The Energy Drink Blog

It is important to eat small meals throughout the day to help keep hunger cravings under control. If you are tired of the same old snack options and are looking for something new and exciting to much on this New Year consider the following food options.

1.       Fruit: More than just the common apples, oranges, and bananas, there are plenty of other fruit options available to consumers these days. Most grocery stores offer very exotic fruits. Trying something new can help keep snack time fresh, new and exciting. Be daring and try a fruit that you have not tried before such as papaya, star fruit, or anything else that sparks some interest. These fruits can also be blended with whey protein powder to create a delicious and nutritious snack.

2.       Hummus: Even those most people only eat this at Mediterranean restaurants, this is a quick and easy snack that can be made by blending together heart healthy olive oil, protein packed chick peas, and a combination of any of the following: cilantro, red pepper, garlic, lemon juice, eggplant and cayenne pepper. This can be spread on pita bread or wraps. It is also great when accompanied by freshly cut up pepper, cucumbers, carrots, celery sticks and other vegetables.

3.       Flavored teas: Brewing up a fresh cup of tea is a great way to indulge in a variety of flavors without adding calories. There are great and wide selections of teas available, some of which also include chocolate and caramel flavorings. These drinks will take your taste buds on an adventure without ruining the diet. Some teas, such as hoodia tea, are also great options for weight loss.

Additionally, some teas serve as great herbal remedies in that they help to promote sleep and clear minds, as well as alleviate headaches. These teas often contain peppermint, and chamomile.

Even though your tolerance for hot and spicy may be limited, the benefits of using cayenne pepper as a home herbal remedy are great. Cayenne pepper is popular in many food dishes including chili. Recently, cayenne pepper can be found as an ingredient in gourmet chocolates, giving the chocolate a spicy, smoky flavor.

The benefits of using cayenne pepper are many. Cayenne pepper has been used to promote circulation of blood to extremities. This is good for people who often have cold hands and feet. Cayenne pepper also is known for preventing blood platelets from sticking together. Additionally, as can be seen from eating a too hot buffalo wing or salsa, cayenne pepper also induces sweating. This helps to raise the body temperature as well as drain mucus membranes.

The ingredient behind the hot and spicy attributes of cayenne is capsaicin. This compound works well as a muscle and joint rub. It is extremely important to use caution with cayenne pepper as it causes irritation to skin and eyes.

Even though cayenne pepper can be found in a diet pill and other weight-loss supplements, it is unlikely to help you lose weight. Nevertheless, cayenne pepper may support your diet and exercise efforts for other reasons. Research shows that it aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Like hoodia gordonii, cayenne pepper can suppress appetite that is due to poor absorption of nutrients, especially with overweight people.

Stevia is making news lately as the two leading soft-drink manufacturers; Coca Cola and Pepsi have plans to introduce this sugar substitute in their drinks. As early as this month Coca Cola, who has more than 28 billion dollars in sales annually, plans on introducing Sprite Green in two unnamed test markets. While this is good news for cola lovers who want to lose weight, it still has not been officially approved by the FDA.

So what is Stevia and how does it differ from other sugar substitutes already on the market? Stevia is derived from a shrub that is native to South America. Stevia has been used for centuries by South Americans to sweeten beverages and is classified by the FDA as being generally accepted as safe for consumption.

Stevia has not yet been approved in the United States, Europe or Canada, but has however been used for over thirty years in the Japanese market as a sugar substitute. While the FDA has not yet given the official green light to Stevia, it has been sold at farmers markets and health food stores in the United States for decades.  There are many energy drinks and diet pills that can be found that contain Stevia in the ingredients. Despite the fact that they have been prohibited from using the official label of sweetener, they have still been used as such for decades.

Further research on the plant will be conducted; however studies that have been conducted so far show that using the stem of the Stevia plant shows no adverse side effects on cardiovascular, reproductive or digestive systems.  Studies have also shown that fluctuations on blood sugar for people with diabetes have been noted. Since Stevia is all natural, it should not have harsh side-effects. This is similar to hoodia gordonii, a native plant to the African Kalahari that is proven to suppress the appetite with no adverse side effects.

