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Energy drinks may rob you of energy in the long run--or worse

Date published: 6/15/2008

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.

Jennifer Motl is a registered dietitian. Formerly of Fredericksburg, she now lives in Wisconsin.

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Date published: 6/15/2008