Decoding Energy Drinks & Caffeine Caffeine exists naturally in nature. You could eat some fruits or chocolate and get some natural amounts of caffeine. The amount of caffeine to get a boost however, are not normally found in most fruits or berries consumed from our ancestral diet. And this spike in high amounts of caffeine also leads to different reactions from the body. In these normal amounts the body still got the energy it needed be active as well as the energy needed to break the food particles consumed into necessary building blocks making up our human cells, and energy to break down waste that the body runs into as well as the waste products from what you eat. Caffeine in its natural forms usually does not disrupt this cycle. When humans first learned of coffee or tea the amounts of caffeine intake it was used too got a sudden rush and it is more than the body can handle. The body will get a boost of caffeine and all of a sudden it will release all the stored sugar it has and cause your body to go into a high energy mode. This is that jittery and alert feeling most get from a normal amount like say a cup of coffee. Many actively feel their heart rates go up with even a bit of coffee or soda. However, the body produces waste from all of the sugar it has spent within its body as well as breaking down the caffeine. The body would need maybe 1 cups of water for every 1 cup of coffee drunk to get rid of the waste the body generates from the caffeine and sugar in the body released from caffeine. The amount of water your body needs to offset the waste produced while being active and is pretty constant. And when the body is active along with the excessive amount of caffeine and sugar it is exposed to results in more water needed to clear it out. The depletion of the natural sugar stores as well as the sudden sugar rush often triggers another response many feel as a crash after the caffeine energy boost runs out. This crash is from the caffeine suddenly forcing the body to dump its sugar reserves. When the body does this there is an abnormally high amount of sugar in the blood stream which can be bad for long periods of time so the body naturally tries to use it and often it comes with a temporary cellular energy boost. However, since this is from a sudden sugar surge the from the body’s natural reserves the body now has a sudden drop in sugar which drops the body’s energy levels lower. It is like a temporary boost with a bit of a negative lag effect sometimes seen in video game power up modes. The amount of caffeine and sugar in a black cup of coffee is very different from how most modern people normally intake their caffeine now. Not only does the heart get a surge in pumping power from the caffeine but the body itself well also have a it of whiplash from the sudden low levels in sugar often resulting in the crash and subsequent hunger. The amount of caffeine consumed now is much greater than the caffeine in black coffee. That, coupled with the sugar levels in most of the soda, concentrated coffee, espressos, and energy drinks have different drawbacks to to their high sugar and/ or caffeine levels. as well as the extra waste that the body must dispose off when a can of energy drink is dumped inside the body. The amount of caffeine in a regular can of soda is about 30% of a cup of black coffee but since it also has a high amount of sugar the body also can suffer a crash moment with less caffeine due to the high sugar. The excessive sugar also requires more water to flush out the waste from the minimal caffeine and high sugar intake. So a can of soda would also need about 2 cups of water to help flush out the extra sugar and the minimal caffeine and waste inside the sodas. Even if it is an artificial sweetener that has less calories of regular sugar the body still needs to get rid of any chemical it just ingested from the can. The average energy drink has about double the amount of sugar and quadruple the amount of caffeine in it compared to a standard can of soda. This excessive amount of caffeine and sugar would require about 5 cups of water to flush out the excess sugar, water, as well as extra chemicals like taurine and other chemicals in the can a well. Many energy drinks also have additional proteins inside of the mix to help boost brain function. Taurine is an amino acid tha multiple forms for cellular uses, like break down fat. However, taurine mixed with caffeine helps improve brain function. L-glutamine is another protein sometimes included in energy drinks as well. It helps boost metabolism and is normally used by the body for many structures ranging from muscles to other cells in the body. Caritinine is another protein that when the body converts it into its usable form can be used for improving memory, increasing energy, aiding in fat digestion, stimulating human growth hormone, and many other bodily functions. However, since these are proteins they also come with a lot of waste in the form of nitrogen. Breaking them down into their usuable structures