newsdoctor's Blog

Hey kurkel, I had hypoglycemic episodes quite a bit when I was preggers with my second kiddo. Not fun at all.

The only time my kids really get any caffeine is when I am drinking a soda and they are begging and pleading with me for a sip which leads into them gulping the whole thing down...or on special occasions. I try to stick with good ole milk for them or Juicy Juice.....

Tom your numbers are a little off.... There are more adults drinking the energy drinks than you might imagine.... I see it all the time when I am playing out....... I'm even guilty of drinking one once in a blue moon when Im on a long day and need a little boost.....

Hey ya Kurkel, it is this Monday. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This time I shouldn't have any nightmares since I am going to be under a general. Talk about a wild out of body experience.....

Too my hype on these damn drinks and having them in out kids schools is so wrong.

First, energy drinks do not increase energy! This is marketing hype courtesy of the food industry and their ad agencies. They get away with it because physiological sciences are complex and the American public is illiterate on such matters. It's the caffeine and other dietary stimulants -- herbals for the most part -- in the drinks that yield a feeling of being more alert -- but being more alert is not synonomous with having more energy~! If you're interested in what it is that produces energy here's a crash course: [1] Foods including energy drinks supply calories, not energy. A "calorie" is more complex than you may think; in simple terms, it's a unit of heat; not a measure of energy. Big difference. [2] Calorie composition is exponentially more important than calories. I say this because in my practice, the same people taking energy drinks are the same people who are wanting to lose weight. And if people who are trying to lose weight -- and prevent or control diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other disorders -- understood and paid attention to this, instead of calories, they would be in a position to make far better nutritional choices. [3] Here's how this relates to this issue: these energy drinks contain only refined sugars; even if it's a small amount, so what. An energy drink's caloric composition is 100% sugar. Here's why that's a big deal: [4] Sugars are stored in various cells but when the capacity is exceeded in these cells, the excess sugars floating in the bloodstream get taken in by the liver and converted to fatty acids; fatty acids are stored in fat cells;

One more thing, I'm seeing far more kids -- youth athletes especially -- and considerbly more adults that what your post indicates. While people may not get physiologically addicted to them if only 1 to 2 are consumed, they get psychologically addicted to the alertness they're getting from the caffeine and herbal stimulant additives. Addiction is addiction; in this case, like other cases of addiction, the addiction benefits the suppliers not the users.

Thanks but I do need to learn how to tone down the length of my posts! Obviously this is one of my soapboax issues -- I just plain don't like seeing anyone being misled by deceptive marketing, or making erroneous assumptions on things that directly influence their health and well-being. I am fighting a mountain out there, trying to help people make smart decisions. Yet it's tough because there is such a wealth of misinformation, deception, fraud, manufactured info, marketing hype, junk science and pseudo experts. It's inadvertant, but all media plays a critical role in spreading this crap. People lack a way of knowing what's good, what's bad and what's ugly. It's frustrating because this is what is keeping people guessing and failing to improve their fitness and health. The FDA and FTC needs to crack down, as does the state. I've written both and also our state senators and reps, about this issue, without any response. Not a surprise.

Well, we've certainly much to talk about Kelly! You'd find my CV interesting -- I'm a former combat medic and MT [U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps] and EMT; and was a hospital epidemiologist for awhile. So, I know what you deal with on the floor -- VRE, VAP, MRSA, TB, you name it. I'm a professional fitness trainer these days, among other things, and one of my specialties is medical fitness. So, I'm very interested in your reactive hypoglycemia. Just so I know in advance, and don't put you on the spot when we interact in person, may I ask for case-specific info on your condition and health history? I do this daily and it's just second nature. But with HIPAA I have to be careful. So, don't hesitate to be point-blank with me in regard to your preferences -- I can just listen, versus ask. I am going to start posting these speeches on my new myspace blog and TRY to stop doing so here. These blog hosts are going to get sick of seeing me on their blogs and that's a curse. This energy drink thing will make a good blog post and I can really expand on it and get into the discussion I cut out of this one -- how energy is indeed produced. This subject of "energy" is what soooo fascinated me when I studied med sciences and exercise physiology. That damn Krebs Cycle! Monday will work only if I get done thsi weekend what I failed to get done this week. I do want to attend tho! See ya K. B