Energy Drinks Industry Secrets

The thing is, our body doesn’t want all the energy 24/7.

Photo from nattu’s flickr

Coffee is no longer the only beverage to keep us awake and alert. Energy drinks tipped its popularity and valuation is in billions of dollars. The market is even expected to reach $52 Billion by 2016.

Effective or not, it doesn’t matter for me. I drink it because of the premise of extended performance. Knowing that I should perform longer is enough to push me to do more.

But studies show that energy drinks can really sustain energy for up to 90 minutes after consumption. Athletes perform better and drivers counter their sleepiness. Since these benefits are real, these drinks should be good right? We are not given all the facts.

We are not supposed to devour on energy drinks everyday.  Franca Alphin, director of health promotion at Duke Student Health, said it well: “caffeine is not a substitute for sleep”. I know no one wants to sleep when we demand more time from us but drinking anything will not do the sleeping for our body. We still need to rest.

But energy drinks can be addicting and people will drink it everyday. People will think that an energy drink is a necessity for concentration. Tracy Falba, a faculty who studied addiction, claimed that energy drink addiction is in the same isle of alcohol or smoking addiction because people suffer the withdrawal symptoms after halting the consumption.

Bruce, et al’s (2000) study shows that caffeine dosage of 6 mg/kg body weight has the same effect with 9 mg/kg body weight. It doesn’t matter whether you drink more – you get the same benefit of increased performance. Nonetheless, certain energy drinks can contain caffeine of 7 cups of coffee.

More is worse. Cans after cans of energy drinks could lead to caffeine toxicity. Signs of too much energy are anxiety, nervousness, nausea and the list goes on.  Seizures, manias and strokes are not unheard of. Death incidents are also linked to the head players in the industry including Monster and Red Bull.

Energy drinks are very high on sugar, which is one of the reasons why it’s very hard to combat diabetes. A ploy to escape the sugar content is using artificial sweeteners instead. Certain artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose are hazardous chemicals. Heck, sucralose is even harmful to plants and animals; and the human body won’t even recognize them as food but toxins.

It’s delicious, but the myriad of ingredients are too much for the human body.

How frequent do you consume energy drinks?

Sources:
Experts: energy drinks can be addictive; The Chronicle
What happens if you drink too many energy drinks?; Livestrong
The Dirty Secrets of Energy Drinks; Natural Commando
Energy Drink Side Effects; Energy Friend
MarketsandMarkets: Global Sports and Energy Drinks Market is Expected to Reach $52 Billion by 2016; PRNewswire
Energy Drinks: An Assessment of Their Market Size, Consumer Demographics, Ingredient Profile, Functionality, and Regulations in the United States; Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety

Genetically Modified Humans Are Created

The genetically modified organisms (GMO) are corn, tomato, soy, cow.. and the latest addition was human.

Photo from NASA

There is a “drug” that will cure a rare fat production disrupting disease by modifying a damaged gene; and 1 or 2 people in a million will get the treatment. You may think that it’s not that bad, at most there could be two people per million to be modified. That’s not the only story.

30 genetically modified babies are already created in the US. The cover reason behind this is parents having problems conceiving. 2 of those babies have gene combinations from 3 different parents. Now these parents will have a more favorable life, as the geneticists state, “this genetic modification method may one day be used to create genetically modified babies ‘with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence’” (Gucciardi, 2012).

There are no policies guiding genetic modifications of humans, and powerhouse countries are taking advantage of it. Human stem cells are implanted on goats in China; human brain cells are embedded on mice in the US; 150 human-animal hybrids are grown in the labs of UK.

We don’t know what these monsters are for. Maybe for research to treat diseases, maybe something else. What we know is the government funds scientists and biotech companies to achieve “a much larger feat – genetically modified humans in the form of ‘super soldiers’” (Waking Times, 2012).

Rats that ate genetically modified corn either became ill or died (Mestel, 2012). Let’s say we take away ethics, GMO’s safety is still not guaranteed. But the bigger issue here is invasion of GMOs. When you put a genetically modified plant in a field, it could potentially affect the other plants by sucking all the nutrients from the land. Via survival of the fittest, the GMO plant will persist and reproduce until the rest of the field is full of GMOs.

Now that we have genetically modified humans, are we breeding a new class in the society, a group called the “superior race”? How long can us, the normal race, will last? At the time the GMO babies reproduce, the spread will start.

Now that scientists are claiming that they could trace the “criminal gene”, it may not be too long to produce another drug to isolate that gene; and thus, controlling humanity. People started thinking that we could correct the disordered genes. When will they stop? Until they produced the perfect human? Perfect is not characteristic of human at all.

Are you scared of the genetically modified people living with us?

Sources:
Study points to health problems with genetically modified foods; LA Times
Genetically Modified Babies ‘Created’ in US – The World’s First; Natural Society
Genetically Modified Humans? New Gene-Altering Drug Paves Way for Mass Modification; Waking Times
150 human animal hybrids grown in UK labs: Embryos have been produced secretively for the past three years; Dailymail UK

Health Hazard: Sitting

Sitting too long is apparently killing you.

Photo from photoXpress

Sure, we exercise regularly. We limit the indulgence and eat the right foods. Those are good healthy habits, but it’s not enough. According to UK researchers, sitting too long is risking you diabetes, heart disease and even death. That is regardless of your exercise.

