Thursday, May 7, 2009

What's in energy drinks, anyway?

Posted by College Publication at Wednesday, May 06, 2009

By Katie Cunningham

The finish line for school is so close you can almost taste it, but first you must hurdle obstacles such as finals and semester projects.

College students often spend long, sleepless nights finishing papers and cramming for tests, followed by even longer mornings spent in class learning more lessons.

Unlike older adults who use coffee to keep them awake, many younger students turn to energy drinks for a late night and early morning boost.

What exactly do energy drinks such as Red Bull, Rockstar, Full Throttle and Monster contain? They’re packed with stimulants, sweeteners, amino acids, B vitamins and herbs, according to Consumer Reports on Health.

In Consumer Reports tests of a dozen popular energy drinks, the amount of caffeine in an 8-ounce serving ranged from 50 milligrams to 145 milligrams.

By contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits caffeine to 71 milligrams in 12-ounce soft drinks. The restrictions don’t apply to energy drinks because they are classified as dietary supplements.

Energy drink ingredients that contain caffeine include guarana, green tea and yerba mate. Some drinks also add ginseng, which may amplify caffeine’s affects, according to Consumer Reports.

Too much caffeine can cause health problems such as anxiety and heart palpitations, the magazine notes. Another side effect is withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop consuming caffeine.

Energy drinks are also loaded with sugar, which boosts calories and causes a short-term jump in blood sugar levels. Some drinks also contain glucuronolactone, a naturally occurring sugar-like sweetener.

Consumer Reports said glucuronolactone is safe when consumed in moderate amounts. However, energy drinks contain several hundred times the amount you would get from food, so its safety is unknown.

Taurine, a protein, is another ingredient with unknown health effects. Some energy drinks use up to 10 times the usual daily intake of taurine, which is plentiful in foods. There’s no evidence that other added amino acids such as arginine, glutamine or leucine have health benefits, according to Consumer Reports.

Energy drinks also contain B vitamins, essential nutrients for extracting energy from food. However, Consumer Reports said most people get enough B vitamins from their diet.

Some people believe ingredients such as ginkgo biloba, milk thistle and bee pollen help improve memory or boost immunity. According to Consumer Reports, there is no evidence to back the claims or ensure the safety of the supplements.

It can also be dangerous to mix alcohol with energy drinks, the magazine warns. Research shows that people who do so become just as intoxicated as others but may feel less impaired. That might make them more likely to drink to excess or take risks.

Consumer Reports concluded that an occasional energy drink is safe for most adults, but it’s not a good idea to drink them regularly.


http://aztecpress.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-in-energy-drinks-anyway.html

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Puttin’ on the Dog FRIDAY, MAY 1st, 2009

Voted #1 in Tucson for 2007 & 2008, “Puttin’ on the Dog” is a unique fun-filled extravaganza benefiting the homeless animals within our community. Please join us at the 2009 event on May 1st at the Tucson Country Club from 5:30-9 p.m.

The event features Alan Michaels, Martha Vasquez, and Heather Rowe as our emcees. They will be presenting local celebrities (Model List) accompanied by their cherished pets modeling stylish fashions, hearty hor d’oeuvres provided by the Tucson Originals and libations. The night includes an exceptional silent and live auction featuring pet related products as well as distinctive and original fare such as having your pet’s photo in the 2010 Hot Dogs of Tucson calendar!

Help us reach our goal of $300,000 -- Please join as a sponsor! Your sponsorship is tax-deductible, you’ll receive publicity and tickets to the event and best of all -- you'll be saving the lives of our homeless animals in southern Arizona. For information on the different levels of sponsorship, click on the categories below, or call 321.3704, ext. 188.

