Energy Drinks Bad?

[panphil]

i dont think so . If there bad well cofee is bad . Monsters are the best!!

[archbishopjabber]

Energy drinks are loaded with so many chemicals and various substances that should never go into your body. Tea and Coffee is the way to go if you want a healthy choice that will provide you with caffeine. Tea is most definitely the healthiest but doesn't pack the punch that coffee does. So long as you limit it to only a cup or two a day studies have shown that it may actually have some very positive health effects such as lowering your risks of liver and bowl cancer.

Caffeine itself is harmless so long as you keep the amount low. If you consume extreme amounts (IE: 300mg or more on a daily basis) it can eventually lead to wearing out your heart. I knew two people who had severe caffeine addictions, one developed a serious heart disorder and almost died. Avoid caffeine pills, such as No Doze at all costs and whatever you do, do not insufflate them. I knew someone who developed a serious addiction from doing such. Avoid energy drinks and soda's if at all possible primarily due to increased risks of diabetes and cancer.

Also note, energy drinks from other countries, IE: Mexico and China do not only contain caffeine but also contain nicotine, making them the equivalent of a caffeine pill and a pack of ciggarettes.

[Relambrien]

Looks like this thread could do with a bit of a topic change. I think most of what can be said on the topic of energy drinks has been said, so I have another idea.

There are some energy drinks that are alcoholic. What I don't understand is the purpose behind them. Alcohol dulls your reactions and judgment, things an energy drink are supposed to strengthen. It just seems useless having an alcoholic energy drink, since they would get you drunk and any temporary positive effects from the "energy drink" portion would be nullified by the alcohol.

Anyway, discuss.

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by archbishopjabber

making them the equivalent of a caffeine pill and a pack of ciggarettes.

I'd exercise caution in throwing that around.

Anyway, to everyone: living and eating healthy is about so much more than just living a long life. Hell, that may not even happen. You could die from cancer at the age of 60 after living healthy and some unhealthy guy could live to 90 and die of a stroke.

I used to be pretty unhealthy but I got into healthy living stuff and now I live healthy and I feel so much better. I can sleep for 6 hours on a not-especially-comfortable spring mattress and strut around the house like it's 3:00 PM when I wake up.

Living healthy is about living and enjoyable life:

- Don't binge on sugary snacks or sugary drinks, and try to avoid them almost completely. Buy sugarless gum instead (I personally prefer Stride Spearmint gum). You'll have more energy in the day without the unnoticeable yet occurring crashes too much sucrose causes. Sugar is not bad (at least glucose and fructose), too much of it is. If you avoid snacks and sugary drinks and fast food while ignoring how much sugar is in what you eat, you'll eat just enough sugar.

- For God's sake avoid making soda and energy drinks something you drink regularly, and when you drink it, swallow it quickly. Not only for reasons discussed in this thread about caffeine, but because it's liquid sugar. Soda is death for teeth. I used to take care of my teeth really horribly and I ate lots of sugary snacks, yet I have never had a cavity. Why? I rarely drank soda. My teeth are kinda yellowish, but so long as I bug my parents for Crest white strips on a regular basis, they'll get treated (not like they won't buy them... my mom buys them for herself much like how she buys everything for herself (took me forever to convince her to buy me gum even though it saves her money) >__>).

- Avoid fast food. ESPECIALLY for breakfast. Eat fast food for lunch and dinner all you want if you're forced to, but the last thing you need is half of your recommended daily intake of sodium satisfied in the first two hours of waking up (the bacon egg and cheese biscuit at McDonald's will do just that). I'd rather not eat breakfast at all than have to eat that crap for it, despite how important any sort of breakfast is. Oh, and fast food salad does not equate to less fat or sugar.

- Eat vegetables. Corn is not a vegetable, nor does it totally resemble one nutritionally. It is a grain. May I suggest steamed vegetables? They're still really rich in nutrients and they have only a faint flavor, save for (at least in my partially limited experience) steamed cauliflower which still has that weird taste, just to a point where it's tolerable.

- Eat less if you tend to eat a lot (thx chrissi). The less you eat, the less you need to eat. And do what Chrissi does and eat small meals when you're hungry, not on a schedule. That's truly regulating your body. I mean, you don't pee at certain times of the day. As musical theater reminds us, this can be disastrous.

Enjoy a happy, healthy, energy-enriched life.

[Chrissi]

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- Eat vegetables. Corn is not a vegetable, nor does it totally resemble one nutritionally. It is a grain. May I suggest steamed vegetables? They're still really rich in nutrients and they have only a faint flavor, save for (at least in my partially limited experience) steamed cauliflower which still has that weird taste, just to a point where it's tolerable.

Corn is as much a vegetable as a tomato is. Which is to say, it's not one at all, but people like to call it one. It's fine. We eat corn as a vegetable, and it's plenty nutritious. Eat all the corn you want. But corn is not corn syrup. Corn syrup's bad for you.

