Energy Drinks - Do They Give You Energy or Just a Fat Gut
June 7th, 2008 by ryhan
I receive a ton of questions about all of these new “energy” drinks that have hit the market over the last few years. They seem to be all the rage, especially with the youth, and they promise you the world with outrageous claims of all of the super energy that you are going to have, and how you’ll be crushing the competition in your sport, and so on.
So a couple questions arise:
Are these “energy” drinks really any good for you?
Do they actually increase your energy?
Do they really have some sort of magical energy formula?
Will they help you lose weight?
First of all, let’s look at what most of these energy drinks are usually made of. Most of them are simply carbonated water loaded with gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, the amino acid taurine, and a few random B-vitamins thrown in for show to trick you into thinking there’s something healthy about these concoctions.
Let’s start with the high fructose corn syrup. Well, here we’ve got empty calories that will go straight to your belly fat, and that are actually even WORSE for you than plain old refined sugar.
Ok, so you say that they have low-sugar or sugar-free varieties as an alternative to the HFCS-laden energy drinks. Yes, but now you have the problem of the harmful chemicals in the artificial sweeteners.
Another problem with artificial sweeteners is that there are some researchers that believe artificial sweetener use leads people to inadvertently consume more calories and gain more weight in the long run. I won’t go into the details on that because that would fill up an entire discussion by itself. Just trust me that artificial sweeteners and artificial chemicals in food in general, are all bad news for your body!
What about the caffeine? Well, first of all, caffeine in itself doesn’t provide “energy”. Technically, the only substances that actually provide energy are calories (from carbs, protein, and fat).
However, caffeine can be an aid for livening or waking some people up, by means of stimulating the central nervous system. Keep in mind though, if you’re a regular coffee drinker, you’re probably addicted to caffeine and probably wouldn’t receive too much benefit from the caffeine in an energy drink anyway.
Besides, instead of caffeine added to some carbonated drink, I’d rather get my caffeine from a natural source like green, white, or oolong teas, which actually provide healthful antioxidants too!
Now what about that so called magical blend of taurine and B-vitamins that they load into these energy drinks? Well, big deal…you can get taurine in almost any protein source. And the vast majority of those B-vitamins are simply coming right out into the toilet in your pee. Vitamins are best obtained naturally from real food sources, not artificially added to some carbonated drink. Your body just doesn’t use fake sources of vitamins as readily as natural sources from real food.
So as you can see, in my opinion, I give all of these energy drinks a big time THUMBS DOWN! You’re better off mixing up your own homemade energy drink with some iced unsweetened green, white, and oolong teas, a little bit of 100% pure berry or pomegranate juice, and maybe a touch of a non-denatured whey protein.
Well, I hope this article cleared up some of the confusion about these energy drinks that are being so heavily marketed these days, and will help you make more informed decisions for your health.
Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/freenewsletter.html to receive a free copy of the innovative ebook, Training & Nutrition Secrets for a Lean-Body, as well as your own free personalized metabolic rate calculator.
Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized Fitness Expert, owner of http://BusyDadWorkouts.com, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, and author of the internationally-selling book, The Truth about Six Pack Abs.
Tags: energy, energy drinks, Fat Loss, lose body fat, lose fat, stamina, weight lossYour Microwave is Killing You and Your Momma!
June 6th, 2008 by ryhan
I’m not going to explain the history of microwaves because that is plain boring but what I will tell you is that they were founded by pure dumb luck like most scientific experiments, and was discovered during World War II of all times. Now just about every American family owns a microwave and pop food into their like nothing. Have you ever sat down and wondered how do microwaves cook foods so fast and why the texture is so different once they come out?
I must admit I used microwaves in the pass without a second thought because they were extremely quick and I was busy like everybody these days. However, something sparked my curiosity when one day I was microwaving a meal just chilling and my food just popped like popcorn and I was like “what in the world?” I mean it wasn’t the first time this happened but for some reason this time it slapped me right in the face. I was terrified to open the microwave fearing that something would squirt in my face.
