The problems with energy drinks are two-fold.

1) These drinks are formulated and marketed to appeal to the rebellious nature of youth. Health value is usually not a consideration, except to avoid lawsuits. Profit margin and image are the big drivers in deciding what goes into these products.

2) Because health is not why most of these drinks are sold, all the worst aspects of the American/International beverage business are exaggerated. Sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup, is arguably the single most detrimental factor that has led to the surge in obesity rates over the past 35 years(1). High levels of sugar are unhealthy and have no place in any product designed to produce a long-term boost in energy. Nevertheless, sugar is a major ingredient in most of these drinks to cater to the tastes of juveniles.

The other dangerous element in most energy drinks is anhydrous caffeine, sometimes in combination with other stimulants.

A lot of noise has been made about some of the other unfamiliar ingredients in these beverages, but a little reading of the actual scientific research done on these substances will reveal they are innocuous at the levels found in these drinks.

Sugar and caffeine are commonly consumed daily by most of the population, not only in the United States, but around the world.

In fact, most energy drinks only contain as much caffeine as a cup of strong coffee. So, what’s the problem?

One problem with caffeine for youths is that it interferes with sleep, which growing young people need. Unsupervised energy drink use with friends in the evening can lead to inability to sleep and poor performance in school.

The larger problem is that these beverages, most of which are inherently unhealthy with long-term use due to the sugar content, are advertised directly to young people who naively think that, “If one makes me feel good, three or four will make me feel like a Superhero!” This is where they can get into mortal danger with heart arrhythmia, primarily due to the accumulated caffeine content.

So, to sum up, the major dangers of energy drinks come from poor formulations compounded with the tendency of young people to overdo anything they come in contact with, just to find their limits.

What is a parent to do?

Well, you have a problem on your hands if you have let your child develop a craving for sugar. Trying to reason with a fourteen or fifteen year old is futile unless your child is more reasonable than most. You have a better chance for success if you start very young by controlling what gets consumed in your household.

Teaching your child about caffeine — its uses and the uncomfortable problems it can cause if not handled wisely — is also good insurance against calamity.

There are good reasons for not consuming refined sugars, but most parents here have abdicated their responsibility for choosing what their children will eat to advertisers on TV, radio, in magazines, and on the ‘Net. If you haven’t set the example and got your children on the path of healthy natural nutrition early, then changing their tastes now is going to be tough.

The parent who has the best chance for protecting their child from the dangers that unscrupulous marketers of energy drinks present is the parent who does their research on healthy diet and provides a good example. The earlier you start, the better.

(1) See the video “Sugar, the Bitter Truth” by Dr. Robert Lustig for more background on the dangers of sugar and the root of the obesity/diabetes epidemic.

By Paul H Kemp

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Related Links:

• See energy drink reviews and ratings at EnergyDrinkOpinions.com.

The rise of energy drinks in the beverage/soft drink industry has been astronomical. They are now found in every convenience and grocery store in every town and are available to all for purchase anytime of the day or night. To be sure, the premise of energy drink sales is simple enough: create a blend of methylxanthines, vitamins, fruit juices, and herbal supplements then proceed to market this generally sugary concoction as an energy increasing and focus enhancing beverage. It certainly seems innocuous enough, but the use of stimulants and supplements should be understood lest the risk of undesirable and adverse effects be exacerbated by lack of knowledge. As with all things that effect the chemical functions of the body, its important to understand the ingredients in energy drinks indulging (they come with a warning label advising against excessive consumption for a reason).

The allure of supplemental energy and added focus coupled with the ease of accessibility lends greatly to the success of energy drinks, but perhaps a query ought be posed as to what exactly is happening in the flash-bang grenade styled cans of liquid energy. There are a vast array of chemicals and metabolic function effected ingredients that interact with one another in their various stages of break down and absorption into the tissues of the body that are thusly effected. Given that these interactions are generally very intricate in nature, this will cover the most heavily represented ingredients in most energy drinks.

Caffeine
The primary ingredient in most energy drinks is Caffeine. This serves as an energy booster by temporarily combating drowsiness and increasing alertness. Sounds great, but caffeine is a diuretic and consumption of large quantities can result in dehydration which, though not only unpleasant, will then result in an opposite reaction. If the body is dehydrated by a single percent the performance of an individual may decrease by as much as ten percent. This is mitigated when an individual increases their tolerance to caffeine with consistent use. It is also worth noting that many other relatively common ingredients in energy drinks, such as guarana, may themselves break down to release caffeine in their metabolizing.

