A sip of soda: How soft drinks impact your health

Sports drinks are sometimes better than water, but can also cause kidney stones and osteoporosis

Sports drinks are a favorite of athletes and some exercisers to quench their thirst and replenish lost nutrients. These drinks contain calcium, sodium and other minerals called electrolytes. An imbalance of electrolytes may be harmful. Sports drinks can help prevent or decrease some conditions by increasing electrolytes, but drinking them may result in complications like kidney stones, osteoporosis and calcium overdose.

Sweat and loss of electrolytes

Playing sports and working out increases body temperature and results in sweat to cool the body. Sweat contains fluid and electrolytes, such as calcium, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, bicarbonate and sulphate. These all leave the body through perspiration. Sweating too much without replenishing lost fluid eventually causes dehydration and possibly heat stroke or circulatory collapse. Drinking water hydrates the body but does not replenish lost electrolytes. Sports drinks contain electrolytes and carbohydrates, which the body burns for energy during exercise. Depending on how much a person sweats, sports drinks may therefore be more beneficial than water.

Muscle cramps and dehydration

Muscle cramps are a possible side effect of dehydration. Drinking sports drinks helps prevent cramping by raising electrolyte levels in the body and staving off dehydration, according to a Medical News Today article published online in July 2005. Consuming a diet that includes carbohydrates and electrolytes can also reduce the amount of fatigue experienced during exercise. People are most at risk for cramping during endurance activities that last over an hour; drinking sports drinks becomes more beneficial during these times.

Electrolyte imbalance

Muscles need calcium, potassium and sodium to contract, according to Level 4 Performance Coach Brian Mackenzie. Muscles contain electric tissue that are activated by electrolyte activity. If the level of calcium, sodium or potassium is too low or too high, called an electrolyte imbalance, muscles become weak or experience severe contractions. Symptoms of an imbalance include seizures, numbness, lethargy, twitching, irregular heartbeat and confusion. Electrolyte imbalances can lead to bone and nervous system disorders.

Kidney stones and osteoporosis

Sports drinks are high in sodium. When the body excretes sodium, it also excretes calcium. This causes high levels of calcium to form in the urine, potentially increasing risk of kidney stones, according to the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute. The high levels of calcium in urine also leaves little calcium for bones. The body leeches calcium from bones to bind to sodium for excretion. The loss of calcium makes bones weaker and less dense, which increases risk of osteoporosis.

Calcium overdose

Consuming sports beverages, particularly while also taking calcium supplements or a multivitamin high in calcium, may result in hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is a condition caused by too much calcium in the body. Overdoing it on supplemental calcium is a known cause, according to the Mayo Clinic. High calcium levels interfere with brain and nerve function, muscle contraction and the release of hormones because of the role calcium plays in these functions. Symptoms of hypercalcemia include nausea, weakness, excessive thirst, muscle aches, joint aches, abdominal pain and constipation.

Editor's Note: It's got 'lectrolytes! BRAWNDO! Hey folks, don't forget about all the toxic crap found in sports drinks, either: Artificial colors, chemical sweeteners, corn syrup from GMO corn. The best "sports drink" is coconut water.


Sources for this article include:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com

http://urology.jhu.edu/kidney/STONESprevention.php

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/drinks.htm

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153188.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/77714.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/health/01brody.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com

About the author:
Sarka-Jonae Miller is a health writer and novelist. She was certified as a personal fitness trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. She also worked as a massage therapist, group exercise instructor and assistant martial arts instructor.
Miller's premiere novel, "Between Boyfriends," was recently published http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006Q6TSCS/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035118_sports_drinks_kidney_stones_osteoporosis.html#ixzz1o58jm9da

Optimum magnesium intake might prevent ADD/ADHD, Alzheimer's and mental decline

Magnesium, the fourth most abundant mineral in the body, plays a crucial role in activating over 300 chemical responses. It is responsible for the proper formation of bones, maintaining normal muscle function, regulating body temperature, and proper absorption of calcium. Increasingly, medical science is coming to believe that magnesium and other minerals missing from today's diet might prevent cognitive disorders such as ADD, ADHD and bipolar disorder, as well as help prevent Alzheimer's and mental decline as we age.

