October is BREAST CANCER awareness month!!

Fake Foods You Are Eating

Excellent article on Yahoo! Health posted September 3, 2014...

"Everything in moderation" is usually pretty sound advice, buts let's face it: Some things you should just not put in your mouth. From artificial flavors and colors to words you'd need an advanced degree in chemistry to pronounce, there are thousands of ingredients making their way into your food that are not, strictly speaking, food.

Bottom line: Even though you can buy these 19 foods at the grocery store doesn't mean you should. Find out how may ingredients it takes to make fake blueberries -- and see what else made our list, to find out what should stay off yours. 


Cheese that isn't cheese. 
Cheese faking is an art nearly as popular as cheesemaking. All kinds of brands make not-cheese, but the classic is Easy Cheese. This "pasteurized cheese snack" is full of fillers, oil, and emulsifiers. The ingredients are so un-cheeselike that lobbyers tried to force Kraft to call its cheese products "embalmed cheese" -- but the government settled on "processed cheese," according to the Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheese of the World.

Ingredients: Whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), canola oil, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, milk, contains less than 2% of sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, salt, calcium phosphate, lactic acid, sodium alginate, autolyzed yeast extract, sorbic acid as a preservative, cheese culture, enzymes, apocarotenal (color), annatto (color).

Mayonnaise that isn't mayonnaise. 
Less of an impostor than a consumer mistake: This white spread doesn't technically meet the official definition of "mayonnaise," which requires at least 65% vegetable oil. What do you get instead? "Dressing," where the major players are water, soybean oil, and vinegar. Tasty? Sure. Mayo? No.

Ingredients: Water, soybean oil, vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, modified cornstarch, sugar, eggs, salt, natural flavor, mustard flour, potassium sorbate as a preservative, paprika, spice, dried garlic.

Vanilla that isn't vanilla. 
There's actually no vanilla (nothing than even starts with the prefix van-) on the ingredient list of Nilla Wafers. The only tribute to their namesake? "Natural and artificial flavor," from what? The label doesn't tell us.

Ingredients: Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid), sugar, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, whey (from milk), eggs, natural and artificial flavor, salt, leavening (baking soda, and/or calcium, phosphate), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin).

Chocolate that isn't chocolate. 
A chocolate chip cookie, by any other name, is a total red flag. See chocolate-chip-flavored cookies. Why is it called "flavored"? To be called chocolate, the FDA requires that a food contain cocoa butter, and these use cheaper vegetable oils as substitutes. And yes -- that partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil is code for trans fat. Better bake your own. 

Ingredients: Enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, chocolate flavored chips (sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa, cocoa processed with alkali, dextrose, soy lecithin), partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, water, contains 2% or less of: molasses, wheat protein isolate, baking powder (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), salt, eggs, artificial flavor, nonfat milk.

Cream that isn't cream. 

The world's most popular cookie is, believe it or not, vegan -- which is great for animals, but a bummer for anyone expecting cream in the middle. That white stuff -- creme, they call it -- is a blend of canola oil, artificial flavors, sugar, and other suspect players. And sadly, the very last ingredient is chocolate.

Ingredients: Sugar, unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), high oleic canola and/or palm and/or canola oil, cocoa (processed with alkali), high fructose corn syrup, leavening (baking soda and/or calcium phosphate), cornstarch, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin -- an artificial flavor, chocolate.

Caramel that isn't caramel. 

Caramel Syrup may look and taste like the gross approximation of caramel, but industrial caramel is way different than the kind you make at home using a sugar base. Some "caramel color" is processed with ammonia, and California even added the compound that makes it up -- 4-methylimidazole -- to its list of known carcinogens. Companies don't have to disclose whether they use ammonia in their caramel color, so it's best to melt your own.

Ingredients: Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sweetened condensed skim milk (skim milk and sugar), water, contains 2% or less of: disodium phosphate, sodium citrate, salt, artificial flavor, caramel color, xanthan gum, artificial color (yellow 6, yellow 5).

