Energy Drinks/Supplements

  And the real answers on how to get more Energy

          Naturally, with no side effects!!!

Psst….Starbucks double espresso addicts, this applies to you too.

By Dr. Debbie McFarland

The message:

These magic concoctions are supposedly directed to the 18 to 30 year old market , especially to college students, and are widely available both on and off campus. T heir message is not wasted on the already hyper and easily addicted 12 year old. Promises of strength, concentration, power, energy, alertness, reaction, metabolism, speed and sexuality are just too hard to pass up. Students use them to stay up all night for study sessions. Bar goers mix them with vodka to stay up and party longer. Some athletes use them to boost performance. Video game players use them to get that all elusive high score.

The picture I have of the typical energy drink junkie looks like this:

 
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxW_C4biP8

Or picture the college student/addicted to gaming male sitting at the computer surrounded with about 100 cans of Redbull. You can tell this person hasn't moved from his spot in the last 48 hours. Not the healthiest lifestyle that is bound to have long term residuals.

There is a sister topic to this article, that being energy supplements. While I am not specifically writing on this very popular phenomenon, there are many parallels.

History:

From Wikipedia- Energy drinks may have come from Scotland in the form of Irn-Bru , first produced in the form of "Iron Brew" in 1901. In Japan , the energy drink dates at least as far back as the early 1960s, with the release of the Lipovitan . Most such products in Japan bear little resemblance to soft drinks, and are sold instead in small brown glass medicine bottles or cans styled to resemble such containers. These "genki drinks", which are also produced in South Korea , are marketed primarily to the salaryman set.

In UK, Lucozade Energy was originally introduced in 1929 as a hospital drink for "aiding the recovery;" in the early 1980s, it was promoted as an energy drink for "replenishing lost energy."

In 1995, PepsiCo launched Josta , the first energy drink introduced by a major US beverage company.

In Europe, energy drinks were pioneered by Dietrich Mateschitz , an Austrian entrepreneur who developed Red Bull based on the Thai drink Krating Daeng, itself based on Lipovitan. Red Bull was introduced to the US in 1997 and is the dominant brand there, with a market share of approximately 47%. [10]

By the year 2001, the US energy drink market had grown to nearly 8 million per year in retail sales. Over the last 5 years, it grew an average of over 50% per year, totaling over $3 billion in 2005. [11] Diet energy drinks are growing at nearly twice that rate within the category, as are 16-ounce sized energy drinks. It is estimated to hit nearly 4 billion in 2006, and both Goldman Sachs and Mintel predict that the energy drink market will hit $10 billion by 2010. Major companies' such as Pepsi , Coca-Cola , Molson , and Labatt have tried to match smaller companies' innovative and different approach, with marginal success.

What are energy drinks?
Energy drinks are beverages like Red Bull, Monster Energy Drink, Full Throttle, AMP, XS, RedlineVenom, Adrenaline Rush, Cocaine, Redline, Piranha, Rockstar, Spark, 180, ISO Sprint, and Whoopass, which contain large doses of caffeine and other legal stimulants like ephedrine, guarana, and ginseng. Energy drinks may contain from 80 to 360 mg of caffeine, the equivalent of a cup of coffee. Compared to the 37 mg. of caffeine in a Mountain Dew, or the 23 mg. in a Coca-Cola Classic, that's a big punch. These drinks are marketed to people under 30.

A more common energy drink ingredient is taurine, an amino acid which occurs naturally in other foods, though in significantly smaller quantities.

Hirt estimates that one can of Red Bull has about as much taurine in it as 500 glasses of red wine - a level he says is theoretically supposed to boost the effects of the drinks' stimulants but has not been studied for long-term effects.

Many drinks also contain guarana or extract from its seeds, yet another source of caffeine.

Are there short-term dangers to drinking energy drinks?
From WebMD: Individual responses to caffeine vary, and these drinks should be treated carefully because of how powerful they are. Energy drinks' stimulating properties can boost the heart rate and blood pressure (sometimes to the point of palpitations), dehydrate the body, and, like other stimulants, prevents sleep. She describes such possible symptoms as upset stomach, leg weakness, heart palpitations, being jittery, nervousness, and more. Drink these energy drinks on an empty stomach and the effects can be magnified.

"There will be an energy burst, but it could also lead to agitation, difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, a problem sleeping, nausea, and affect blood pressure ," Farrell says

Energy drinks should not be used while exercising as the combination of fluid loss from sweating and the diuretic quality of the caffeine can leave the user severely dehydrated.