Also, I don't know what you're saying about vegetables and being steamed having a "mild taste" like that's a good thing. I like how vegetables taste.

Many people would be surprised at how good potatoes taste without anything added. Try a boiled/microwaved potato sometime. No salt. No butter. No sour cream. It has a nice sweet potatoey taste. Potatoes are freaking delicious.

I don't agree with the "eat less" comment. Eat less at one sitting, yes... but eating a lot isn't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends WHAT you're eating. I like to eat a lot.

[lord_carbo]

Many people don't like how vegetables taste, like me. I suggest steamed vegetables for those people. Obviously people who like the taste of vegetables will object and, of course, eat vegetables, so a comment to promote eating vegetables would naturally not be directed at them in the first place.

Corn is nutritious in the sense that it's not bad to eat it. I eat corn once in awhile and I would certainly not avoid it. But there are so many more vegetables much healthier than corn.

And I probably should have been more clear on eating less. If you eat a lot, eat less.

[Relambrien]

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

Living healthy is about living and enjoyable life:

Unfortunately, doing the things you suggest makes my life completely miserable.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- Don't binge on sugary snacks or sugary drinks, and try to avoid them almost completely. Buy sugarless gum instead (I personally prefer Stride Spearmint gum). You'll have more energy in the day without the unnoticeable yet occurring crashes too much sucrose causes. Sugar is not bad (at least glucose and fructose), too much of it is. If you avoid snacks and sugary drinks and fast food while ignoring how much sugar is in what you eat, you'll eat just enough sugar.

In other words, drink something tasteless and displeasing (water), don't eat snacks, and ignore what's in your meals and you'll have just enough sugar? I'd rather have more sugar than I'm supposed to and not be miserable, thanks.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- For God's sake avoid making soda and energy drinks something you drink regularly, and when you drink it, swallow it quickly. Not only for reasons discussed in this thread about caffeine, but because it's liquid sugar. Soda is death for teeth. I used to take care of my teeth really horribly and I ate lots of sugary snacks, yet I have never had a cavity. Why? I rarely drank soda. My teeth are kinda yellowish, but so long as I bug my parents for Crest white strips on a regular basis, they'll get treated (not like they won't buy them... my mom buys them for herself much like how she buys everything for herself (took me forever to convince her to buy me gum even though it saves her money) >__>).

I have never had any dental problems, and I drink soda regularly and have for years. I almost never brush my teeth. I completely ignore them and they do fine.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- Avoid fast food. ESPECIALLY for breakfast. Eat fast food for lunch and dinner all you want if you're forced to, but the last thing you need is half of your recommended daily intake of sodium satisfied in the first two hours of waking up (the bacon egg and cheese biscuit at McDonald's will do just that). I'd rather not eat breakfast at all than have to eat that crap for it, despite how important any sort of breakfast is. Oh, and fast food salad does not equate to less fat or sugar.

Try not being able to eat at all in the first two hours of being awake without throwing it right back up. I have never been able to regularly eat breakfast because of this, and likely never will. I can only eat it on the odd occasion I get up extremely early.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- Eat vegetables. Corn is not a vegetable, nor does it totally resemble one nutritionally. It is a grain. May I suggest steamed vegetables? They're still really rich in nutrients and they have only a faint flavor, save for (at least in my partially limited experience) steamed cauliflower which still has that weird taste, just to a point where it's tolerable.

My parents have been trying to feed me vegetables ever since I was an infant. I've thrown up or gagged on every single one I've ever been fed, no matter how it was cooked.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

- Eat less if you tend to eat a lot (thx chrissi). The less you eat, the less you need to eat. And do what Chrissi does and eat small meals when you're hungry, not on a schedule. That's truly regulating your body. I mean, you don't pee at certain times of the day. As musical theater reminds us, this can be disastrous.

This directly contradicts what you said earlier about avoiding snacks. And yes, I do pee at certain times of the day. As soon as I wake up (which is at 5 AM starting soon), around 6 PM, and around 10 PM.

I don't care whether or not you believe what I've written, but it is the complete truth.

[Chrissi]

So let's see, you get sick if you eat breakfast, and yet you continue to do unhealthy things like consume massive quantities of soda, and won't eat any vegetables?

Seriously, if you drink water for awhile, you'll start to enjoy it. Or try drinking something healthier, like real fruit juice (not water + sugar + flavourings)... orange juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, grape juice - these are all quite delicious and are not bad for you.

Your reply, especially the "I get sick in the morning" thing concerns me. That shouldn't be happening. Maybe you should rethink your diet.

Oh, and eating more meals is not the same thing as eating snacks. I'm sure by avoiding snacks (I didn't actually notice him say this, but I'd assume) he meant that you should not eat unhealthy things like chips, candy, and other "snacks".

I just can't see how you'd jump from eating more meals a day to being equivalent to eating snacks.