Whipped cream that isn't whipped cream. 
When you see this fluffy stuff you can't help but wonder (sometimes before you eat it, but more often after): "Wait, what is that stuff?" Truly, imitation whipped cream is a modern marvel, though very debatably "food." How else to explain the 14 ingredients responsible for a light-as-air texture? As the old childhood expression goes, "Pretty please, with imitation whipped topping and a cherry on top."

Ingredients: Water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut and palm kernel oils), high fructose corn syrup, skim milk, light cream, contains less than 2% of: sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, beta carotene (color).

Peanut butter that isn't peanut butter. 

Peanut-flavored sugar oil doesn't have quite the same ring, but it's far more accurate a name than this honey roast peanut butter from Peter Pan. What shouldn't contain added sugar has at least two types, plus partially hydrogenated oil (code for trans fat).

Ingredients: Peanut butter [roasted peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed and grapeseed), molasses, salt, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil], sugar, and honey.

Ice cream that isn't ice cream. 

Gone are the good ol' days of ice cream. Now, we're forced to shovel down spoonfuls of Frozen Dairy Dessert, which can't legally be called ice cream without containing at least 10% milk fat, according to this depressing New York Times lament of ice cream lost. What Breyer's Extra Creamy Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert (phew) does contain is plenty of corn syrup, gums, and whey.

Ingredients: Milk, sugar, corn syrup, cream, whey, mono and diglycerides, carob bean gum, guar gum, carrageenan, natural flavor, annatto (for color), vitamin A palmitate, Tara gum.

Eggs that aren't eggs. 
Eggs are one ingredient. But substituting them takes 20. Thankfully, eggs top the ingredient list, but it goes downhill from there: the very next ingredient is a proprietary blend of "natural flavor" to conjure up egginess. 

Ingredients: Egg whites (99%), less than 1% of the following: natural flavor, color (includes beta carotene), spices, salt, onion powder, vegetable gums (xanthan gum, guar gum). Vitamins and minerals: calcium (sulfate), iron (ferric phosphate), vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate), zinc (sulfate), calcium pantothenate, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamine mononitrate), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D3, biotin.

Butter that isn't butter. 

Serve this on your popcorn and you'll have people believing it's not butter in no time. "Butter" spray is as artificial as it gets.

Ingredients: Water, soybean oil, salt, sweet cream buttermilk, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, lactic acid, (potassium sorbate, calcium disodium EDTA) used to protect quality, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

Potatoes that aren't potatoes. 

Meet the mashed-potato-in-a-box, whose first ingredient is, thankfully, potatoes. (Dehydrated potato flakes, to be exact.) But they also come with preservatives, emulsifiers, flavorings, and even trans fat. At that point, good luck trying to convince anyone of potato-realness.

Ingredients: Potato flakes (sodium bisulfite, BHA, and citric acid added to protect color and flavor), contains 2% or less of: Monoglycerides, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, natural flavor, sodium acid pyrophosphate, butteroil.

Chocolate milk that isn't chocolate milk. 

Take a closer look: That's chocolate drink in your hand, not chocolate milk. Yoo-hoo doesn't actually contain any liquid milk, but it does come with a dose of partially hydrogenated soybean oil (hello, trans fat!). We dare you to get even halfway down the ingredient list before shedding a chocolate-flavored tear.

Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, whey (from milk), sugar, corn syrup solids, cocoa (alkali process), partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium caseinate (from milk), nonfat dry milk, salt, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, xanthan gum, guar gum, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, vitamin A palmitate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), vitamin D3, riboflavin (vitamin B2).

Orange juice that isn't orange juice. 

Here's what's inside each bottle of Sunny D: high fructose corn syrup, and less than 2% of concentrated orange, tangerine, apple, lime, and grapefruit juice. Fruit concentrates are basically syrup, usually added to drinks and foods as additional sweeteners.

Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, and 2% or less of each of the following: concentrated juices (orange, tangerine, apple, lime, grapefruit). Citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), beta-carotene, thiamin hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), natural flavors, food starch-modified, canola oil, cellulose gum, xanthan gum, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium benzoate to protect flavor, Yellow #5, Yellow #6.

Maple syrup that isn't maple syrup. 

Check out the syrup in your pantry before you pour it on your stack of pancakes: Chances are good you won't find anything close to resembling maple syrup, but you'll find plenty of corn syrup (two types!) and artificial flavorings. Here, treat your pancakes to another squeeze of sodium hexametaphosphate!

Ingredients: Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, water, cellulose gum, caramel color, salt, sodium benzoate and sorbic acid (preservatives), artificial and natural flavors, sodium hexametaphosphate.

Blueberries that aren't blueberries. 
What goes best with fake maple syrup? Fraudulent pancakes, of course. Read the tiny print that says "with imitation blueberries", and you'll be dying to hear how to fake a fruit. Here's the secret: take some dextrose, fractionated palm kernel oil, flour, citric acid, cellulose gum, maltodextrin, artificial flavors, two types of blue, one part red, and you're set.

Ingredients: Enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, may contain malted barley flour), imitation blueberry pieces (dextrose, fractionated palm kernel oil, enriched flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], citric acid, cellulose gum, maltodextrin, artificial flavor, red 40, blue 1, blue 2), sugar, soy flour, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate), canola or soybean oil, dextrose, salt, mono-diglycerides, guar gum, artificial flavor.

Bacon that isn't bacon. 
Ever wonder what's in bacon bits? Not bacon. Bac'n Pieces™ (aka fakin' bacon) has 12 ingredients, lots of unpronounceables, and no hint of the sizzly stuff.

Ingredients: Textured soy flour, canola oil, salt, caramel color, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, lactic acid, yeast extract, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate (flavor enhancers), and FD&C Red 40.


Lemonade that isn't lemonade. 

Even if life doesn't give you lemons, you can still make lemonade. Their lemonade drink mix ingredient list mentions nary a lemon, but plenty else! Because nothing captures the color of summer quite like Yellow #5.

Ingredients: Sugar, fructose, citric acid, contains less than 2% of maltodextrin, natural flavor, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium citrate, magnesium oxide, calcium fumarate, soy lecithin, artificial color, yellow 5 lake, tocopherol (preserves freshness). Contains soy.

Tea that isn't tea. 
Tea = tea+water. It's the easiest recipe on earth, yet companies so often seem to lose sight of what they're brewing. See SoBe, a PepsiCo company, that manages to cram 11 ingredients and no less than five weird extracts into their green tea. All in all, that's 21 grams of sugar and zero green tea -- in our book, an extract does not a green tea make.

Ingredients: Filtered water, sugar, natural flavor, citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), green tea extract, caramel color, Reb A (purified stevia extract), guarana seed extract, panax ginseng root extract, rose hips extract.

Screen-Related Sleep Disorder

Health.com wrote a small blurb in a recent issue highlighting how modern day technology is disturbing us, even in our sleep.

Raise your hand if you sleep curled up with your iPhone, or stay up too late to watch your favorite television shows in real time (Mad Men, we are giving you the side-eye). Beware: More and more research suggest that blue light from a light-emitting diode (LED) screen-the type of screen on most computers, phones, TVs and other devices these days-can inhibit the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and disrupt our circadian rhythms. Researchers think this is because LED-generated blue light emits wavelengths very similar to daylight, so it can make our bodies think it's daytime, all the time.

In 2011 study in Journal of Applied Physiology, participants who viewed an LED screen at bedtime had melatonin levels that took longer to rise and remained lower during the night than when they looked at old-fashioned fluorescent monitors. This doesn't give fluorescent lighting a pass: Other research has found that energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs-which release blue lights-suppress melatonin more than traditional incandescents (which emit a red-orange glow that's less similar to daylight) and can keep people awake longer. Studies like these prompted American Medical Association last year to issue a report that "exposure to excessive light at night, including extended use of various electronic media, can disrupt sleep or exacerbate sleep disorders."

