Most everyone has experienced it.

Your day is going perfectly fine and then it hits you… a wave of fatigue engulfs your body.

All too often when the tiredness overtakes you, you’re not in a position to take a power nap.

Your only option is to soldier on, which could result in you making errors and mistakes, a decrease in your motivation and an overall lack of productivity.

This leaves you open to potentially serious repercussions depending upon the tasks you have on your to-do list that day.

Now while there are many potential causes of fatigue during the day (lack of sleep, lack of physical exercise, too much alcohol to name a few) today we’re going to look at how unhealthy eating habits might be contributing to you being tired during the day.

Here are three categories of food you should avoid…

1. Refines Carbs: refined carbs are carbohydrates that have the nutrients and fiber removed. They are known as ’empty calories.’ The problem with refined carbs is that they can cause a spike in your blood sugar level. This prompts your pancreas to create insulin which is released into your bloodstream. Now while this does provide you with a jolt of energy, it doesn’t last long. The insulin rapidly lowers your blood sugar level making you feel fatigued. The two main categories of refined carbs are: 1) processed sugars (including high fructose corn syrup)and 2) refined grains.

2. Highly processed foods- these foods have little to no nutritional value. They are often made with refined flour and lots of sugar, salt and various types of fat. They are popular because they appeal to the taste buds and offer a high level of convenience and shelf life. Here’s the thing, though: your body has difficulty digesting highly processed foods. Plus, because these foods contain very little nutritional value, they give you a short burst of energy after which you feel tired. Plus they don’t satisfy your hunger for very long, which puts you at risk of overeating. On the flip side, an apple or an orange is easily digestible into your blood stream and will energize your cells with actual nutrients.

3. Fatty foods: similar to highly processed foods, fatty foods are harder for your body to digest. They require more energy from your body, which can make you feel zapped. Plus, fat takes anywhere from six to eight hours to digest, which is a long time compared to other types of food (for example, carbohydrates digest in one to four hours). What’s more, blood from your arms and legs actually goes to your stomach to aid with digestion. Having less blood in your extremities will make you tired.

Stay tuned next week for some ‘healthy foods’ that zap your energy!