Energy Drinks

With a record 40,000 competitors set for Sunday's Blue Cross Broad Street Run, many may be looking for an energy boost. They may want to consider some advice from the International Marathon Medical Directors Association: Don't load up on caffeine. The group's recommendation — to consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine the morning of a race of 10K or more — is not widely known, even among endurance athletes. The guidance is aimed at an uncommon but disturbing phenomenon: young, experienced, seemingly healthy runners dropping dead near the finish line for reasons that are never explained.

Some teens are calling caffeinated alcoholic beverages "roofies in a can" or a "blackout in a can" and now a New Jersey college is taking aim at them. Ramapo College has notified students that alcoholic energy drinks have been banned from the school's Bergen County campus in residences where drinking is allowed. The action came after 23 people were hospitalized for alcohol intoxication at the start of the fall semester. Police Chief James Batelli tells The Record newspaper of Hackensack college students aren't the only ones consuming the fruity drinks.

The founder of I'm Shmacked, the enterprise that posted a controversial video online of Lower Merion teens partying, says he wants to "hash it out" on live TV with school district officials who objected to the post. Arya Toufanian, 19, of Potomac, Md., defended his business Thursday, saying he "was not at all upset about Lower Merion complaining. " School spokesman Doug Young declined to be drawn into any debate with Toufanian. "Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students," Young said, "and that's the bottom line.

What has Red Bull wrought? The popular energy drink and a host of liquid competitors, according to a food trends analyst, have led to this: People want a buzz from their food, too. If coffee's not your thing, get your caffeine in Morning Spark oatmeal, Sumseeds sunflower seeds, or Phoenix Fury potato chips. In Japan, where energy is in especially high demand, consumers can buy "Men's Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles," a dried pork soup spiked with caffeine. Marketers are also stretching "energy" to mean healthy, non-stimulant foods, such as berries or flaxseed, that supposedly give your body or brain a boost.

High blood pressure is now a big problem with U.S. kids CHICAGO - More than 1 million U.S. youngsters have undiagnosed high blood pressure, leaving them at risk for developing organ damage down the road, a study suggests. Calculating elevated blood pressure in children is trickier than in adults, and many doctors may not bother evaluating kids' numbers because they assume hypertension is an adult problem. Roughly 2 million U.S. youngsters have been estimated to have high blood pressure; the study suggests that three-quarters of them have it but don't know it. The numbers are driven at least partly by rising rates of obesity, which is strongly linked with high blood pressure.

FOX "GOOD DAY NEW YORK" anchor Greg Kelly was off the air yesterday morning. He's been accused of sexually assaulting a woman. This is not only a journalistic problem for New York's local Fox station; it's a police problem also. Greg's father is longtime NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly . The alleged victim said she had drinks with Greg on Oct. 8, then went back to her office, where he assaulted her, a source told the Associated Press. It's not clear why she waited until Tuesday to go to police, who quickly turned the case over to the Manhattan D.A.'s office because of the potential conflict of interest.

Energy drinks such as Red Bull and SoBe Adrenaline Rush are also energizing efforts to promote iced coffee. If college students are jolting themselves awake with carbonated drinks spiked with caffeine, why not cold coffee, too? That's the idea behind Starbucks' new DoubleShot espresso-in-a-can and Coca-Cola's revamped Planet Java line of nutrient- and caffeine-enhanced bottled coffees. Folgers' new Jakada line of chilled coffees features bright Afro-graphics and a creamy base for milk-to-coffee grads.

Three years ago Shoshanna Goldin underwent treatment at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a brain tumor that was strangling her vestibular nerve, making walking difficult. The tumor was benign, but it took Goldin three years to recover. She had to learn to walk again. The tumor left behind another lasting effect: a burning desire to help others by unraveling medical mysteries. Goldin, 17, who lives in Allentown and is a junior at Moravian Academy, is one of two high school students in the area who pursued everyday health questions to the finals of the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition, which ended Sunday in Washington.

Saint Joseph's University confirms that a handful of students were hospitalized after drinking Four Loko, a fruit-flavored, caffeinated malt-liquor beverage. The drink has the same amount of liquor as three or more beers and as much caffeine as several cups of coffee, authorities say. "We're not talking about epidemic numbers," Cary Anderson, vice president of the Office of Student Life, said of the students taken to hospitals. He declined to give a specific number of students who are believed to have been sickened by the controversial drink, but said "we started seeing Four Loko come up as something that people had been drinking that got them to the point where they needed hospitalization.

What has Red Bull wrought? The popular energy drink and a host of liquid competitors, according to a food trends analyst, have led to this: People want a buzz from their food, too. If coffee's not your thing, get your caffeine in Morning Spark oatmeal, Sumseeds sunflower seeds, or Phoenix Fury potato chips. In Japan, where energy is in especially high demand, consumers can buy "Men's Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles," a dried pork soup spiked with caffeine. Marketers are also stretching "energy" to mean healthy, non-stimulant foods, such as berries or flaxseed, that supposedly give your body or brain a boost.