Vitamins
Vitamins are a selling point of many energy drinks, especially the B vitamins. The functions of B vitamins in the body primarily revolve around metabolic function resulting in the creation of energy. They are involved in the breakdown of many of the other ingredients found in energy drinks that they may enter the body more readily and in turn perform their associated functions more rapidly. That most energy drinks contains several times the recommended daily dose of B12 should be of little concern as there appears to be no ill effects of even extreme doses of B12. B6 supplements on the other hand have been found to cause a temporary deadening of certain nerves such as the proprioceptory nerves, causing a feeling of disembodiment common with the loss of proprioception. This is however only found in supplemental vitamin B6 cases and is reversible by simply ceasing use of the supplement.

Taurine
Taurine has a consistent presence in energy drinks but has yet to be shown to be energy-giving. Its consumption does however have many known benefits. Studies have shown it to be an effective agent in the removal of fatty liver deposits, the prevention of liver disease, and the reduction of cirrhosis in rats and some other tested animals. In humans it is believed to be of benefit in matters concerning blood pressure and possibly in the alleviation of other cardiovascular issues.

Sugars
Sugars are complex energy rich substances that are very commonly found in energy drinks and are highly caloric and quick to be metabolized. They can however cause unwanted crashing effects after they have run their metabolic course. This is especially true when in conjunction with caffeine as their combined diuretic effects will cause water to be pulled from the body. There is of course the issue of unwanted calories with sugar and the associated weight gain with overindulgence.

Additional Key Ingredients
Other ingredients of prominence in energy drinks are inositol, ginseng extracts and derivatives, creatine, grape seed extract, L-Carnitine, and L-Arginine all of which are involved in a complex but relatively minute, metabolic energy-giving functions. Further information on these and their beneficial and negative effects can be found on various chemical databases and through encyclopedias.

As the energy drink industry is relatively new it has not been fully explored and the pros and cons of the various ingredients of these beverages is still being researched. Anyone interested in further understanding the ingredients in energy drinks and the affects on our bodies should keep an eye open in the coming months for new and improved studies of these complex compounds and their metabolic influences.

There are alternatives such as Tongkat Ali energy coffee that can provides the mental clarity, vitality, and energy desired from energy drinks — without as much sugar and without the negative effects of some of the energy drink ingredients.

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Related Links:

• See energy drink reviews and ratings at EnergyDrinkOpinions.com.

Blood oranges are emerging as one of the healthiest and tastiest fruits across the globe. Stores are starting to pack these balsamic beauties into their warehouses because they are so damn good. For diet and nutrition purposes, this mouth-watering fruit is actually a very low calorie food.

Feast upon as many of these beautiful oranges as you wish, it is a good thing. Rarely does this kind of orange reach the 80 calorie mark. An original variety of these scarlet beauties, the tarocco, will on some occasions, have more calories than usual.

Two of these fruits are more than enough to give you all the Vitamin C you could ever want in a day, according to experts. This super Vitamin C advantage combined with the fact that these oranges have such a tiny amount of calories, this truly is THE diet fruit. This fruit is not merely tasty, it has great health benefits that we are just discovering.

Many meals can be cooked with this orange. Remember that it’s quite easy to peel this red fruit as the skin is very smooth. The red color of these scarlet delicacies makes meals so visually appealing that it always gets everyone talking.

The dreamy blood orange will help you drop that weight. Inside blood oranges there is something called anthocyanins… these are antioxidants that help heal the body and studies show that they are useful against cancer and diabetes, among other things.

Don’t wait another moment, grab one of these tasty fruits!

By Tiago Marcelo

Peyronie’s disease is a condition which affects the penis, usually resulting in painful erections, scarring in the penis and a bend in the erection. It is caused by damage to the penile tissue creating a scarring under the skin, known as a plaque. Depending upon the size and location of the plaque, it can cause the penis to bend upwards, downwards or become indented.

The condition is fairly common, affecting approximately three per cent of men. It can occur at any age, but most typically affects men in their forties and fifties. There is a link between Peyronie’s disease and the hand condition Duypetren’s contracture, which causes one or more fingers to bend into the palm. About one in ten men with Duypetren’s contracture have Peyronie’s. However no-one knows exactly why some men get Peyronie’s disease and others don’t; it appears to be a matter of chance.

The first symptom of Peyronie’s disease is usually painful erections, or a bend in the erection, or both. Sometimes, men notice lumps in the shaft of the penis, although they may not be very obvious. Symptoms may come on suddenly or more gradually. This is known as the acute inflammatory stage of the disease.