Edit: Now that I've reviewed your reply, I'm really very discouraged. Posts like this shouldn't be in Critical Thinking. Were you just not thinking at all when you posted that?

Also I'd just like to mention something that is healthy for you and someting that most people can't pass up: smoothies! They're sweet and yummy and require no sugar or terrible things. You can buy a stick blender for about $20 and all you do is grab your favourite fruit (preferably frozen, but they don't have to be), fruit juice and/or milk, and some yogurt or silken tofu if you like. If you need to sweeten it, add a bit of honey. Blend together. Most people like these and they are highly nutritious. If you have had a bad smoothie, it's PROBABLY because it was fruit that you didn't like or just bad fruit in general. Use things you like. Most people like bananas? Berries? Mango? Orange? Kiwi? Sounds good, now I want one

My personal favourite smoothie is made with frozen strawberries and mangoes, toss in a banana, and fill it up with orange juice and/or milk, and if I have some yogurt lying around I put that in too.

A good simple one if you don't have much around is just use a few bananas, and add orange juice. If you don't like orange juice or don't have any, you can use milk.

Just ideas.

I really like smoothies.

[Relambrien]

EDIT: Dang it, you edited your post while I was responding to the original. Great, this is gonna take some work to fix.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

So let's see, you get sick if you eat breakfast, and yet you continue to do unhealthy things like consume massive quantities of soda, and won't eat any vegetables?

It's been like that ever since I was an infant. And like I said, it's not that I choose not to eat vegetables, but that I gag or throw up whenever I try to consume one. Once again, it's always been like that. Though from what I've been told, I handle vegetables much better now than I used to. I can handle extremely small portions with mild stomach discomfort, and slightly larger portions without throwing up. In the past, any made me throw up pretty quickly. I still can't eat a full portion, though.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Seriously, if you drink water for awhile, you'll start to enjoy it. Or try drinking something healthier, like real fruit juice (not water + sugar + flavourings)... orange juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, grape juice - these are all quite delicious and are not bad for you.

Apple juice is alright. The rest I've tried and experienced the same thing as with water. They tasted either bland or had a faint negative taste. Nothing like "I'm going to throw up" bad but more like a bad that makes you grimace slightly.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Your reply, especially the "I get sick in the morning" thing concerns me. That shouldn't be happening. Maybe you should rethink your diet.

Once again, it's been like this since I was an infant. And I only get a problem if I eat, otherwise I feel perfectly fine (well, not perfectly fine, but I've grown accustomed to the feeling enough that I don't even notice it anymore unless I think about it).

Actually, let me elaborate on that. I first noticed this problem around third grade, when I stopped waking up two hours before everyone else in my family. I started waking up with the others and eating soon after getting dressed, and I found that I threw it back up fairly quickly, or had stomach pains for an hour or so.

I asked my parents what could be causing it and they said they didn't know, but that I had difficulty eating soon after waking ever since I was a baby. For the remainder of elementary school, then, I continued to wake up earlier than everyone else.

Then middle school came around and I started having to wake up at 6 AM, even earlier than when I woke up two hours before everyone else in elementary school. I noticed I would have similar stomach pains as to when I ate early in the morning, though they were minor most of the time. I tried to find some connection between the two, when I realized that I was cold. Only it wasn't a shivering cold, it was more like an internal cold, like sleeping with no blanket and the window open on a 55 degree night. I started trying to notice when I experienced this sensation, and as it turns out, I experience it every morning when I wake up for an hour or two. Through experimentation, I found out that I cannot eat while experiencing this sensation, lest the aforementioned problems occur.

Adding further evidence to my theory was that my middle school bus had no driver's window. So in the middle of winter the air inside the bus would be quite cold, and enough exposure created that same sensation as directly after I wake up, but much stronger. This sensation resulted in stomach pains identical to the ones I experienced before.

Then I found a way to fight it. If I warm myself in front of the family fireplace for about 15 minutes in the morning, the sensation disappears and I can eat. Unfortunately, I rarely have that kind of time anymore. I haven't regularly eaten breakfast since elementary school because of that. Ironically, all we ever hear anymore during testing is "Eat breakfast or you won't do well in school!" and yet I'm number one in my class.

So while I still don't know what's wrong, I know the situations that cause the problem, and I have a way of eliminating the problem temporarily when absolutely necessary.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Oh, and eating more meals is not the same thing as eating snacks. I'm sure by avoiding snacks (I didn't actually notice him say this, but I'd assume) he meant that you should not eat unhealthy things like chips, candy, and other "snacks".

I just can't see how you'd jump from eating more meals a day to being equivalent to eating snacks.

Well, this is probably a question of definitions of words. For me, a "snack" is basically a miniature meal, or one part of a meal. Therefore by suggesting eating smaller meals whenever you get hungry, it's pretty much the same as saying "Eat snacks when you get hungry, just don't go for full-out meals very often."

Example. A sandwich along with an accompanying side, dessert, and drink is a meal. The sandwich alone is a snack.

