Tag: audiobook

Inositol, Signal Transduction, and a Single Girl – Book Excerpt of the Week (narrated by Jay R. Smith)

Inositol, Signal Transduction, and a Single Girl – Book Excerpt of the Week (narrated by Jay R. Smith)

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One of my favorite ways to study biochemistry is to make up metaphors to help me turn complicated invisible reactions into memorable, tangible stories. My favorite metaphor of all time is one I created for inositol. Inositol already holds a soft spot in my heart because it used to be a vitamin, like how Pluto used to be a planet.

#RIPPluto

Inositol is not an extremely common energy drink ingredient, but it’s in at least one of the “Big 3” (the top 3 selling brands). It’s unlikely the small amount of inositol exerts a strong effect after consuming an energy drink. But if Pluto is worth knowing, then so is inositol.

Our bodies make inositol (hence the removal of “Vitamin” status), so inositol is affecting you on a daily basis even if you don’t drink energy drinks.

Let me tell you a story about what this little fellow is doing.

What Does Inositol Do?

(Audio)Book Excerpt of the Week: Narrated by Jay R. Smith Audio Publishing

We can think of cell membranes like the doors, walls, and windows of a house. Some molecules can get into a house quite easily, while others are like vampires and have to be invited in….or something like that. Some molecules set off a reaction by coming to the threshold of the house, and these reactions are called “membrane mediated events”. With signal transduction, a guest coming to the door creates not one reaction, but a whole series of reactions involving multiple signals and second messengers.

Inositol’s role in treating anxiety, depression, and insomnia all stem from how inositol participates in the chain of reactions and signaling that occurs with signal transduction.

 

Stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Get your copy of MY BOOK: “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks — How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”

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Caffeine versus Guarana – Book Excerpt of the Week

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When I was doing research for my book, “Are You A Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks-How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”, I was disappointed over learning what guarana does.

Book Excerpt of the Week

Photo Editor-20171204_182213

 

Everything guarana can do, caffeine can do better.

Guarana is a natural source of caffeine, and many time getting caffeine from a natural source is preferable. We’ve reviewed a few energy drinks with guarana.

But unlike green tea extract, guarana doesn’t come with its own unique set of benefits.

Stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Get your copy of MY BOOK: “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks — How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”

Love what I do?  SUPPORT ME ON PATREON

Let’s connect!

Caffeine versus Green Tea – Book Excerpt of the Week

Caffeine versus Green Tea – Book Excerpt of the Week

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When I was writing my book, “Are You A Monster or a Rock Star”, it was fun to discover all the ways green tea and caffeine DON’T play nice.

 

Photo Editor-20171127_165917Yes, there’s caffeine in green tea so you COULD SAY they “coexist”, but sometimes the health benefits of caffeine (by itself) counteract the benefits of green tea (by itself).

For example,  a review of 11 different trials with green tea showed catechins like EGCG significantly decreased body weight and helped people maintain weight loss.

However, the people that normally consumed more than 300 mg of caffeine per day didn’t get as big of an impact with their green tea treatment.

It’s as if caffeine intake interferes with green tea’s weight loss magic!

I’ve also shared a scientific study in which the combo of caffeine and theanine resulted in WORSE performance on cognitive function tests than caffeine alone: See [How do Caffeine Theanine Interactions Affect Mood and Attention?

There are a few ways caffeine and green tea DO work together and some ways people get the benefits of caffeine REGARDLESS of where it comes from. If this interests you, please check out (<- Library Pun) my book: “Are You A Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks”. Available on Amazon and Audible.

Stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Get your copy of MY BOOK: “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks — How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely”

Love what I do?  SUPPORT ME ON PATREON

Let’s connect!

Glucuronolactone – What Does It Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

Glucuronolactone – What Does It Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

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Glucuronolactone is fun to say, in my opinion. Once you’ve got it down, it’s a musical mouthful. When doing research for my book, I remember being most intrigued by this energy drink ingredient because it was such a mystery ingredient. It’s certainly not a star player as far as effective ingredients go — if energy drink ingredients were football players, you definitely wouldn’t want to draft this one before the fourth round for your fantasy lineup.

For last week’s book excerpt, we talked about what glucuronolactone is. For this week’s Book Excerpt from “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star”, we consider one theory behind what glucuronolactone does and why it might be useful in energy drinks. Read more →