Fourth Blog Post Assignment

Fourth Blog Post Assignment

Dustin Never    

So what have I learned about doing this blog?  Blogging to me has been a worthwhile experience that has opened my eyes to my own writing and that of others.  I have been able to better myself as a writer and have gotten the opportunity to look back and re-observe my writing process for my annotated bibliography.  It was very helpful actually taking the time and thinking through my annotated bibliography, which blogging made me do.  I also learned a lot from looking at other people’s ideas and how they went about the annotated bibliography assignment. 

                By blogging I learned what to concentrate on in my paper and was able to take a closer look to see if my sources were solid or if they needed work.  I was able to use the feedback I was given to find better sources.  For example I was able to find two great articles from men’s health, which Ms. Ingram suggested I try.  I was also able to find an experiment about Gatorade and its effects on performance from the schools database.  Without using this blogging tool I would have never been able to find all the great information I found.  I know have both positive and negative aspects of all three of the products I decided to concentrate my research on.

                The only thing that blogging didn’t significantly help me with was on how to format my paper.  Blogging helped me to know what to put in my paper, where to find what to put in it, but not how to put the information into my paper.  I was able to figure out how to format my paper after the first group workshop.  I saw that the format I wrote my annotated bibliography in was not correct, so I changed it.  So now my paper is solid from the information that is in it to how it is put in the paper.

                Overall blogging was a good experience that I may consider in the future if I find a topic I am well informed on, and interested in.  Blogging is a great way to get information out there that you feel is important.  Not only am I now interested in blogging myself I am also interested in looking at and reading other peoples blogs.  It can be a great way to stay informed and see different points of views.  This was proven to me when I read some of my classmate’s blogs.     

Plog post 3

Third Blog Post Assignment

Dustin Never

I will be writing to athletes everywhere who are trying to improve their ability, college students, and healthy individuals.  Athletes would be interested in the effects of whey protein on their strength training, how Gatorade affects performance, and if energy drinks are really effective.  College students would be interested to see if energy drinks really do improve school performance, and the ability to concentrate.   Lastly healthy individuals will want to see the most effective way to stay healthy without risking side effects and crashes in energy.   I have a pretty good idea of who I would be writing to right now and how would be interested in my research.  My topic is timely because college students make up a huge part of energy drink sales.  Also advertisements with famous athletes and actors are flooding the air waves with their support of Gatorade and different energy drink products.   Athletes everywhere including high school and college athletes are trying to find ways to improve their game and one product commonly used is whey protein to boost muscle building.  I am invested in this topic because I have used all of these products myself and I want to see if they really aid my health and are effective, or if they are unhealthy and have been hurting me.  I think high school teachers made us write objectively with no personal investment because they wanted our papers to be politically correct, and with personal investment comes some amount of bias.  College teachers suddenly care because real writing involves personal investment or it means nothing.

                I am starting to see multiple viewpoints emerge in my research because most of these products especially energy drinks seem to have some negatives with the positives.   Energy drinks can increase energy for both athletes and college students, but they can be addictive, create crashes, and have huge amounts of sugar and caffeine.  Gatorade can improve performance, but it can also create weight gain, and there is a large amount of sodium which can be unhealthy.  Whey protein can be effective in building muscle, but if taken incorrectly it can have harmful side effects.   One interesting thing I have found so far is that Rock star energy drinks have the same amount of calories, and sugar as 6 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.  I have found that the process of research is long and time consuming, but if you sort through information with filters it makes it go a lot faster.

                I chose to review Cody Laws blog post 2 because I found it interesting how he found a web site saying that steroids are less dangerous than some medicines in our bathroom cabinets.  It seems like there isn’t a lot of information to go along with the topic that steroids are healthy, so I would maybe try to move my topic to something else.  Maybe something to do with athletes and then tie steroids back in to your paper. 

Second blog post assignment

Second Blog Post Assignment

The most interesting source I have found so far has been the page I found on whey protein on WebMD.  I was unable to find an author for the information that was given, but the information was very helpful.  The title of the information Was Find a Vitamin or Supplement Whey Protein. There was a section for a general overview of whey protein, it’s uses, side effects, interactions, and dosing.  This has been by far the best source I have found because the information is laid out for you in clear cut sections.  I was easily able to find that whey protein was effective in improving athletic performance, strength training, and in decreasing the weight loss in people with HIV disease.  I was also able to find the side effects of whey protein such as increased bowel movements, nausea, thirst, bloating, cramps, reduced appetite, tiredness (fatigue), and headache.

                My topic so far hasn’t changed, but I am thinking about concentrating my research on just the effects of energy drinks because the greatest amount of information appears to be on that subject.  I like the other topics of my research which include whey protein and Gatorade because they have a bigger impact on my life, so I don’t want to completely scratch them from my research.  There is however less debate on these topics, but I have been able to find some articles both supporting and arguing them both.  The biggest challenge I am facing so far is finding scholarly articles that are connected to each of these products.  I have found a few, but there are so many articles that have nothing to do with anything that I want to research that are in my way.  The best research tip I can give is just to take the time and look though the data base that the librarian gave us even though it seems like it is throwing a flood of articles at you.   It seems to be worth the time and effort.  

 Dustin Never

Blog post 1 assignment

                My research question is what do pre and post work out products such as Gatorade, whey protein, and energy drinks do to either support or hurt the body?  I decided on this question because it is a topic that has a clear effect on my life.   I have experimented with all of these products in my experiences with sports and lifting weights.   I would like to know if these products support my efforts as an athlete, and aid in my attempts to build strength, energy, and recovery or if they have a negative effect.  This topic is important because a lot of athletes try to do whatever they can to be in there top shape and performance without knowing the best way of doing it.  Commercials supporting Gatorade and energy drink brands like red bull, and rock star are flooding the air waves with popular athletes endorsing them.  Many people get caught up in these ads and believe that these products will get them an advantage on the field without any research, rather they just a trust in the advertisement.  There is a reason that companies advertise and it’s to sell products and tell you the best of the product while overlooking its short comings.   I expect to find that these products are helpful for building muscle, refueling, and gaining energy, but also can have a negative effect if taken improperly or in the wrong scenario.  I have looked up the positives and negatives of each of these products and there is a trend showing that they are helpful if you are active and they are used at the right times and not abused.  Gatorade for example helps to regain electrolytes, and carbohydrates, and is effect in refueling athletes quickly.  Gatorade however can be hurtful in that in can cause weight gain, vitamin toxicity, Hyponatremia, and it increases the chances of high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.  My research indicates that energy drinks can help to improve performance and mental concentration in theory, but there are many concerns about the amount of caffeine that they put into the body.  It has been proven that Whey protein can help to improve an athlete’s performance, but there is evidence that if it is taken in high doses it can have harmful side effects.  Clearly I am coming across scholars who have differing viewpoints on each of these products.  Of all the products the one with the most questions and debate behind it is by far energy drinks.  All the products seem to be safe for most people if they are taken responsibly in moderation.  I believe that these products are beneficial to athletes and can have an effect on performance.   I also see the other side of the argument however because I believe that if abused these products have the potential to have negative effects on a person’s health.  Right now I believe that these products are ok to be used.