Soft drink Essay Example for Free

Soft drink Essay The use of energy drinks in the United States has increased more than the controversial consumption of regular sodas. According to Coca-Cola executives, profits from energy products since 2005 through 2008 will total $540 million, compared with $210 million for regular soft drinks, $130 million for bottled water and $290 million for sports drinks (Warner). So what is it about this drinks that make them more popular than our pure and vital water? The answer is very simple; our hectic lifestyles. Today’s society is filled with exhaustion and high stress levels; many people rely on energy drinks to give them that second wind, which helps them stay awake through a test, and even revive them for a party. According to Simmons Research, thirty-one percent of teenagers in the United States say they drink energy drinks on a regular basis. People use energy drinks to boost their energy so they can be able to perform better, but because energy drinks contain ingredients that harm the human body they should be banned all over the world. There are some factors that increase the popularity of energy drinks. For example the easy to grab structure in which they are packed. The small container makes it quick to drink down, and the smaller scale gives the impression that the contents are more concentrated, which attracts the consumer even more. The color of the energy drinks is another reason for their popularity; a combination of bright and vivid colors such as acidic greens and yellows, black and red suggest a sense of energy and high performance. The mystery flavor in energy drinks is another reason why these drinks are consumed in excess. Compared to a typical juice offering, there is little or nothing about energy drink packaging to tell the consumer what the product tastes like. Instead, the graphic emphasis is more on the consumers sensibilities and attitude than flavor or thirst (Patterns). It is pathetic to see how big companies and manufacturers of these products use the ignorance and lack of knowledge of people to make a profit. Unfortunately we cannot victimize ourselves and blame everything on them. We are responsible for what we do and I believe that we should do some research before we buy a product that is obviously not natural at all. Energy drinks are made up of caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng, ginkgo, ephedrine, B vitamins and many other sugars. Caffeine is one of the most active ingredients in energy drinks; it is a psychoactive substance found in the beans, leaves and fruit of over 60 plants; it stimulates the nervous and cardiovascular system. Taurine is an amino acid that our body naturally produces, but in energy drinks the taurine is a synthetic element. It helps regulate heartbeat, muscle contractions, and energy levels. Usually our body makes enough so that we don’t need to supplement. Guarana is derived from South America plants and it contains approximately three times more caffeine than coffee beans. It stimulates the central nervous system, cardiac muscle, as well as the respitarory system. B vitamins help convert sugar to energy. Ginseng is an herbal stimulant used to cure, from stress to poor memory to diabetes. Gingko is another herbal stimulant that is used to treat memory loss, headaches, ringing in the ears and depression. Ephedrine is a stimulant, used as a decongestant in treatments of asthma. The chemical structure is similar to amphetamines and methamphetamines. This stimulant is found in weight loss pills, it speeds up metabolism by causing energy that is acquired from food to burn faster. These ingredients do not sound harmful at all. Many of them are natural and even beneficial for our health. So why have energy drinks been banned in a few countries? Lets me now introduce to you the negative sides of all these ingredients. According to Roland Griffiths, a professor in behavioral biology, the amount of caffeine that is necessary to produce dependency and withdrawal symptoms is about 100 milligrams a day. A can of energy drink has 80 to 160 milligrams (Warner). Some of the side effects that the use of caffeine creates are dependency, diarrhea, copious urination and headaches. It also increases the heart rate, blood flow, respiratory rate, and metabolic rate for several hours. Caffeine causes anxiety, irritability, high