Have we ever wondered what foods to eat to boost energy?  Or wondered about what foods boost energy before a workout?  I wonder about this all the time.  So, I seek out foods, and sometimes supplements, that can boost my workout performance.

For instance, today, I added desiccated liver pills to my diet.  The desiccated liver helps with energy production, oxygen delivery, and muscle activity.  They arrived today in the mail, and when I smelled them, I craved them, partly because I swam for an hour without eating afterward, so I craved pretty much anything.  However, I hear these pills cause foul belching.  But I took one an hour ago, and I feel a boost in my energy but no after-effects.

With that said, my favorite supplement to boost exercise performance is greens powder.  I love the taste of chlorophyll.  And I take mega doses of it daily, taking about five to ten times the recommended amount, although I don’t recommend that for everyone.  The greens powder doesn’t directly boost exercise performance, but it is rich with nutrients that promote our overall health and indirectly benefit our exercise routines.  Greens powder helps curtail my fatigue, too.  And I’m certain it prevented me from catching a cold recently, so that’s another plus for the vitamin-C-rich greens powder.

My second favorite supplement for exercise performance is beetroot juice.  Beetroot is rich in nitrates, which reduce inflammation from exercise and improve oxygen delivery to the muscles.  I crave beetroot juice because I have low blood sugar levels.  I also love the taste of beets, which are rich in natural sugars.  Unfortunately, my grocers stopped shelving beetroot juice, and the last batch of five bottles I ordered from Amazon smashed during delivery.  So, I purchased beetroot powder instead, which arrives tonight.  I plan to mix it with almond and cashew milk to create a beetroot smoothy, which is ideally consumed within two hours before exercising.

And then there are bananas! I love bananas.  They are my favorite fruit.  I dream of bananas doused in almond butter and cinnamon.  I stopped buying bunches of bananas because I can eat six or more bananas in one sitting.  And then I worry about weight gain.  But bananas are great for pre-exercise energy.  They are rich in potassium, which is an electrolyte ideal for muscle function.

My least favorite supplement for enhancing exercise performance is cordyceps.  These are the fungus that grows on the backs of caterpillars.  They’re like mushrooms.  I bought them in powder form, and they taste like an “off” hot chocolate.  So, the container with them has been sitting on the counter for months, as I have yet to acquire the taste for them.  They’re like chocolate-flavored cod liver oil.  But they do give a boost to exercise performance.  They are great for oxygen uptake and endurance, too.  But I recommend buying them in tablets rather than powder, as the pills are likely more tolerable.

As for beverages, the best beverage of all is water.  It prevents dehydration when we’re sweating while working out.  Water is also a lubricant for our joints.  I’ve been drinking so much green and matcha tea lately that I’m dehydrated.  But when I start drinking more water, especially in addition to the greens powder, my hair thickens and my eyes glisten almost immediately, and the Bristol stool chart would indicate I have good health.  So, I recommend we drink lots of water before, during, and after exercise.

Those were foods, beverages, and supplements I use to boost exercise performance.  As an afterthought, I often ask myself why I no longer experience extreme fatigue.  The answer is partly in the above list.  Couple the items on the list with regular exercise.  Then sprinkle in an AU education that leads to a decent-paying career to stock our fridges with nourishing foods.  And top it off with religious or spiritual studies.  Do all that, and we’ll have everything we need to thrive with optimal health.