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TACOMA, Wash. - Sitting up late, playing the latest installment of "Call of Duty," you look at your watch to realize its well past midnight. You know you are going to be dead tired while trying to exercise in just a few hours and your remedy is to chug an energy drink as soon as you wake. But the Army’s Performance Triad - a program with a holistic approach to bettering fitness, sleep, and nutrition - asks if that is the best choice.
According to the Triad Leader’s Guide and Planner, “Energy drinks generally contain large quantities of caffeine and may contain other ingredients, most of which do absolutely nothing to enhance health.”
Energy drinks are designed to provide a short-term burst of energy and focus; however, the aftermath of these drinks is more detrimental to overall performance than it is beneficial.
The Leader’s Guide and Planner states that large quantities of caffeine can lead to dehydration, increased anxiety, shakiness, headaches, and sleep disruption – all leading to decreased potential in a soldier’s performance.
“They should never be used to replace the fluids that your body so needs to rehydrate you,” said Maj. Suzanne Akuley, senior nutritionist at Madigan Army Medical Center. “It can raise your heart rate and can also raise your blood pressure.”
The Food and Drug Administration has not given their approval to most supplements on the market. Instead, manufacturers are selling them and consumers are buying them at their own discretion.
The Human Performance Resource Center, an online hub for total nutritional maintenance, points out that dietary supplement manufacturers are not required to research their products for safety and effectiveness. It is up to the FDA to prove whether or not a supplement is unsafe.
“For caffeine to be effective, the recommendation is that you do not use it on a regular basis,” said Akuley.
She said 200 mg every two hours for up to eight hours, but only if the mission requires it for alertness.
“When you take more than that, that’s when the bad things start to happen,” Akuley added. “You get really nervous. You get anxious.”
What goes up must come down. Energy from caffeine and sugar will have reverse effects once the initial rush wears off.
Luckily, Mother Nature provides alternatives to energy in a can.
The Leader’s Guide and Planner and the HPRC suggest getting eight hours of sleep, drinking lots of water even when hydrated, and snacking on carbohydrates and energy-rich foods, like dried fruit, nuts, or commercial sports bars.
While these foods may not be a quick fix to fatigue, they are better long-term dietary choices than energy supplements, and they don’t come with an energy crash.
For a better understanding of how to increase your energy levels, visit the HPRC website at http://hprc-online.org/nutrition/nutrition-resources. For more information on the Performance Triad, go to http://www.armymedicine.mil.
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2014 16:48 |
| Story ID: | 119626 |
| Location: | TACOMA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Energy fix from nature, not from a can, by SSG Dayan Neely, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