So yeah, just different definitions of words.

Now, for replies to the edits:

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Edit: Now that I've reviewed your reply, I'm really very discouraged. Posts like this shouldn't be in Critical Thinking. Were you just not thinking at all when you posted that?

Like I said, I don't really care if you believe me; I've given up on people doing that. It's so outlandish and far-fetched that I'd be surprised if anyone believed me anymore. I just wanted to offer what I know is the truth, on something that really bothers me. In all honesty, I'm trying hard to try and be able to eat vegetables and drink more water and the like, but it just seems like my body won't let me. Hopefully I'll find a way to subdue my body's reactions of gagging or throwing up. I'd like to think more exposure to the foods themselves would help, and from what I've been told, I'm a lot better now than I was when I was younger. Hopefully by the time I graduate high school I'll be able to do the things you suggest. I actually do want to, after all.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Also I'd just like to mention something that is healthy for you and someting that most people can't pass up: smoothies! They're sweet and yummy and require no sugar or terrible things. You can buy a stick blender for about $20 and all you do is grab your favourite fruit (preferably frozen, but they don't have to be), fruit juice and/or milk, and some yogurt or silken tofu if you like. If you need to sweeten it, add a bit of honey. Blend together. Most people like these and they are highly nutritious. If you have had a bad smoothie, it's PROBABLY because it was fruit that you didn't like or just bad fruit in general. Use things you like. Most people like bananas? Berries? Mango? Orange? Kiwi? Sounds good, now I want one

My personal favourite smoothie is made with frozen strawberries and mangoes, toss in a banana, and fill it up with orange juice and/or milk, and if I have some yogurt lying around I put that in too.

A good simple one if you don't have much around is just use a few bananas, and add orange juice. If you don't like orange juice or don't have any, you can use milk.

Just ideas.

I really like smoothies.

Smoothies I actually don't mind, since fruit is orders of magnitude more tolerable to me than vegetables are. I have them when I get the chance to.

[Chrissi]

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Once again, it's been like this since I was an infant. And I only get a problem if I eat, otherwise I feel perfectly fine (well, not perfectly fine, but I've grown accustomed to the feeling enough that I don't even notice it anymore unless I think about it).

Actually, let me elaborate on that. I first noticed this problem around third grade, when I stopped waking up two hours before everyone else in my family. I started waking up with the others and eating soon after getting dressed, and I found that I threw it back up fairly quickly, or had stomach pains for an hour or so.

I asked my parents what could be causing it and they said they didn't know, but that I had difficulty eating soon after waking ever since I was a baby. For the remainder of elementary school, then, I continued to wake up earlier than everyone else.

Then middle school came around and I started having to wake up at 6 AM, even earlier than when I woke up two hours before everyone else in elementary school. I noticed I would have similar stomach pains as to when I ate early in the morning, though they were minor most of the time. I tried to find some connection between the two, when I realized that I was cold. Only it wasn't a shivering cold, it was more like an internal cold, like sleeping with no blanket and the window open on a 55 degree night. I started trying to notice when I experienced this sensation, and as it turns out, I experience it every morning when I wake up for an hour or two. Through experimentation, I found out that I cannot eat while experiencing this sensation, lest the aforementioned problems occur.

Adding further evidence to my theory was that my middle school bus had no driver's window. So in the middle of winter the air inside the bus would be quite cold, and enough exposure created that same sensation as directly after I wake up, but much stronger. This sensation resulted in stomach pains identical to the ones I experienced before.

Then I found a way to fight it. If I warm myself in front of the family fireplace for about 15 minutes in the morning, the sensation disappears and I can eat. Unfortunately, I rarely have that kind of time anymore. I haven't regularly eaten breakfast since elementary school because of that. Ironically, all we ever hear anymore during testing is "Eat breakfast or you won't do well in school!" and yet I'm number one in my class.

So while I still don't know what's wrong, I know the situations that cause the problem, and I have a way of eliminating the problem temporarily when absolutely necessary.

I'm probably fairly biased here, but coming from a psychological background, it sounds very much to me like this is a mental problem. I'm not saying you're crazy or anything. But you'd be surprised how commonly people will hold beliefs like this, and firmly trust that there is a physical cause to the discomfort, simply because of the physical result - but people don't seem to understand that physical discomfort can very easily be caused by a mental process that you should not be having. Physical symptoms can often indicate a mental problem.

If I'm right, and it's a mental set problem, it will be far more difficult to fix than any normal stomachache. You would basically have to rework your thinking about the world - develop a new schema.

Sorry, that's sort of taking us off track, but your responses are really worrying me. It sounds psychologically rooted to me, since there is actually no biological process that I can think of that would bring that result around - and psychological problems often result in the sort of thought processes that you seem to be explaining here.

In case you're wondering, I'm a university student studying psychology and sexuality. I'm no authority, but I know more than the average person on mental proceses.