sensitivity to noise, and self-mutilations. There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: caffeine-induce anxiety disorder, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). Caffeine is also associated with a high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in men. The side-effects that taurine causes are almost the same as caffeine, but many people claim that it kills your heart, since it is found in the central nervous system, skeletal and is more heavily concentrated in heart tissues and the brain. Taurine found in energy drinks is a synthetic vitamin that does not perform the same functions in the human body as vitamins found naturally in whole food nutrients would. These vitamins actually deplete the body of other nutrients, and overstretch your kidneys before being excreted through the urine. The side effects of Ginseng are nervousness, insomnia, and diarrhea. The effects of ginkgo are restlessness, upset stomach, diarrhea, and vomiting. A soft drink usually has 19 to 25 grams of sugar in each eight-ounce serving. Energy drinks on average contain more than this. Red Bull, for example, contains 27 grams of sugar per serving of 250 milliliters (a little over eight ounces). This can be very dangerous, for an overload of sugar can lead to gastric emptying. This often results in nausea and vomiting. As it was stated above each of the ingredients that a energy drink contain have several and powerful side effects when taken separately, imagine how dangerous they be can when taken all at the same time. People are using energy drinks as an alternate for proper rest, nutrition, and exercise like the spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, Roberta Anding said (Ellis). Many health problems can develop from the lack of proper rest like a weakened immune system, depression, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. The best substitute of energy drinks is water. Our body is 55 to 75 percent made out of water and its benefits are countless. Water improves energy, increases mental and physical performance, removes toxins and waste products from the body, keeps the skin healthy and glowing, helps to lose weight, reduces headaches and dizziness, helps digestion, helps the heart work better, reduces stress, and prevents urinary tract infections by flushing out impurities from the body. Many people that do not like to drink water can replace the energy drinks with natural juices such as orange which are 87 percent water or by eating cucumbers which are 95 percent water. Milk is another liquid that can replace energy drinks. Milk is our first source of nutrition when we are born; we are fed with this liquid before he can digest other food. Milk is made out of saturated fat, protein, calcium and vitamin C. Saturated fat provides the building blocks for cell membranes and it also acts as a carrier for vitamins A, D, E and K. This fat makes the lungs healthier, prevents stroke, and protects kidneys from diseases. Calcium makes up 70 percent of the bone weight and gives it strength and rigidity. Vitamin C helps the body produce a basic component of connective tissues called collagen. Collagen is an important element in the blood vessel walls, gums, and bones. Vitamin C functions as an antioxidant, it helps boost immune function protects against cancer, cataracts, deterioration of the retina, and other chronic diseases. Nowadays we live in a society that is always on the go and we are always looking for ways to get more energy to be able to get through school, work or any other duties that we may have. But putting our lives in danger by consuming energy drinks is not worth it. The government should definitely do something about it instead of letting some people get rich by the ignorance and lack of knowledge of most of the people that consume these harmful drinks. Works Cited Clayton, Lawrence. Amphetamines and Other Stimulants. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. , 1998. Ellis, Steven. Energy drinks bubble up. The Christian Science Monitor. 7 June 2007. 20 November 2007 Goldish, Meish. The Dangers of Herbal Stimulants. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. , 1998. Gustafson, C. J. The Health Benefits Of Drinking Water. 2005. 22 November 2007 Warner, Melanie. A Jolt of Caffeine, by the Can. New York Times 23 Nov. 2005. 20 November 2007.