for multiple uses in the body also uses energy and additional waste from byproducts steps. This is why even though it is barely enough to make a gram or 2 of protein in the label the body still needs the additional cup of water. Some energy drinks even put in some vitamin C and various B vitamins for cellular health to counteract possible negative effects from the nitrogen as well as other harmful additives in energy drinks like artificial colors, fake sugars, and other chemical fillers that may or may not have known negative effects used in commercial production of these drinks. So the welcome addition of Vitamins to help the body copy with possible negative ingredients in energy drinks is one of the main focuses of Arcus in the awareness as well as possible ways to adjust, reduce, or counteract the negative side effects of the modern energy drinks. So the modern take on energy drink simply focused on increasing energy, focus, but did not really factor in the risk involved with consuming high amounts of nutrients the body isn’t used too. This coupled with the filler and waste products in modern processing steps adds to the already taxing waste the body goes through from digesting the other nutrients in energy drinks. What are some of the negative consequences seen from taking in too much energy drinks. The high amounts of caffeine is one of the biggest things that people even feel in their heart from even one energy drink. Some energy drinks get their caffeine from guarana, which has as much as 3 - 4 times the caffeine as a coffee beans. The increase in heart rate from caffeine already is a big risk since a big enough chunk of people are born with some risk of heart disease or defect. And even if people were not born with a risk of heart disease the way many people eat unhealthy amounts of fat, accumulation of fat from excessive sugar in diets, and perhaps a lack of exercise increased heart rates is not always a good thing for anyone. In later years of life this extra damage your body takes and builds up over the years can easily weaken the heart and may not directly show but may eventually help lead to problems. This is how the story of how teenagers died from drinking too mu red bull while playing basketball during a highschool game. Sudden death from heart failure seems like a rare way for a teenager with no obvious signs of heart disease or risk from parents but when coupled with the increased heart rate from multiple energy drinks during an intensive cardio sport like basketball it makes sense how an energy drink probably is a big part in their deaths. Some risks are necessarily felt in the beat of the heart and may build up over time. Even a heart weakened from inactive lifestyles can face an accidental death from drinking too much energy drinks. This may not be as big as a death or sudden cardiac arrest but from other overdoses of chemicals or even nutrients. The excessive sugar may not lead to an instant death like too much caffeine, but I personally do not want to suffer from the symptoms or die from diabetes. The high amounts of sugar in the bloodstream may eventually lead to diabetes free people eventually becoming diabetic due to the high amounts of sugar in their blood. With the long term effect of constantly overloading the blood with sugar leads to the body being unable to deal with it properly. The body uses insulin to have the body store the sugar after it has been digested from the form inside the food or drinks we consume. However, the excessive amount of sugar in a processed form leads to high concentrations of sugar rushing into the blood leading eventual ignorance of insulin or type 2 diabetes. This is caused from long term exposure to something as small as 1 soda every day. But 1 bad energy drink every day could be much worse. This coupled with an inactive lifestyle devoid of regular exercise will increase the risk for developing diabetes in the later years. And buying insulin and blood test equipment even with insurance is as much as buying a new WiiU, Playstation 4, or XboxOne every month. Personally, I don’t wanna deal with the extra costs since that could easily be well spent on games or other life’s pleasures instead. Plus, the risk of other effects from diabetes like cataracts, blindness, low energy, forced discontinuation of sugary foods, and of course the worst case of sugar coma death it isn’t worth it and should be considered and discussed amongst the common folk and Arcus. There are those who are at risk of being caffeine sensitive. It is not just those who are born innate risks with like congenital heart defects, risk of cardiovascular disease from genetics, and other uncommon heart or cardiac related risks that are possibly left diagnosed in many Americans that are at risk from caffeine. Not every human body is unique and metabolism is already very unique for people. Metabolism is already split into two parts, catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism is the breakdown of energy from things like sugar or even the