The Truth About "Energy Drinks"

The Truth About "Energy Drinks"

The energy drink business is a billion dollar business and there are about 200 different drinks on the market today.

Dee Rollins, R.D., PhD, dietitian with Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine says, "400 milligrams of caffeine a day is the upper limit" of the recommended daily allowance. This can be worked out to roughly, 1 energy drink or 2 cups of coffee. This can causes jitteriness, nausea, flu like symptoms and heart palpitations.

To add to the caffeine overdose that can cause flu like symptoms you are drinking a liquid that is close pure acid that has the ability to burn through metal. All energy drinks have a pH of around 2.5 to 3.5 think of what that is doing to our veins and arteries.

This means that instead of complimenting your body it is causing it to ionize the acids with its elemental buffers such as calcium from your bones and magnesium from your muscles. Bringing a loss of energy not a gain in energy.

With regard to the high that energy drinks give you, it is a reaction of releasing alkaline buffers to neutralize the acid and when the neutralizing is over comes the energy low. To add insult to injury the energy drinks also contain another harmful acid, carbonic acid, which can be especially detrimental to diabetics and people suffering with high blood pressure.

So what is the answer?

As you exercise your uses up a tremendous amount of electrons to maintain the alkaline design of the body. When electrons are consumed acid is produced and this acid need to be removed.

This requires sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the increase in metabolic acid, by drinking bicarbonates before, during and after exercise will reduce the amount of muscle soreness you experience. This approach will reduce lactic acidosis and increase recovery time.

As I have said before our body will do all it can to maintain its alkaline design pH of 7.365. When your body is physically stressed more acid is produced and the body will begin to convert sodium from the blood to potassium to maintain the delicate balance of extra and intracellular fluids of the body.

This will help maintain the slightly alkaline design of the body more efficiently and effectively. A state of health, energy and fitness cannot be maintained without mineral salts especially sodium.

Maintaining the alkaline design of the body is key to your energy levels and sodium is the key to that maintenance, in the second part of this article I want to begin to explain why.

Minerals are essential for the body to grow, repair and regulate all bodily functions and can be categorized into major minerals minerals and trace mineral. Sodium is one of the major minerals along with calcium, magnesium and potassium.

A mentor of mine Dr Robert Young a microbiologist who studied over 20,000 live blood samples has come up with an hypothesis about these 4 major minerals. Its state that magnesium, potassium and calcium are nuclear transformations of sodium which simply mean sodium + something = magnesium, potassium or calcium.

The word formula for this hypothesis is;

1) Sodium (11) + hydrogen (1) magnesium (12)

2) Sodium (11) + oxygen (8) potassium (19)

3) Sodium (11) + oxygen (8) + hydrogen (1) = calcium (20)

Magnesium help maintain body temperature, potassium regulate the delicate balance of extra and intracellular fluids and calcium helps keep your bones strong.

Fatigue and low energy levels come due a build up of metabolic acids from exercise or any physical activity and dietary acids such as sugar and caffeine. By maintaining the alkaline design of the body you will be fit, healthy and energetic and without the foundational mineral of sodium you cannot maintain it's alkalinity.