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Could Your Energy Drink Kill You?

posted December 13, 2006 - 10:49am
Could Your Energy Drink Kill You?

An article in the 12/12/06 New York Times looks at the potentially serious health effects of consuming energy drinks, which can have as much caffeine as two cups of coffee in one can.

Even moderate amounts of caffeine can be dangerous to people with conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and anxiety, and the effect can be even more harmful in young people (a key consumer group for energy drinks).

Most of these drinks don't list the amount of caffeine on the label, so drinkers don't know how much caffeine they're consuming. The effects of mixing such drinks with alcohol is not yet known.

The article notes: "A recent survey by researchers at Northwestern University found that an overdose of caffeine supplements triggered more than 250 reports to the Illinois Poison Control Center over a three-year period. The aver age age of those affected was 21."

A new energy drink, provocatively named Cocaine, contains a whopping 240 milligrams of caffeine–about four times the amount found in a 12oz. can of Coca-Cola.

Just for fun, you can visit a Web site with a "Death by Caffeine" calculator that will tell you how much of your favorite caffeinated drink it would take to kill you. I can't vouch for the tool's accuracy or methodology, but it's fun and an interesting way to gauge the relative caffeine content of sodas, coffees, energy drinks, and other products.

The site also includes sections on caffeine content in candy, a caffeine FAQ, and a link to findings on energy drinks by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. According to a 12/5/06 press release by the CSPI, the food industry is pressuring the Bush Administration to extend what the CSPI calls "weak standards" for dietary supplement ingredients and label claims in these products.

Would news such as this make you reduce the amount of energy drinks you consume, or at least try to find out how much caffeine is in your brand?

Author: Idlewild
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Comments

Crack in a Can

jdubhub - Wed, 2008-30-7 12:58 pm
I doubt there are inner city crackheads with as bad an addiction as most caffeine addicts. I should know---I'm a recovering caffeine addict myself. Ever since my first job at an Orange Julius in high school, where I discovered the sleep-depriving qualities of Pepsi, I've had a love-hate relationship with it. I probably peaked out while in the Navy and on deployment in 1995, when I was drinking a 12-pack of Mountain Dew everyday for the caffeine rush. Back in the late 1990's, there was a drink from Royal Crown Cola called RC Edge. It made Jolt look like weak tea and it actually tasted pretty good. While working retail in one of my post-navy jobs, I was washing down two Stacker2 capsules (back when they had ephedra) and washing it down with a six pack of RC Edge. This is all during an 8-hour shift. While I did get a lot of stuff done during the shift, I probably wasn't doing my heart and other internal organs any favors. Until two weeks ago, my drink of choice was Diet Pepsi Max. Caffeine+Ginseng with no calories. I ended up quitting cold turkey and took Excedrin Migraine, which has a little caffeine to go with the aspirin, when I had bad withdrawals. I tried Red Bull when it first came out. To me, it tasted like carbonated Flintstones chewables. Blech. The only energy drink as such I drank with any regularity was Mountain Dew Amp (Amped?). I know what you mean about kids and caffeine addiction, too. While working retail, we had the local middle school and high school kids coming in the morning on the way to school grabbing coffee and energy drink, in addition to Uptime pills and other things like that. Some of the kids looked like they took a cue from their parents and were grabbing coffee to get over a hangover. We had a policy of limiting the sales of most products to someone who at least looked close to 18. I don't doubt that most of the energy drink marketing is directed at children, especially if you look at the cooler door set at any store that sells those drinks. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

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@ Idlewild

tehhaxorer - Wed, 2008-30-7 12:06 pm
It sure is a great name, especially when you offhandedly offer your friend some cold Bawls. The possibilities are endless though. Want to join Xomba earn money with your writing? Then click here: http://www.xomba.com/referral/777979ea

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Reminds

Darrell Curts - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:38 am
Reminds me of the old "patent medicine" days, were they didn't have to list what they put in their "medicines" because they were considered properatary(?)secrets (cigs anyone?). Many of these contained large amounts of Heroin, Morphine and Cocaine. Ahhhh - the good 'ole days.

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Bawls?

Idlewild - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:33 am
Haven't heard of that one... great name, though

Jolt

Idlewild - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:32 am
Yeah, I remember Jolt and that tagline. It was the favorite of computer junkies and students back in the day. Seems pretty tame compared to what's out there today.

Caffeine

Idlewild - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:31 am
Coffee can have varying amounts of caffeine depending on the brand, brew, etc., but everyone knows coffee has caffeine. The problem with energy drinks is that, until recently, they wouldn't even list the amount of caffeine, or of other ingredients (some of which can be dangerous to people with certain medical problems). So something called an 'energy drink' could have very little caffeine... or up to 300 milligrams (in the case of Cocaine). People should definitely find out what they're putting in their bodies. Starbucks coffee can have twice as much caffeine as what you might brew at home. My problem was that the energy drink makers were for quite a while refusing to identify what (and how much) was in their products.

A far as energy drinks go,

tehhaxorer - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:23 am
A far as energy drinks go, Bawls is king. No pr0 gamer goes without! Healthy or not, it is delicious and the bottle is so pretty... Want to join Xomba earn money with your writing? Then click here: http://www.xomba.com/referral/777979ea

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While

Darrell Curts - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:17 am
While strolling down memory lane here, I have longing memories of all nighters with the grandfather of all energy drinks - Jolt. I think their slogan was something like "All the sugar and twice the caffeine. Ahhhhhhh - college!

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Energy Drinks Caffeine Level

Xomba Moderator - Wed, 2008-30-7 11:06 am
Caffeine is something I happen to be a big fan of and I have had experience with. The excessive amounts of sugar in energy drinks is bad but so is the excessive amounts of sugar in Mountain Dew. My real problem is with the double standards people have with the caffeine content in coffee vs. energy drinks. Regular brewed coffee has LOTS of caffeine. An 8oz cup of coffee has about 107 mg of caffeine. That's just 8oz of coffee which is less than a Tall serving at Starbucks. By comparison the most popular energy drink on the market, Red Bull, has 80 mg of caffeine for an 8.3oz serving. I'm not trying to say that any of these things are good for you, I'm just saying that excessive levels of caffeine are found in more places than just energy drinks.

Kristen Malmed
Online Communications Specialist

Energy drinks

Idlewild - Wed, 2008-30-7 10:49 am
More of these drinks have been putting caffeine content, etc. on their labels (in response to laws, of the threat of them). Of course you can't force someone to read a label, but it's good the info is finally there so people can make comparisons.

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