breaking down of proteins into the necessary amino acids needed for body functions. Anabolism is the use of proteins, fats, and using body converted sugars to make structures used by the body. So metabolism is the ability of the body to break down energy from food and the ability to use that energy to repair, maintain, or create things the body needs to function. Some people are simply borne with low catabolism so they are very suceptible to high sugary foods since the body slowly breaks it down. Or similar issue could be that they have low anabolism and are slow to use the sugar energy from catabolism for making body functions or store it properly. Many oversimplify with slow metabolism. But is it slow at breaking down the food you eat from catabolism problems? Or is it from anabolism issues where the body is slow at using its own stored sugars from burning fat when working out? Understanding these risks is hard since genetic and metabolic tests are often left undone unless something is terribly wrong with one’s body. So to simply avoid it a good lifestyle of not stressing the body from excessive sugar and moderate exercise is a good way to avoid finding out these possible shortfalls in the body you are born with. And even if you do not know you are caffeine sensitive it is best to avoid the excessive sugar rush from high amounts of caffeine and/or the excessive sugar in high sugar drinks which is what makes energy drinks such a threat beyond just coffee or just soda. Looking Up Ingredients on Making Energon Drinks The additional ingredients in energy drinks are also a possible issue. The waste products from proteins often found in energy drinks are not the best for the body. And the high amounts of sugar and caffeine for temporary energy boost have high risks involved. That is why there is a new wave of energy boost sources sometimes in energy drink or energy shots where they have other alternatives to high caffeine and sugar. The inclusion of using Vitamin B12 is an effective and now common alternative to the typical energy drink concoction. This is a Vitamin found in small amounts in certain plants or mushrooms but mainly sought out by the body in meat. The body needs Vitamin B12 to make the necessary enzymes used to breakdown sugar for energy. If the body simply does not have enough B12 to handle excess sugar it will go to waste and lead to problems in the blood stream in the long run. So increasing the amounts of B12 and sugar break down enzymes in the body increases energy naturally without the crash from simply burst from high amounts of sugar that the body can’t even break down effectively since its just too much or depleting its sugar reserves from lots of caffeine. That is how the B12 based energy boosts work. Including other cellular health vitamins also help in the use of B12 as well as other metabolic beneficial sources. Vitamin B 3, 5, 6, 9 along with Vitamin A helps the body make more of the necessary building blocks to it needs for necessary functions. The inclusion of other herbal supplements in drinks and tea can be traced back to many ancient cultures. Unfortunately, the scientific method was not exactly practiced widspread and some of these were based on belief and a rare few had empirical or data based on results collected through observation. This is where the ancient herb of Gingko and gingseng. These are widely used in herbal remedies and they do have some actual merit with the research of the adaptagens and phytonutrients they contain. They often come with their own loads of vitamins and minerals as well which are necessary for many bodily functions. This inclusion of natural herbal roots is great since they do contain some helpful nutrients that are not always known beyond basic nutrient knowledge. The inclusion of this along with additional vitamins and proteins that aid in cellular energy, health, digestion, and also importantly heart health are important to counteract many of the negative effects of high amounts of sugar and caffeine. The addition of many strong vitamins with antioxidant functions help when taking in possible filler or bad chemicals included in the energy drinks like the fake sugars or artificial coloring agents. Like use of mixing concoctions of various herbs and their base nutritional chemicals are very good and can be used to mitigate or help alleviate the negative side effects of some of the strong doses. With the knowledge we now know and the availability of these herbs, vitamins, and proteins we can follow in a very similar path of the herbalists and their goals of herb mixtures in the drinks. Some energy drinks even apply this logic to making instead of full mixed drinks but shots. That way the stomach can have room for water to aid in breaking down these chemicals for use and disposing of the waste that the body produces. The stomach only has so much room and volume wise is only as big as half of a 1 liter big value pack bottle of soda. I don’t always pick them up with a pizza special but when I do I have plenty