Energy supplements for health and vitality.

Think of your body as a car. In a car the fuel pump, carburetor and spark plug are all necessary for burning fuel. If any of these three were to break down, your car would grind to a halt.

Energy problems can occur on the cellular level and/or the organ level.

Cellular Energy Production... By cellular level I mean energy production within the cell itself. Within cells are furnaces that burn fuel to generate useful energy. The furnaces are called mitochondria. This is where fuel molecules such as glucose and fat are broken apart in the presence of oxygen, in the end forming carbon dioxide and water. In the process energy is released and captured in the energy rich chemical bonds of a molecule called ATP. Just as the dollar is the currency of the US economy, ATP is the energy currency of the cell’s economy.

Energy regulation by organs and organ systems Both organs and whole organ systems also regulate energy functions within the body. Here are some examples...

The pancreas has two energy production roles. Enzymes secreted by the pancreas into the digestive tract help us to digest and absorb fuel and nutrients that we need to burn the fuel food. Insulin secreted by the pancreas into the blood stream lowers blood sugar and drives glucose into cells for burning. Insulin also stimulates the liver to convert blood glucose into fat for storage.

The body’s stress system (brain, pituitary gland and adrenal glands) is another major player in energy control. One of the major stress hormones, cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands in response to messages from the brain during stress.

While cortisol has numerous functions in the body, a major one is to raise blood sugar. During times of stress the body needs plenty of fuel (glucose) in the blood so that the brain has fuel to think clearly and the muscles have fuel to exert themselves fully.

To learn more about the connection between stress, adrenal function and fatigue, click here.

A strategy for regaining one’s energy requires…

2) Reducing stress and supporting the body’s stress system with adaptogenic herbs. To learn more about adaptogenic herbs, click here.

3) If sleep is not optimal, restoring healthy sleep is a vital part of regaining one’s vitality. To learn more about the function of sleep, click here and to learn more about natural sleep aids, click here.

An example of how vitamins can affect your energy level.

Anemia can be caused by lack of key nutrients such as iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. Without this mineral and these vitamins our body cannot make red blood cells and hemoglobin.

Deficiencies of B vitamins and minerals are common in our society in spite of our plentiful food supply. This is due to the poor nutrient quality of the foods that we eat.1

Which vitamins will help your energy?

These are the vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E and (surprisingly) vitamin A. What is often ignored is the role that stress plays depleting our energy levels. To regain optimal energy and vitality, buffering the impact of stress on our energy is important. This can be done through stress management and adaptogenic herbs.

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