Puttin’ on the Dog FRIDAY, MAY 1st, 2009


Sunday, November 23, 2008

2008 el Tour de Tucson

The 81 mile starting point for the 2008 el Tour de Tucson 2008. This was at Pima Community College East Campus at 9 am on November 22, 2008

A bike event review from TucsonBikes.com
http://www.tucsonbikes.com

A TucsonPictures.com Video
http://tucsonpictures.com

Friday, November 21, 2008

Mike Brown, astronomer who ousted Pluto as a planet will speak Friday night at the UoA

The astronomer who was instrumental in ousting Pluto as a planet will tell that story Friday night at the University of Arizona. The debate is still being argued in scientific circles.

Mike Brown, from CalTech, speaks on “How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the UA's Integrated Learning Center, Room 120. The talk is free to the public.

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2008/11/pluto-planet-killer-to-speak-friday.html

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work On Red Planet

November 10, 2008 -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander's instruments.

Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on Nov. 2. Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier sky, more clouds and colder temperatures as the northern Mars summer approaches autumn. The mission exceeded its planned operational life of three months to conduct and return science data.

The project team will be listening carefully during the next few weeks to hear if Phoenix revives and phones home. However, engineers now believe that is unlikely because of the worsening weather conditions on Mars. While the spacecraft's work has ended, the analysis of data from the instruments is in its earliest stages.

"Phoenix has given us some surprises, and I'm confident we will be pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Launched Aug. 4, 2007, Phoenix landed May 25, 2008, farther north than any previous spacecraft to land on the Martian surface. The lander dug, scooped, baked, sniffed and tasted the Red Planet's soil. Among early results, it verified the presence of water-ice in the Martian subsurface, which NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter first detected remotely in 2002. Phoenix's cameras also returned more than 25,000 pictures from sweeping vistas to near the atomic level using the first atomic force microscope ever used outside Earth.

"Phoenix not only met the tremendous challenge of landing safely, it accomplished scientific investigations on 149 of its 152 Martian days as a result of dedicated work by a talented team," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Phoenix's preliminary science accomplishments advance the goal of studying whether the Martian arctic environment has ever been favorable for microbes. Additional findings include documenting a mildly alkaline soil environment unlike any found by earlier Mars missions; finding small concentrations of salts that could be nutrients for life; discovering perchlorate salt, which has implications for ice and soil properties; and finding calcium carbonate, a marker of effects of liquid water.

Phoenix findings also support the goal of learning the history of water on Mars. These findings include excavating soil above the ice table, revealing at least two distinct types of ice deposits; observing snow descending from clouds; providing a mission-long weather record, with data on temperature, pressure, humidity and wind; observations of haze, clouds, frost and whirlwinds; and coordinating with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to perform simultaneous ground and orbital observations of Martian weather.

"Phoenix provided an important step to spur the hope that we can show Mars was once habitable and possibly supported life," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Phoenix was supported by orbiting NASA spacecraft providing communications relay while producing their own fascinating science. With the upcoming launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, the Mars Program never sleeps."

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/11_10_pr.php

Sunday, November 2, 2008

New law allows salutes in civvies during anthem

10/31/2008 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Veterans and servicemembers not in uniform can now render the military-style hand salute during the playing of the national anthem, thanks to changes in federal law that took effect in October.

"The military salute is a unique gesture of respect that marks those who have served in our nation's armed forces," said Dr. James B. Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs. "This provision allows the application of that honor in all events involving our nation's flag."

The new provision improves upon a little known change in federal law last year that authorized veterans to render the military-style hand salute during the raising, lowering or passing of the flag, but it did not address salutes during the national anthem. Last year's provision also applied to servicemembers while not in uniform.

Traditionally, members of the nation's veterans service organizations have rendered the hand-salute during the national anthem and at events involving the national flag while wearing their organization's official head-gear.

The most recent change, authorizing hand-salutes during the national anthem by veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel, was sponsored by Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, an Army veteran. It was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which President Bush signed Oct. 14.

The earlier provision authorizing hand-salutes for veterans and out-of-uniform servicemembers during the raising, lowering or passing of the flag, was contained in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which took effect Jan. 28, 2008. (Courtesy of VA News)

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123121980

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Gear Review Blog Started

We started our new Gear Review Blog

We will post our gear reviews from our websites here