of cups to share with others since I know my stomach would be uncomfortable trying to fit that much liquid with even a slice of pizza. The new wave of energy drinks leads to many highs and lows. The need to understand and incorporate effective ways of channeling this energy drink into increasing performance and reducing its repercussions can be done. With the know how of ancient dietetic doctors of ancient times along with modern advances and understanding can help boost the modern gamer. And not only would it be effective but also compliment with a refreshing taste to soothe the palette. Common Energy Drink Ingredients 1) Caffeine: Ah yes, good old caffeine. A stimulant drug and a mild diuretic, which explains why I've been in the bathroom so much during this project. The world's most widely used psychoactive substance. 2) Carnitine:A protein. A quaternary ammonium compound which helps with fat consumption and disposal in the body. Synthesized in the liver and kidneys, carnitine is also found in many of our foods - meats, beans, vegetables, fruits, and grains - we get this stuff everywhere. 3) Taurine: A protein. One name is 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, an organic acid which is a common component of - yum - bile! Taurine has been shown to alleviate muscle fatigue in rats, increasing exercise capacity. Taurine is an important part of a cat's diet, as felines cannot create it on their own. It is a requirement in U.S. cat foods. Now you know! 4) Glutamine: A protein. One of the most common amino acids found in the blood stream. The body is able to produce it, but since it is used so heavily, intake of additional glutamine is important especially if the body is facing stress from toxins, production of necessary chemicals from food, and making fat based structures the body needs. It is needed in producing cellular energy and is used to safely transport ammonia. This key role in energy, energy use, chemical transfers, converting fats into useable forms, and overall is a necessary building block in many of the body’s cells make it very important. 5) Guarana: The seeds of the guarana plant is what we're talking about here, which contain about three times the caffeine of a coffee bean. In Brazil, guarana-based soft drinks commonly outsell popular cola drinks. Studies have shown that guarana has the effect of increasing memory retention and physical endurance in rats, with human studies showing that lower doses can increase memory, alertness, and mood. 6) Ginseng: Ginseng is a plant, the roots of which are widely consumed in North America and Asia as adaptogens, aphrodisiacs, stimulants, as well as for the treatment of type II diabetes and male sexual dysfunction. After drinking all of these energy drinks, I am surely the most potent man in town, with the ardor to back it up. Woot! 7) Ginkgo: Ginkgo is a plant once thought to be long extinct - a living fossil, as the only records of the plant before being discovered growing in the Zhejiang province in Eastern China were from fossils dating back over 270 million years ago. The effects of ginkgo are in a constant state of flux, as scientists fight back and forth over study results. Blood flow and memory improvement seem to be the most prevalent suggested effects, though the amounts included in energy drinks are so negligible as to not really matter. 8) Vitamin A- Has many subgroups like retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and many precursors to Vitamin A, like beta-carotene found in carrots. Not only is this associated with vision, since the body needs to break down millions of vitamin A derived nutrients just to see and is how we can distinguish color but it plays an important role in development and many processes of making necessary chemicals the body needs for many processes. From making DNA to helping the body break down Alcohol Vitamin A has many roles. It is a fat soluable vitamin so overdosage of this vitamin can lead to health complications. However, it is not often found in high concentrations in most energy drinks and I think most people would get sick of eating a Costco sized sack of carrots before actually consuming enough to overdose on Vitamin A. 9) Vitamin C- It can be called ascorbic acid or ascorbate. It is a necessary antioxidant in fighting oxidizing agents in the body. Oxidizing agents, free radicals, and other named agents are basically chemicals that disrupt natural body functions. Some of these can be from things the body needs like nitrogen that comes attached to proteins or can be from known carcinogenic agent. Vitamin C is also important in making up cellular structures that are soft. Deficiency in Vitamin C leads to Scurvy and no one wants to have that pirate scourge affecting the gums of their mouth and losing teeth over that. Thankfully, this vitamin is a water soluable vitamin so over consumption of this just needs more water to safely break down and excrete. 