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4 Energy Myths
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energy from carb calories (MS ClipArt)
These days, no one can get through the day with extra "energy". Surprising, considering how many people carry several pounds of stored energy around as fat. But marketers are having a profitable field day selling energy drinks and energy bars and energy pills based on some shaky beliefs about where energy comes from. Here are the 4 main Energy Myths:
1. Protein gives energy
Protein is necessary for muscle-building, enzyme systems and a variety of other metabolic processes. Excess protein is turned into glucose (sugar) and burned for energy, or turned into fat. High protein foods are the most resource-intensive in the human food chain. As the global warming crowd should know, burning protein for energy is a waste. Protein is not an energy food.
2. Vitamins give energy
Vitamins are necessary parts of metabolic reactions. Without them, energy can't be processed. However, saying vitamins give you energy is like saying spark plugs are all your car needs to run. Why then are we putting $4/gallon gasoline in our tanks? If a few vitamins are the main ingredient in your energy food, look elsewhere. It's likely you're getting plenty of those vitamins in breakfast cereal and vitamin pills anyway.
3. Stimulants = Energy
Caffeine and caffeine-like stimulants are not energy. They're stimulants. They might make you feel more alert, but that's not energy. That's a buzz. As for various non-stimulant herbal ingredients, if they don't have calories, they don't provide "energy", Maybe they have some other effect.
4. Calorie-free foods can give you energy
This is the biggest oxymoron in the entire energy food business. There are actually "energy" products that happily claim to be calorie-free. That's like saying you car will run on water. If that's possible, why buy gasoline?
Coffee - stimulant, not energy (MS ClipArt)
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Energy? Note: one is actually named "Hype". (Wikipedia)
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