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| © Prevent Disease |
Two research papers, each published separately, suggest that concerns
over levels of caffeine and sugar in energy drinks, and their effects on
young people who drink them, are mounting.
Energy drinks are beverages that claim to "make you more alert and
give you energy." Most have ingredients like caffeine, sugar, taurine,
vitamins and herbs. They can be found anywhere you buy beverages
beside the pop, juices and sports drinks.
The amount of caffeine in energy drinks is more than what is
recommended for children. Most government public health agencies say
that children under 12 years of age should have less than 85 mg of
caffeine per day depending on their age. This means that one energy
drink can easily put children over their caffeine limits.
Energy Drinks have previously been found to cause irreversible damage
to tooth enamel and detrimentally affect the contraction of the heart.
A study published in the issue of General
Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of
General Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the consumption
of sports and energy drinks, especially among adolescents, is
causing irreversible damage to teeth--specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy outer layer of the tooth.
The FDA says they are powerless to change formulation of energy
drinks. "We have no guidance or regulations
that govern the formulation of energy drinks," said FDA spokeswoman
Susan Cruzan. The agency does not have the authority to do that.Cruzan
said. "Under current law, the manufacturer is responsible for
ensuring that its products are safe and such products do not require
FDA premarket review or approval."
"There's a tremendous amount of caffeine in these drinks," Jeanna
Marraffa, a clinical toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison
Center told USA TODAY. "I would say: know what's in these products,
have a sense of how much you're consuming and realize they are not
safe. Certainly you can have toxic effects from them."
Patrice Radden, a spokeswoman for Red Bull, said the company is
confident in the safety of its products and does not see the need for
warning labels.
All energy drinks including Nos, Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster, Full
Throttle and several others all contain many toxic sweeteners such as
sucralose,
aspartame and
high-fructose corn syrup.
3 Times Higher Caffeine
Noting that caffeine levels in energy drinks
are up to three times higher than in other caffeinated drinks including
coffee or cola, Dorner said known side-effects included a rapid heart
rate, palpitations, a rise in blood pressure "and in the most severe
cases, seizures or sudden death".
Manufactured by the chemical industry,
synthetic caffeine is big business in many drinks that contain the drug.
NATURAL CAFFEINE: Natural, real caffeine comes
from various plant species. Caffeine content within these plants will
vary throughout the year depending on weather, soil conditions, time of
year harvested, etc. So caffeine content is impossible and
impractical to determine for labeling on products like coffee or tea.
They have constantly changing amounts. Naturally caffeinated products
will not have caffeine as an ingredient or measurement on the label.
SYNTHETIC CAFFEINE: The first sign the caffeine
in your drink is synthetic is it is listed on the label & has an
exact measurement. This is the cheapest & most common added
caffeine source. The processes & compounds may vary between
chemical companies, but they are all disturbing.
FORTIFIED CAFFEINE: Still usually synthetic,
caffeine can be obtained from the coffee decaffeination industry,
although it is substantially pricier & rarely used. This will also
note caffeine on the label with a measurement. Caffeine supplies from
this industry use methylene chloride, formaldehyde or ethyl acetone for
it's removal. There is no such thing as removing the caffeine with
just water.
Two Studies Expose Dangers
The first study - a study of 10-35 year olds
Danes' intake of energy drinks conducted by the National Food Institute
of Denmark - shows that when children aged 10-14 consume energy
drinks, one in five consumes too much caffeine.
Indeed, when their caffeine intake from other
sources such as cola and chocolate is included, every second child, and
more than one in three adolescents aged 15-17 consume too much
caffeine, said the report.
The Danish report also found that 42% of energy
drink consumers have experienced adverse effects such as insomnia,
restlessness and heart palpitations.
"It is worrying that so many have experienced
adverse effects from drinking energy drinks," said Jeppe Matthiessen,
senior adviser from the National Food Institute.
The report also suggests that 10-14 year olds
have 'limited knowledge' of the ingredients in energy drinks, the side
effects of drinking them and the recommendation that children,
pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers should not consume energy
drinks.
"It seems as if there has been a change in the
perception of the types of drinks that people consider normal to
drink," said Matthiessen. "Among younger consumers energy drinks now
have the same status as soft drinks had previously."
"Both the use of and attitudes towards energy
drinks give us reason to be concerned that the intake will increase in
the coming years and we therefore suggest that more information will
be made available about energy drinks aimed at children and
adolescents as well as their parents."
Sugar and caffeine?
A second study, published in the Journal of
Caffeine Research, adds to the debate on caffeine and energy drinks by
evaluating whether the effects of caffeine differ with or without
sugar.
The results the research show that the
physiological responses to caffeine with and without sugar 'varied
widely' between individuals.
Elaine Rush and her colleagues from Aukland
University measured the heart rate and carbon dioxide production (as a
measure of respiration) of individuals for 30 minutes before and after
they consumed a defined quantity of sugar, caffeine, or sugar and
caffeine.
The team said that the wide range of responses
may be due to the effects of caffeine phenotype, physical activity
level, habitual intake and metabolic responses, including markers of de
novo lipogenesis -- adding that further research is needed.
Natasha Longo
has a master's degree in nutrition and is a certified fitness and
nutritional counselor. She has consulted on public health policy and
procurement in Canada, Australia, Spain, Ireland, England and Germany.
