A few articles I want to share with you as I run out the door this morning:
1. "US Leading Crackdown Calls on Caffeinated Energy Drinks". Finally. I am an avid coffee drinker, so needless to say I understand the need for a little pick me up. That being said, many of these energy drinks go way over the top in terms of their caffeine content. Some require you to be eighteen to buy, some have been taken off the shelves due to issues with the name (Remember "Cocaine"? The FDA took it off US shelves for "illegally marketing their drink as an alternative to street drugs"), and most have disturbing warning labels such as: "DISCONTINUE USE IF YOU EXPERIENCE A PROLONGED FLUSHING, BURNING, TINGLING OR ITCHING SENSATION ON THE FACE, ARMS OR CHEST. " Last week a group of 100 doctors and scientists in the US sent the FDA a petition to promote better regulation of the drinks. We'll see what happens...
2. "BPA Ruling Flawed, Panel Says." My favorite group, the FDA does it again. Wait, they are supposed to be protecting the consumers, right? An independent panel of scientists and acadamia has said that the FDA left out a few key points in its ruling that BPA is safe, including the fact that studies have linked it to cancer and diabetes, to name a few. The FDA responded saying (paraphrasing here) that it would probably be a good idea to do some more testing. Hmmm, you think? And, as usual there are concerns that the testing done by the FDA may have been slightly swayed due to the funding from various pro BPA groups, though this has obviously been heavily denied. To learn more about BPA, check out my post: "The ABC's of BPA".
My advice? Stay away from the energy drinks and the BPA plastics.
1. "US Leading Crackdown Calls on Caffeinated Energy Drinks". Finally. I am an avid coffee drinker, so needless to say I understand the need for a little pick me up. That being said, many of these energy drinks go way over the top in terms of their caffeine content. Some require you to be eighteen to buy, some have been taken off the shelves due to issues with the name (Remember "Cocaine"? The FDA took it off US shelves for "illegally marketing their drink as an alternative to street drugs"), and most have disturbing warning labels such as: "DISCONTINUE USE IF YOU EXPERIENCE A PROLONGED FLUSHING, BURNING, TINGLING OR ITCHING SENSATION ON THE FACE, ARMS OR CHEST. " Last week a group of 100 doctors and scientists in the US sent the FDA a petition to promote better regulation of the drinks. We'll see what happens...
2. "BPA Ruling Flawed, Panel Says." My favorite group, the FDA does it again. Wait, they are supposed to be protecting the consumers, right? An independent panel of scientists and acadamia has said that the FDA left out a few key points in its ruling that BPA is safe, including the fact that studies have linked it to cancer and diabetes, to name a few. The FDA responded saying (paraphrasing here) that it would probably be a good idea to do some more testing. Hmmm, you think? And, as usual there are concerns that the testing done by the FDA may have been slightly swayed due to the funding from various pro BPA groups, though this has obviously been heavily denied. To learn more about BPA, check out my post: "The ABC's of BPA".
My advice? Stay away from the energy drinks and the BPA plastics.