IS MY FRIEND AN ENERGY DRINK MONSTER?

I have a friend who has recently turned 40 and has started to be more active with his running schedule and want’s to keep his energy level up. Every time I see him lately he is pounding an energy drink. On more than one occasion I have opened the passenger door to his car and have found myself picking up empty energy drink cans up off the street from them falling out. Is my friend an energy drink monster?

He is a busy guy, he works hard, and his wife is away on business most of the week and spends his free time running his son to soccer practice or another like-minded activity. Like most of us we are forced to try and squeeze more work hours, and more efficiency out of each day, all the while trying to maintain our exercise routine so we don’t croak before we see 50.

He dropped by my house recently energy drink in hand, I had just made a pot of coffee and offered him one, its good coffee too and comes from my friends organic coffee plantation in Hawaii. He declined saying he would stick to his canned drink, I jokingly said, "that stuff will kill you." He did not stay long and was soon on his way fueled up and ready for a ten mile run. As he left I had this vision of him driving at a 100mph, sweaty palms gripping the steering wheel racing to his next destination like some hopped up meth head as his energy drink and anxiety ruled his actions.

My friend, lets call him "Reckless Dan" got me thinking, are energy drinks bad for us? It’s a big business, $9 billion to be exact.The industry leads us to believe that by drinking these energy drink elixirs you will be given the ability to maintain your focus and be able to increase your productivity or your sports performance by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, the energy drink industry for the most part is fueled by capitalism and not by your health, big surprise!

For those of you who are hammering energy drinks like Reckless Dan, really take a step back and think about what you are putting into your body on a daily basis, these drinks could be potentially causing you long term health issues. You are wreaking havoc on your blood sugar levels, I found by researching that causing an unbalance with your sugar intake leads to long term side effects associated with Aspartame.  Aspartame hides behind big name companies such as NutraSweet and Equal and is probably the most harmful substance added to food on the market today.

There are over 92 health side effects linked to aspartame ranging from eye problems such as blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound, headaches, migraines and (some severe) dizziness, unsteadiness, confusion, memory loss, severe drowsiness and sleepiness, irritability ,aggression, anxiety, personality changes, insomnia. I have to stop this list here its giving me anxiety!

So, as you reach for your low cal, artificially sweetened drinks ask yourself if energy drinks are really the answer for all your productivity needs. If you suffer with an anxiety disorder, these drinks are not what you need and if you are not aware anxiety affects everyone around you. Please read my blog on this topic, it may help you.

Now that I have become aware of the effects of energy drinks, sugar additives on our health let’s find an alternative for your pre workout, long day at the office drink.

This recipe makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 4 small gingko or ginseng tea bags
• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 large or 2 small herbal tea bags

Directions

In a medium pitcher, brew all the tea bags in 1 quart of water. Add the lemon juice to a large pitcher. Add the sugar and the remaining water and mix well. Pour the tea into the lemonade mix and stir. Refrigerate and serve chilled.