My friend Liz from Run With Sneakers found an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics addressing the issue surrounding energy drinks entitled: Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults.
Liz provided such a great review of the article and the information provided, I wanted to share this information with my readers. Since her post was so informative, I thought I would just touch upon some of the points she made in her own post regarding this study; Energy Drinks = Risky Business.
Energy drinks are one of the fastest growing beverages in the US market, with sales expected to reach ~$9 billion by the end of 2011. The main marketing target appears to be children and adolescents ranging from ages <12 to 25 years olds. While consuming caffeine in moderation is okay, the problem with energy drinks is they contain high doses of caffeine which can trigger seizures, mania, stroke, and even sudden death. In children, especially those with behavioral disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular/liver/renal disease, or those taking certain medications, risks can be even higher. “In 2008, the National Federation of State High School Associations, did not recommend energy drinks and cited potential risks, the absence of benefit, and drug interactions.” The FDA does not regulate energy drinks because while soft drinks are considered a “food,” energy drinks are considered a “dietary supplement,” and therefore NOT regulated.
“Energy drinks are risky to our health” Jen from Run With Sneakers.
Caffeine, taurine, sugars, sweeteners, and herbal supplements are just some of the ingredients found in energy drinks. Aside from the sugar content of some of these beverages, the caffeine content is the real shocker. Many drinks contain ~70-80 mg of caffeine per 8-oz serving, which can be more than 3-5 times the amount of caffeine found in cola beverages (depending on if the drink is classified as an energy “drink” or energy “shot”). Additional additives which contribute caffeine include guarana, kola nut, yerba mate, and cocoa. Manufacturers are NOT required to list the caffeine content from these additional ingredients, therefore the caffeine content could be even higher than what is listed! These ingredients have very few studies that examine the physiologic and synergistic effects, so results are inconclusive and contradictory about how they affect our bodies.
A caffeine intake of <400 mg/day is considered safe for healthy adults. Toxicity begins at 1 gram and can be lethal with 5-10 grams of ingestion. Adults consuming low to moderate amounts (1-3 mg/kg of body weight or 12.5-100 mg/day) experience improvements in exercise, cognition, and mood with sleep deprivation. Consuming 4-12 mg/kg of caffeine has negative effects; anxiety, irritability, and common withdrawal symptoms of headache and fatigue. Caffeine intoxication can lead to tachycardia, insomnia, palpitations, stroke, paralysis, seizures, arrhythmia, and even death. In children, caffeine consumption should not exceed 100mg per day. A drink like Red Bull has 77 mg of caffeine.
In a study conducted in New Zealand, caffeine exposure from energy drinks was calculated for 5-12 year olds, 13-19 year olds, and 19-24 year olds; “after consuming a single retail unit, 70% of the children and 40% of the teenagers who consumed caffeine exceeded the adverse effect level of 3 mg/kg of body weight.” The study concluded that an average child, teenager, or young man would ALL, on average, exceed the adverse-effect level after consuming a single retail unit of energy drink/energy shot above their baseline dietary caffeine exposure. Which basically means, with everything else you eat or drink that contains caffeine in a given day, drinking energy drinks will make you exceed safe caffeine levels and put you at risk for adverse effects!
While the US poison centers have not tracked overdoses attributed to energy drinks, Germany has tracked energy drink incidents since 2002. Liver damage, kidney failure, respiratory disorders, seizures, agitation, psychotic conditions, tachycardia (fast heart beat), hypertension, heart failure, and death have all been reported.
“I think the upshot here is: JUST SAY “NO” TO ENERGY DRINKS.” Jen at Run With Sneakers.
Although I did not have time to review the complete 20 page article in this post (and I encourage you to read it if you want more information), I would have to agree with Jen when she says to “just say no” to energy drinks. I completely agree that energy drinks are not the wisest beverage choice, especially when children can risk such serious adverse health effects. With so many more nutritious beverage choices out there; water, herbal teas, 100% fruit juice, why take the risk?
QUESTION: Do you drink energy beverages? What are your thoughts on this issue?
My husband used to drink energy drinks occasionally in college, but I never got into them. I hated the sickly sweet tart smell of them, so I was never interested in trying any. Plus, I knew that amount of sugar and caffeine couldn’t be good!
this reminds me, some girl in New Zealand actually died last year from too many energy drinks. (heart attack. she was drinking something like 18 cans a day.) anyway, just add this to my list of things i’ve never tried. (seriously, am i the most boring person in the world??