10) Vitamin B1- Thiamine- It is necessary in breaking down sugars into smaller components for the body to use. 11) Vitamin B2- Ribolfavin, A necessary vitamin in for creating important enzymes used in cellular functions. It’s other uses include activating many other cellular functions and other vitamins so it helps in overall cellular synergy. 12) Vitamin B12- Cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin, and other cobalamins. It is a very important vitamin that is necessary in every cellular metabolic process. It is used to make enzymes to break down energy as well as the regulating DNA formation. Since nutrients like sugar, protein, and fat are available but their micro nutrients are often lacking in processed food Vitamin B12 and its often lack of inclusion in some modern diets like vegan or vegetarians really impact body health being deficient can lead to some forms of anemia and low energy. It can be said that it is a limiting factor in cellular health since it is necessary and converted into many of coenzymes and some of the B vitamins cozenzymes. 13) Vitamin B3- Niacin, a necessary vitamin used is needed to be converted into a useable form that is necessary in the cellular energy cycle. 14) Vitamin B4- Used to make the acytlcholine receptors in many cells and important in many steps of metabolism. Important for breaking down fats and regulating nervous system. 15) Vitamin B5- Pantothentic acid is used as a coeznyme and works along other bodily enzymes for cellular energy. 16) Vitamin B6- It has multiple chemical names of Pyridoxine, Pyridoxal, and Pyridoxamine which is necessary into forming many enzymes and is important in body metabolism. 17) Vitamin B7- Biotin- is needed in fatty acid synthesis and a necessary coenzyme in those process-is. 18) Vitamin B8- Inositol, aids in regulating the central nervous system, which sounds absolutely delicious. 19) Vitamin B9- Folic Acid, very important in dna and cellular growth/ health. It is very important and in key developmental times for children since it is a big part of DNA repair and replication 20) Vitamin B10- Para-aminobenzoic acid and is actually a part of vitamin B9. So many often just skip including this since it is essentially part of another vitamin. 21)Vitamin B11- Ptera-heptyl-glutamic acid, is another form of B9. It is essential but just a different form the body uses of B9. Responsible Energon Consumption
Although the news stories of people dying from consuming drinks high in caffeine is hardly spoken of now a days it is still a real issue. And it is not just the gamer running into this problem of dying in a PC bang but even others dying from drinking more than 1 energy drink. Not everyone has the same constitution and a strong heart to handle the intense energy boosts but the addition of alcohol to the mix that leads to another issue. The consumption of alcohol affects bodily functions. For a night out some party goers turned to the new fad drink but this new is the main nuance with the unfamiliar. That needs to be tread upon cautiously. In many articles, like Decoding Energy Drinks and Caffeine, there are instances when caffeine overdose has led to the death of someone. It could be multiple factors, like a weak heart, genetic disposition to heart problems, unhealthy lifestyles that put the drinker of energy drink at greater risk to possibly dying after drinking too many energy drinks. But there is a definite need for addressing that risk. It does not mean get rid of energy drinks in consumption but just to be aware of them and take steps so the drinker does not die. Energy drinks increase the heart rate so what exactly is the risk when mixing it with a blood thinner like alcohol. Alcoholic beverages maybe one of the greatest inventions of mankind. It may have helped overlook some of the shortcomings of early strides through its consumption. However, when stepping into new territory it is best to do so with caution Alcohol consumption has been around for a long time so there have been some precautions in place for its safe consumption. Placing an established drinking and purchase age so that mature, consenting adults consume it responsibly. After facing many deaths from alcohol poisoning or intoxication affecting judgement, like reaction speed while driving also established the Blood Alcohol Content and what is the legal amount to consume if performing actions that could put another person at risk. Almost every developed country now uses this as a standard for measuring if a person is intoxicated to find out if that was the reason for something like an accident. So other new trends, like caffeine, may need some form of regulation or awareness. Just like the new territory for the need to regulate drinking and the possible side effects of intoxication or overdosing on alcohol; caffeine needs some awareness as well. Even though there is no regulations as stiff as alcohol on caffeine there is a recommended limit of approximately 400 mg of caffeine a day or about 7 cups of regular coffee. Unfortunately, the effects of mixing alcohol together with caffeine has led to an unregulated