The length of this first phase varies, but usually the disease stops progressing after six to 18 months. The second phase is called the acute stage. The penis stops bending and erections may cease to be painful. The lumps in the penis are likely to become harder and more obvious.

Men are left with a degree of deformity which varies widely. For men with a minor deformity, there is no need for surgery. But many men experience sexual dysfunction, due to the degree of curvature in the penis and often accompanying psychological factors. If the penis bends to 60 degrees or more, sexual intercourse may not be possible.

Unfortunately there is no guaranteed cure for Peyronie’s disease. Lots of treatments have been tried, but none of them have been proven in controlled trials to be successful. This means that for most people in the initial stages of the disease, it is simply a matter of waiting for the disease to stop progressing after about 6 to 18 months.

The only reason to consider surgery is in order to straighten the erection. Only men whose erection is so bent that they are unable to have satisfactory sexual activity should undergo surgery. However, surgery will not improve potency or remove penile lumps.

Surgery should only be performed once the disease is stable. This means that the pain has gone and that the bend has not got worse for at least three months. There are three principle operations for Peyronie’s disease: the Nesbit procedure, the Lue procedure, and in the most severe cases, insertion of a penile prosthesis.

Nesbit’s operation is the easiest and most straightforward operation to perform for Peyronie’s disease, but it has one major drawback – it causes shortening of the erection. Shortening is approximately 1cm per 30 degree bend of the penis. However, providing men are thoroughly assessed and this drawback is discussed, it is rarely a major problem after surgery.

For the majority of men, the Nesbit procedure is the best choice. The principle of the operation is to remove some tissue from the long side of the bent penis, thereby shortening the long side of the bend and straightening the erection.

The Lue procedure does the opposite of the Nesbit’s and makes the short side of the bend longer. However the operation is harder to perform and has a higher risk of complications. Shortening of the erection can still occur, the risk of impotence after surgery is greater that with Nesbit’s operation and there is a risk of damaging the delicate nerves which go to the end of the penis, resulting in the glans of the penis being numb. Incision and grafting can also be used to treat deformities of the penis where Peyronie’s disease causes indentation on one side. The graft is inserted into the indented area to expand the penis’s circumference.

A penile prosthesis is only used when there is very severe impotence, which can’t be treated by other means such as drugs. The operation has many drawbacks, but can restore satisfactory erections in selected cases. It should be considered only as a last resort.

Eczema is an autoimmune disorder that manifests itself as itchy, scaly skin that can also erupt in blisters and boils. In extreme cases the skin can also bleed. This is because the skin cells keep on producing new cells that pile up on top of the existing cells, thereby forming the scales and scabbed skin. The actual reasons for eczema are not clearly known and therefore doctors are not able to figure out how to cure eczema.

If you suffer from eczema you have very limited options. You could go to a doctor for treatment and all you will receive are medications that will alleviate the symptoms without giving you a permanent cure. The money you spend on these medications is even more expensive if you consider that they are absolutely useless. The effect that these medications offer you will wear off as soon as you go off them. You therefore need to find out how to cure eczema on your own.

The first step to learning how to cure eczema is to learn more about this disease. You do not need a medical degree to have a good understanding about what ails you. There is a lot of information available on the internet and you will be able to gather a lot of useful data. Make sure that the sites you visit have inputs from doctors since there is a chance that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet. One thing you will understand is that eczema is caused when your body’s immune system reacts against something, in other words, it is a kind of allergy.

Since eczema is a disease of the immune system, you first have to understand what triggers off an attack in your case. You have to pay close attention to the various things that you come in contact with. Some people get an attack of eczema due to a particular food they have eaten whereas other people can be affected by the detergent they use. You can bring your eczema under control by eliminating these irritants from your life.

You will also understand that you can bring the symptoms under control by using some home remedies. There are many skin care products that can aggravate your symptoms instead of helping them go away. You will have to learn how to identify the products that will cause these problems and to avoid them. Once you learn how to cure eczema, you will be able to bring your disease well under control.

That was all well and good. I mean I got the free trial and it the stuff tasted good and it even gave me energy. I didn’t build up my muscles or lose 20 pounds of fat, but it was pretty good. But I had one minor complaint…

When you sign-up for the FRS free trial, you also get enrolled in what’s called an “autoship” which means they automatically ship out FRS products to you each month.

Sure, it’s good stuff, but it’s pretty expensive.

But I guess that’s how it goes with all of those “free” trials. They’re free if you call and cancel before the trial period ends. But the real complaint with FRS is that if you call to cancel, they’ll try to talk you out of it.

