Energy Supplements - Understanding The Types Of Natural Energy Boosters
Author: James Green
There are many different types of energy supplements available today. It can be tough to navigate through them all and find the most beneficial option for your diet and lifestyle.
Most of us hit a point in our day where our minds and bodies just start lagging. With the busy, stressful day-to-day we all face, it not unusual to feel spent at some point, or at several points before you can call it a day. People have combated this effect with a variety of substances, whether in drink, food bar, or tablet form. With so many energy supplement options, it can be hard to find the one that will deliver the effect you're looking for. Breaking energy supplements down into categories according to their effect can help you find the right one.
You can usually divide energy supplements into one, or a combination of three categories: Stimulants, Metabolic Stimulants and Calorie Based.
Stimulants: If you think of familiar energy supplements, coffee, green tea, cocoa, guarana, yerba mate and other caffeine sources may come to mind. These are all stimulants. Lots of energy supplements use natural stimulants for a quick energizing effect. The onset of the energizing effect is fairly fast and a crash almost always follows the peek of impact. The duration and intensity of the effect cycle may vary from stimulant to stimulant, but the impact and sensations are roughly the same. Stimulants are associated with minimized effect once a tolerance is built. Some stimulants are even habit-forming.
Metabolic Stimulants: Metabolic stimulants may be less familiar, but they are found in many natural food sources like fruits, vegetables and proteins. Amino acids, quercetin and coenzymes are metabolic stimulants. Metabolic stimulants stimulate energy naturally by affecting metabolic functions of the body. The effect of metabolic stimulants is more relative to sustaining energy rather than accelerating it. Metabolic stimulants are not associated with quick bursts and crashes, and the impact usually goes unnoticed unless there is a deficiency or demand in the body. People who are increasing nutritional demand through increased physical activity and exercise, or who may already be lacking these essentials from their daily diet, utilize metabolic stimulants.
Calorie Based: Calories are the natural energy source for all animal cells, humans included. Calories are derived from natural food sources and are needed to perform all metabolic functions in the body, mental, physical and homeostatic. Calorie demand is created through increased physical activity, in which energy is being exerted. The more physical demand, the more calories are needed to sustain the necessary energy to complete the function or activity. Calories that go unused by the body will be stored as fat to be burned when a calorie deficit
is created through increased activity. Stimulating the body through regular activity is the best way to gain energy from calories.
If you want a quick, temporary burst of energy, while anticipating and impending crash, you can gain that effect from a stimulant. If you want to sustain balanced energy over a longer period of time, without the risk of forming a habit or dependency, and you feel your diet may not be adequate for supplying this support, a metabolic stimulant may provide the advantage you're seeking. If you are increasing your physical activity, do not have substantial fat storage, and you want to fuel your body through direct energy, increasing your calories can deliver that fuel.
About the author: James Green is a freelance fitness and health writer and reviewer. He is currently focused the latest supplements, super foods and nutritional crazes that are gaining notice and popularity across the United States.