I also have a real problem with your definition of a meal vs a snack. Does this mean that breakfast and lunch are not meals (since they are not typically accompanied by dessert), and juice isn't a snack?

[Relambrien]

Originally Posted by Chrissi

I'm probably fairly biased here, but coming from a psychological background, it sounds very much to me like this is a mental problem. I'm not saying you're crazy or anything. But you'd be surprised how commonly people will hold beliefs like this, and firmly trust that there is a physical cause to the discomfort, simply because of the physical result - but people don't seem to understand that physical discomfort can very easily be caused by a mental process that you should not be having. Physical symptoms can often indicate a mental problem.

If I'm right, and it's a mental set problem, it will be far more difficult to fix than any normal stomachache. You would basically have to rework your thinking about the world - develop a new schema.

That's also quite possible. Actually, I'd say probable. I never said I knew the cause of the problem, only the situations in which it will cause issues. Of course, by steadily exposing myself to more and more of things I currently find impossible to consume, it should help me get accustomed to it. Also, on the topic of eating soon after waking, I find that if I really concentrate on resisting the problems (if it's completely necessary that I do so), I can at least lessen the effect somewhat. Perhaps it would be a good idea to eat closer and closer to my waking time, in a process similar to what I've been doing for foods.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Sorry, that's sort of taking us off track, but your responses are really worrying me. It sounds psychologically rooted to me, since there is actually no biological process that I can think of that would bring that result around - and psychological problems often result in the sort of thought processes that you seem to be explaining here.

You're probably right. I've been to two physical doctors about the issue (as far as I know; I may have gone earlier in life but if so I can't remember), and neither of them could figure it out. I guess it probably is psychological.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

In case you're wondering, I'm a university student studying psychology and sexuality. I'm no authority, but I know more than the average person on mental proceses.

I never doubted your credentials, but thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

I also have a real problem with your definition of a meal vs a snack. Does this mean that breakfast and lunch are not meals (since they are not typically accompanied by dessert), and juice isn't a snack?

It was just an example, don't read too much into it. Since breakfast and lunch, by common definition, do not include dessert, I wouldn't include dessert in determining whether or not they are meals.

Basically, a meal is multiple types of food meant to provide most or all facets of nutrition at once. A snack is one type of food, with similar portion size as if it were in a meal, meant to cover a specific facet. That's my definition. So like I said, if you had a meal consisting of a sandwich, an apple, a drink, and some toast (I just threw that together as an example, it's not to say I actually eat all of those at once), then the sandwich alone, apple alone, drink alone, and toast alone would each be a snack.

Though generally I have a small drink whenever I eat a snack, but nothing big like a meal. To use an example, if I drink a 20oz bottle of water for a meal (and yes I do drink water, I just don't like the taste), then a half-pint would be part of a snack.

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by Relambrien

In other words, drink something tasteless and displeasing (water), don't eat snacks, and ignore what's in your meals and you'll have just enough sugar? I'd rather have more sugar than I'm supposed to and not be miserable, thanks.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You'll be miserable because you've adapted to eating so many sugary things and you've babied your taste buds.

It was mentioned earlier in the thread that once you get used to a drug (vitamins and nutrients are most certainly drugs in the most technical of senses), you grow a tolerance, but once you get off them or reduce your intake, you go through a withdrawal. I would go so far as to say that the psychoactive effects of sucrose go through this same process, and once you lay off the sugar, you'll crash, but then you'll eventually start to feel so much better.

And not perhaps ignore what's in your meals, but not take note of the amount of sugar that's in them. Many times people get over concerned with eating too little sugar as a way to stay healthy when, if you know you're eating healthy, you won't be eating too much.

I got into water because I was put on a diet for acne (I loved milk). It -seemed- to help, but it kinda didn't, but I was too hooked on water (filtered, from the fridge) to go back to milk anyway.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

I have never had any dental problems, and I drink soda regularly and have for years. I almost never brush my teeth. I completely ignore them and they do fine.

............. I don't know what to say.

A healthy lifestyle is like investing. You invest a little bit of your time, you get a little out. At the very start of things comes personal hygiene. The little bit of time and effort you put into showering and brushing your teeth yields SO many benefits. In economic terms, you could say the input to output ratio is extremely elastic. This model is on a curve which eventually becomes inelastic, so the amount of time and effort you put into doing things sees less and less benefits. Now it's all about personal preference where you'll put that equilibrium where health meets effort, and certainly, living healthy is not something everyone will love. Some don't have the will nor the time to jog a mile a day. And that's cool, seriously. My excuse for not jogging a mile a day is laziness. But the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth twice (or three times) a day when compared to the benefits it holds is a no brainer. And that applies for all forms of basic hygiene.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Try not being able to eat at all in the first two hours of being awake without throwing it right back up. I have never been able to regularly eat breakfast because of this, and likely never will. I can only eat it on the odd occasion I get up extremely early.

