More than 13% of Americans struggle with fatigue, leaving a good portion of the population feeling regularly exhausted. But fatigue is a complicated symptom, making it hard to automatically know what could be behind your tiredness.
If you’ve tried some of the more obvious things to combat fatigue, like getting more sleep and exercising regularly, dietitians say it may be time to take a closer look at how you’re fueling your body. In fact, there’s one common dietary mistake they regularly see people over 50 make—and correcting it could revitalize those energy levels.
If fatigue is a regular issue for you, it’s worth checking in with a healthcare professional to make sure you’re not dealing with an underlying health condition. But while you wait for an appointment, consider making this dietary change to see where it gets you. It could have a bigger impact than you’d think.
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What Registered Dietitians Are Begging You To Stop Doing if You Want More Energy Over 50
A common mistake that registered dietitians see people over 50 make is not eating enough carbohydrates. “Carbohydrates are our body’s preferred fuel source, including our brain’s preferred fuel source,” says Jessica Cording, RD, CDN, author of The Little Book of Game-Changers.
When you don’t eat the carbohydrates that your body needs, you don’t have enough fuel to get through your day, explains Sonya Angelone, RDN, a nutritionist and registered dietitian based in San Francisco. Specifically, the glucose found in carbohydrates helps your cells to produce energy, she says. When you don’t have enough of them in your diet, you end up feeling wiped out.
“I see people who think that carbohydrates are going to make them gain weight, so they’re scared to eat them,” Cording says. “But then they end up feeling tired.”
Carbohydrates are especially important if you exercise regularly, because your body will burn them for fuel as you work out, she continues, adding, “If someone is exercising and limiting carbs, they’re going to feel extra-tired.”
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How Many Carbohydrates Do You Need?
Most people should aim to have 45% to 65% of their total daily calories come from carbohydrates, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. That means having about 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates a day for someone who is following a 2,000-calorie diet.
But that doesn’t mean you should load up on white bread and pasta to boost your energy levels. Instead, dietitians suggest focusing on complex carbohydrates—nutrients that are found in foods like beans, whole grains and vegetables. “Complex carbs digest slowly and provide sustained energy for the body,” Angelone says.
Why Complex Carbs Are Important for Energy
Because complex carbohydrates are broken down slowly in the body, they provide a “slow burn” of energy, Cording says, explaining: “You get an energy boost, but your blood sugar does not spike and crash as quickly as if you have simple carbohydrates.” (Simple carbohydrates include foods like white bread, sugar, soda, and candy.) “As a result, you have more sustained energy,” she adds.
Complex carbohydrates are often in minimally processed foods, and they provide you with fiber, which slows the absorption of glucose from food and prevents blood sugar spikes and crashes, Angelone says. That, along with other nutrients often found in foods rich in complex carbohydrates, can help support energy levels.
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How To Get More Carbohydrates in Your Diet
Cording recommends making smart choices when adding carbohydrates to your diet. “When you’re choosing to have carbohydrates, I encourage looking for higher-fiber foods, like berries, apples and pears,” she shares.
For sustained energy, Angelone suggests having a complex carbohydrate at every meal and snack. “Include a serving of whole grain at breakfast, instead of French bread or pastry, add quinoa in a salad for lunch, have whole fruit for snacks, and brown rice for dinner instead of white rice,” she says.
Other options include adding kidney beans to a salad, having lentil or split pea soup, and snacking on edamame, Angelone shares. Balancing out complex carbohydrates with protein and fat will give you the best chance of having consistent energy levels and leave you feeling satiated, Cording says.
Whatever you do, dietitians say it’s important not to be afraid to eat carbohydrates. “Carbohydrates in and of themselves are very much key to the energy-production process,” Cording explains.
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Sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Felt Very Tired or Exhausted Most Days or Every Day in the Past 3 Months,† by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2022
- Jessica Cording, RD, CDN, author of The Little Book of Game-Changers
- Sonya Angelone, RDN, a nutritionist and registered dietitian based in San Francisco
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- Medline Plus, Complex Carbohydrates