territory. This became an issue when premixed alcoholic energy drinks were introduced to customer shelves. There was talk of the safety risks of having them premixed and eventually the issue was that it was difficult to accurately verify the alcoholic and caffeine content to match the labels. It was this issue that made it difficult to regulate and allow for the safe sale of these pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks. It was best to make sure that these mixed drinks were left for precise measurements from a bartender instead of a canning company that may not have been able to verify the amount of alcohol and caffeine being placed in a can were uniformly and precisely met for safety. The combination of alcohol and caffeine together need to be made aware for their possible health risks. For starters, alcohol is a blood thinner and since caffeine can increase heart rate together they may make a much bigger health risk than when they were separate. So the health concerns that may come from mixing these two chemicals do have some merit. An issue of regulating this caffeinated energy drink has some stigma about placing a lot of the blame and health risk on the consumer. Although everyone should know that things like cigarettes will cause lung cancer or driving drunk may cause an accident it is important to spread awareness of this issue as well. It should be understandable that if there is some risk involving others then there should be some form of trying to increase awareness and allowance for regulation. Otherwise the things like cigarettes or alcohol never would have had to face the need for regulation in the first place. So caffeinated energy drinks unfortunately, needed to meet a similar standard if they were to continue. The main concern is that after consuming a premixed drink that contained both alcohol and caffeine lead to an increased in an alertness that seems to mask the inebriation of the alcohol. So even a lower alcohol content like the strength of a weak beer is amplified with just a little bit of caffeine. The main concern is that if the consumer does not feel like they are being affected by alcohol they will drink more. This may not be the case if the person is a responsible drinker, but it is hard to be responsible if they do not know the risk. And the since caffeine and alcohol may already affect different people in different ways them together as a combination will lead to new results. Since this is a new trend it just needs to be handled with awareness. Yes, the premixed alcoholic energy drinks may have been taken off the shelf and under new regulations but it still makes sense to mix the two if handled responsibly. Who wouldn’t want to feel more alert from an energy drink when up late and still feel a bit of a buzz from a little bit of alcohol. So turning to a bar where the bartenders may be a bit more keen on precision in serving beverages can help moderate this experience. For the late night club scene energy drinks and alcohol can help fuel a night of fun. So for the late night gaming session fans that casually play and the more competitive players should be able to consume the same experience at their console stations or during a gaming event while watching from the sidelines. After a late night from work and putting more hours into gaming with friends as long as both the consumer and bartenders are able to understand the moderation of both alcohol and caffeine as important things to look for then it can help increase the experience rather than hinder it. So the need to be considerate of serving alcohol and caffeinated drinks is a necessary thing to help secure a great experience from mixing the two. Servers need to be aware of alcohol and caffeine content in the mixed drinks they serve to customers. Customers also need to be aware that caffeine can even make lower proof alcoholic drink have adverse effects since combining the two leads to a combination of the health risks as well as a newer risk. But what else can be done to help improve the experience? Ever since the risks that came from an increased heart rates in energy drinks have made headline news many energy drink companies have now started to include vitamins and herbal supplements that help with heart health or antioxidants to help deal with the excessive waste the body deals with from excess sugar and caffeine. So the need to also include these types of energy drinks as well as including some consideration for parts of the issues that come with alcohol should be adhered as well. The need to be aware of the hangover symptoms and including herbs that help deal with the nausea, upset stomach, inflammation, light headed feeling, and dry mouth would be a great addition as well. Many bars already offer great fried foods that help increase the thirst for alcohol. Why not also include the consideration of the aftereffects of the alcohol and caffeine instead of just encouraging patrons to just walk it off or accept it.
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