Energy Drinks - I'm not alone

When I first started cataloging energy drinks (early 2008) there didn't seem to be much info on the web, now, having just published my findings (based on drinks I've been able to purchase in New Zealand), I see that someone has beaten me to the crunch...

http://energy-drink-ratings.blogspot.com/

While it doesn't go into the ingrediant detail that my list does, they do go into more of the subjective side ("Tase" and "Kick"). I didn't bother going down that path, as it really is very subjective and it's probably better for you to look for drinks that contains the ingrediants you need/want, then compare taste and effect on your own, since what I like (Demon, V, Relentless, Coke) may not be on your favourite list.

Plus, that site is way heavy on the advertising/sponsorship, so you'd have to take any advice with a pinch of scepticism, heaven forbid they should offend one of their sponsors...

But good on them for providing such depth of product (way more than we have available here in NZ), though I see the NZ market has some that the USA doesn't... (I'm assuming it's USA bases...)

Energy Drinks - the flipside of the story

From an article on the NZHerald.com website.

Woman sheds 45kg on energy drink diet
4:00AM Sunday May 24, 2009
By Alice Neville
Brooke Robertson once weighed 105kg. She is now slim, but has a weak heart. Photos / Herald on Sunday, supplied
A young mum has told how she lost 45kg in eight months by drinking nothing but 10 to 14 cans of Red Bull a day.
Brooke Robertson shrank from 105kg to 60kg during the drastic diet but said she ended up in hospital after a minor heart attack and has had ongoing health problems.
"I know it doesn't sound too good, but I don't regret it because I got to a weight I was happy with," said the 23-year-old Auckland mother of one.
Robertson put on weight while carrying son Keir, now four, but said she didn't make a conscious decision to go on a Red Bull diet.
"I just started drinking it. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating - I was exhausted.
"I just continued to drink it because it's an appetite suppressant and I noticed I was losing weight so stuck with it."
A handful of dry Honey Puffs was usually her only solid sustenance during the 2006 diet - alongside 800-1120mg of caffeine and 275-385g of sugar a day from the 250ml cans of energy drinks.
Robertson said she shook constantly but managed to keep her addiction secret from family and friends.
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"They didn't really know the extent of what was going on. They couldn't work out why I wasn't sleeping too well, but they put it down to the stresses of raising my son. I kept it secret but in the end they were quite concerned."
Two weeks in hospital cured Robertson of her addiction.
"I managed to wean myself off it by being in hospital for that long but I had severe withdrawals - sweating, nausea, shaking. It was an addiction. The doctors stated that."
A Red Bull spokesman denied the drink was addictive and said there was "scientific evidence that caffeine is not addictive".
He said it was available in 148 countries "because health authorities across the world have concluded that Red Bull is safe to consume".
But Red Bull is banned in Norway, Denmark and Uruguay because of health fears.
The full-strength drink was allowed into France only last year after the country lifted a 12-year ban, and then only because of pressure from the European Union. Until then a taurine-free version was sold.
In 2008, researchers from the Royal Adelaide Hospital found just one can of Red Bull could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
They found that within one hour of drinking it, people developed symptoms normally associated with cardiovascular disease.
Earlier this year, 21-year-old student Chloe Leach died in an English nightclub after drinking about four cans of Red Bull and several vodka-based caffeine drinks.
Doctors found the caffeine could have triggered a rare heart condition.
Robertson now maintains her 60kg figure in a much healthier way - through exercise and a Weight Watchers diet.
Three years after quitting the Red Bull diet, the cafe worker says she still suffers from the effects.
She has a heart murmur, gets severe pain and cramping in her stomach and bowel and suffers anxiety attacks.
Her doctors told her to stay off Red Bull and other caffeinated beverages, but Robertson admits she still drinks it occasionally.
"I can have one and my heart starts and I get the shakes, so I try not to. It's the same with coffee."

[Ed: if you didn't eat for eight months, it probably doesn't matter what you drink, you'll loose weight!]

My Current Office Desktop

Here's my current desktop at work.
I've had a few of Hugh's Blue Monster pieces on my desktop, including:

• business is: "socialising with a purpose"
  and
• home vs. office is an artificial distinction
  
  
  

Energy Drinks

[OK, so it's been ages since I last posted... so I'm busy OK!]

I've been drinking Coke for years, it's my drink of choice (I blame University...), but with the recent rise in popularity of Energy Drinks (remember when they were called Smart Drinks?), I've been trying them out.

The tastes and approaches vary wildly. I'm not so hot on these fruit juice based ones (Relentless/Mother Inferno from Coca Cola), but do quite like Demon, Relentless and V (Green or Black).

I've collated a huge table of info on the ingredients, which hopefully will display OK. As I try new drinks, I'll update it.

Table HERE
[Had to host on SkyDrive as table looked ugly on blog]


[Tags: Angel,Blue Jeans,Cocain,Coke,Demon,Fresh up Energy,H.E.M.P,Hype,ink,Keri Smoothie,Lift Plus,Lucozade,Milo,Mother,Power Horse,QF Energy,Red Bull,Red Eye,Relentless,RockSt*r,shot and go,Tab Energy,V]

Microsoft Web Experience Events

Microsoft is hosting free Microsoft Web Experience events at the Los Angeles Microsoft office on June 8th and the Denver Microsoft office on June 15th. They will be presenting information on building the next generation user experience on the web. They are providing breakfast and lunch, hosting a reception with beer and wine, and attendees are automatically registered in a drawing for an XBox 360 and a Zune that will be given away at each event. For more information, visit http://kaevans.sts.winisp.net/Shared%20Documents/webexperience.aspx.

Gian Squirrel shot dead in Cornwall

[Thanks Con]

New Pavement Art

[Thanks Con]

Attempting...

[Thanks Pete]

Need a heavier donkey!

[Thanks Con]

Medical Distinctions