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Thursday, December 13, 2012
The County Times
The Fastest Growing Drink In America By Debra Meszaros CSN www.MXSportsNutrition.com What could the fastest growing drink in America be telling us? It seems the trend in sales of this beverage correlates with the increased amount of people having difficulties with focus, alertness, and fatigue. People lack energy. Energy drinks promise energy, and many do reach their goal; but what are you really paying, for that temporary burst of energy? Not all energy drinks are created equal. It is very important to your health to understand the differences between ingredients that are normally contained in these popular beverages. Some ingredients can cause significant side effects, some that will go unnoticed until the day they develop into a dysfunction or condition that then manifests physically. Our first step is to pay very close attention to serving sizes listed on the label, often there are multiple servings per bottle, can, or shot. You must consider this when consuming the product as drinking the whole bottle may very well place you in a danger zone with certain ingredients. What are the good and bad ingredients? Even though there are many different energy drinks on the market, there are really only a handful of ingredients utilized in each formulation. We’ll start off the bad list with caffeine. These beverages can contain anywhere
from 80 to 500 mg of caffeine per serving. Keep in mind a general safe dose of caffeine is 200 mg per day. Even if one was to keep intake in the “safe” range, caffeine is addictive, dehydrates the body {making it a very bad choice for an athlete} and for individuals like women in menopause or with hypothyroidism, caffeine will very likely effect hormone levels in the body. Over 200 mg per day can cause blood pressure to spike, cause insomnia, palpitations, and contribute to kidney stone formation. The body will also build some tolerance to caffeine and then you’ll require even more of it to get the same effect. Another ingredient found in these drinks is Guarana, a fruit native to the Amazon. It has twice the caffeine of a coffee bean. Sugar is our second bad ingredient on our list. It is not uncommon to see a single serving of an energy drink to contain 14 teaspoons of sugar, twice the safe daily range! Sugar will give you an energy boost as it spikes your blood glucose levels, stressing your pancreas, liver, and kidneys, while contributing to weight gain. Continued use is sugar abuse, which is a major component to just about every disease and dysfunction known to man. Most drinks contain B Vitamins. Why? Since most individuals are facing stressful situations daily, their body’s requirements for the vitamin B group rises. If you are deficient in B vitamins, you will get an energy boost from drinks containing them. B Vitamins are water soluble, meaning they do not collect in the body; our bodies will urinate any excess it does not need, with exception to B3 and B6. One still needs to be careful about how much is contained in each serving, as continued excess can upset the stomach and stress the liver. Why are we feeling fatigued to begin with?
You may very well be able to maintain your energy and focus by simply examining your dietary habits. Do you drink coffee? Consume more sugar, and simple carbohydrates then you should? Do you not manage stress well? Do you practice vitamin supplementation? Explore your options and take control over your energy, safely. ©2012 Debra Meszaros MXSportsNutrition.com. All rights reserved; no duplication without permission. DISCLAIMER: When you read through the diet and lifestyle information, you must know that everything within it is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. I am making no attempt to prescribe any medical treatment. You should not use the information here for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. The products and the claims made about specific products have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. Confirm the safety of any supplements with your M.D., N.D. or pharmacist (healthcare professional). Some information given is solely an opinion, thought and or conclusion based on experiences, trials, tests, assessments or other available sources of information. I do not make any guarantees or promises with regard to results. I may discuss substances that have not been subject to double blind clinical studies or FDA approval or regulation. You assume the responsibility for the decision to take any natural remedy. You and only you are responsible if you choose to do anything with the information you have read. You do so at your own risk. Use your intelligence to make the decisions that are right for you. Consulting a naturopathic doctor is strongly advised especially if you have any existing disease or condition.
Can Diet Soda Cause Weight Gain? For decades, people have turned to diet soft drinks as a healthier alternative to regular soft drinks. However, consuming diet soda on a regular basis may have some serious health ramifications, including weight gain. It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that diet sodas may be causing people to gain weight, particularly because these sodas are commonly consumed by people who are trying to lose weight. However, artificial sweeteners found in some diet sodas may increase a person’s risk of obesity. It’s not entirely what you are eating that can cause weight gain but what the body thinks it is eating (or drinking) that plays a role. There are two factors at play with regard to the artificial sweetener conundrum. First, The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio has researched the potential link between obesity and artificial sweeteners. Researchers have found that something in the chemical structure of these sweeteners alters the way the brain processes the neurotransmitter serotonin. In addition to helping with sleep, mood and other functions in the body, serotonin helps tell the body when it is full. When natural foods and sugars are consumed, serotonin signals to the brain to turn off your body’s appetite. However, artificial sweeteners may prolong the release of serotonin, and your appetite remains in full force long after it should have abated. Another component of artificial
sweeteners, particularly aspartame, is that these chemicals can trick the body into thinking it has, in fact, consumed sugar. That triggers the pancreas to produce the insulin needed to regulate bloodglucose levels. It also causes the body to store the glucose as fat. This can lead to low blood sugar, which may cause you to eat a sugary treat in response. Having diet soda or eating a sugarless item once in a while won’t create any long-term effects. But repeatedly relying on artificial sweeteners could affect appetite and change blood sugar levels for good. These aren’t the only consequences to diet soda and other beverages. Drinking diet soda regularly may affect cardiovascular health. According to the American Heart Association, research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference found people who drink diet soda every day have a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda consumption. Regular soda isn’t a better alternative. It can contribute to weight gain and cardiovascular issues as well as an increased risk for diabetes. A 2011 review published in the journal Circulation stated that a positive association has been shown between sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption and weight gain in both children and adults. Nutritionists and doctors have advised that instead of adding artificial sweeteners to water and other beverages,
flavor them with lemon or lime juice. Instead of drinking diet soda, opt for unsweetened tea or plain water. Although diet soda may seem a like-
ly option to help curb calories and prevent weight gain, such beverages may actually be having an adverse effect on a person’s weight.