That's... odd.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

My parents have been trying to feed me vegetables ever since I was an infant. I've thrown up or gagged on every single one I've ever been fed, no matter how it was cooked.

What?! I find that extremely hard to believe you've had steamed vegetables and you hated them. Nobody can baby their taste buds THAT much >_>; Eat steamed vegetables with mashed potatoes, then (PLEASE tell me you like those).

Originally Posted by Relambrien

This directly contradicts what you said earlier about avoiding snacks. And yes, I do pee at certain times of the day. As soon as I wake up (which is at 5 AM starting soon), around 6 PM, and around 10 PM.

Eating whenever you're hungry != eating unhealthy, sugary snacks. You can eat small to medium sized meals, or--even better--healthy snacks like fruits. I don't know where I'd be without cherries and bananas.

Originally Posted by Chrissi

Also I'd just like to mention something that is healthy for you and someting that most people can't pass up: smoothies!

**** YEAH

[jewpinthethird]

Originally Posted by Chrissi

If I'm right, and it's a mental set problem, it will be far more difficult to fix than any normal stomachache. You would basically have to rework your thinking about the world - develop a new schema.

Oh, I don't think it'd take much more than a good dose of operant conditioning would do the trick.

[Relambrien]

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

See, this is what I'm talking about. You'll be miserable because you've adapted to eating so many sugary things and you've babied your taste buds.

Possibly, but like I said earlier, I've had problems eating healthy ever since I was an infant.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

It was mentioned earlier in the thread that once you get used to a drug (vitamins and nutrients are most certainly drugs in the most technical of senses), you grow a tolerance, but once you get off them or reduce your intake, you go through a withdrawal. I would go so far as to say that the psychoactive effects of sucrose go through this same process, and once you lay off the sugar, you'll crash, but then you'll eventually start to feel so much better.

I don't buy this "but then you'll eventually start to feel so much better." I don't think it's possible to feel much better than I do right now. I have plenty of energy during the day, can wake myself up quickly in the morning, am always clear-headed, and I don't experience any sort of discomfort beyond what I talked about earlier with my "eating in the morning" problem. I actually feel pretty awesome.

Also, I've gone periods without drinking soda or other sugary things (due to various reasons), and never experienced any withdrawal symptoms. Granted, I never looked forward to drinking anything because water isn't exactly a pleasing taste to me, but I never "crashed."

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

And not perhaps ignore what's in your meals, but not take note of the amount of sugar that's in them. Many times people get over concerned with eating too little sugar as a way to stay healthy when, if you know you're eating healthy, you won't be eating too much.

So that's what you meant. Thanks, that clarifies things.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

I got into water because I was put on a diet for acne (I loved milk). It -seemed- to help, but it kinda didn't, but I was too hooked on water (filtered, from the fridge) to go back to milk anyway.

Aren't you supposed to have like eight ounces of a milk a day or something? Or is that just some outdated axiom they tell you in elementary school?

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

............. I don't know what to say.

Most people don't really believe I've never had a dental problem either.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

A healthy lifestyle is like investing. You invest a little bit of your time, you get a little out. At the very start of things comes personal hygiene. The little bit of time and effort you put into showering and brushing your teeth yields SO many benefits. In economic terms, you could say the input to output ratio is extremely elastic. This model is on a curve which eventually becomes inelastic, so the amount of time and effort you put into doing things sees less and less benefits. Now it's all about personal preference where you'll put that equilibrium where health meets effort, and certainly, living healthy is not something everyone will love. Some don't have the will nor the time to jog a mile a day. And that's cool, seriously. My excuse for not jogging a mile a day is laziness. But the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth twice (or three times) a day when compared to the benefits it holds is a no brainer. And that applies for all forms of basic hygiene.

I never said I don't shower regularly. I take at least one shower a day, generally before I go to bed. If I have time in the morning, I take one then, too. I just generally don't have time. I wash my hands as recommended. The only thing I -don't- do is brush my teeth, because it's been the least necessary for me throughout my life, and most of the time in the morning, I don't have five minutes to spend doing anything besides getting dressed and getting out the door for school. When I get home, most of the time I have to eat, do my homework, and get straight to bed to have any chance of waking up in the morning, so I'm often too preoccupied with what math problems I have to do to remember to brush. Waking up at 5 AM each morning and not getting home until 7 PM will do that to you. (My bus arrives at school at 7:10 AM, and I have an 80-minute long bus ride plus twenty minutes to half an hour just to get to my bus stop. I do a lot of co-curricular activities after school and so I don't get home until 6:30 or 7 each night because of that.)

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

That's... odd.

Which is exactly the sort of response I get from most people.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

What?! I find that extremely hard to believe you've had steamed vegetables and you hated them. Nobody can baby their taste buds THAT much >_>; Eat steamed vegetables with mashed potatoes, then (PLEASE tell me you like those).