That Was Then This Is Now :: essays research papers

That Was Then This is Now   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book is about two greasers named Bryon and Mark. Mark whose parents died when he was a young age went to live with Bryon. This book is in first person, and takes place behind the eyes of Bryon. The book first starts out by introducing the other characters in the novel: Charlie, a bartender who allows Mark and Bryon to come in to his bar, but wont let them buy booze. M&M a small longhaired child who always seems to be munching on M&Ms, and he lends Bryon and Mark money all the time. After their rendezvous with M&M the boys visit their mother in the hospital, and while their Bryon meets Cathy who is M&Ms sister who just came back from medical school. After a conversation, Bryon invites Cathy to go on a date with him, and Cathy accepts. Soon Bryon talks Mark into double dating with him, then he proceeds to borrow Charlie’s car. The next night Angela, who is Bryon’s ex sends someone to attack him, and who ends up attacking Mark. Mark is sent to the hospitable, but recovers in a day or two. The story then resumes with Bryon continuing to date Cathy, and Mark seems to become more and more jealous. One night Mark, Bryon, Cathy, and M&M decide to drive up and down the Ribbon to get M&M cheered up because his dad was ridiculing him for his long hair. The Ribbon is a long stretch of road that teens hang out. While driving along M&M gets out and walks away with a group of other long haired children, but because you cant stop on the ribbon on a green light all they could do is watch him go away. For the next few days Cathy and Bryon are searching the Ribbon while Mark mysteriously brings in large sums of money to pay for his mothers hospitable bill. Bryon notices this, but never asked Mark where he is getting the money. The next day Mark says he might know where M&M is. Mark discloses a hippy hangout, and that is where Mark goes, but without Cathy. Bryon finds that M&M had been there, but was not around that day. The next day Bryon an d Cathy go to the hangout and find M&M, and he was really bad.

Happiness Found in Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde Essay

Most heroism deals with promotion of virtue and reproach of vice. Sloughing off from such a hackneyed, yet widely used frame of thought, the novel ‘The Happy Prince’ (1888) by Oscar Wilde connects heroism with compassion. With a subconscious reminiscent between ‘courage’ and ‘hero’, compassion is generally not a primary association with a strong image of a hero. Oscar Wilde however, through utilization of ‘the happy prince’ as a mechanism, conveys the idea of compassion and sacrifice which consists of happiness and beauty under a plot of heroism. The compassion felt by the Happy Prince can be distinguished in two levels of analysis: on himself and on the poor. The Happy Prince, once a real prince who lived within absolute extravagance, had a life far from poverty, hunger or servility. Upon encountering the inferior reality of civilian faces after becoming a statue, the Happy Prince expresses his compassion on himself by saying: â€Å"My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. (5)This distinction indicates the realization of the Happy Prince on the difference between aesthetic happiness and materialistic pleasure. It also foreshadows the displacement of the Happy Prince’s compassion from his own past self to the poor, which causes heroic action by the Happy Prince. The jewels sent by the Happy Prince to the poor in the novel are not just simple sapphires or gold. Rather, they are ‘true’ jewels resulted from self compassion. Such open-mindedness of the Happy Prince allows him to be penitent for his past misdeeds and sacrifice himself to supplement such faults, which resulted in promotion of the common good. History tells us that those who are titled as ‘leaders’ sacrifice themselves for others. Regardless of how much sacrifice they burden, all leaders have a certain extent of private loss to yield common welfare. Similarly, the story ‘The Happy Prince’ also depicts heroism based on sacrifice. In the novel, the Happy Prince, having beauty as a single reason for its production, sacrifices himself to the non haves on the streets by distributing his jewels through the help of a sparrow. Since the purpose for its existence diminishes, the mayor of the city eventually destroys the statue of the Happy Prince. The point Oscar Wilde makes at this part is that action for others with sincerity and truthfulness overwhelms the loss one gets through such action. As Erich Fromm, a German philosopher wrote in his book, ‘To Have or To Be’, property without purpose loses the value of it and absence with a purpose is more valued than its presence. Having firm belief on his action, the Happy Prince was able to practice his heroism. Mother Theresa said she lived a happy life. Her ‘happy life’, Mother Theresa said, seems to overlap with the life the Happy Prince lived as a statue. They both gave everything they had for others and earned happiness as exchange. Compassion and sacrifice may be a true key to opening a treasure box full of happiness and beauty.