When these products hit the market, Truevia and PrueVia are the brand names that Coke and Pepsi products use, respectively, and promise to provide a new generation of products and options to people who want to lose weight but still be able to enjoy a soft drink now and then.

“A moment on the lips, forever on the hips;” this holiday season are words to live by. While you may have been good all year, over indulging on holiday food may show up on the waistline come the New Year. Many favorite holiday foods are loaded with calories, some with exceptionally high values. Usually dishes at holiday times take everyday nutritious foods and turn them into a diet disaster. The following foods should be avoided from a nutritional stand point.

Sweet potato casserole: Sweet potatoes are generally a nutritious diet food. Full of beta carotene and other healthful vitamins, come the holiday season, this otherwise healthy vegetable gets smothered in sugary marshmallows, butter and brown sugar, a lot of empty calories!

In addition to sweet potatoes, otherwise healthy regular potatoes get jazzed up with cream and butter. If you are the cook, try substituting chicken broth for the butter and milk. No one will be the wiser. Actually in addition to a better health option, chicken stock also offers an additional flavor enhancer to holiday dishes.

Eggnog: the combination of sugar, heavy cream and alcohol surely tastes delicious; however a single serving of this festive libation packs nearly 400 calories! That equals a lot of time on the treadmill to work off. If this drink is too much to pass up, be sure to cut back on other indulgences.  

Fried stuff with cheese: What can be tastier than the salty combination of cheese combined with some fried carbohydrate? Even though these comfort foods bring back fond memories, they contain little or no nutritional value and a healthier substitute should be taken into consideration.

To offset these diet hazards those serious about weight loss have found appetite suppressants such as hoodia extract a great tool in the fight against hunger cravings. Also meals high in protein, or a supplemental protein shake will send the signal of fullness to the brain, in turn curbing the appetite.  Finally remember if you are serious about your efforts to lose weight, self control and moderation are the key to enjoying the holiday season that is upon us.

There has been much research and news about tea as of late. Claims that state drinking tea will help cure a laundry list of ailments can be found everywhere, so what exactly is it about tea that makes it a great ingredient in everything from shampoos to an energy drink key ingredient.

Discovered nearly 5,000 years ago, there are many types of tea that are popular for drinking. These include green, black, white, and oolong. Much attention has been given to green tea because of claims that green tea will increase metabolism to promote weight loss, as well as prevent heart disease and cancer.

Type II diabetes is also linked to tea consumption. It has been noted that people who consume green tea are able to control the effects of type II diabetes and blood sugar.

Also, related to health benefits, drinking hot tea before meals can help to suppress the appetite much the same as pure hoodia. This makes tea a popular drink for those who want to lose weight. These days there are many specialty teas with very exotic flavors. These options are competing with many morning commuters who have the option of either coffee or smoothies. Many places now offer smoothies or protein shakes to health conscious commuters.

In today’s fast paced society a lot of people lack the necessary energy to keep up with their schedules. Everything from work to taking care of the kids can take its toll on the human body. Given that we can’t pause the day and relax, a lot of us rely upon energy drinks to help us through the day.

Just as with everything else, when it comes down to purchasing energy drinks there are many options. However, many energy boosting beverages which are available today are not good for your body or your waistline. Majority of these drinks are able to offer the consumer an instant buzz mostly due to the fact that they are made up of pure sugar. An eight ounce can have up to 16 teaspoons of sugar. Therefore, not only are we drinking hundreds of empty calories, but we are also setting ourselves up for a sugary crash. When we consume sugar infused products are blood glucose levels tend to spike up quickly and they tend to drop down in the same fashion. Which means that two hours after your energy drink you will be feeling just as bad, or maybe even worse, than prior to the consumption of the beverage. So what’s a consumer to do? Are there any energy boosting beverages out there which are not a threat to our health and our weight? And if so, what makes up the best energy drink?

Well, the best energy drink will contain zero to no sugar, and it will rely mostly on vitamins and minerals to provide the energy boost. Let’s face it, none of us want to put 300 milligrams of caffeine into our bodies with one eight ounce drink, so why not choose an energy drink which combines natural resources and vitamins to give us that very needed boost in the midst of a hectic day.

