We all know that the best way to keep ourselves energized and ready for the day is to eat right, exercise, and get a good night’s sleep.

It’s also a fact that hardly anyone has the time to do this seven days a week so we all need a little boost every now and then. The question is what is the most natural way to get the daily energy boost that doesn’t give you a crash like coffee?

Our expert team of energy scientists did extensive research to bring you the best 11 vitamins and supplements that boost energy:

1. Caffeine with L-Theanine
We’re all familiar with caffeine, where it’s found, and what the effects feel like. For most of us, caffeine is our “old-faithful” pick me up that we reach for as soon as we crawl out of bed in the morning. 

While caffeine works quite well and is widely available all over the world it can have some negative side effects as well. It can make us jittery, irritable, unfocused, and can leave us with some unpleasant gastro-intestinal effects, which is less than ideal. 

Thankfully however studies have shown that a natural amino acid found in tea called L-Theanine can naturally counter the negatives of caffeine by promoting relaxation, cognitive performance, emotional status, and a whole lot more. That sounds like a good deal to me!

2. Iron

More than adding support to bridges and skyscrapers, iron is an essential element in your body as well. Without it your body cannot create a protein called hemoglobin, which is responsible for transporting oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body - pretty important!

If your organs and tissues (including your brain) aren’t getting enough oxygen you’re going to start feeling tired, sluggish, drowsy, and probably pretty cranky. 

For most people, iron is available through our diets assuming we’re eating correctly. However since iron is most commonly found in meat and seafood, vegetarians and vegans may want to consider taking an iron supplement to make sure they’re meeting their daily requirements! Always check with a doctor to be sure you’re getting the right nutrition for your body.

3. Beetroot Powder

Beetroot powder is extracted and made from the beetroot (the red vegetable your mom made you eat as a kid). It turns out that mom was right since it has so many health benefits, including relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow. This increased amount of blood going to your muscles and brain brings a boost of oxygen and helps you feel clear, focused, and even more energetic.

Because of the naturally high levels of nitrate in beetroot studies have shown that athletes taking beetroot powder may be able to exercise up to 25% longer compared to a placebo!

With its effect on relaxing blood vessels, beetroot powder has also been used as a natural way to decrease blood pressure in adults. Definitely worth adding to your supplement routine!

4. Citrulline

Similar in function to beetroot powder, citrulline also works to relax and widen blood vessels to increase blood flow to the body. 

As we’ve already learned, more blood to your body tissues means increased oxygen and vitamins available for your muscles and brain. And a happy brain and muscles mean you’ll have enough energy to conquer the day!

Just like with the beetroot powder studies, citrulline has been shown to increase athletic performance and help the body to recover after a good workout.

5. Vitamin B12

Just like most of the B vitamins, vitamin B12 helps your body make energy naturally from the food you eat.

Most of the foods with the highest levels of vitamin b12 are meat, fish, and dairy so again vegetarians and vegans will want to consider supplementing their vitamin b12 intake too.

Without sufficient levels of this vitamin, in particular, you could end up feeling constantly tired and sleepy all the time. Not a good feeling when you have a lot to do!

6. Rhodiola Rosea

Daily life can be stressful and the energy it takes for you to deal with it can leave a lot less for the important things in your life like work, family, friends, and other things you enjoy. 

Thankfully however the herb Rhodiola Rosea helps the body and brain to naturally deal with new stresses that come up.

Found mainly in colder, higher elevation areas the herb Rhodiola Rosea has been studied and found to help resist and mental and physical fatigue - two things that can have a big impact on your day-to-day.

As an added bonus, it’s also been used to treat mild depression in adults with some success. It sounds like a win-win to me!

7. Melatonin

One of the simplest reasons for a lack of energy is, of course, a lack of sleep. Without sleep, our bodies can’t rejuvenate themselves or prepare us for the day ahead.

But between our jobs, our families, and other obligations we may have most adults don’t get the recommended amount of sleep in order to keep us healthy. Supplementing with melatonin may help us get the rest we need (and deserve!).

A natural hormone produced by our bodies, melatonin is one of the signals that tell our bodies to go to sleep. Sometimes when our bodies don’t make enough melatonin we can experience insomnia, or the inability to sleep.

Others, however, can experience chronic insomnia that can make them live with mental fogginess, sluggishness, mood swings, and a lot of other nasty effects.

Thankfully however melatonin can be used by people with either periodic or chronic insomnia. And unlike many other sleep aids, it doesn’t form dependence or creates withdrawal symptoms when you don’t need to take it!

8. Tyrosine

Tyrosine is a substance that’s found foods with a good source of protein (fish, eggs, meat, etc).

It enables the body to produce neurotransmitters, which are little signals your brain uses to send messages to different parts of the brain.

Without enough of these neurotransmitters, it can take longer for the brain to complete tasks and can make you feel slow, tired, and can even have a negative impact on your memory! These neurotransmitters also decrease in the brain during times of high stress or anxiety, leaving us vulnerable when we need them the most.

Supplementing with tyrosine can keep us feeling alert, refreshed, and ready to handle life’s challenges.

9. Ashwagandha

A medicinal herb commonly used in India, ashwagandha has been used for centuries to help the body deal with physical and mental stress.

Throughout the years it’s been heavily studied by modern science and confirmed to be extremely beneficial to the body.

In one of these studies, participants who took ashwagandha had 28% lower levels of cortisol in their bodies. Cortisol is the hormone that makes our bodies react to stress so a lower level of this hormone would leave you feeling more relaxed and alert.

With less physical and mental stress in our lives, we are capable of using our minds and bodies more efficiently and able to accomplish more in the same amount of time. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

10. Creatine

Some of us are probably already familiar with creatine as it’s a substance found in a lot of protein supplements and naturally found in red meat, fish, poultry, and pork.

Creatine works hand-in-hand with the body’s process of creating energy from food and can give us a quick jolt of energy before we need to do something particularly difficult or draining.

It’s actually one of the world’s most studied substances and is found to improve athletic and mental performance thanks to the extra burst of energy it gives us.

  11. CoQ10

Don’t be afraid of it’s strange name! CoQ10 is short for coenzyme Q10 which is produced by the body and is found is all types of cells.

Your body can use CoQ10 to make energy and protect itself from certain types of damage.

Without it, however, your cells will be less than healthy and might not be able to grow correctly. Definitely something we all want to avoid.

Certain populations may be at risk of having lower levels of CoQ10 such as the elderly and people with certain diseases like two 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease. For these groups, it’s especially important to make sure you have healthy levels of CoQ10 and may need a supplement to help out.

 Bonus - Daily Energy supplement FuelEZ

Take our natural energy booster, for example, FuelEZ. It’s made of things like guaraná from Brazil, which is in the caffeine family; L-tyrosine, an amino acid that is good for the brain; vitamin B12; and green coffee bean extract, which aids in metabolism while providing more energy. (Sort of like coffee.) We are wholly committed to transparency about what these ingredients are, and what they can do for you. Especially since they didn’t come from a lab.

I learned that the supplement is packed with vitamins, minerals, and all-natural amino acids that combine to provide enough energy to stay focused and alert for an entire day. It gives your body what it needs so you can do what you need to do with your day!