Know what you're drinking. Energy drinks are not necessarily bad for you, but they shouldn't be seen as "natural alternatives" either. Some of the claims they make like "improved performance and concentration" can be misleading. If you think of them as highly-caffeinated drinks, you'll have a more accurate picture of what they are and how they affect you. You wouldn't use Mountain Dew as a sports drink. And a drink like Red Bull and vodka is more like strong coffee and whisky than anything else.

The amount of caffeine in an energy drink isn't always indicated on the label, so it is difficult to gauge how much one is consuming.

Energy drinks may cause seizures in those who suffer from certain forms of epilepsy due to the "crash" following the energy high that occurs after consumption. [3]

France has banned the popular energy drink Red Bull after the death of eighteen-year-old athlete Ross Cooney, who died after he played a basketball game shortly after consuming four cans of the drink. [4]

The French Scientific Committee (J.D. Birkel) concluded that Red Bull has excessive amounts of caffeine. [4]

Denmark has also banned that particular drink. Britain also investigated the drink, but issued a warning against its use only by pregnant women. [4]

Large consumptions of caffeine can be hazardous to one's health. Energy drinks contain large amounts of caffeine ranging from 80 to 360 mgs per drink. According to a recent study, an adult can consume up to 400 mgs per day without adverse health effects, while children and women of reproductive age should limit their consumption of caffeine to 300 mg per day. [6] This threshold can easily be reached by consuming multiple drinks within a day. Unhealthy doses of caffeine can lead to nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis [7]

Dr. Michael Hirt, a California physician, is more worried about the smaller number of drinks that contain the drug ephedrine, a stimulant occasionally used in energy drinks that is also included in decongestants. Combined with caffeine, he says, ephedrine has been proven to cause deadly heart problems.

Don't be misled into thinking energy drinks will power up your workouts, Sass says.

"If you take an energy drink before exercise , it could increase your blood pressure, overstimulate your heart or nervous system, resulting in a number of potential side effects on your body," she says. "You might think there would be no risk to drinking an energy drink, but some of these products have powerful, drug-like effects and should not be underestimated."

Her advice: "If you have any medical condition, hypertension , or heart disease , avoid all drinks that have multiple stimulants."

Cocaine –

Dangerous name for a dangerous drink. While there is no actual cocaine, there is 280 mg of caffeine. The beverage is marketed to give a person a "high" coupled with a tingly euphoric feeling within five minutes of drinking it. That initial boost is followed 15 minutes later by an energy buzz that will last five to six hours, according to the company.

Kirby claims Cocaine is "350 percent stronger than Red Bull" but that people do not experience the "sugar crash" or jitters that he says some of the other energy drinks can produce.

The Combination of Ingredients in Energy Drinks Has Not Been Studied

One of the biggest concerns is that we just don't know enough about the effect of the combination of ingredients in energy drinks. Many ingredients are believed to work synergistically with caffeine to boost its stimulant power.

For instance, one can of Red Bull contains 1000 mg of taurine. A German double-blind study compared a taurine and caffeine drink, a caffeine-only drink, and a placebo drink. Stroke volume--the volume of blood ejected with each beat of the heart--was increased only in the group taking the taurine-and-caffeine drink. Taurine appears to play an important role in muscle contraction (especially in the heart) and the nervous system.

Red Bull also contains 600 mg of glucuronolactone, a substance that is naturally found in the body. There is a lack of published information on the health effects of glucuronolactone supplementation in humans or on the safety of this combination.

Energy drinks contain sugar (although sugar-free energy drinks are now available), because it is a quick source of energy.

B vitamins are sometimes added to energy drinks in small amounts. It makes energy drinks appear healthy, although they probably contribute little. B vitamins are needed to convert food into energy.

Some energy drinks contain guarana, a South American herb that is an additional source of caffeine.

What happens when energy drinks are combined with alcohol?
Energy drinks are also used as mixers with alcohol. This combination carries a number of dangers:

Since energy drinks are stimulants enhancing the "feel good" buzz and alcohol is a depressant, the combination of effects may be dangerous. The stimulant effects can mask how intoxicated you are and prevent you from realizing how much alcohol you have consumed. Fatigue is one of the ways the body normally tells someone that they've had enough to drink.

The stimulant effect can give the person the impression they aren't impaired. No matter how alert you feel, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the same as it would be without the energy drink. Once the stimulant effect wears off, the depressant effects of the alcohol will remain and could cause vomiting in your sleep or respiratory depression.

Both energy drinks and alcohol are very dehydrating (the caffeine in energy drinks is a diuretic). Dehydration can hinder your body's ability to metabolize alcohol and will increase the toxicity, and therefore the hangover, the next day.