Self Disclosure Through Social Penetration Theory

Decisions about self-disclosure -whether to reveal one s thoughts, feelings, or past experiences to another person, or the level of intimacy of such disclosure - are part of the everyday life of most persons (Derlega Berg, 1987, p. ix). Deciding whether or not to self-disclose with others, not only affects the type of relationships you form, but also how you are perceived by others. It goes without saying that, self-disclosure can make or break the development of close relationships. Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor, the theorists behind Social Penetration Theory understood this fact, and came up with a theory that explained self-disclosure through social penetration. Throughout this paper, I will discuss exactly what this theory is,†¦show more content†¦Altman and Taylor (1987) developed the social penetration theory to describe self-disclosure as the gradual sharing of information about oneself. Different Stages of Relational Development: Author of Close Encounters: Communication in Relationships, Laura K. Guerrero, Peter A. Anderson, and Walid A. Afifi, (2018) state that, â€Å"According to this theory, as partners get closer, they move through four stages of relational development† (pg. 116). The first stage, called orientation, involves superficial disclosure that allows people to get to know one another in a nonthreatening manner. The second stage, called exploratory affective exchange, focuses on broadening the range of topics that people talk about so they can determine what they have in common and decide whether or not to further develop a relationship. The third stage, called affective exchange, occurs when people start to disclose information on more personal topics, such as emotions and vulnerabilities. The final state, stable exchange, occurs when people in a relationship feel free to disclose almost all of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with one another (p. 116). These different stages progress after an initial interaction when people meet. As relationships develop, so does your self-disclosure. According to the social penetration theory, â€Å"the dimensions that are most central to the process of relationship development are depth and breadth† (Afifi, Anderson, Show MoreRelatedSocial Penetration Theory : Arizona Sate University1581 Words   |  7 Pages Social Penetration Theory Conner Farquharson Arizona Sate University For a young child, telling a secret to the person he or she likes is a big deal. But the secrets that are told are minor, probably about a favorite item or candy. Not knowing at the time but social penetration theory is going on. Information about oneself is communicated to friends, loved ones, and acquaintances on a daily basis, sometimes without knowing we are revealing personal information. As weRead MoreSocial Penetration Theory : Crazy, Love1117 Words   |  5 PagesMaggie Decena Professor McNelis September 22nd, 2017 Application of Social Penetration Theory The film Crazy, Stupid, Love depicts the dissolution of Cal Weaver’s once perfect life. High school sweethearts living in a suburban town with steady jobs and kids, Cal and his wife Emily share the illusion of a picture-perfect love story. However, when Emily reveals her act of adultery, she asks Cal for a divorce. Cal falls into a deep depression that leads him to bask in his sorrows at singles barsRead MoreAnalysis Of 500 Days Of Summer1714 Words   |  7 Pagescommunication theory. In this paper, I would like to focus on the social penetration theory revealed in 500 Days of Summer. 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One in particular, Iwrin Altman and Dalmas Taylor’s social penetration theory, states that â€Å"the idea that relationships become more intimate over time when partners disclose more and more information about themselves.† This break down of the complex process that we go through every day of our lives definitely rings true in a large partRead MoreThe Effects of Facebook Communication on Social Penetration Theory1456 Words   |  6 Pages The Effects of Facebook Communication on Social Penetration Theory This paper examines a possible study to measure how CMC -- specifically Facebook communication -- is changing and evolving social penetration theory (Altman Taylor, 1973). More specifically, the surveys are designed to determine if self-disclosure is happening more quickly in Facebook relationships. Altman and Taylor examine the stages of self-disclosure in social penetration theory and this study will determine if the linesRead MoreSocial Penetration Theory ( Altman And Taylor s Theory882 Words   |  4 Pages Social Penetration Theory Hermeet Kalsi, Ancheta Aaron, Millie, Stephanie, Lucà ­a Skinner Mission College â€Æ' Social Penetration Theory (Altman and Taylor’s, 1973) The Social Penetration Theory interpersonal communication was proposed by the psychologists and theorists, Altman and Taylor in 1973, with the idea of offering an explanation for the closeness or intimacy that can develop between two people. â€Å"The social penetration theory states that as relationships develop, communicationRead MoreSocial Penetration Theory827 Words   |  4 PagesFounder of the theory The founders of the theory were Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. 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