Could Drinking Energy Drinks Give You a Heart Attack?

Energy drinks are part of the fasting growing area of the drinks market, but are they actually good for your wellness and wellbeing, or should you steer your family away from them as much as possible?

Energy drinks promise the user a quick burst of energy as soon as they down the liquid. Whilst this may be useful for various scenarios, such as a late night of studying or a challenging sports event, there is increasing concern that they could have worrying effects on the health of those who drink them on a regular basis. There is particular concern that these energy drinks may have a damaging effect on the health of the heart.

A team of researchers in Australia have been looking into this problem, using a group of participants. There were 50 participants in total and none of them had any underlying health problems. Each member of the research group was given either a can of an energy drink or the same amount of carbonated water. An hour after they had consumed these drinks, the group who had consumed the energy drinks were found to have experienced elevations in their blood pressure. Worryingly, the group who had had the energy drinks were also found to be experiencing something called endothelial dysfunction, which is a condition where the arteries of the heart are unable to relax properly and where there is an abnormal clumping of platelets. Both of these things increase the risk of the person suffering from a heart attack.

The researchers believe that the platelet clumping and the endothelial dysfunction are not down to the caffeine in the drinks (which is usually the ingredient that is suspected of causing harm) but down to the glucouronolactone that is contained in the drinks.

 

Categories: Drinks, endothelial dysfunction, energy, Energy Drinks, group, health, heart, Heart Attack

The Holy Grail of Weight Loss: How to Boost Your Metabolism

If there’s one health concern that all weight watchers care about, it’s having a healthy metabolism. However, your metabolism wellness is dependent on a number of factors. Some people are just lucky, and having a fast metabolism is just part of their genetic wellbeing. Men tend to burn more calories than women, even while resting – the lucky devils – and those under the age of 40 have faster metabolisms too, until they get older, that is. Still, even though these factors are out of your control, there are things you can do to give your metabolism a boost:

 

1. Build your muscles: Even when you’re sitting on the sofa watching Strictly, your body is always burning calories. Granted, you would be burning more calories if you were doing the samba yourself, but everyone has something what’s known as a resting metabolic rate. However, not all resting metabolic rates are created equal, as people who have more muscle consequently have a higher resting metabolic rate, meaning they burn more calories even when they’re not doing anything. For every pound of muscle you have, it will burn six calories to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only two calories daily. This may seem like a small difference, but it can really add up over time.

 

2. Push yourself: While you need to do strength training to build your muscles, stepping up your aerobic workout can help rev up your metabolism in the hours after you’ve exercised. The key principle involved here is that you need to push yourself.  The higher the intensity of your workout, the bigger and longer your post-workout resting metabolic rate will be. Try incorporating short bursts of faster running into your regular walk or jog, or else you might like to attempt a more intense class at the gym.

 

3. Fuel up with water: There are so many reasons why you need to hydrate, and revving your metabolism is just one of them. Your body needs water in order to process and burn calories, and so even mild dehydration can slow your metabolism down. One study has found that drinking eight or more glasses of water a day makes you burn more calories than if you only drink four. So, stay hydrated by drinking a glass of water before every meal and snack, and make sure those snacks are comprised of fluid-filled fresh fruits and vegetables, rather than pretzels or chips.

 

4. Try energy drinks: Although water should be your primary beverage of choice, some ingredients in energy drinks can give your metabolism a boost. The caffeine content in energy drinks increases the amount of energy your body uses. If your favourite energy drink contains the amino acid taurine, it can speed up your metabolism and may help to burn fat. However, you should be aware that using these drinks can cause problems like high blood pressure, anxiety, and sleep issues for some people. Moreover, the American Academy of Paediatrics doesn’t recommend energy drinks for kids and teens, so keep them out of sight if you have children.

 

5. Snack without the sin: Eating more often can really help you to lose weight, so long as you do it in the right way. Eating large meals with many hours in between causes your metabolism to slow down. However, if you have a small meal or snack every three to four hours, you can keep your metabolism cranking and, as a result, will burn more calories over the course of a day. Plenty of research has also shown that people who snack regularly eat less at meal time.

Categories: burn, calories, energy, Energy Drinks, metabolic rate, Metabolism, nbsp, resting metabolic, Water, Weight Loss

The Safety Concerns Around Weight Loss Energy Drinks

There has been a huge craze in America recently that has promoted the idea of using energy drinks as a weight loss method. The trouble with weight loss fads is that they are often based on flimsy evidence at best, and probably won’t work for the massive majority of people who try them. This is likely to be the case with energy drinks for weight loss as well, and it is worth looking at the science behind the idea to see if it can have a quantifiable effect.

 

You’ve probably encountered energy drinks in your supermarket or corner shop – they are increasingly popular in everyday life as people seem to use them as a cold alternative to coffee when they are looking for a little energy boost. They are packed with a number of nutrients such as caffeine and others, and are supposed to give you a quick boost of energy. There are many recognisable brands that we know very well, but it might seem strange for us to think of them as a product that can be used to lose weight. But perhaps we are wrong about that – could it be that energy drinks are actually a great all-round way to lose weight.

 

On the surface it appears that – no, like every other weight loss fad, energy drink weight loss is not based on sensible scientific research. As you probably already know, energy drinks contain very high levels of sugar and caffeine, and it seems that this combination can’t really be considered a good way to attempt to lose weight. Aside from the obvious issue that drinking lots of energy drinks means ingesting a lot of sugar, there is also a lot of research to suggest that this is not a safe practice.