No, you're not going back to a dumbphone or a computer from 1993, but you can turn down your screen brightness at night, or install the f.lux app, which automatically adjusts the light your computer admits depending on the time of day and where you are. Better yet, do some reading under an incandescent light when you're winding down at night. Another solution: "I tell people to do stretching and yoga before going to bed," Dr. Sadler says, both to unplug and to relax yourself into a sleepier state.

Women's Health magazine recently posted a great short article on the breakdown of frozen yogurt toppings at self-serve frozen yogurt shops, one of the current trends across America.

Frozen yogurt can be a great alternative to traditional ice cream treats, but like all things, PORTION is KEY!

The Worst Foods For Your Skin

Posted on womenshealthmag.com February 26, 2013 by Cristina Gibson
Is your dinner responsible for your breakout?

It may be a myth that eating chocolate causes pimples (thankfully), but new research shows that other things on your grocery list can affect your skin. Diets high in dairy products and high glycemic index foods like white bread, pasta, and cookies may worsen acne, according to a new study published in theJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“Hormones are the main factor thought to increase acne,” says lead study researcher Jennifer Burris, RD, a doctoral candidate in nutrition at NYU Steinhardt. “Milk contains a lot of hormones, and they remain high even after processing.”

Increases in blood sugar and insulin levels are another major culprit behind breakouts—and unfortunately, consuming both dairy and high glycemic index foods can cause spikes.

So while high glycemic index foods and dairy aren’t actually the cause of acne—not everyone who consumes these will see a change in their skin—they can cause flare-ups if you’re already prone to complexion problems.

If you do decide to cut back on the cow juice, make sure to get enough calcium from other sources. “Your daily calcium goal is 1000 milligrams,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, the New York Times best-selling co-author of The CarbLovers Diet. “You can work toward that by incorporating spinach, swiss chard, kale, dried figs, and tofu into your meals.”

Love pasta or rice but hate pimples? You don’t have to give up carbs altogether. Just switch to whole-grain options like brown rice or whole-wheat pasta, or eat something with a lower glycemic index alongside your white carbs. “Pairing beans and vegetables with white pasta or rice will lower the glycemic impact of the meal,” Largeman-Roth says.

Essential nutrients you may be missing...

See the 10 daily nutrients commonly missed in people without a varied daily diet, and what foods you should add in order to have a more wholesome approach to nutrition. Open picture in new window to zoom in best. 

Quick Look at Ways to Fight Inflammation with Food

Inflammation is the body's natural response to injury, whether it be acute (happens quickly in one particular moment) or chronic (happens over time). It is the protective mechanisms our body uses when there is an irregularity. However, inflammation can sometimes be damaging, painful, and cause slower recovery. Here are a few ways you can use your diet to help fight unwanted inflammation:

1. Eat whole foods high in fiber. Fiber is good for the heart. A certain protein, CRP, C-reactive protein, is an indicator of inflammation found in the body. CRP is lowered by fiber, and a high CRP level signals general inflammation.

2. Eat citrus fruits. These types of foods are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin E, which are essential antioxidants. Antioxidants are a natural anti-inflammatory.

3. Eat dark, leafy greens. These are high in Vitamin K. Vitamin K is known for enabling calcium to form into proper structures for use of bone health. It is also needed for blood coagulation, and is another antioxidant.

4. Eat tomatoes. A tomato's red pigment, lycopene, is a potent antioxidant.

5. Eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids. Foods such as fresh salmon have a natural anti-inflammatory effect as well as boost the immune system.

Top 12 Nutrition Tips from "The Biggest Loser"

Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, nutritionist to The Biggest Loser contestant Sunny, and author of Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, shares her easy advice for eating right and staying healthy!

