While that may be some of the most common phrases uttered in the military, it may be one of the most useful. Soldiers are told every day to drink water, almost as if it is the solution to everything. In some cases, like Airborne and Air Assault schools, we're even forced to keep track of how much water we consume. I'm sure at some point in all of your career you've had to hold your canteen over your head to prove you drank your entire canteen.
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So I'm not here to bore you with more reasons to drink water. However, I am here to talk about some of the other stuff that soldiers are drinking that may be negatively impacting them. One of the biggest issues that I see with soldiers is the ungodly amount of energy drinks that soldiers drink. I'm actually starting to believe that the U.S. Army is sponsored by Monster Energy Drinks.
The problem is that not many soldiers understand what they are putting into their body and the adverse effects it can have on their performance and health.
Nutrition Facts
First lets take a look at what you're putting into your body:
Let's keep in mind that most energy drinks come in 16oz cans, which means that you must double the amounts in the chart to get a better picture of what you are consuming.
Sugars
The American Heart Association recommends that males consume no more than 37.5 grams of sugar daily (Johnson 2009), which means that a can of monster nearly doubles the recommended daily value. Increased sugar intake can cause a multitude of issues which may include increased body fat (important when you are close to the Army's cutoff for height and weight), the onset of diabetes, and other lethal consequences such as pancreatic cancer (Larsson, 2006). While the numbers may seem staggering, there are many soldiers within the ranks that consume multiple cans of monster each day!
Adverse effects
Many of the side effects associated with energy drink consumption can have major impacts on your military career. Some side effects include (Torpy, 2013):
- Increased heart rate
- Irregular heart rate and palpitations
- Increased blood pressure
- Sleep disturbances, including insomnia
- Diuresis (increased urine production, which can easily lead to dehydration)
While these could cause health problems for yourself, it can also have dire effects on the soldiers in your unit who will have to make up for your poor performance.
My question to you is: What do you use to get through the day? If you use energy drinks, what alternatives could you use?
References
Johnson, Appel, Brands, Howard, Lefevre, Lustig, Sacks, Steffen, Wylie-Rosett. (2009). Dietary sugars intake and cardiovascular health: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation,120(11), 1011-20.
Larsson, Susanna C., Bergkvist, Leif, & Wolk, Alicja. (2006). Consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study.(Author abstract)(Clinical report). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 84(5), 1171.
Torpy, J., & Livingston, E. (2013). JAMA patient page. Energy drinks. JAMA, 309(3), 297.
