Living Water
The Houston Chronicle this week reports that sports drinks are likely to contribute to adolescent obesity, and researchers are urging parents to limit consumption of the beverages to their children.
While adolescent athletes engaged in vigorous physical activity may benefit from the carbohydrates and electrolytes provided by drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, researchers said water should be the beverage of choice for hydration.
"For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best," Holly Benjamin, a co-author of the study published Monday in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement. "Sports drinks contain extra calories that children don't need."
Obesity in children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 rose in the United States to almost 17 percent in 2007-2008 from 5 percent in 1971-1974, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The study also focused on the effects of energy drinks that contain caffeine and other stimulants. These beverages can damage children and adolescents' neurologic and cardiovascular systems and shouldn't be consumed. Some energy drinks have more than 500 milligrams of caffeine, or the equivalent of 14 cans of soda.
About 28 percent of children ages 12 to 14 regularly consume energy drinks, according to a study published in the March issue of Pediatrics. Energy drink sales totaled $7.7 billion in 2010, an increase of 8.9 percent from the year earlier, according to Beverage Digest, a compiler of data from drink makers and other sources.
The summer months are upon us, and that means we need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. As Christians, we also need to drink deeply from the well of "living water" in order to refresh our soul so that the life of God can permeate our present existence. Living water comes only from Jesus. As we drink from this water, we can also help people to drink his water as it flows through us.
"...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
While adolescent athletes engaged in vigorous physical activity may benefit from the carbohydrates and electrolytes provided by drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, researchers said water should be the beverage of choice for hydration.
"For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best," Holly Benjamin, a co-author of the study published Monday in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement. "Sports drinks contain extra calories that children don't need."
Obesity in children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 rose in the United States to almost 17 percent in 2007-2008 from 5 percent in 1971-1974, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The study also focused on the effects of energy drinks that contain caffeine and other stimulants. These beverages can damage children and adolescents' neurologic and cardiovascular systems and shouldn't be consumed. Some energy drinks have more than 500 milligrams of caffeine, or the equivalent of 14 cans of soda.
About 28 percent of children ages 12 to 14 regularly consume energy drinks, according to a study published in the March issue of Pediatrics. Energy drink sales totaled $7.7 billion in 2010, an increase of 8.9 percent from the year earlier, according to Beverage Digest, a compiler of data from drink makers and other sources.
The summer months are upon us, and that means we need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. As Christians, we also need to drink deeply from the well of "living water" in order to refresh our soul so that the life of God can permeate our present existence. Living water comes only from Jesus. As we drink from this water, we can also help people to drink his water as it flows through us.
"...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14