Energy drinks can rob you of energy, fitness in the long run BRIGHT EATING
Reported June 15, 2008
GERMAN authorities this month warned that energy drinks can cause irregular heartbeats, seizures, high blood pressure, psychosis, kidney failure and even death.
The drinks pose particular risks, European scientists say, for athletes, pregnant and nursing women and children and teens.
Earlier this year, four Florida teenagers went to the hospital with heart palpitations after consuming energy drinks. Florida, Kentucky, Idaho, Maine and California are considering regulating energy drinks in schools because of the health hazards and the negative effects a caffeine buzz–then crash–can have on students.
It’s ironic that energy drinks are getting an unhealthy reputation, because many energy drinks masquerade as natural health foods packed with vitamins and herbs.
CONFUSING INGREDIENTS
There is no legal definition for energy drinks. However, many of them contain pure caffeine as well as caffeine-rich herbs such as guarana and yerba mate. Energy drinks also often contain “healthy” ingredients such as B vitamins, taurine, green tea and the like.
The effect is not always healthy, though. France, Denmark and Norway banned the popular energy drink Red Bull years ago. Britain issued warnings that highly caffeinated energy drinks, like coffee, have been linked to miscarriages.
Yet the popularity of energy drinks continues to soar.
People spent more than $17 billion on energy drinks in 2007, according to nutra ingredients.com, a news service focused on dietary supplements.
And by far most of the people buying energy drinks are young. Very young. One-third of 12- to 24-year-olds regularly guzzle energy drinks, according to the Marin Institute, an anti-alcohol organization.
‘A WIDE-AWAKE DRUNK’
The Marin Institute is up in arms about energy drinks pre-mixed with alcohol, in drinks such as Sparks, Tilt and Bud Extra. Manufacturers promote these drinks to help people party longer.
Some people believe that energy drinks make them more alert and counteract the effects of alcohol, but in fact, the drinkers are still too impaired to drive, according to a Brazilian study and a German case report.
The effect may be similar to the folk saying that giving a cup of coffee to a drunken person will not sober him up, but instead make him “a wide-awake drunk.”
College students who drink alcohol mixed with energy drinks had significantly higher rates of being taken advantage of sexually, riding with a drunken driver or getting injured, according to a North Carolina study.
And college men who regularly consume energy drinks are at risk for “toxic jock identity,” which includes unprotected sex, drug use and violence, according to Buffalo, N.Y., researchers.
A BUZZ AND A CRASH
Another drawback to combining alcohol and caffeine is that both can dehydrate people. Ironically, dehydration can make the drinkers feel very tired after the initial caffeine high wears off.
Many energy drinks have as much or more caffeine than coffee, but they taste like soda, which teens love.
A slim 8-ounce can of Red Bull has about 65 mg of caffeine, which is double the amount in a can of cola or cup of tea, but still less than the amount in a cup of regular coffee. However, some energy drinks (as well as large cups of coffee) have up to 300 mg of caffeine in a single serving, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Less than that, only 200 mg of caffeine a day, can double women’s risk of miscarriage, according to California research published this year.
Caffeine also can cause nausea and nervousness. And caffeine has been shown to raise blood pressure even in children, though the effect is much stronger in adults who already have high blood pressure.
Caffeine is also addictive. Regular coffee drinkers like myself can attest to the withdrawal headaches that may occur if we skip our morning cup of java.
WAKE UP NATURALLY
A couple of cups of coffee or tea daily are probably not harmful, nor is the occasional energy drink. But large doses can cause problems.
There are healthy alternatives. Sleeping seven to eight hours nightly, eating balanced meals and walking or exercising for 30 to 60 minutes a day have been proven to boost people’s moods all day long.
That’s far better than the highs and lows promised by energy drinks and caffeine.
Jennifer Motl welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteat ing.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.