Myth #I. No Problem! Coffee & Other Caffeine-based Stimulants Sustain My Hi-ener gy Needs?... Thinking that tea... coffee...

alcohol and manufactured beverages are desirable substitutes for the natural water need of the daily stressed body is an elementary but catastrophic mistake. The deception has been well spun & coordinated by an industry whose goal is fr ightfully simple - to get as much caffeine into our bodies as possible. They also know that many people actually crave their products and more importa ntly... that many also suffer when they don t consume caffeine. Caffeine does not provide energy but chemical stimulation. The perceived energy comes from the body s struggle to adapt to increased bloo d levels of stress hormones... using coffee for mood-enhancement can thus be a s hort-term blessing, but, a long-term curse. While the initial adrenal stimulation may provide a transient anti-fatigue lift ... caffeine s ultimate mood effect is a letdown... its either subtle or profound. While caffeine users may feel more alert... the experience is simply one of in creased sensory and motor activity (dilated pupils, increased heart rate, and hi gher blood pressure) Furthermore... the quality of thought and recall is improved no more than the quality of music is improved when played at a higher volume or speed. Moreover... what is tolerable caffeine intake at some point in your life may a ctually cause health problems just a few years later. You see... not everyone reacts to a stimulants in the same way... not everyone c an detoxify it at the same rate... and not everyone consumes the same dose. Myth II: No Problem! Sweet Snacks & Energy Drinks Sustain My Hi-energy Needs?... Sweet snacks & energy drinks have moderate to very high glycemic index (GI) ra ting... basically the glycemic index ranks foods according to how rapidly they cause blo od glucose levels to rise on a scale of 0-100 or higher. Fructose as you may or may-not know is a type of sugar - for most people the w ord sugar calls to mind the familiar white crystals that we stir into tea & coff ee... but sugar takes many forms & its important to understand how they are alik e & how they differ. Sugar is a carbohydrate... which is one of the three major types of nutrients in the human diet (the other two are fat & protein) the simple sugars that canno t be broken down into smaller sugars are known as monosaccharides. Fructose & glucose are monosaccharides (simple sugars) they cannot be broken d own into smaller sugars. Most other sugars are disaccharides - (combinations of monosaccharides). For instance... the common table sugar is a disaccharide because its a combinat ion of one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule.

There are other sugars such as lactose - a combination of glucose and galactos e - primarily found in dairy products & sugar beets. In general... sweet & starchy foods & snacks (particularly when consumed on th eir own) overstimulate the pancreas... causing it to produce large amounts of a hormone calle d insulin... as a result... high levels of glucose overexcite or overwhelm insulin and causes insulin to rem ove too much glucose from the blood - so in general eating sweet & starchy foods & snacks cause blood sugar levels to soar only to come crashing down soon after consumption... the end result is you become hungry and want to eat again especially craving car bohydrates... and so continues the vicious cycle. Myth III. No Problem! Total Calories From The Foods I Eat Sustain My Hi-energy Ne eds?... Simply put... a calorie is just a unit of energy. When we eat food... chemical processes that make up our metabolism - (metabolism meaning - all the various chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, in cluding digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cel ls) - breaks this food down and turns it into energy. Burning this energy lets us do what we need and want to do - from breathing to running a marathon - Its like your car... Calories are what help us run... that stated however... not all calories are created equal... basically meaning 1 calorie from chocolate is not the same as 1 calorie from an apple... Plus... 1 calorie of liquid generally won t satisfy you like 1 calorie of solid food... even though mathematically they are identical. Just like high octane rated fuel increases the efficiency of your car than low octane rated fuel... some calories are better for our metabolism & energy level s but others severely & silently sabotage any chance of maintaining hi-energy.