1. Eat Breakfast!
They call it the most important meal of the day for a reason! While you're sleeping, your body actually goes into a mini starvation mode, which means your metabolism lowers and you're not burning calories as quickly. And when you do eat something, all of a sudden your metabolism starts to increase again.

So eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism in a major way! And studies show that by eating breakfast, you consume fewer calories the rest of the day than people who skip it. So try to make time every morning for the meal!

2. Know Your Portions

Even healthy foods have calories, and if you eat too much, you'll still gain weight. So pay attention to not only what you're eating, but also how much.

Knowing correct portion sizes is so important-you can find this information on nutrition labels. Once you do some research, serving sizes might surprise you! For example, the serving size for cereal is one cup (think two hands cupped together), cooked pasta is half a cup (one handful), fruit is one piece the size of a tennis ball, and three ounces for meat (the size of a deck of cards). Paying attention to portion size is really about focusing on how much you're eating, and making sure you're not consuming more than you realize.

3. Build The Perfect Lunch

At lunchtime, I tell my clients to eat "a wheat, a meat, and a treat!"

For the "wheat," choose a serving of whole grain bread and for "a meat," try one serving of a lean protein, like turkey or chicken. Try combining the two into a sandwich or wrap. The third part of your lunch should be a "treat," like baked potato chips or pretzels. Allow yourself one "treat" a day. It's OK if it doesn't have a ton of nutritional value-just try to keep your treat under 100 calories!

4. Snack Before Practice

Keep your energy levels up throughout practice by eating a good snack beforehand. About an hour before practice, eat some protein and fiber-like whole grain crackers and low-fat cheese, or nuts and fruit-which will keep you sustained. Avoid foods with lots of sugar before hitting the field, because while your energy will immediately spike, you'll crash after-and won't be able to make it through practice!

And unless you'll be exercising intensely for at least three hours, plain old water is fine! Sports drinks, like Gatorade, Vitamin Water, or Powerade, have too much sugar in them, and actually contain more calories than you'll burn working out.

5. Avoid Your Trigger Foods

Everyone has "trigger foods" that they can't control themselves around- for example, mine is a certain type of cookie. I tell my clients, like Sunny, to make a list of your trigger foods that you have a hard time avoiding, and then ask your parents if they can hold off buying them for awhile.

Explain that those are the foods you have the hardest time controlling yourself around, and ask if they can possibly find other options for themselves. It's a tip that seems small, but really helps!

6. You Don't Have To Give Up Junk Food

Since nothing needs to be off-limits and deprivation doesn't work, you don't need to give up junk food completely! [I tell] my clients they can have two junk food items a week. If you stick to your treats (remember, lunch is a "wheat, a meat, and a (reasonably healthy) treat"), watch your serving sizes, and allow yourself to indulge only twice a week, you can still eat the foods you love, and then make healthier choices the rest of the week. It doesn't have to be all or nothing!

7. Eat Healthier Desserts!

A baked apple is one of my favorite desserts and it's easy to make and so delicious! Here are the ingredients you'll need:

· 1 medium apple, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 tsp. granulated sugar, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup Fat Free Reddi-wip

To make, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Core the apple by taking a knife and cutting a circle around the core, and then pull it out. Place the apple in a casserole dish and pour water over it. Then sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon. Bake in the oven until the apple is tender, for about 45 minutes. Top the apple with fat-free Reddi-wip and enjoy!

8. Try A Healthier Trail Mix

Get sugary store bought trail mixes by making your own version at home! Start with a high-fiber, low sugar cereal like Fiber One Original, Cinnamon Puffins, or Kashi Honey Sunshine. Next, add in your favorite unsalted nuts (like peanuts, cashews, or almonds). Finally, add in your fruit-be sure to look for dried fruit or freeze-dried fruit without any added sugar. Try Trader Joe's Unsweetened Freeze Dried Fruit or Funky Money freeze-dried fruit.

