4 ways to have more energy & focus....

Today's post: Thursday, 3-6-2008

Doctor Allen S. Josephs writes the Vitacost.com email & his Friday, 02/29/2008, issue is interesting.

He points out that most of us want or need more energy to feel good & do well in our lives.

1. A study found that people who took 200 mg a day or more of CoQ10 felt less tired after working hard physically than people who took only 100 or none.

He points out that “published peer reviewed medical journal studies over the last 30 years” show our CoQ10 levels get lower which results in bad “cardiovascular and brain health.” Unfortunately, our diets only contain a few milligrams of coenzyme Q10 and even

Even worse, statin drugs “inhibit natural coenzyme Q10 production.”

I found this quote to valuable to not include in his exact words.:

“These drugs produce serious side effects in thousands of people including muscle and nerve damage. The evidence indicates this is a result of their adverse effects on coenzyme Q10 production. I recommend that my patients consume 200 – 400 mg per day of coenzyme Q10 for general immune, energy and cardiovascular health. For my patients with neurological/brain health concerns I recommend 1,200 mg per day based on the most recent published medical studies in humans.”

So, if you are over 40 & want to stay healthy & keep most of your youthful energy levels, you would do well to consider taking 200 mg a day of CoQ10.

And, if your doctor has put you on statin drugs, you should take that much or more to avoid the side effects of the drugs caused by otherwise lowering your CoQ10.

These effects on your energy level are no surprise as CoQ10 helps power your mitochondria & keep them in good health. And, they are literally the power & energy center of all your cells.

2. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) also has similar effects. IN studies older people who took ALC “had a significant decrease in physical fatigue and mental fatigue along with significant improvement in cognitive functioning compared to placebo.”

Another study found that boys from 6 to 13 with ADD who took between 9 & 22 mg of ALC per pound each day improved “in social behavior and attention compared to the placebo group.” This study was also double blinded. So the results look quite real to me.

To get an idea of what you might take of ALC yourself just multiply your weight in pounds by 9 or 10. And, you might get decent effects with less. At my weight that comes to 1500 mg a day. That costs enough, I may try 500 mg myself at least initially.

3. Dr Josephs also recommends “alpha lipoic acid at 600 mgs per day.”

He points out that: “it is proven to be a powerful ‘universal antioxidant’; in addition to assisting with burning blood glucose for producing cellular energy.”

And, researcher Bruce Ames found that taking ALC and alpha lipoic acid together seemed to get better results for energy & mental focus than just taking ALC by itself.

Taking alpha lipoic acid certainly adds health benefits. It helps you get more benefit out of any other antioxidants like vitamin or E that you take or get in your food. And as little as 200 mg a day helps prevent or reverse too high blood sugar levels.

4. The fourth way to improve your energy & mental focus is to get regular exercise. Doing that improves your circulation & neurotransmitters.

A recent study even found that sedentary people who felt overtired got more benefit, at least in the short run, from relatively mild exercise like light gardening or taking a short walk.

More vigorous exercise plus adequate rest does better if you once get into it & your body gets used to it.

But this recent study suggests that, if you are sedentary now, you’ll get more immediate energy benefits if you start at an easy level & work up to more vigorous exercise gradually.

Progressive strength training works well for this because you can start with weights that feel & are quite light & then increase the amount very gradually over several weeks.