"Mick uses Red Bull to supercharge his surfing" - Do you?(THIS WAS THE CAPTION TO THIS PHOTO. FANNING IS A HEALTH NUT AND I DOUBT HE EVEN DRINKS THE SHIT IN PRIVATE!)
Fifteen years ago, sport drinks contained two main ingredients to replenish the body after exercise: electrolytes (salts) and carbs (sugar). But today’s thirst quenchers have morphed into concoctions loaded with caffeine and a number of supplements not approved by the FDA.
Now, doctors and researchers are asking some hard questions: Do these reinvented sport drinks improve performance? And more importantly, are they safe to use in the first place?
Lined up on supermarket shelves next to familiar staples such as Gatorade, proximity alone lets buzz rockets like Red Bull and Monster inconspicuously pass as the embodiment of Sport Drinks 2.0. Yet this new breed of “energy drinks” is loaded with sugar (upwards of 60 grams), jacked with caffeine (as much or more than a cup of coffee), and laden with a number of still-unproven products:
taurine,
guarana and
glucuronolactone, among others.
Led by John P. Higgins, a team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the University of Queensland in Australia surveyed scientific papers on sports nutrition from 1976 to 2010 for evidence that the main components of energy drinks aided an athlete during competition. Running down the list of drink ingredients, Higgins and his team exposed the reason each was chosen for the energy brew. Caffeine, for example, has been shown to coax fat to burn more efficiently in the body, thereby leaving glycogen stores — a muscle’s energy reserve — untapped.
With more energy to burn, athletes hopped up on caffeine should, in theory, be able to keep going while their competitors tire out. Caffeine works much like adrenaline, making the heart beat faster, as it pushes more and more blood to hungry muscles. The effects of caffeine on performance are so well known that the International Olympic Committee has
banned its use during the Games.
Just like any drug, it’s possible to overdose on caffeine, and — though it’s extremely rare — there have even been a few case reports of caffeine-induced seizures and
death. On the other hand, levels of the other non-FDA regulated supplements in energy drinks are low, making overdose — and, consequently, any added performance boost — extremely unlikely.
Though energy drinks may not aid performance or restore key nutrients lost in sweat, the bigger question is whether they’re safe to consume during competition. Higgins and his team say that, according to research, a healthy athlete should consume no more than one energy drink during physical activity. However, a history of heart disease or high blood pressure makes a physician check-in mandatory.
In an era where pro athletes being paid millions of dollars
will pound a caffeinated energy drink rather than report injuries to the team’s medical staff, it’s only reasonable to know everything we can about that energy drink.
Citation: Higgins JP, Tuttle TD, & Higgins CL. (2010) “Energy Beverages: Content and Safety.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo Clinic, 85(11), 1033-41. PMID: 21037046
via
pro surfing & nascar one in the same.
my 2 cents; no doubt some of these surfers carry the sponsor and probably don't use the crap. just want the dough. still no excuse cuz ,"the medium is the message"!
props the ones that hold on to their scruples!
"Mick uses Red Bull to supercharge his surfing" - Do you?(THIS WAS THE CAPTION TO THIS PHOTO. FANNING IS A HEALTH NUT AND I DOUBT HE EVEN DRINKS THE SHIT IN PRIVATE!)
Fifteen years ago, sport drinks contained two main ingredients to replenish the body after exercise: electrolytes (salts) and carbs (sugar). But today’s thirst quenchers have morphed into concoctions loaded with caffeine and a number of supplements not approved by the FDA.
Now, doctors and researchers are asking some hard questions: Do these reinvented sport drinks improve performance? And more importantly, are they safe to use in the first place?
Lined up on supermarket shelves next to familiar staples such as Gatorade, proximity alone lets buzz rockets like Red Bull and Monster inconspicuously pass as the embodiment of Sport Drinks 2.0. Yet this new breed of “energy drinks” is loaded with sugar (upwards of 60 grams), jacked with caffeine (as much or more than a cup of coffee), and laden with a number of still-unproven products: taurine, guarana and glucuronolactone, among others.
Led by John P. Higgins, a team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the University of Queensland in Australia surveyed scientific papers on sports nutrition from 1976 to 2010 for evidence that the main components of energy drinks aided an athlete during competition. Running down the list of drink ingredients, Higgins and his team exposed the reason each was chosen for the energy brew. Caffeine, for example, has been shown to coax fat to burn more efficiently in the body, thereby leaving glycogen stores — a muscle’s energy reserve — untapped.
With more energy to burn, athletes hopped up on caffeine should, in theory, be able to keep going while their competitors tire out. Caffeine works much like adrenaline, making the heart beat faster, as it pushes more and more blood to hungry muscles. The effects of caffeine on performance are so well known that the International Olympic Committee has banned its use during the Games.
Just like any drug, it’s possible to overdose on caffeine, and — though it’s extremely rare — there have even been a few case reports of caffeine-induced seizures and death. On the other hand, levels of the other non-FDA regulated supplements in energy drinks are low, making overdose — and, consequently, any added performance boost — extremely unlikely.
Though energy drinks may not aid performance or restore key nutrients lost in sweat, the bigger question is whether they’re safe to consume during competition. Higgins and his team say that, according to research, a healthy athlete should consume no more than one energy drink during physical activity. However, a history of heart disease or high blood pressure makes a physician check-in mandatory.
In an era where pro athletes being paid millions of dollars will pound a caffeinated energy drink rather than report injuries to the team’s medical staff, it’s only reasonable to know everything we can about that energy drink.
Citation: Higgins JP, Tuttle TD, & Higgins CL. (2010) “Energy Beverages: Content and Safety.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo Clinic, 85(11), 1033-41. PMID: 21037046
via
pro surfing & nascar one in the same.
my 2 cents; no doubt some of these surfers carry the sponsor and probably don't use the crap. just want the dough. still no excuse cuz ,"the medium is the message"!
props the ones that hold on to their scruples!
