Eat to thrive: what are the best power foods? Our energy experts share their picks and favorite recipes to give your life a lift

Natural Health, Feb, 2005 by Dorothy Foltz-Gray

REMEMBER WHEN sitting still was a form of punishment and naptime made you cry? As children, we had more energy than we knew what to do with. As adults, however, the daffy grind of business obligations and household duties has most of us yearning for bed halfway through Jeopardy!

Where did all that energy go? More to the point, can we get it back? Getting enough sleep, exercise, and fresh air is a good start. But perhaps the biggest untapped source of potentially healthful energy resides in our daffy diets. "Food itself is energy," says Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., author of The Healing Secrets of Food. "And the secret to getting that energy is to eat fresh whole foods in as natural a state as possible as often as possible."

NATURAL HEARTH asked Kesten and five other nutrition authorities about the restorative qualities of what we eat. The consensus? Fresh is the way to go. Also, members of our panel are wild about grains and green tea, and their prime protein picks are salmon and soy. No one even hinted at consuming candy bars or coffee, the usual ways most Americans put a kick in their day; sustained energy, the panel confirmed, never comes from a quick fix.

Happily, you don't need to devote a lot of effort to cooking up some extra energy. Each of our experts names a favorite energy booster--and features it in a delicious, easy recipe--to help you power up your days.

recipe: Chinese Ginger Chicken Soup (see page 85)

power food: Chicken soup

expert: Misha Ruth Cohen, O.M.D., L.Ac. Director of Chicken Soup Chinese Medicine, a clinic in San Francisco, and co-author of the Chinese Way to Healing

benefits: Considering the name of her clinic, it's no surprise that "Doc Misha" chooses chicken soup as her favorite energy food. "The broth is a general tonic for the system, restoring qi," she says, referring to the Chinese term for energy. For starters, the protein, carbohydrate, and fat combination is the one our bodies optimally need to stay charged, and the mix of chicken, vegetables, and rice or noodles gets us through a typically trying day. The high-fiber vegetables slow digestion, and their antioxidants repair cells. In addition, each sip of stock contains calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous, leached from the chicken bones. Plus, the protein helps repair muscles; when our diets lack protein, we become sluggish and more vulnerable to infection.

recipe: Chunky Salsa

power food: Chilies

expert: Mark Blumenthal Founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas

benefits: Blumenthal's top energy pick is chilies--but, hey, he's a Texan, so chilies are mother's milk to him. "I eat salsa almost every day," he says. "The chilies--or the capsaicin inside them--increase your body's metabolic rate and your digestive fire." Indeed, a study at the Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England showed that a mixture of mustard and chilies boosted metabolic rate by 25 percent. Chilies are also low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins E and C, beta carotene, potassium, and folio acid. These nutrients boost the immune system, help protect the body from cancer, lower cholesterol, and generally keep the body in good working order, a behind-the-scenes boon to energy.

Chunky Salsa

Serves 4 as appetizer

Blumenthal swears he was the
first person to use carrots in
bottled salsa; it adds a sweet
touch. No salt is required, he
says, because the chips are
salty enough. The olive oil
helps combine the ingredients
and their flavors.

  4 large tomatoes, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

  1 seeded jalapeno, chopped
    (leave the seeds if you
    like it hot)

  2 cloves garlic, minced

  3 tablespoons freshly squeezed
    lime juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

  1 finely chopped carrot

    freshly ground black pepper
    to taste

  1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

  8 ounces baked tortilla chips

1. Stir all the ingredients,
except the tortilla chips,
together in a bowl; serve with
the chips.

Per serving (1/2 cup salsa, 2
ounces chips): 270 calories,
7% fat (2 g; 0 g saturated),
82% carbs (55 g), 11% protein
(7 g), 7 g fiber, 101 mg calcium,
1.5 mg iron, 304 mg sodium.

recipe: Creamy Fruit Pudding

power food: Tofu

expert: David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California at Los Angeles, and author of What Color Is Your Diet?

benefits: Soy tops David Heber's list of energy-revving foods. It's a high-quality protein whose amino acids convert to neurotransmitters in the brain and to muscle energy in the body. In a 2003 study at the University of Texas in Austin, athletes who added protein to carbohydrates during their workouts increased endurance by 36 percent. ("The protein adds an additional fuel source, and it may help limit muscle damage," says study author John Ivy, Ph.D.) Using soy as a protein source has the advantage of minimizing fat and cholesterol intake, says Heber.

Creamy Fruit Pudding Serves 4

In addition to protein, this healthy dessert provides
substantial amounts of vitamin C and other antioxidants.

8 ounces soft tofu, drained

4 tablespoons orange juice
  concentrate

4 teaspoons honey

3 cups fresh
  (or frozen and thawed)
  mixed berries, such as
  raspberries, blackberries,
  and blueberries

  mint leaves for garnish

1. Drain the tofu by pressing it between paper
towels (or place a weight on the tofu and let it sit
for 20 minutes).

2. Mix the tofu, orange juice concentrate, honey,
and 1 cup of the berries in a blender. Divide the
remaining berries among 4 dessert glasses or
bowls, and drizzle the tofu mixture over the
fruit. Decorate with mint leaves and serve.

Per serving (1 cup): 134 calories, 14% fat (2 g;
0 g saturated), 75% carbs (25 g), 11% protein
(4 g), 5 g fiber, 40 mg calcium, 1 mg iron,
6 mg sodium.