Perhaps I wasn't clear earlier. Every time I consume anything with a relatively displeasing taste, I experience stomach pain. Bland foods often result in stomach pain as well, though not as much. There are several medicines I can't take because of this; they taste bad enough that I can't keep them down. I also can't swallow a pill either, because I gag on it. Luckily I almost never get sick. I've only missed two days of school in the past six years due to sickness.

On-topic though, I do like mashed potatoes (though apparently potatoes of any type aren't healthy for you, according to my school nurse). I'll admit I've never tried eating them and steamed vegetables at once, so maybe that'll help.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

Eating whenever you're hungry != eating unhealthy, sugary snacks. You can eat small to medium sized meals, or--even better--healthy snacks like fruits. I don't know where I'd be without cherries and bananas.

Read what I said earlier about what my definition of "snack" is, and you'll understand the confusion.

Originally Posted by lord_carbo

**** YEAH

Hmm, I don't get -that- excited about smoothies. Oh, and where's the Seaking? (If you don't get it, just ignore that part. It's a bit of small humor)

Seriously, I'm not as unhealthy as you guys seem to think. I'm at an appropriate body weight (BMI 23.5 or so), have no high cholesterol or blood pressure, anything. I have no recognized diseases of any type. The worst part of my medical history was scarlet fever in fourth grade, that's it. Blood tests revealed no problems, nothing higher or lower than acceptable levels.

I do not have a lack of energy. In fact, I am much more energized in the mornings than almost everyone I know. I am only somewhat lacking in upper body strength, or else I would be recognized as "physically fit" by my school, a title most don't have.

So don't think that just because I don't eat very healthily, that I'm unhealthy. So far I've done just fine, and from what my doctor tells me, there are a few minor changes I could make to improve myself, but my current course contains no foreseeable problems. As I've said, I'm trying to make those changes, but for whatever reason I can only do it in small increments.

[Chrissi]

Originally Posted by jewpinthethird

Oh, I don't think it'd take much more than a good dose of operant conditioning would do the trick.

Well, I don't know how you'd remove the aversive reaction, so negative reinforcement is right out the window. And since there is an aversive reaction, no matter what you're dealing with, you have to neutralize that reaction.

Much more of a masking effect than a cure.

[T3hDDRKid]

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Most people don't really believe I've never had a dental problem either.

I absolutely believe you when you say you've never had a dental problem. However, I don't believe that you'll continue to not have dental problems. Brushing your teeth takes half a minute - I think you can spare that much time to save yourself unnecessary trouble in the future, especially if you drink soda pretty much every day. That's just terrible.

[Maid]

I used to gag and throw up when I was forced to eat honey. I felt it was too sweet, this was of course merely psychological reaction for when I was younger. In my case however, my body was correct, since honey isn't the best thing you can eat.

[burningeyes88]

I have two Full Throtles in my fridge right now, I think they are fine for you. It's just paranoid people finding more things to freak out about. They are not the best thinks in the world for you, but they are not too bad.

[Chrissi]

Originally Posted by Maid

I used to gag and throw up when I was forced to eat honey. I felt it was too sweet, this was of course merely psychological reaction for when I was younger. In my case however, my body was correct, since honey isn't the best thing you can eat.

Who would force you to eat honey?

[lord_carbo]

Originally Posted by Relambrien

I don't buy this "but then you'll eventually start to feel so much better." I don't think it's possible to feel much better than I do right now. I have plenty of energy during the day, can wake myself up quickly in the morning, am always clear-headed, and I don't experience any sort of discomfort beyond what I talked about earlier with my "eating in the morning" problem. I actually feel pretty awesome.

Also, I've gone periods without drinking soda or other sugary things (due to various reasons), and never experienced any withdrawal symptoms. Granted, I never looked forward to drinking anything because water isn't exactly a pleasing taste to me, but I never "crashed."

I guarantee you that if you never started drinking energy drinks obsessively, you'd be the same as you are now in terms of energy, possibly feeling better. And to be honest, I really can't see a situation where I'd need one.

I am a healthy eating optimist. I believe there are no long term ways to getting more energy. Just supply yourself with what is necessary. And those short terms ways (i.e. energy drinks) just become less and less effective when you actually need them for energy. There are chemicals that do the body good that you will never hear of, which are rarely found in vitamin supplements, and they're found in fruits and vegetables and possibly meats that you may eat. It's not that caffeine is such a bad thing--Rai (older, banned member who's into the body and mind and drugs and such) keeps mentioning how amazing tea is and some of the stuff I know about health is from him, and his rattling encouraged me to get more into it. I actually owe it to him for being health conscious, to be honest. He kept talking about how healthy living is all about feeling healthy and good, and that I've babied my taste buds into liking sugar and getting cravings for it--something I've found to be true as my health and tolerance for food improves.