My meal had squirted all over the microwave and I had to clean that mess out. I knew right then that something was fishy with microwaves and I did some extensive research and found some crippling secrets. The microwave emits radiation, that’s right radiation the stuff that causes cancer, similar to the ways cell phones put radiation right into your ear-hole.
A woman was actually killed by the microwave in the early 90s. She was given a blood transfusion and the blood was microwaved and she was killed by it. Why people don’t die from regular heated blood transfusions? It also significantly declines the nutrient quality of foods. Have you ever microwaved vegetables? If you noticed the vegetables will come out all soft, limp, and mushy almost like baby food.
They reduce nutrient content in vegetables by over 60 percent compared to just broiling it in light water! I threw out my microwave and I’m a fitness and nutrition expert so I know exactly what I’m talking about. I try to save as many people as possible but they just don’t want to give the microwave away.
I guess people will make an excuse for things that they love, it’s a psychological technique. You can live without a microwave, I did it and in matter of fact you can eat quick and convenient meals without a microwave. Come check me out at my website www.cardiacgym.com and I may have something for you. To tend have a healthful day, in health and fitness Doug Purcell.
Doug Purcell
CPT
Nutrition Expert
Owner of http://www.cardiacgym.com
Does Hoodia Work
June 1st, 2008 by ryhan
If you asked a San Bushman, “Does hoodia work?” He would probably tell you, through an interpreter of course, that it does work as an appetite suppressant. He would tell you something like you will feel no hunger or thirst. Eating the plant reportedly makes the hunger go away. Does this mean that those who are using a hoodia weight loss program do not need to diet or exercise in order to lose weight? No.
If you asked the British pharmaceutical company Phytopharm, “Does hoodia work?” They would probably tell you that only Phytopharm’s hoodia gordonii product has been clinically proven to reduce calorie intake and body fat. In fact, that is a quoted directly from their website. The website also mentions that Phytopharm and their partner Unilever (makers of Slim Fast products) are aware that products claiming to contain hoodia and causing weight loss are in stores and on the internet. They are discussing this with the authorities. Will Phytopharm delay hoodia weight loss programs by forcing health supplement companies to pull their products of the market? No.
If you asked the makers of Hoodia XR, “Does hoodia work?” The answer on their website says that results vary depending on the individual’s diet and exercise program. If you asked how much you could lose with a hoodia weight loss program, they say that 20 pounds is common. They have a “frequently asked questions” section on their website. They do not say how long it took these individuals to lose 20 pounds. They do say that they conducted studies of people who took Hoodia XR consistently for at least a month and that these people reduced their caloric intake. This does seem to indicate that hoodia works as an appetite suppressant.
If you asked Dr. Joseph Varallo, “Does hoodia work?” He might tell you that there was an overall satisfaction rate of 80% among the 350 women that he followed who were using a hoodia product called Desert Burn 750. He does point out, as will any honest person, that these individuals included diet and exercise in their hoodia weight loss program. He said that the average weight loss was two pounds per week and that the maximum weight lost was 40 pounds. Most diet experts agree that two pounds per week is a reasonable expectation for any weight loss program, even a hoodia weight loss program.
How does hoodia work? That is apparently a complicated question, but the way that they explain it in laymen’s terms is that the brain believes that food has been eaten, shutting down the hunger mechanism. Does hoodia work for everyone? No. There has never been an appetite suppressant that works for everyone and there will probably never be an appetite suppressant that works for everyone. A hoodia weight loss program will only work for individuals who are motivated to succeed. Some people think that it is simply a placebo effect. If you believe something may suppress the appetite, then it will. Others will remind you that exercise alone has a tendency to suppress the appetite, at least temporarily. And still others will point to all the diet and exercise programs that work temporarily for most people, long term for some people and not at all for others. Here is the real answer to the question; does hoodia work? Anyone can lose weight if they reduce calories and increase activity. In order to maintain that weight loss, people must make changes in their lifestyles.
The answers to more questions like; does hoodia work can be found at the Hoodia Info Blog. Visit us at http://hoodiainfo.blogspot.com.
Patsy Hamilton is an editor at the Hoodia Info Blog.
Tags: does hoodia work, hoodia weight loss