Eat and supplement wisely to avoid a magnesium deficiency

A deficiency in magnesium affects virtually every area of the body and can present itself with headaches, backaches, muscle spasms, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, PMS, osteoporosis, kidney stones, insomnia, anxiety, depression, tingling and numbness in limbs and extremities, and constipation. Magnesium is also a powerful immune modulator and magnesium deficiency has been linked to immune disorders and deficiencies, such as triggering or worsening the symptoms in such conditions as hyperthyroidism, fibromyalgia, Reynaud's and multiple sclerosis.

Magnesium is essential for the proper absorption of calcium. Many instances of magnesium deficiency are simply due to an excessive intake of calcium. We are told about the benefits of taking calcium but, sadly, magnesium (which is needed for proper calcium absorption) is very seldom mentioned. Too much calcium can actually be responsible for adverse health conditions. Dairy foods, for example, are rich in calcium and it is easy for dairy eaters to consume too much calcium if they do not balance their diet with foods rich in magnesium.

The premise that bone loss is due to a calcium deficiency has been proven to be incorrect. Too much calcium in the body is actually responsible for an increased risk of osteoporosis as well as kidney stones and heart attacks. For proper absorption, one should eat or supplement at a ratio of 2:1 calcium to magnesium.

Our Standard American Diet (SAD) is woefully lacking in proper nutrition such as magnesium. Toxins and additives in our diets often prevent our bodies from properly absorbing what little magnesium and other nutrients that we do consume - as do other culprits such as alcohol, caffeine, and smoking. Because magnesium is not produced by the body, it is important to eat and supplement wisely to make sure that the body receives the amount it needs.

Due to poor eating habits and mineral depleted soils, it is estimated that over 80 percent of the American population is deficient in magnesium. The US minimum RDA for magnesium is 420 mg for adult males and 320 mg for adult females. Clinical nutritionists, however, report mounting evidence that this level, in itself, is too low and contributes to the list of degenerative diseases caused by a magnesium deficiency. The optimum daily amount they recommend is between 500 to 700 mg a day.

It is important to eat healthy foods, focusing on as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible. Foods rich in magnesium include: spinach, avocado, bananas, almonds, cashews, dry roasted peanuts, peanut butter, raisins, oatmeal, crude wheat bran, crude wheat germ, whole wheat bread, halibut, cooked black-eyed peas, baked potato with skin, natural plain yogurt, brown long grained cooked rice, and cooked lentils.

Even with the best of diets, however, mineral depletion in the soil over the last hundred years makes it difficult to get enough magnesium through diet alone. Therefore, it is often important to make sure that the body is getting its required amount of magnesium through supplementation. Two excellent ways to supply your body with magnesium are by using transdermal magnesium oil and Epsom salt baths.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.naturalnews.com/025567_magnesium_calories_calcium.html

http://healthylifejournal.org

http://www.nutritionalmagnesium.org

http://www.naturalnews.com/029397_epsom_salt_magnesium.html

About the author:
Luella May is a natural health advocate helping people to heal naturally. She partners with Tony Isaacs, who authors of books and articles about natural health which includes the bestseller " href="http://www.rose-laurel.com">Cancer''''s Natural Enemy". Luella contributes to The Best Years in Life website (http://www.tbyil.com) which is geared to baby boomers and others wishing to avoid prescription drugs and mainstream managed illness and live longer, healthier and happier lives naturally. Luella co-moderates the CureZone " href=http://curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=861"Ask Tony Isaacs"" forum as well as the Yahoo Health Group " href="http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/oleandersoup/ "Oleander Soup"" and hosts her own yahoo group focusing on the natural wellbeing of pets " href="The Best Years in Life Natural Health for Pets"".

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/035047_magnesium_ADHD_Alzheimers.html#ixzz1nQXPlYCY