Steve Bui, M.S.Oh, glorious caffeine, one of man’s best friends! For typical college students and other active individuals, it is a commonly required form of nourishment for any function before 10:00 AM. While we all know the basic immediate effects of caffeine (decreased fatigue, increased energy, and decreased appetite), it might be interesting to look at how that cup of coffee might affect other parts of your day. One area you may not have considered is how it will affect the daily work...

Faith A. Lightfoot, BSE What do gymnasts Kathy Johnson, Nadia Comaneci and Cathy Rigby have in common? Over the past years they have all come forward and admitted to fighting an eating disorder. Cathy Rigby, a 1972 Olympian, battled anorexia and bulimia for 12 years. She went into cardiac arrest on two occasions as a result of it. Whether the eating disorder is anorexia, reduced food intake or bulimia, excessive eating and purging, this disorder is not going away in the sports field. In 197...

Faith A. Lightfoot, BSEWith the introduction of Redbull to the United States in 1997, many athletes started consuming these drinks for additional energy and a reduction of fatigue. However, as word spread about the effects, the general public joined this drink craze. With “31% of energy drink consumers between 12-17 years old, and 34% ranging from 18-24 years” (1), there now seems to be concern regarding the safety of these drinks by athletes and non-athletes alike. What’s...

David Ferguson, Ph.D, RCEPIn the competitive sport world, athletes are required to train year-round in order to maintain a state of physical conditioning that will optimize performance during game day. With certain sports having longer seasons than others, this idea of year-round training can lead to the athlete becoming “overtrained”. Overtraining is described as a decrease in lean muscle mass, an increase in body fat, an increased state of fatigue, a decreased performance capa...