Friday’s Dr. Oz show brought us a laundry list of causes for fatigue including H. Pylori, gargling, and coffee. Here, we take a closer look at his suggestions about eating eggs and cantaloupe, as well as his take on cordyceps.
Eggs and Cantaloupe: More Energy, Less Weight
The first suggestion he offered, to eat eggs with cantaloupe, is spot on! Eating protein with carbohydrates absolutely does slow your digestion. The protein in the eggs would slow down the sugar in the cantaloupe and allow you to get long term energy from the fruit.
An interesting study found that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt full and satisfied for longer than people who had a carbohydrate-rich bagel. The egg eaters ultimately lost more weight and had healthier metabolic signs than the bagel eaters.
Cordyceps
Cordyceps is prized the in many areas of the world. Prices shot up after world class Chinese athletes broke records at the 1993 National Games after taking cordceps. Unfortunately, because there wasn’t any independent testing of the athletes for performance enhancing drugs, we just don’t know if cordyceps positively impacted the athletes’ performance. The Chinese athletes did not go on to perform especially well in other countries with independent drug testing. It makes you wonder.
In another study concerning cordyceps, lab animals that received cordyceps did have more endurance and less fatigue in a swimming test.
Nutr. Res 2010. Biol Pharm Bull 2003[hr]