The chance of suffering from an ischemic stroke can be reduced by consuming vegetables, research shows. An ischemic stroke can occur when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to the brain. Symptoms including temporary paralysis can last from a few seconds to a few hours. This is the most common type of stroke that affects the population. 

Recent research has shown that diets rich in folate, or folic acid as it is otherwise known as, is an essential component in reducing the chance of stroke. Part of the B vitamin complex, folic acid is required for cardiovascular health as well as prenatal health. Folic acid is abundant in vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables, beans and beets.

Compared with those people in the study who did not eat as many vegetables, those who had diets rich in vegetables were able to lower their risk by as much as 26 percent!   This research shows that eating healthy is the first line of defense in disease prevention.

Since many people are always on the go, they may feel as though it is hard to get the required vegetables in their diet. To supplement active lifestyles, consider adding a diet pill that contains B vitamins in the ingredients. Other non-vegetable sources of B vitamins that are similar to those found in vegetables are energy drinks.  Energy drinks that do not disrupt sleep at night nor cause a major energy crash after a spurt of energy can also be a convenient source of stroke fighting vitamins.

Other than diets rich in vitamins, diets that are rounded out with low fat dairy and lean protein are an excellent way to prevent stroke. Rather than bacon and eggs for breakfast, blending together a whey protein shake.  This is also a delicious way to achieve better health.

Fruits and vegetables are recommended staples of any well balanced diet. As of late, it seems that the public is made available to more and more exotic fruits and vegetables. Up until lately, not many people have heard of fruit such as the acai berry. However, now it is hard to avoid this berry.  Advertised in just about everything lately from energy drinks to the best diet pills, this exotic fruit boasts powerful properties. Much similar to Hoodia Gordonii , the acai berry is known to help people lose weight, and its benefits have been proclaimed by such stars as Rachel Ray.   

Like the acai berry, the goji berry has been introduced into mainstream culture. Native to Asian, subtropical regions, the goji berry grows on evergreen bushes. Used by people native to the regions of Tibet and Mongolia, for thousands and thousands of years, the goji berry has been used to treat everything from sex drive to cancer.

Similar to chemical properties as domestic fruits and vegetables, they are rich in antioxidants, particularly carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. These properties are good for eyesight and preventing the formation of “free-radical” cells. In one published study by a group of Chinese oncologists, the goji berry was shown to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

Goji berries are often sold in a dried form. They have a sweet and tart taste and a texture similar to raisins. They can be consumed raw, or as a juice. Goji berries are often used in Chinese cooking as well.

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More than $50 billion a year is spent on bottled water. With this surge in popularity in recent years, it has left many to question the benefits of the drink. We all know that no form of life can be sustained without water. It is recommended that those who are trying to lose weight cut out other beverages and drink more water, but when it comes to bottled water are consumers getting what they are paying for? (more…)

Everyone could use a little energy boost every now and then. Sometimes it is difficult to find the best energy drink out there and other times we just don’t have the time to search for the most effective energy boosters. It is in situations like these when we solely rely on the oomph we gain from various foods. Knowing which foods to consume for energy purposes is key. Once we have that figured out, we can start seeing improvements in our alertness, focus, and vigor.

When we can’t get our hands on energy drinks, carb rich foods are great at improving our liveliness. For instance, you can try half of a whole wheat English muffin with fruit spread to boost your serotonin levels. Another food which improves energy is dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is packed with caffeine and theobromine, both of which are great at improving our alertness and our focus. It has also been said that fluid filled foods are a great pick-me-up food. What this means is you should avoid consuming dry packaged snacks such as pretzels, chips, and crackers. Try consuming more fresh produce and foods which swell during the cooking process (such as pasta).

And the last but certainly not least way to increase energy is to drink more fluids. One specific fluid which aids in improving mental fatigue and alertness is tea. Tea contains caffeine and the amino acid known as L-theanine. These two ingredients combined can decrease mental fatigue, improve alertness, improve memory, and improve reaction time. So if you ever feel like your energy levels are not quite as high as they should be, look at your daily diet and see what foods may be bringing you down. There are numerous ways to improve your energy; food is just one of the ways.