I guess it’s not as bad as trying to cancel phone service or something like that where the service is beyond terrible (don’t get me started on phone company complaints…) but I kind of wish there was no catch.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

P.S. I’m not complaining about FRS, because if you look at the terms it clearly states everything you need to know about getting the free trial and what you are signing up for and even the phone number to cancel.  It’s right there.  I’m just saying, some people won’t notice it, so this is more of a warning than a complaint.

It’s healthy cause it’s full of good antioxidants and green tea, and even B vitamins!  So FRS Healthy Energy is indeed healthy.

It also tastes good.  It’s like juice, which means its nothing like a typical energy drink.  No wierd flavors or carbonation.

Just good stuff and a sweet taste.

Some experts started to link this to blood type. There are four main blood types, and according to this way of thinking, each type represents a body type. If you eat the food that is right for your type, you will lose weight effortlessly. Conversely, most weight problems are the result of eating the food that’s wrong for your type. As well, there are types of exercise that are suitable for some types and not for others.

Though mainstream science ridiculed this idea, thousands of people followed the eating plan for their blood type and many had excellent results. This is the theory: the different blood types evolved at different times in human history, and even nowadays people with those types have traits that are specific to humans at that stage of evolution. This may sound confusing, but it’s clearer with an example: According to this theory, ‘o’ type blood, because it’s the simplest type, evolved first. At that time in human history, people had not yet developed agriculture. They were primarily hunters, and ate meat and greens; they ate no wheat, and no dairy, because those foods developed later on with the advent of farming. Humans at that time in history also exercised vigorously.

So, if you have ‘o’ type blood, your body is similar to this early human physiology. If you eat a lot of carbohydrates and don’t exercise vigorously, you will have weight problems and other health problems, because you are not eating and exercising in the way that is right for your blood type and body type. To lose weight and be healthy, if have ‘o’ type blood, you have to eat plenty of red meat and vegetables, and very little wheat or dairy. You should also have a strenuous physical activity, like running or weight lifting, that you practice several times a week.

But if you are a type ‘a’ or ‘b’, for example, that advice would be all wrong for you. These types developed somewhat later, after agriculture was established, so these individuals can and should eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains. People with ‘ab’ type blood are lucky; their type evolved last, after humans had incorporated all types of food into their diet. So ‘ab’s can basically eat anything – within reason – and not gain weight.

Over the past six or seven years, many people have followed this plan and lost a lot of weight. There are a few problems with it, though. First of all, as mentioned before, there is no hard scientific evidence that shows that people with different blood types are physiologically different. It’s an appealing idea, but it can’t be proven as yet. Also, some of the blood type diets (particularly the diet for type ‘o’) are very restrictive. In fact, the type ‘o’ diet is rather like Atkins at its most restrictive, and some nutritionists feel that this might lead to problems with high cholesterol in the long run. On the other hand, proponents of the diet argue that type ‘o’ people are precisely those who can afford to eat a lot of meat without negatively affecting their cholesterol level. If someone with a different blood type ate in this way, it might be a problem, but not for “o’s”. And it is certainly true that some people develop or don’t develop cholesterol problems seemingly regardless to their dietary intake.

If the theory has no basis, though, how would we explain the weight loss that so many people have experienced? It may be simpler than you think, actually. Any one of the four blood type eating plans, if followed correctly, would have you eating healthier, more natural food. Some, like the ‘o’ diet, are also quite restrictive. It seems likely that these diets make you lose weight in and of themselves, regardless of what blood type you are!

In the meantime, eating plans that promise to help you lose weight by adding something, rather than taking food away, might appeal to you and might actually work a lot better. This might seem counter-intuitive, in a way, because losing weight always seems to require eating less. There are some exceptions, though. One of them is a time-honored method that involves adding a meal of semolina – a cooked grain, similar to cream of wheat – three times a day. The argument is that if you eat 300 grams of cooked semolina three times a day it will make you too full to binge on other foods. Your intake of other food will be minimized, and you will lose weight.

This approach is a bit controversial, and may work best as a temporary, transitional method. For one thing, advocates of low-carb, high protein eating would be horrified at this plan. Dr. Atkins himself would roll over in his grave! Semolina is a high carb, high glycemic index food – it is pure starch. Also, eating so much of it tends to make you less hungry for all other foods, including protein. Proponents of Atkins and other high protein plans would say that this is the worst possible thing you can do for your body. Of course, we should remember that the high protein approach is also controversial, however. From a nutritionists’ point of view, neither high protein nor the semolina plan would be ideal. However, most nutritionists’ food guides put grains at the top of the chart, so the semolina plan adheres more closely to a standard food guide, as long as you make an effort to also eat enough fruits, vegetables and proteins to stay in balance.