Make your DIY trail mix on a Sunday and package individual servings in plastic bags, so you can easily grab one to throw in your lunch bag for school!

9. Make A Healthy Sundae

There are lots of ways to make dessert healthy! If you make fruit the main part of the dish, you can make a dessert that doesn't have tons of calories. One I especially love is a play on the classic sundae.

Peel a banana and top it with a few teaspoons of fat-free cool whip, two teaspoons of chocolate syrup, some nuts (for a little crunch and added protein!), and fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries.

This "sundae" has just enough chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth, but the fresh fruits make it a yummy and healthy choice-you won't even miss the ice cream or candy toppings!

10. Makeover Your Grocery List

When you get hungry and have no healthy foods in your house, it can be tempting to reach for something unhealthy. Fix this by keeping a few staple items like these in your house, so you can reach for those instead of that bag of chips.

Lean protein
I love the Applegate Farm brand of deli meats, such as turkey and chicken slices. They taste delicious and they also don't have any preservatives!

Low-Fat Cheese And Yogurt
The brand Horizon makes great organic and hormone-free cheeses. For yogurt, always look for 0% fat Greek yogurt, like Fage or Chobani.

Frozen Fruits and Veggies
I love mixing frozen fruits with non-fat milk or yogurt for a mid-day treat, and frozen veggies can be heated up for a quick, healthy stir fry dinner-just throw in chicken and brown rice.

11. Swap Your Bread

Regular white bread or wraps can be loaded with fat and calories, so choose wisely! Always look for breads that say whole wheat or whole grain. Be sure they are have at least three grams of fiber per serving.

These are my favorite ones to look for:

La Tortilla Factory Low Carb High Fiber Tortillas. They are only 80 calories, have 7 grams of fiber, and 0 grams of saturated fat!

Arnold Sandwich Flats. With only 100 calories, 0 grams of saturated fat, and 5 grams of fiber, these are a perfect swap to your typical hamburger bun.

Arnold FlatBread Pocket Thins. These are the perfect alternative to pita bread, since they pack 10 grams of fiber and have 0 grams of saturated fat.

12. Make A Quick And Easy Breakfast

You probably already know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.To keep you full until lunch, make sure your breakfast has both fiber and protein in it.

For the mornings when you're rushing out the door, try one of these three quick breakfasts:

-One apple sliced, with two tablespoons of peanut butter.
-Yogurt (low-fat and low sugar, or kinds that say 0% fat) with one handful of unsalted nuts
-One piece of whole grain toast topped with low-fat cheese.

These thee are all super easy to make in a hurry, and you can eat them on your way to school! 

Another Caffeine Drink Linked to Deaths

Collegiate student-athletes are no strangers to a constant demand of high performance levels. Many times the absolute best is expected of them in all aspects of their lives, with the obvious greatest emphasis being academically and athletically. It is no surprise that these student-athletes are constantly finding themselves short on time and energy. As a result, caffeine boosts are often what people turn to.

In a recent Yahoo! Health article, we are warned of the negative side-effects of the caffeine drink 5-hour Energy. The story describes a possible link between the drink and 13 deaths in the past year. (Read Article) Unfortunately, 5-hour Energy is not the only caffeine drink ever linked to deaths. Due to the effects of increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and sleep disturbances, energy drinks should be used very cautiously. In addition, NCAA athletes should be particulary careful when consuming energy drinks, as some could even cause a positive drug test. 

The NCAA classifies caffeine as the stimulant it is. The institution regulates caffeine intake in athletes through their urine. The NCAA states that any athlete with a caffeine concentration in thier urine that exceeds 15 micorgrams/mL would be considered a positive drug test. Many factors such as body type and hydration level could play an important role in how concentrated caffeine levels are at any given moment, but student-athletes should be particularty cautious of caffeine levels in any energy drinks they may consume. Do not let one small decision effect your ELIGIBILITY.