Remember Popeye, Bluto’s adversary and Olive’s guy. Loved that cartoon character, he had an amazing charisma; I mean come on, he actually had a POP-EYE and he bagged a chick like Olive Oyl. The only reason he was able to pull off such a mammoth undertaking was because, well he fought like a man when he had to. He didn’t have the fist of fury, his bicep, if my memory serves me right was of the orders of millimeters but by god when the guy jabbed Bluto; Bluto always landed up in the seventh heaven. With a body a like his it was all impossible until he opened that spinach can of his and gobbled its contents.
Popeye is the man
The producers in the game of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) have tried bringing that spinach of Popeye’s to our athletes, and they come up with the concept of energy drinks.
There is “said too much and haven’t said at all”-situation around when it comes to energy drinks. There are many points of views on the goodness of energy drinks.
For starters let’s see what energy drinks are all about.
These energy drinks give us these energy boosts.
The main ingredients are caffeine, sugar and some other common ingredients like Taurine, Gensing, Guarana etc.
Caffeine and Sugar- these are the two things that actually make this energy all this worthwhile.
And how do they do it??
Caffeine like we all know gets us a little high and heightens our alertness levels. It acts as stimulant.
Sugar, it is well known that it is the fuel to our body’s power house. Hence the energy comes from sugar because it hits out blood stream real fast.
The purpose of having all these energy drinks is that they act as stimulants. They rev up the body and help with endurance, making an athlete last longer, stronger, sharper and faster. They make their heart beat faster.
Certain energy drinks do not contain caffeine at all.
They comprise of sugar, water and mineral salts. There purpose is to maintain the electrolyte balance which is lost in the course of sweating.
They maintain the electrolyte balance as they contain minerals such as sodium, potassium and chloride, these are essential for muscle function and hydration.
Possible Harmful Effects
Much has been debated about the harmful effects of these drinks but there is no denying one fact, caffeine on a regular basis is not good.
>If we were to take these drinks on the regular basis they would not be best recommended.
>Researchers say when we consume such drinks it over stimulates our heart and the nervous systems, increases the blood pressure which does not looks like pretty picture.
>People with medical conditions such as hypertension and heart diseases are advised to avoid these.
>Other hazards are such as the amount of sugar in these. They spike our blood sugar levels which could lead to problems such as diabetes and kidney problems.
>Last but not the least they are addictive, which is not good by any stretch of imagination.
There are many drinks available in the market with different names and different tag lines. To chalk each one out is too much of an effort, but these three drinks sum up the story nicely.
Red Bull
Red Bull- Who doesn’t know about this drink. Not only athletes but people who want to study late night take it too. That is self explanatory as the caffeine presents provides with the all the alertness and energy required. Red bull is the adaptation of the Thai energy drink Krating Daeng, which when translated means “red bull”. It is a drink of Austrian origin founded by a Thai and an Austrian.
Gatorade
Gatorade- Wakka Wakka people! The drink gulped by the footballers in South Africa and athletes all around the globe. Manufactured by Quaker Oats ;( PepsiCo). Legend has it, the Gators football coach; Ray Graves was frustrated with his team’s sloppy performance. He asked his team physio for an insight, and the physio formulated a drink made of water, sugar, sodium, potassium, and phosphate and lemon juice. Well in contemporary fields the drinks is called Gatorade in the honour of the Gators.
Yerba Mate’ – It is an energy drink made from a small tree Yerba Mate which grows up to 15 meters and is native to South America. The infusion called mate is prepared by stepping the leaves of the plants in hot water not boiling in water like tea. Many believe it has anti-obesity.
Useful Resources
02.23.11
I like to make my own energy drinks with whole foods or healthy powders that give you a great energy feeling as opposed to a boost that will have a letdown. But if you like it in a bottle ready to go, just make sure you read the ingredients. Like the article says, you can easily overstimulate your heart rate and nervous system, as well as increase blood pressure.
03.03.11
The purpose of having all these energy drinks is that they act as stimulants. They rev up the body and help with endurance, making an athlete last longer, stronger, sharper and faster. They make their heart beat faster.