With a record 40,000 competitors set for Sunday's Blue Cross Broad Street Run, many may be looking for an energy boost. They may want to consider some advice from the International Marathon Medical Directors Association: Don't load up on caffeine. The group's recommendation — to consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine the morning of a race of 10K or more — is not widely known, even among endurance athletes. The guidance is aimed at an uncommon but disturbing phenomenon: young, experienced, seemingly healthy runners dropping dead near the finish line for reasons that are never explained.

Why are 70 million Americans having trouble getting a good night's sleep? Let us count the ways: We are over-caffeinated (coffee, soft drinks, energy drinks, snacks) and over-medicated (prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including alcohol), wreaking havoc with slumber patterns. We are over-wired (video games, Web browsing, social media, texting) and overstressed (money, work, relationships, overloaded schedules), making us too restless to doze off when we should. We are overworked (longer hours, night shifts incompatible with our biological clocks)

The founder of I'm Shmacked, the enterprise that posted a controversial video online of Lower Merion teens partying, says he wants to "hash it out" on live TV with school district officials who objected to the post. Arya Toufanian, 19, of Potomac, Md., defended his business Thursday, saying he "was not at all upset about Lower Merion complaining. " School spokesman Doug Young declined to be drawn into any debate with Toufanian. "Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students," Young said, "and that's the bottom line.

The founder of I'm Shmacked, the firm that posted video of local teens drinking and partying online, says he wants to "hash it out" on live TV with Lower Merion School District officials who objected to the post. Arya Toufanian, 19, of Potomac, Md., defended his business today, saying he "was not at all upset about Lower Merion complaining. " Asked to comment on the situation, Lower Merion schools spokesman Doug Young declined to be drawn into a debate with Toufanian. "Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students, and that's the bottom line," Young said.

FOX "GOOD DAY NEW YORK" anchor Greg Kelly was off the air yesterday morning. He's been accused of sexually assaulting a woman. This is not only a journalistic problem for New York's local Fox station; it's a police problem also. Greg's father is longtime NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly . The alleged victim said she had drinks with Greg on Oct. 8, then went back to her office, where he assaulted her, a source told the Associated Press. It's not clear why she waited until Tuesday to go to police, who quickly turned the case over to the Manhattan D.A.'s office because of the potential conflict of interest.

The price of being competitive Zack Greinke never heard John Kruk's famous quip: "I'm not an athlete; I'm a baseball player. " Unfortunately, the ultra-competitive former AL Cy Young Award winner and spotlight acquisition of Milwaukee's offseason suffered hairline fractures in a couple of ribs while playing basketball at the Brewers camp in Maryvale, Ariz. "I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and people are always saying, 'You're going to get hurt.' It finally caught up to me," Greinke told reporters.

Saint Joseph's University confirms that a handful of students were hospitalized after drinking Four Loko, a fruit-flavored, caffeinated malt-liquor beverage. The drink has the same amount of liquor as three or more beers and as much caffeine as several cups of coffee, authorities say. "We're not talking about epidemic numbers," Cary Anderson, vice president of the Office of Student Life, said of the students taken to hospitals. He declined to give a specific number of students who are believed to have been sickened by the controversial drink, but said "we started seeing Four Loko come up as something that people had been drinking that got them to the point where they needed hospitalization.

Some teens are calling caffeinated alcoholic beverages "roofies in a can" or a "blackout in a can" and now a New Jersey college is taking aim at them. Ramapo College has notified students that alcoholic energy drinks have been banned from the school's Bergen County campus in residences where drinking is allowed. The action came after 23 people were hospitalized for alcohol intoxication at the start of the fall semester. Police Chief James Batelli tells The Record newspaper of Hackensack college students aren't the only ones consuming the fruity drinks.

Three years ago Shoshanna Goldin underwent treatment at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a brain tumor that was strangling her vestibular nerve, making walking difficult. The tumor was benign, but it took Goldin three years to recover. She had to learn to walk again. The tumor left behind another lasting effect: a burning desire to help others by unraveling medical mysteries. Goldin, 17, who lives in Allentown and is a junior at Moravian Academy, is one of two high school students in the area who pursued everyday health questions to the finals of the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition, which ended Sunday in Washington.

Mayor Nutter's so-called soda tax has focused attention on the city's obesity epidemic. That is a good thing. But his proposed hefty tax on sugary drinks will not have the desired impact on improving the health of city residents. Indeed, the measure is really just a new business tax - something Nutter promised he would not raise. But the mayor is desperate to generate revenue to balance the city's nearly $4 billion annual budget. The 2-cents-per-ounce tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages - including soda, energy drinks, ice tea, and chocolate milk - is projected to generate more than $70 million a year.