I find it curious that you can gouge on unhealthy things and do fine but things that are naturally good for your body cause problems. Now I've heard of not liking them, but this is rather strange. I have doubts that you're even telling me the truth, to be honest, and you're just saying that to justify not eating healthy. Especially the infant stuff. I can see how eating it would be painstaking at such an age where you've babied your taste bud and possibly even your body to sugar, but... that's just seems improbable.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Aren't you supposed to have like eight ounces of a milk a day or something? Or is that just some outdated axiom they tell you in elementary school?

Not sure. The only -exclusive- nutrients that can be found in milk and other dairy products that I am conscious about, as everyone should be, are calcium and vitamin D (milk has some other stuff in smaller quantities but it's ignorable, really). Milk, from what I heard about my acne and such, has hormones in it which aggregates acne. There's a lot of stuff on it so I wouldn't doubt it. And I had acne, and still do have a little. So I was put on a diet. Milked turned into water.

To make up for calcium (the Flintstones vitamins I take have very little calcium in them) I take two pieces of Viactiv calcium every day:

http://www.viactiv.com/products/inde...c=Calcium_main

It's like a Tootsie Roll with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K! I'm not exactly sure why vitamin K is in there, but I probably wouldn't get enough of it without Viactiv, so I won't argue.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

I never said I don't shower regularly.

It was an example on how one showers to reap the benefits. You shower for 15 minutes and it's really worthwhile. People don't complain that you smell like crap and your skin isn't oily and disgusting! Brushing your teeth for 2 minutes twice, possibly three times a day is such a small investment for the same amazing benefits.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

The only thing I -don't- do is brush my teeth, because it's been the least necessary for me throughout my life, and most of the time in the morning, I don't have five minutes to spend doing anything besides getting dressed and getting out the door for school. When I get home, most of the time I have to eat, do my homework, and get straight to bed to have any chance of waking up in the morning, so I'm often too preoccupied with what math problems I have to do to remember to brush.

The fact that you have no problems with your teeth as you drink sugary stuff AND you rarely brush them is odd. I'm sure you could easily maintain this while having good smelling breath if you just brush your teeth. The future could yield problems.

Also curious: you have enough time to post about your problem on the Internet, even on weekdays. Do you type at 800 wpm or something? Wake up 3 minutes earlier and brush yo teeth. Go to bed 3 minutes later and brush yo teeth. Just brush yo teeth. If you have all of this energy you're talking about, no problems sleeping, etc., this should be no problem.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

On-topic though, I do like mashed potatoes (though apparently potatoes of any type aren't healthy for you, according to my school nurse). I'll admit I've never tried eating them and steamed vegetables at once, so maybe that'll help.

They're a lot like starches, so while I wouldn't know for certain, they're probably about average. Just don't eat green potatoes Mixing small amounts of weak tasting stuff with mashed potatoes is always a good solution to eating foods you don't like. That's what I did for peas and non-steamed broccoli before I became tolerant of their tastes.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Hmm, I don't get -that- excited about smoothies. Oh, and where's the Seaking? (If you don't get it, just ignore that part. It's a bit of small humor)

Smoothies are better tasting than most sugary snacks and they don't even need to have any added sugar. That's why they are amazing, sir.

Originally Posted by Relambrien

Seriously, I'm not as unhealthy as you guys seem to think. I'm at an appropriate body weight (BMI 23.5 or so), have no high cholesterol or blood pressure, anything. I have no recognized diseases of any type. The worst part of my medical history was scarlet fever in fourth grade, that's it. Blood tests revealed no problems, nothing higher or lower than acceptable levels.

You can have none of those problems and still not be healthy at all. If you graded me on that alone, and even additional crap, one would not see an increase in my health since I've started eating healthy except maybe with my body mass, but that's largely unrelated. But I feel a difference, I know there's a difference, and I know my life will be so much easier to go through because there is one. And it was totally worthwhile.

As an added bonus, I can enjoy more foods. My parents are still amazed at some of the stuff I'm eating. They thought I was lying when I said I ate broccoli at a restaurant with a group of people I went out with I think around January.

I have two Full Throtles in my fridge right now, I think they are fine for you. It's just paranoid people finding more things to freak out about. They are not the best thinks in the world for you, but they are not too bad.

You'd really be surprised. When you view energy drinks as highly caffeinated drinks instead of these almost magical drinks that give you a short-term boost in energy, you're getting the picture. When you view them as highly caffeinated drinks with a metric ton of sugar, you've hit the nail as close to the head as you could without getting technical. I'm currently reading quite a few articles and journals all saying or hinting towards the fact that energy drinks get most of their kick from caffeine. And all of that sugar dehydrates 'ya, they're definitely not good for athletes needing energy. Maybe office workers on a 30 hour shift. Maybe. Actually, that's probably a good use for an occasional energy drink.

Of course they are not "bad" for you, especially drank once in a while and not constantly which creates a tolerance. Caffeine is not totally bad for you. A little caffeine here and there doesn't hurt at all. Sometimes people need it. It's just that most of the time, people don't. Developing a tolerance to it is bad. And most importantly, energy drinks do not offer merely "a little caffeine."