 

The fact that energy drinks contain high levels of sugar and caffeine is compounded by the problem that they also contain high levels of artificial sweeteners and colourants. It’s even true that a number of European countries have banned their use altogether – this is already adding up to be a bad mixture if you are looking for a healthy way to lose weight. And indeed, if we look into what doctors and research teams are saying, the evidence only piles up even more.

 

Many scientists have agreed that taking high doses of caffeine can be very bad for you as it is known to promote serious medical problems such as an irregular heartbeat or even cause you to be more likely to have a heart attack. This is clear a very serious issue, but it doesn’t stop there. Many people tend to combine energy drink intake with sport, because they perceive it be a good idea to get an energy boost before they exercise. But caffeine has been shown to cause you to have a very severe form of dehydration that can actually be hazardous when exercising, so it’s definitely not a good idea. Some energy drinks don’t even put the exact levels of caffeine anywhere on their label, so you don’t even know if you’re making an informed decision.

 

One problem with using energy drinks for weight loss is that energy drinks provide a sudden burst of energy, which then leads to you having times afterwards where you are completely lethargic and more likely to binge eat and relax. This means that any good that the energy boost did for you in the short term will be completely wiped out as the lack of energy catches up with you. Use a more sensible method of weight loss and it will be better for your health.

Categories: Drinks, energy, energy boost, energy drink, Energy Drinks, high levels, Lose weight, Safety, weight, Weight Loss

How to Reduce Your Chance of Premature Ageing with Your Diet

You could end up spending a fortune on anti-ageing products, but is there a simpler way to maintain your youthful look? It turns out, there are certain foods that aren’t only bad for your wellness, but take their toll on your appearance and so simply avoiding certain foods can help you to combat the signs of ageing from the inside out.

Firstly, sugar is a major culprit in making you look older. When you have excess levels of sugar in your body, the sugar attaches to your collagen which makes your skin look stiff and inflexible. In her book, Diet Myths Busted; Food Facts Not Nutrition Fiction, Ann A. Rosenstein writes, ‘losing this elastic resilience of young skin will give the skin deep wrinkles and make it look old.’ She adds that trans fats work much the same way, making your skin look old because ‘trans fats clog and stiffen the arteries and smaller blood vessels.’

Salt is another dietary ingredient which ages you. Salt dehydrates your body, which makes you fatigued and looking more tired and worn out. Excess levels of salt also contribute to kidney disease, high blood pressure and interfere with bone metabolism, so it’s a big no-no for your overall wellbeing. Another dehydrating aspect of your diet is coffee, as caffeine also makes your look and feel tired and worn out.

According to The Dr Oz Show, consuming too much alcohol also dehydrates your body, leading to face full of wrinkles, redness and puffiness, with a lot less collagen. If you’re thinking you can simply replace your usual with an energy drink, think again. Dr Oz asserts that energy drinks damage the enamel in your teeth eight times more than fizzy drinks do, and this makes your teeth look yellow and unhealthy.

When it comes to fizzy drinks, they tend to dehydrate your body and make you look older as they are high in sugar. GalTime.com advises water as the best replacement for fizzy drinks, energy drinks, caffeine and alcohol: ‘A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weight 130 lbs, you need 65 ounces of water a day – just over eight cups.’ The website also notes that fried food contributes to collagen break down in your skin, which makes you look wrinkled and worn out.

How to Reduce Your Chance of Premature Ageing with Your Diet

Categories: Alcohol, body, Drinks, energy, Energy Drinks, Excess Levels, fizzy drinks, Salt, skin, Sugar, trans fats

Salt, Sugar, Caffeine, Alcohol: Foods That Age You

When it comes to foods that take their toll on your wellbeing, as well as your ageing process, one underlying theme seems to be that they dehydrate your skin. Sure, you could amp up your intake of water – which is certainly no bad thing for your wellness – but if you really want to make your anti-ageing regime the best it can be, there are certain foods you need to avoid.

With dehydration, the number one culprit to turn on is salt. Anyone who’s ever eaten a bag of crisps will tell you that you get thirsty afterwards, and salt is the reason why. The dehydration that salt causes your body causes you to become fatigued, and this, in turn, makes you look tired and worn out. As an added bonus, consuming salt excessively can cause you to develop high blood pressure and kidney disease, and it also interferes with your bone metabolism. Bottom line: don’t pass the salt.

Another well-known dehydrating ingredient is caffeine. Sure, your morning cup of coffee gets you going in the morning – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but the average Brit drinks four cups of something caffeinated every day, and that’s where the danger of looking fatigued rears its ugly head, as well as yellowing your teeth. The same goes for caffeinated energy drinks and, according to the Dr. Oz Show, energy drinks damage the enamel in your teeth eight times more than fizzy drinks do, which makes your teeth look yellow and unhealthy, meaning that you look older.

While we’re mentioning fizzy drinks, these too tend to dehydrate the body, as they are high in sugar. The Dr. Oz show adds that consuming too much alcohol dehydrates your body, and so that vodka and coke is a cocktail for anti-ageing disaster! However, the ageing properties of alcohol don’t stop dehydration, but Dr. Oz explains that your favourite tipple also causes wrinkles, loss of collagen, redness and puffiness – lovely!

If in doubt, avoid things that are high in salt, sugar, caffeine or alcohol, but if you do partake then GalTime.com recommends plenty of water: ‘A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces. So if you weight 130 lbs, you need 65 ounces of water a day – just over eight cups.’

Salt, Sugar, Caffeine, Alcohol: Foods That Age You

Categories: Alcohol, anti ageing, body, caffeine, Drinks, Energy Drinks, fizzy drinks, Salt, salt sugar, sugar caffeine