Researchers found that the alcohol plus energy drink significantly reduced subjective alcohol-related symptoms such as headache, weakness, dry mouth, and impairment of motor coordination, even though breath alcohol concentration and objective tests of motor coordination and reaction time didn't reflect this.

Do energy drinks really give you energy?

Well, when you break down the contents of one of those eight-ounce cans, the primary ingredients are caffeine and sugar in the form of glucuronolactone, sucrose and glucose. So the answer is yes, energy drinks will provide a burst of energy. However, this is not a lasting effect. Further, the effects of the drink will be similar to that of drinking a cup of coffee or a can of soda in that when the effect wears off, you'll feel yourself slowing down and will likely crave another can (or cup) to boost your energy once again. As many likely know, it can be a vicious cycle.

Real question: Why do we have low energy?

There is no single reason why, but humans are not naturally sluggish or constantly tired. This lethargic state is something that many of us have brought on ourselves, and it is due to a combination of factors. As most things exploited by the food industry and pharmeuctical companies, the focus on the issue is on the symptoms and not the actual cause. The best way to deal with a lack of energy, focus, strength, etc. would be to determine the cause at the root.

•  Are you connected to the power source? Seems like an obvious question. Like, “Hey mom, how come the computer doesn't work?” Mom answers, “Is it plugged in?” “Der der der” as my kids would say or “Doh” to quote Homer Simpson. Our power for life and Godliness is the Lord Jesus Christ. If your spirit is drained it will show up physically in many forms. Sin separates us from God. The next step, before you even look at your food diet, would be to ask the Lord to search your heart and find anything hidden that you need to repent of. It is well known that bitterness results in gallbladder and liver problems, that unforgiveness leads to a hardening of the heart, which superficial worldly sorrow leads to death or depression.

•  Basic Nutrition: When you are looking at a Jaguar that is not running right, I bet the first thing you do is not pour in additives with unknown effects to give you more power. You would be checking out the gas/fuel that is being used for the power. Then of course you would check the other fluids.

Our bodies are made from dirt and we need to replenish this dirt on a regular basis making sure that all the nutrients are there. Try as you might, with all of the chemical additives, lack of rotational crops, genetic engineering and all of the processing it is impossible to get all of your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential oils from your food. Without these basic 4 components you will eventually have a lack of energy and cell/organ/system damage.

Sadly, any of your grocery store/Mart store (Wal-Mart, Drug Mart, and Kmart) vitamins are processed and not whole food supplements. This means if you are taking these items, this includes Centrum; you are actually robbing your body and not replacing precious repair and building blocks, thus resulting ultimately in a lack of energy.

The best product I have found to date that addresses all of these issues from a quality and economical basis is Super Trio from Nature's Sunshine. Increase your intake of omega-3 fats . You can take this in a supplement and/or use Flax seed oil, extra virgin olive oil unheated, eat salmon and other food sources (info on ordering at the bottom of this article).

•  The foods you eat: Making it very easy to determine what is good or bad –

Good: Raw, unprocessed, in its original package from the creator (banana peels, shell   

on nuts). Is it a biblically clean food? Mushrooms, pork, crab/lobster, etc are not biblically clean and actually drain your body of energy when you eat them. If the worms and bugs don't touch the food, neither should you. Bugs know good food from bad. Steer clear of the Perfect Apple, all shiny and pretty. Good old worm holes are a great sign it is “good eats”, just like down on the farm before them city slickers took over J .

Bad: Does it come in a box? Does it have bleach in it – bleached wheat flour, bleached white sugar, bleached white rice, Splenda that turns to bleach in your stomach (there is no RDA for bleach)? Have vitamins been added (they remove like a thousand good nutrients then replace that with 19 synthetic ones not even recognized by your body). Has the original food been altered such as Low fat/Skim/Low carb etc? Do you know that low fat milk will make you fat? When you remove the fat from milk, all that is left is sugar water. By the way, to assimilate that sugar in your body properly you need that fat. Without that step your body just coverts that sugar straight to fat.

•  WATER: Are you hydrated? No, the water in your coffee or tea does not count for you but against hydration. A large number of illnesses and fatigue is simply dehydration. Good rule of thumb is to take your current weight, divide that number by 2 and that is the amount of ounces per day your body requires. A great weight loss tip: Many times when you think you are hungry you are actually thirst. Drink a glass of water and wait ½ hour. You will likely be surprisingly satisfied as the actual need was met.

Another article all by itself is the quality of your water. I have found 3 things that really help my water in addition to proper filtering:

Adding liquid Chlorophyll: This nutrient is the life blood of plants and matches very closely to the nutrient needs of our own blood. It is also alkaline. Most of the water I have found is acidic. My recommended but not the only source for this is Nature's Sunshine with contact info at the end of this article.

Adding Silver Shield (A nature's sunshine product) Silver in the patented Aqua Sol technology at 18 parts per million is basically an antibacterial/viral/parasitic killing the microorganisms missed by most filters.

•  REST: There are many aspects of rest, not just when our head hits the pillow. Starting with the Sabbath. God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh day. Amazing. He didn't stay up all night and wonder if He got it all right, if He could have added just another variety of mosquito or if He made a mistake breathing life into that lump of dirt. He has established a Sabbath rest for His people. I believe that this is more than resting our bodies but also resting our souls and our spirits. Be Still and Know that I am God, Psalms 46:10. It is tough to rest our fears and worries upon the Lord. Remember, we were never designed to worry or fret, in fact these activities serve to weaken and tire us, and just opposite of what is necessary in times of need. If you are like me, being still can drive you crazy. Losing what we think is control can be nigh to insanity. And yet those very things are what brings release of the answers and blessings as we allow the Lord to speak to our hearts and to speak life into those situations that are too hard for us. Of course there is the rest including sleep. Catching a power nap and 5 hour snooze at night isn't good sleep. Most of us type A personalities have to stay up late and wake up at the break of dawn because we are too busy. Take a deep breath. Take care of the priorities of the day as best as you can, get proper rest and work as hard as you can again the next day. Cheating your body of sleep by staying up longer, taking pills or drinking energy drinks has long term consequences and rarely benefits even in the short run.

•  EXERCISE! Get your groove on, move them bones, ditch the computer chair – it needs a rest from your hind end anyhow. Our bodies were designed to move, not sit in the same position for hours on end. 20 minutes of exercise 4 times a week can reduce your risk for all major degenerative diseases by 50%. Regardless of your occupation or calling in your life there is always 20 minutes in a day that you can take to move your body in continuous aerobic type fashion. If you are too busy to do this, you are simply too busy. During the day take every opportunity you can to move like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the back 40, dance to that favorite tune that came on the radio (I mean get out of your chair and bust a move), play catch with your son, skip once in awhile. When you come home and you are beat, when the couch looks better than life itself – take a walk. You will not only snap out of it but recharge your batteries. And here is a concept, no side effects J and this is absolutely free.

•  Examinations: Of course being a doctor I have to mention that getting a good examination is a must. It is easy to fall into the rut of treating symptoms when they get to the point that we can't ignore them. Wisdom says, evaluate this top notch, wonderfully and amazing created machine on a regular basis to assure that everything is in proper order and function. Like grandma always said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Be sure to give your doctor a complete history, get a good examination and have that yearly blood work. It is also important to have regular evaluations of your spine to make sure there are no misalignments of the vertebra causing there to be miscommunications from the brain to the body. If a nerve is pinched for more than 2 weeks, the damage of that irritation can begin to be permanent. Spinal evaluations should optimally be performed every week.

•  Pills! Pills are not a magic answer. Let me say this as carefully as I can, DO NOT STOP taking any medications without specific direction from your doctor. However, how about considering improving your health with some of the suggestions above so that you can get to the place that you no longer need the prescriptions, or at the very least decrease the dose. Do some research, ask questions. Be ProActive about your health. Don't let a disease own you, you have authority in your body and there are answers. This leads right back to 1. Are you plugged in?

•  Recreation: Pfft…who has time or money for that? Let me repeat that word but a little slower. RE/Creation This happens when you decide to get playful with your spouse instead of just going through the motions. You know, the stuff you did when you were afraid of getting caught or wish you could do? The stuff you couldn't get enough of? When you could stay up all night just to look into his deep green eyes?

How about the magic that happens when the electricity goes out, the one eyed TV brain sucking machine goes off and you actually find other things to do? Like tickle the kids? Then there is the good old Sunday drive in the country with no purpose whatsoever except maybe finding the perfect ice cream cone.

This is as necessary as hitting reboot on your computer. Shutting down all that STUFF and doing things that you enjoy, that restore life. Lighten up, don't be so serious all the time. Yes, it would be great if you could also go to the Bahamas but I have a little trick that works wonders. When I lie out on my back porch in the sun, close my eyes and start actually relaxing, I can't tell the difference if my chair is on my back porch or on the deserted beaches of the Cayman Islands. It is the same sun. Cheapest vacation and no jet lag.

So, here is the secret to MORE energy: Healthy bodies have energy normally. Just look at our kids! Restoring the body to its normal functions will restore your energy, stamina, drives, focus, strength and performance. Adding false energy sources will only cause harm both in the short term and long term.

www.naturessunshine.com Take your free health questionnaire survey.

My number is: 2210184-3