Healthy eating is important to keep you energized and protected against diseases and deficiencies. Your diet should have a good balance of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and more.
Vegetables are chock full of nutrients, vitamins, fiber, starch, and everything else that our bodies need to stay healthy and strong. If you feel tired often and have a hard time getting through the day without having a nap, consider adding some energizing vegetables to your diet.
5 Vegetables to Give You Energy
What kind of foods gives you energy? The answer is foods that are rich in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are digested easily by the body and provide you with the sugar you need to get through the day. Most vegetables are not high in carbs. However, they have enough complex carbs and calories to give you energy.
Let’s see our top 5 vegetables that will boost your energy and keep you going strong all day long:
- Spinach
Leafy green vegetables are full of B vitamins, known as energy vitamins. They are also high in vitamins A and C. Spinach is high in iron, potassium, and magnesium. Iron helps oxygenate your body, potassium is vital for the correct functioning of your nerves and muscles, and magnesium works to metabolize the carbohydrates from your food and convert them to energy.
Popeye wasn’t joking when he ate his spinach and got a huge burst of energy! You can add spinach to most salads, use it in dips, or sprinkle some on top of your pizzas and pasta.
- Kale
Kale, like spinach, is rich in B vitamins, Vitamin A and C, as well as calcium, potassium, copper, and magnesium. Kale is also very low in calories, so it is a good energizing option for people who are weight-conscious or diabetic.
The easiest way to incorporate kale into your daily diet is to eat it raw in salads or in the form of juices and smoothies. You can also steam or boil kale or bake it into crispy and delicious kale chips.
- Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and lean protein. Lean protein helps with bodily functions like cell maintenance and the production of antibodies. It also gives your body the energy you need while keeping you satiated to prevent overeating. Vitamin C plays an important role in transporting fats to our cells to help them produce energy.
Sweet potatoes are easy to eat because of how delicious and sweet they are. Fry up some sweet potato chips, bake the sweet potato, eat it with dinner, or add it to your salads.
- Green Peas
Green peas are starchy vegetables full of healthy calories, carbs, fiber, protein, and vitamins K and C. Carbohydrates and calories are essential for producing energy and vitamin C helps transport fats to your cells for energy production.
You can add peas to your daily diet quite easily. A bowl of steamed peas with salt and pepper makes a great dinner side, or you can add peas to your salads and rice. Peas are already great in different stir-fries.
- Corn
Corn is another starchy vegetable that is great energizing food. Corn is full of complex carbohydrates and calories that give you energy and help your body process different foods. Additionally, corn has a smaller impact on your blood sugar, which means that it does not give you energy resulting from a spike in blood sugar. Such energy usually comes in short bursts and leaves you feeling tired later on. The energy from corn lasts longer and is sustained.
Corn is a generally delicious vegetable and can be eaten in many ways. Simply enjoy corn on the cob or a bowl of sweet corn with some butter. You can bake some fresh cornbread to have with soup or add corn to your salads and stir fry dishes.
Hillsboro Urgent Care – Deerfield, FL
Hillsboro Urgent Care provides family medicine and ambulatory care to Deerfield Beach, Florida. They offer many different treatments and procedures, wellness and prevention procedures, and medical weight loss programs.
If you are searching for more tips on healthy eating, get in touch with Hillsborough Urgent Care. You can visit our website for more information or call us at (954) 869-9856.