This study also asserts that Americans spend 60-70% of their time sitting. Before you deny this, evaluate yourself. Do you sit when you eat? Do you sit when you use your computer? Do you sit when you watch your shows? Yeah, I think we do a lot of sitting.

Is this implying that we should stand when we do these activities? Yes, and it’s not a bad thing. I wrote this post standing up, and ideas come smoother when I pace around.

All we do now is contrary to the men who lived in a cave. They walk on foot. They stand and collect or kill for food. They don’t sit around and expect to receive food as instantaneous as ten minutes. It’s true that we live longer because of our medical innovations, but I believe their bodies are healthier. I don’t think our bodies evolved that fast to accommodate long hours of sitting. It is unnatural for us.

Pan (2012) called sitting as the “worst positions for the body to maintain”.  You are familiar with the feeling of strain on your lower back after a prolonged sit. That is because sitting puts immense pressure on your back, unlike when standing up, the weight is evened out. Many people sit in the wrong posture as well. Flexors tighten, hamstrings shorten, nerves pinch, blood pressure flow disrupts result from sitting.

Either you cut your prolonged sitting or take intervals from sitting. How hard would this change be for you?

More Moments for you:
Perfectionism Ruining Your Health?
Fitness Industry Secrets
Alternative Therapies

Source:
Study: Sitting too long can be a health risk; The Community Press & Recorder
Why Sitting Too Much Is Dangerous; Mashable

Oxytocin Gives

When we feel good, we have loads of oxytocin in our body. Can it be an energy drink?

Photo from photoXpress

Oxytocin is a happy hormone. It is associated with caring, bonding and intimacy (dubbed as “love molecule”). It helps rebuild a wounded relationship. Having more of it will reduce anxiety and social fears. A nasal spray of it can cure shyness and improve social proficiency.

We also know that Oxytocin will make us more generous. In the study of Dr. Paul Zak and his colleagues, 8 OUT OF 10 are more generous when infused with oxytocin compared to those who received a placebo. The more we have this, the more empathetic we feel towards co-humans.

The amount of oxytocin in us can also predict who will donate more. Oxytocin and generosity are directly related where the more oxytocin is released, the more amount of money we will hand out. This means that altering our brain chemistry will change our behaviors.  It’s scary to think that we can be manipulated to give.

The idea of drinking oxytocin has insidious and expedient potentials. It can passively coerce someone to do charity; and it can be prescribed to people who really needed it. If you do not have a health concern in which oxytocin can help, you can’t get it in a non-natural way.

Probably the easiest way to have an oxytocin flowing in you is hugging someone. It’s cheap too.

Do you think it’s okay to make oxytocin more accessible?

Sources:
Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans; Plos One
10 Reasons Why Oxytocin Is The Most Amazing Molecule In The World; io9
Oxytocin – the love hormone – could cure shyness; The Telegraph
Oxytocin: energy drink of the future?; beeblu’s blog

R.I.P Fresh Home Cooking

Gone are the days of heading to the supermarket to buy a vast array of vegetables, meat and other ingredients for tonight’s dinner.

Photo from denniswyman.com

Gone are the days when the mother would spend the best part of the day cooking a delicious meal for the whole family.

Gone are the days of fresh and in season produce being put together to create something truly delicious.

Instead today we are posed with a cardboard box, or a plastic pot or air tight package ready to get thrown into a box and ready to eat in two minutes. The lazy microwave age is upon us.

Everyday dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, shepherd’s pie, chicken curry and a wide selection of pastas, burgers and even pancakes can all now be cooked in the microwave. Who could resist? When the recommended retail price for a Birdseye Spaghetti Bolognese microwave meal costs as little as £1 (source: mysupermarket.co.uk).

However, since being at university, I’ve learnt the importance of fresh cooking and that buying in mass and cooking for everyone can actually work out rather cheap. Granted, it may cost slightly more than the Birdseye tat above, but you’ll know exactly what is going into it and is guaranteed to taste much better.

God knows what goes into a microwave meal, but it’s more than likely to consist of a variety of preservatives, colourings, artificial flavourings and badly sourced produce.

In a Birdseye Spaghetti Bolognese meal, the sauce consists of the following: Water, Beef 12%, Tomatoes, Onion, Tomato Purée, Mushrooms, Red Wine, Carrots, Celery, Maize Starch, Sugar, Reduced Sodium Salt (Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride), Garlic, Yeast Extract, Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Pepper.

Although the majority of ingredients are fresh here – which is certainly an exception – there is only 12% beef and a vast amount of water. In comparison, a packet of fresh beef mince, an onion, a carrot, tomato purée, Worcester sauce, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a packet of spaghetti spaghetti – when split four ways – provides a nutritious meal for four at a fair price.

Jamie Oliver, who forever emphasises healthy eating, has recently released the book 30 Minute Meals – proving how easy it is to cook and prepare a fresh three course meal for a family in very little time.

Photo from Jamie Oliver

Microwave meals don’t have to be the only option on a busy day; nor do they have to act as a cheaper alternative – as many students would prove.

Do you think the the culture of microwaves and TV dinners has gone too far? Or are fast meals built into our busy lifestyles?

Daniel Mayes is a recent Journalism graduate with an upper-second. He has experience working at BBC World Service, Sky News Online and has worked on projects in Europe and Africa.