And if you do, that would almost automatically eliminate junk food and empty calories. Few of us would be able to eat 300 g of semolina three times a day, and adequate fruits, vegetables and protein, and still be able to eat foods with excessive calories or fat. In a sense, the semolina replaces the other ‘empty’ calories that many of us (if we have a weight problem to begin with) eat as a regular part of our diet. Eating semolina might not represent optimal nutrition, of course – but it is preferable to eating foods full of fat and additives, such as potato chips, chocolate or candy. Of course, the semolina diet does not forbid any of these junk foods – it just specifies that you have to eat a certain amount of semolina a day, and make sure that you are getting enough vitamins and protein in your diet. Most people would then automatically eliminate a lot of junk food because we simply don’t have room for it.

In and of itself, semolina is really not that bad as a stable food, unless you subscribe to the ‘low carb’ philosophy (in which case, you would probably never choose this diet to begin with!). It’s low fat, it’s a natural food, and like other cereals, it comes fortified with vitamins and minerals. If eating carbohydrates is your preference – and many of us do pile on the weight by eating excessive amounts of pasta or bread – then the semolina will satisfy you. You are less likely to crave other carbohydrate-rich foods. Also, consider the fact that the semolina plan is actually quite similar to the way in which many traditional cultures ate. In the traditional Asian cuisine, for example, rice was a staple, eaten at most meals. In some European cultures, porridge (oats) would have had the same function. Though these diets might not seem balanced to us today, they kept people alive – and within a healthy weight range – for millennia!

That sort of advice would be ridiculed today, and maybe that’s understandable. But the low fat approach to eating and weight loss deserves a second look. After all, there are so many harmful types of fat out there. Nowadays, most of us know that we should avoid the ‘trans fats’ that are in many snack foods, and we try to avoid foods that are high in saturated fat or cholesterol. There is solid medical evidence that shows us that eating low fat is better for heart health.

Susan Powter, a popular fitness guru, lost more than a hundred pounds using a low fat approach to eating coupled with a lot of exercise. She claims to eat about 3000 calories a day – way more than you would eat on any diet plan, and about a third more than is recommended for a woman – but she maintains her slim, fit physique. Her secret? She eats no foods that deliver more than 30% of their calories in the form of fat. In fact, she tries to keep that fat percentage down as low as possible – around 10 – 15%, with 30% being the maximum allowable. Powter claims, in her no-nonsense manner, that ‘fat makes you fat. That’s why they call it fat’. Does she have a point?

It is a bit controversial, because according to her plan, you could eat plates of bread and pasta all day long on the basis that they don’t have much fat. By now, everyone knows that that wouldn’t be the best idea, particularly if you’re eating bread or pasta that’s made from white rather than whole wheat flour. For one thing, these foods fill you up without giving you much nutritional value, which is a serious problem in and of itself.

Also, simple carbohydrates raise your body’s glycemic level, which provokes an insulin response and has been proven to lead to weight gain, particularly around the stomach, where it puts you at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

The secret, then, is to limit fat but to make wiser carbohydrate choices as well. Whole grains, for example, are on top of the food chart as the type of food most recommended by many nutritionists. If you replace your white bread, rice and pasta with whole grain versions, that might be the best idea of all. The fiber in these foods will help you feel fuller, and you will get all the benefit of a tasty, low-fat diet with added nutrition.

The jury is out on whether one can really eat 3000 calories worth of low fat food and still lose weight. Unless you’re exceptionally active, it seems doubtful – that’s a lot of calories. But if you want to follow the low fat approach to eating, you can definitely eat enough to stop you from feeling hungry. You can have all your favorite foods, but the low fat version of them. For example, you’re welcome to have popcorn, but don’t slather it in butter. Instead, you can add great taste by sprinkling a little soy sauce on your popcorn, and that makes it less dry as well. You won’t even miss the butter. And you can have pizza, but make it yourself,, and put about half the cheese on it than you would otherwise have done. Use strong, good quality parmesan, for example. You won’t even notice that there’s less cheese if the cheese you do use has a lot of flavor.

Fruits and vegetables also figure prominently on this eating plan. Chances are, if you are eating a lot of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, you won’t even miss the higher fat foods you used to love. In fact, there may be no reason to mix them, because the supermarket shelves are full of lower fat alternatives!