effects serotonin and boosts our mood. Lack of magnesium can cause a risk of anxiety and depression.

• Beans: As protein packed foods, beans contribute to our mental health through the fibre present in them. Fibre helps regulate blood sugar which  in turn makes our mood better. Beans are also an excellent source of magnesium, iron, potassium and phosphorus.

• Bananas: Bananas appear in every list of food concerning mood boosts. They are high in Vitamin B6 which synthesize feel good neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Bananas consist both sugar and fibre. Sugar, when paired with fibre, releases slowly into our bloodstream allowing for stable blood sugar levels which stabilizes our mood. Low blood sugar levels may lead to mood swings.

Bananas with a green coloured peel are a great source of probiotics which is a kind of fibre which helps feed healthy bacteria to our gut.

• Berries: Berries are packed with a variety of antioxidants. Blueberries are rich in the antioxidant flavonoids which assist in activating brain pathways associated with reduced inflammation and risk of depression. Blueberries and strawberries contain a compound called polyphenolics which improves concentration, memory and attention span.

 

• Salmon: Salmons are rich in omega-3, fatty acids. Especially DHA and EPA. Omega acids are anti inflammatory and are necessary for brain and nervous system development. EPA and DHA have shown to eliminate depression and they can effect our personality and impulse control. Salmons are also high in proteins, Vitamin B12 and D. Vitamin D is linked to better and stable mood. Vitamin B12 on the other hand works in cooperation with folate to help convert amino acids into neurotransmitters which are found in low levels among depression patients.

• Almonds: Almonds are rich in protein  including tyrosine for neurotransmitter production It also contains Vitamin E, magnesium and fibre. As an antioxidant, Vitamin E can help fight radical damage in the brain and has shown to improve memory and cognition.Almonds and walnuts have calcium which can help offset hormonal imbalance in women and decrease the symptoms of depression, anxiety, irritability and impaired memory.

Cashews on the other hand, are rich in tryptophan, a neuro chemical which our body turns into serotonin. Vitamin B6 and magnesium present in cashews help to control mood swings. A handful of unsalted cashews are just enough to get the necessary nutrients.

However, not everytime one may feel like indulging in organic foods. In such cases, one may try chocolates! Dark chocolates, to be specific.  Rich in many mood boosting compounds, its sugar is a quick source of fuel to the brain which in return may improve our mood. It helps reducing anxiety and improves the conditions of clinical depression. Dark chocolates with large amounts of cacao can have positive effects on stress levels and even the immunity. It releases feel good compounds such as caffeine and N-acylethanolamine which is chemically similar to cannabinoids that is linked to an improved mood.

Coffee: For some of us, Coffee is a mood saver. Indeed it is. Its high level of caffeine and chlorogenic acid boosts our mood. The caffeine increases our attention by preventing adesnosine from attaching to the brain receptors that promote tiredness.The list of such food goes on. Some examples are oats,lentils,eggs,herbs,spices, fermented foods and tea.

The list of such food goes on. Some examples are oats,lentils,eggs,herbs,spices, fermented foods and tea.

 

There are  lists of healthy foods,habits,lifestyle,behaviour and practices . What makes them healthy is the vibes and energy which they carry. It is known amongst many that how a vegetarian diet can help to calm down a person. How exercises boosts our mood and how meditation helps us understand ourselves better.

All of these practices are healthy because they help to promote good vibes in us. When we come in contact with something which vibrates at a higher frequency, it improves our vibrations . When we inculcate activities with such  high frequency vibrations, we improve our own vibes. Thereby, attracting positivity.

How caffeine boosts your workout

Studies have shown that Caffeine benefit endurance performance, high-intensity exercise and power sports. There have been enumerable researches on the effectivness and safety of caffeine. It is the most studied supplement out there. Caffeine has health benefits, but the performance benefits are discussed in this article.

4 reasons why caffeine makes workouts better

1 – MORE ENERGY – the first reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your energy levels. Here, energy means alertness. The way caffeine works in your brain is as a central nervous stimulator, it blocks certain receptors to increase the levels of adernaline, dopamine, epinephrine. The increased levels of epinephrine, dopamine and adernaline give you the drive and a little bit of euphoria. The “drive” that you get makes a large difference between a good workout and a bad workout.

2. MORE STRENGTH – the second reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your muscle strength. The research on caffeine shows that “one dose” of caffeine before workout can have an effect on your strength and increase your strength immediately. One dose implies a high enough amount of caffeine, i.e 300mg or more. The main way it does this is by stimulating the nervous system. The nerves which activate muscle fibres, with the intake of caffeine now activate those muscle fibre’s with even more force . More force on muscle fibre’s equals more strength.

3. MORE ENDURANCE – the third reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it increases your endurance during workouts. There are several ways through which caffeine increases your endurance. The first way is, by increasing fat burning levels during workouts. This means that when you train with caffeine, you burn more fat.That spears muscle glycogen which means you have more energy later on in the workout, when you need it. Another way by which caffeine increases your endurance is by boosting nitric oxide levels. Research actually shows that caffeine can enhance vessel dilation. It makes your blood vessel’s wider, which ensures in greater blood flowing through muscles. More blood flowing through muscles delivers more oxygen and more nutrients, which indeed increase endurance during workouts

4. LESS MUSCLE PAIN – the fourth and final reason why caffeine makes your workouts better is, it decreases muscle pain during workout. Research actually shows that caffeine works better than ibuprofen for blunting your muscle pain during workouts. With less muscle pain, you can go off limits with your workout and hit those extra reps which wouldn’t be possible without caffeine. More reps equals better results.

Performance benefits research

In a research conducted by National Library of Medicine with the purpose of studying the duration of caffeine’s ergogenic effect and whether it differs between users and non users of the drug, where Twenty-one subjects (13 caffeine users and 8 nonusers) completed six randomized exercise rides to exhaustion at 80% of maximal oxygen consumption after ingesting either a placebo or 5 mg/kg of caffeine. Exercise to exhaustion was completed once per week at either 1, 3, or 6 hours after placebo or drug ingestion. 

 Exercise time to exhaustion differed between users and nonusers with the ergogenic effect being greater and lasting longer in nonusers.

In conclusion, both the duration and magnitude of the ergogenic effect that followed a 5 mg/kg dose of caffeine were greater in the nonusers compared with the users.

*ibuprofen – Ibuprofen is a medication in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug class that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation*