Killer Energy Drinks?

In case you needed another reason to nix the energy drinks, the Food and Drug Administration says that five recent deaths may be linked to Monster Energy Drinks.

We know that mixing energy drinks and booze is bad news for your health, but even without the boozy help, those cans of energy drink are still pretty unhealthy. They’re loaded with unhealthy additives like:

• Sugars. Even energy drinks that taste terrible are loaded with as much sugar as a soda, if not more. Often, the sweetener is high fructose corn syrup.
• Artificial sweeteners. Diet or lower-calorie energy drinks tend to use sweeteners like aspartame.
• Artificial flavors and colors. Most energy drinks on store shelves are not made from real juice, so they need chemical flavorings and colorings to make them look and taste more appealing.
• Stimulants. This is where the immediate health concerns come in. Energy drinks contain caffeine along with a cocktail of other stimulants, like ginseng and taurine. In moderation and on their own, these ingredients aren’t necessarily unhealthy. It’s all about the amounts, and energy drinks contain high doses of stimulants.

On top of the FDA investigation, one family is suing Monster because their 14-year-old daughter died after drinking two cans of their product in a 24-hour period. Monster is doubling down, saying that its product is totally safe and that these charges are all false.

According to Food Safety News:

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Riverside, said that after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster Energy on consecutive days Fournier went into cardiac arrest. She died days later on December 23, 2011 from what the lawsuit said was “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity” that complicated a heart disorder she already had.

On Monday, FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said the agency had received reports of five deaths and one heart attack that may be associated with the Monster Energy drink from 2009 through June this year.

Is drinking a Monster energy drink going to kill you? Probably not, but until the FDA investigation is through, it might be a good idea to get your energy boost elsewhere. On the next page, check out a list of five natural ways to amp up your energy without energy drinks.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by Marcus Q.

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Read more: Conscious Consumer, Diet & Nutrition, Drinks, Drugs, Eating for Health, Food, Health, Natural Remedies, energy drink, energy drinks, health, healthy energy, Monster energy drinks, natural energy

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Source : care2[dot]com

Alcohol and Energy Drinks – a VERY Bad Combination

This combination of drinks leads to confusion of the nervous system

The confusion of the nervous system can cause permanent damage to the cardiovascular system and a higher risk of overstimulation symptoms

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is a common combination among youth, especially in the nightlife. According to experts, however, this ‘mix’ can harm health and mental condition of the drinker.
In a study participated volunteers aged from 18 to 35 years. They consumed alcohol in combination with energy drinks for six months. Their health was monitored by the research team throughout the study.
The results of the study showed that this combination of drinks leads to confusion of the nervous system due to the stimuli in their composition, such as caffeine, ginseng and taurine, while alcohol, on the other hand, is a depressant.
The confusion of the nervous system can cause permanent damage to the cardiovascular system and a higher risk of overstimulation symptoms, such as difficulty sleeping, aggression, nervousness, palpitations, nausea, tremors, experts say.
They call for the labeling of energy drinks to inform that combining them with alcohol can harm and vice versa.
Energy drinks are soft drinks high in caffeine – 150 mg / l. They have a stimulating effect and contain at least one of the following ingredients – taurine, vitamins and other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect as glyukoronolakton, inositol, carnitine, creatine, herbal extracts (guarana, mate, acacia, ginseng, ginkgo biloba) and others.
Their consumption is not recommended for cardiovascular and kidney problems, liver disease, as well as for children with behavioral disorders.
Scientists urge pediatricians and parents to talk to their children and teenagers and to ask for their attention on the beverages they consume.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com

Soft Drinks Lead to Obesity

Regular consumption of soft drinks leads to extreme obesity, scientists said

Soft drinks are generally devoid of any nutritional value. They just sweetened water body fat in inappropriate places, reported rodale.com.

“Good Bye” Big SODA!

Soft drinks don’t have nutritional value

Research scientists show that drinking soft drinks can leads to dramatic increases in fat around the liver and skeletal muscle. This can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes.
U.S. study shows that people who drink soda every day for six months, have from 132% to 142% increase of fat in the liver from 117 percent to 122 percent increase in fat around the bone, and 30% increase in triglyceride levels. This consumption has contributed to 11% increase in cholesterol compared to those who drank other drinks like water and milk.
Even so-called diet drinks dramatically increase the width of the waist.