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I don’t drink energy drinks- I don’t think they are healthy at all!
Great post! I don’t drink energy drinks. I will say I do have coffee but limit it to one cup (if that) a day. I see a lot of my patients who are children drink energy drinks. So crazy!!!
I’ve never had an energy drink – they sort of scare me!
I totally agree with the just say not. Energy drinks are just way too much caffeine for the body, especially for kids!
I always thought the caffeine limit was 300 mg for adults. Where did you get the above info about 400 mg? I’m truly curious.
As for the energy drinks, I was teaching a class to a group of seventh graders a few weeks ago and after my talk I asked if they had any questions (the topic was heart health). One kid raised his hand in the back and asked about energy drinks. I asked the class to raise their hands if they drink energy drinks, and half of them raised their hands. I almost cried. I just couldn’t believe it! It’s not just the caffeine but also the sugar, and the fact that the drink is replacing other drinks, such as milk and water, that really bothers me. I told the kids that if they need energy drinks at THIS age, they have another thing coming once they reach adulthood!! At the age of 13 they should have all the natural energy in the world, they shouldn’t need an energy drink, so they shouldn’t get “addicted” now. I hope they listed (or at least a couple….).
I totally agree with you! Energy Drinks should be left at the dust. Instead, for energy, we should eat healthy foods!
I Stay away from them for the most part- although I will have a few sips now and then.
No! Never! ACK!
I love coffee, but only drink decaf, and I never drink soda. I can’t imagine putting that energy drink garbage in my body! I will never understand why people think they can just mistreat their bodies so badly…there are bound to be horrible effects when you disregard what’s good for you!
Thanks for writing about such an important topic!
I used to drink sugar free red bull in college, and it is one of those things that you can just tell isn’t good for you. The thought of drinking one right now really grosses me out!
Thank you SO much for posting this! I used to be addicted to sugar-free Red Bull. During college, I drank two every day …One first thing in the morning and one at night. Now the thought of it makes me unbelievably sick to my stomach. Yuck.
It frightens me that children are consuming these beverages! The FDA should be regulating energy drinks (and supplements!).
I drink NOTHING with caffeine in it… I don’t like energy drinks (even though i am a promo girl for one whoops!) and coffee just isn’t appealing to me!
I used to drink energy drinks in high school. Now I would never drink them and I would certainly never give them to my son! I see so many middle school/high school kids running around with energy drinks in their hands–they have natural energy at such a young age! Anyway, I agree: we should just say no!
I totally agree! Energy drinks are garbage!
I have never tried an energy drink, and never will. They just seem a bit scary. However, know a couple of folks who swear they are a godsend when their energy slumps!
We learned in anatomy that energy drinks cause the body to release things called excitotins which actually degenerate the Schwann cells surrounding the axons of our nerve cells, which help send electrical impulses through the nerves faster…so energy drinks, over time, actually *decrease* our ability to react!
I definitely agree on the “just say no” thing!
I don’t drink energy drinks, but I think like everything else, dosage and context matter. Once in awhile, not a huge deal. On a daily basis, that’s a different story, but would also depend on overall diet and the ingredients in the drink.
Great post Erin! I have never tried an energy drink, nor do I ever care to! I’d rather get my energy from whole foods instead of caffeine and sugar and all the other crap in those cans! One of my old roommates used to drink them while she studied for exams and she made herself SO sick one day. Not for me!
Erin, you did a great job with your added wisdom on this topic. It always makes me cringe when I see kids slugging down these drinks. I used to just be concerned about the sugar content, now I’m more concerned about the caffeine (and who knows what else.) I know that some young adults like to mix alcohol with these energy drinks — don’t even get me started on that stupid choice.
I do drink them from time to time but a LOT less often then I used to. I commented on Liz’s post as well but I truly believe that children should not be drinking these EVER. There is no need for that much caffeine and sugar for a growing child who should be getting energy from rest and good nutrition ( much the same as me now that I think about it)
AH! ive never ever had energy drinks but tons of people i know do to stay up and study blah blah.. WOW i didnt know just HOW horrible they are for our bodies!
Ugh! I loathe energy drinks. Just hate them. They are such garbage!! My brother drinks red bull and vodka and I just want to smack him. It’s like taking an upper and a downer in one drink…SO not good for your body!!!
Say no is right! Thanks for posting about this!