The Top Ten Energy Enhancers

Want more energy? People who maximize their EQ (energy quotient) using these 10 energy enhancers* will have more energy than they know what to do with.

1. RAW FOODS. Eat a diet high in raw foods, especially vegetables, sprouts, green leafy vegetables and superfoods high in minerals (such as goji berries, maca, wheat grass, and bee pollen). Eating raw ensures that your pancreas doesn’t get burdened with cranking out enzymes. Also the nutrients are not destroyed by heat over 118 F.

2. CLEAN BODY. Have a clean body, inside and out. Put on your skin and hair only what you would eat! Avoid toxic cleansers, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo and other personal care products.

3. PURE AIR. Use an air purifier if you need it. When I lived in LA I had asthma until I spent $500 on an effective air purifier. Moldy carpets can also be a problem. I would add to this category: find some breathing exercises that work for you. Along with eating a lot of greens, breathing exercises help you alkalize your body, making you healthier and more energized. Kundalini yoga includes lots of great breathing patterns.

4. PURE WATER. It’s best to get water as close to the spring source as possible. But most of us can’t do that. Next best is to use a carbon filter or reverse osmosis.

5. EXERCISE. Find something for flexibility (yoga), something for strength (weight lifting or other). Find something for endurance (walking). Important: find things you like to do so that they won’t feel like a chore (at least not once you get started!). As humans, we are walking beings. Who doesn’t enjoy a nice stroll to unwind? Personally I love to take a walk for 45 minutes a day, followed by 30 minutes of a mini-trampoline (which exercises every cell in your body) and 30 minutes of yoga while watching TV.

6. SUNLIGHT. Research has shown we need to get sun light (UV rays) in order to get Vitamin D. This helps prevent breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer. We should be exposed (without sun block) for about 20 to 30 minutes a day. Sunlight also improves our mood.

7. SLEEP AND REST. We need sleep to regenerate. This is when our bodies go into healing mode. Sleep deprivation also leads to overeating since we don’t get enough of the hormone leptin, which is needed to keep our appetites in check.

8. RIGHT TEMPERATURES. If we are too cold or hot, we lose energy. I recall skiing and getting frostbite, unable to focus on anything but my body. I also recall being in hot humid Central America and being so hot that my brain wasn’t able to function efficiently.

9. NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS. Avoid toxic people that are negative and drain you. Send them love but if they do not want to progress, you need to move on. Just do it with love and forgiveness. Bitterness drains your energy.

10. EMOTIONAL BALANCE. Become a positive thinker. The easiest way to do this is with gratitude for what you have, be it ever so humble. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Get free from addictions, even soft ones like TV, the Internet, and sugar. Create meaningful goals and get in tune with your life purpose.

*Victoria BidWell coined the term “energy enhancers.” She is a contributor to my book, The Live Food Factor.