8 Dangers of Drinking Diet Soda
Research Center for Health Sciences at the University of Texas, USA, showed disappointing results. Scientists have observed over 475 people for 10 years. The results showed that those who drank diet soft drinks had an average 70% increase in the waist compared to those who did not drink any. People who drank two diet drinks a day had to do 500% increased fat around the waist.
Another study by the same team conducted on laboratory mice with aspartame, an artificial sweetener that increases the blood sugar, showed that people weight gain when glucose in the liver is too much, because the excess is converted into body fat. I.e. excessive consumption of soft drinks with aspartame also causes obesity.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com

Sweet Temptations and Children – Let tha War begin!

More than ever, our children take daily super sweet foods and drinks

Consequences should not be underestimated!
Flavored lollies, fruit milk, biscuits, lollipops, wafers, chips … all contain sugar in one form or another. Researchers from the University of Calgary have analyzed a number of foods such as milk and cereals, particularly marked for ages up to 3 years, and found that more than half of the surveyed products, at least 20% of calories are contained sugar.

Diet Traps: 9 Foods with TOO MUCH Hidden Sugar

Nutritionists recommend that children should consume up to 5 teaspoons of sugar a day

Over the past 30 years, manufacturers gradually replaced sugar as a sweetener in foods and beverages with high fructose corn syrup (VFTSS) – also known as “glucose corn syrup.” In addition to its ability to increase the durability of the product, it mixes more easily with liquids and retains its sweetness better than sugar.
For this reason is very widely used in the products of big companies. Today it is contained in virtually all processed foods and beverages – cornflakes and other breakfast cereals, ice cream, soups, white breads, cakes, fruit juices, sauces and much, much more. It is believed that its wide use in many of our daily foods consumed accounts for the high percentage of overweight children in developed countries.

11 Absurd Things Claimed to be “Healthy”
How much sugar is useful for children?
Nutritionists recommend that children should consume up to 5 teaspoons of sugar a day. In fact, the analyzes showed that adolescents (even those up to 3 years) take different forms to 16 teaspoons, and in some cases even leads to 24 teaspoons sugar, which corresponds to about 20% of the recommended daily calorie intake.
Why sugar is so harmful?
Scientists are adamant that large doses of sugar and high-calorie food leads to obesity and serious health consequences in later life. Increase levels of triglycerides (bad cholesterol, etc.), and this leads to a greater risk of damage to the arteries and heart disease. High levels of triglycerides can cause severe inflammation of the pancreas.
The liver is also exposed to great stress when we eat so many sweet foods. Faced with such high doses of fructose, it cannot cope with processing it and some of it is converted into fat molecules. They, in turn, enter the bloodstream and lead to rising cholesterol and triglycerides. Furthermore, fructose blocks production of the hormone leptin, which is responsible for our sense of fullness and this further enhances the risk of obesity.
Of course, it’s not about fructose in fruit, where it naturally contains. There is no danger to overload with fructose from fruits, because it is easy to reinforce the fiber in them slows digestion and liver not hampers the sudden accumulation of large amounts of fructose, as happens when you consume sugary drinks for example.

See the Main Reason for RISING Childhood Obesity!
What to do?
It’s pointless to go to extremes to try to isolate total sugar in various forms of child’s menu.
Yet here are some tips how to reduce intake of sweet a little:
Read carefully the packaging of food (biscuits, juices) where there is a description of the nutritional content and calories. Fix your attention on the sugar and keep in mind that 4 grams is 1 teaspoon
Ban all sugary drinks. When your child is thirsty, give water. If offering juice, let’s have fresh juices, and if they are pasteurized (they almost always have sugar or other sweetener) amount should not exceed 100 to 200 grams for children 1 to 6 years for a day.
Use sugar strategically. Most days try to save the sugar in the diet of the few. Add honey or maple syrup, guided by the rule of the recommended dose.
Create more active pursuits child. Take regular walks, but only to ride in the cart or sitting on a park bench. Gather a few other children wear ball, wheel and other toys that stimulate the activity of kids. Children, who move regularly, can take more sugar than the recommended daily dose.
Think of healthier alternatives to dessert. First in this series are the fruits. Kids love a sweet of them – pear, melon, apricot. Teach him to start with them when they ask for something sweet. When you have a special occasion offers small portions – ice cream, a few pieces of dark chocolate.
Be flexible and do not go to extremes. Total ban on sweets at home would make it even more desirable and the child will use every opportunity to touch the “forbidden fruit.”

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com