People work hard, students study as much as they can, and athletics exercise every single day. We, as human beings, have a busy life with full of things to do. But at some point, we feel so tired and a rest is needed, but there is still to much to do and we postpone ourselves. Most people stay awake with full of energy by drinking energy drinks. But, are they good for our health?
An energy drink is a carbonated beverage that contains caffeine and other energetic components such as taurine or ginseng intended to boost the drinker's energy. According to a research presented this year at the University of Siena, consuming energy drinks can exert acute positive benefits on myocardial performance. In fact, after conducting a trial on 35 healthy people, scientists discovered that these beverages enhanced contractions of both the left and right ventricles of the heart delivering a positive effect on myocardia function. Taurine plays the main role stimulating the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum; the calcium regulates muscle cells contractions, therefore the heart works better and better. This research has opened doors for helping patients with cardiac diseases to further our understanding of the potential benefits or risks of energy drink consumption.
However, the over-consumption can be very dangerous; the caffeine can lead to a variety of health problems. It can increase blood pressure, lead to high heart rates, insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, stomach problems, etc. It can really affect us if we are careless. Energy drinks was recently under the spotlight because a death of a girl was linked to these drinks. In this webpage there is a video and the story about her.
Sometimes we are not aware of what contains what we eat and drink; even worse, we do not worry about and just consume because everybody consumes them. It is important to remember that everything can be a good thing, but only in the right measure and in the most appropiate manners. Most of the time, companies have improved in all aspects incorporating technology and certain advances in order to make 'better' products. But, do companies warn us about what they are putting into products? Is it really important to know what we are taking and eating? Are we aware of dangerous ingredients, elements, and chemicals that drinks, packaged and canned food have? Is it necessary to know that?
Listen to this expert who talks about the hidden dangers of energy drinks.
First of all, I think is a very good topic and well-covered (I loved to see an illustration of the amount of caffeine in coca cola and red bull).
ReplyDeleteI consider that energy drinks are an answer for those who can't organize their time (to perform a great work, go to parties and spend some time with their families) and for those who are workaholic.
Now, I believe that the main problem is that some people drink it without checking the possible effects on their body, they just drink it almost every day without notice that it might have a negative effect in their lifestyle (sleppy patterns and heartbeats,for instance).
This reminds me what happened about some time ago, regarding to "aspartame". Authorities were worry about the amount of it, so they asked to the companies to label the info, in that way the public will make an inform election...now if people check that information -more than the amount of calories- it's another story.
Dominique, what you consider an answer for all those things you listed for me is something vane. If it was about time, let me tell you that there is a lot of ways of saving time in order to perform the tasks you want/have to. But, the thing is that nobody uses those time-saving strategies. You don't hear somebody say: "With the time I saved by using my laptop I will go and do some snowboarding in the weekend." no, right? So, I thing people drink those fizzy drinks do it because it looks cool of they feel they can spend more money on something that momentarily raises your energy level.
DeleteYou are probably right, but I was thinking on those people who actually need it, not just to look "cool".
DeleteI'm aware that there're plenty of time-saving strategies, but...let's be honest!, even you and me procrastinate once in a while.
In my opinion, the thing is this kind of drinks are an answer for those who look for an immediate solution to their needs (this sounds familiar, right? like every single invention nowadays!).
When you consume energy drinks or any kind of soda your are just drinking a lot of chemicals, i don't think that there is any natural ingredient in these products, so it isn't surprising the negatives effects that can cause you. The information is at our hands, but people don't care about getting informed, they just consume what the market offers and everything looks pretty and harmless when you see it in advertisings.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you, Catalina. It is obvious that those energy drinks and sodas are completely artificial; you just have to observe their colour. In the same way, it is really clear that those product are not healthy; less if they are drunk in huge amounts.
DeleteSometimes I asked myself whether people value their lives since although they are aware that some drinks and foods are not good for them they insist on consuming them.
I agree with you Catalina. Advertisings show these drinks as something good for people, good for the brain. It's like cigarettes. At the beginning companies didn't care about showing the negative effects of smoking cigarettes but when someone almost died because of it, they were forced to show the cons of it. Energy drinks obviously can help you if you have a test or if you want to exercise hard, but drinking them can bring very dangerous long-term consequences. Little by little media has covered news about some victims of these drinks, but I think - as you said before- that even though you show people that something can cause health problems or even death, they just don't care.
ReplyDeleteThis is a quite interesting topic, Natalyn. I believe that it would be too naïve to think that companies would put a warning regarding the potential negative effects on people of their products. The current economical system is ruthless: if your product does not sell, you and your company are out of the picture, owing lots of money to all the contributors. So, people should be taught about the components of these tasty products in their nearest context: school; for companies will not do that job for us. Just imagine biology teachers “dissecting” the components of junk food, soda drinks, energy drinks, etc. That is the way to go, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. People should be taught about these issues because they are entirely involved. But, it's a pity that even though companies know that their products have negative effects, they don't do anything to warn. So, that's why it is our job to get informed, to be updating is these kind of matters because our health is involved.
DeleteI have seen a lot of workaholic friends who always used them to stay the whole night awake or to travel in car for long periods of times. My mom always says "you are going to have a heart attack" and actually she is right. How wise are old people, we should really try sometimes to go back to the basics. Maybe that's the answer.
ReplyDeleteI have read that eating an apple at the middle of the night has the same effect as drinking 2 cups of coffee, so why not? I'm not saying we should just choose the "natural" way, but at least don't go to the limits.
The correct way of choosing what to eat or drink is to be informed! Don't drink it if you have doubts! I have heard of the benefits of this beverages,but I have also heard how dangerous they are when they are mixed with alcohol. For this reason and for all your comments, I think I agree with Laura, I prefer using other methods to give myself energy. For example, jogging on the seaside, eating a juicy fruit or having a good time with friends can also help!
ReplyDeleteYes, both of you are right, I think. The healthiest food is the natural one, because they are not manipulated, they just contain all natural properties that we need for our body. Most of the time, eating an apple or an orange can help you to stay awake! As a result of that, your body will be grateful
ReplyDelete