Here’s a story many parents have watched with horror in recent months. A 14-year-old named Anais Fournier drinks two cans of Monster Energy drink in a 24-hour period and dies of cardiac arrest. The coroner’s report attributes her death to a “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.”
Thousands of teenagers consume energy drinks like Monster everyday, often several times a day. But are they safe? Unfortunately the answer to this question is yet to be determined. However, many teenagers assume they are because they can buy these beverages at the corner grocery store.
These products—which have names like Monster, Fuel, Nitrous, X-Presso, Red Bull, and Amp—are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Rather, they are classified as health supplements, not as a food or drug, which limits FDA oversight of the drinks.
Dr. Mindy Haar, director of the nutrition program at the New York Institute of Technology explains: “[Because] energy drinks are classified as health supplements, sale is permitted until enough people have serious side effects.
Parents may not want to wait that long.
Are Energy Drinks Bad? Some Energy Drink Facts
In 2011, over 20,000 people, mostly teenagers and young adults, went to the emergency room for problems associated with energy drinks. That number had doubled since 2007.
These beverages are loaded with the stimulant caffeine. How much? An eight-ounce cup of coffee has 100-150 mg of caffeine. By contrast, Monster Energy, typically distributed in 16-ounce cans, has 420 mg of caffeine. That’s the same amount of caffeine as is found in 14 cans of Coke.
“These energy drinks include loads of caffeine, guarana [a plant whose seeds are rich in caffeine], and other stimulants, which increases the heart rate,” explains New York City-based registered dietician Lisa C. Cohn. “This puts extra demand on the heart and brain and that could put someone in a dangerous position.”
Like Fournier, whose fatal arrhythmia was brought about by the amount of caffeine she’d consumed.
Caffeine is also linked with increasing blood pressure, dizziness, muscle tremors, nervousness, and stomach upset. Adds Cohn: “Caffeine is a diuretic, so it encourages dehydration and the excretion of B vitamins., [This] can make people feel light headed, moody, and cause sleep problems.”
Meanwhile, statistics show that 42 percent of energy-drink related visits to the ER involve mixing these drinks with drugs and/or alcohol. “Energy and alcohol shouldn’t mix; the nervous system can only take so much,” stresses Cohn.
In particular, the caffeine found in energy drinks will delay the feeling of intoxication or drunkeness, which can lead teenagers to drink well-beyond their normal limits. Mixing these drinks with prescription drugs is another area of concern, like, for example, the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin, both commonly prescribed for ADHD. Teenagers mixing these drugs with massive doses of caffeine are giving their nervous system an extra whammy.
Recreating Effects Of Energy Drinks With Healthy Choices
Problem is, many teenagers believe they need the boost these drinks offer. But that’s not so, says Sina Nafisi, a cardiologist at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.
“Although energy drinks appear to be an easy solution to fatigue, they are actually just masking the fatigue,” she explains, adding that teenagers should instead “keep energy steady throughout the day by making healthy life changes.”
Specifically:
- Eat breakfast. Skipping meals throws off metabolism, which can cause energy levels to plummet.
- Snack throughout the day. Keeping blood sugar levels steady prevents energy levels from spiking and dropping. Try to reach for something healthy: yogurt, fruit, pretzels, or whole grains snacks for starters.
- Drink your water! Fatigue is often caused by dehydration, and recall that dehydration can be caused by consuming too much caffeine, the main additive found in energy drinks.
Monster Energy, at the center of this controversy, states on their web site:“ … all our guys walk the walk in action sports, punk rock music, partying, hangin’ with the girls and living life on the edge. Monster is … a lifestyle in a can.”
An appealing message for the typical teenager. But experts recommend that parents talk to their teens about what risks are in that can too.
Energy drinks are beverages that contain concentrated amounts of caffeine and other stimulants, including sugar, sweeteners, herbal supplements, vitamins, and taurine.
Energy drinks are marketed to improve energy, stamina, concentration, athletic performance, and even weight loss. But, there are limited studies to prove these claims. In fact, many side effects have been linked to these products, raising the question of whether these are safe to consume.
Though these drinks aren’t recommended for children, the number of youngsters drinking these beverages have increased over the years. In the age group between 11 and 18 years, boys consume more energy drinks than girls. Also, the most and least sedentary individuals are those who consume more of these beverages.
Caffeine molecule, 3d illustration. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea and energy drinks. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock
Are energy drinks safe for kids?
Energy drinks contain high and unregulated amounts of caffeine. Normally, children and adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old, should not drink more than 100mg of caffeine a day, which is equivalent to a cup of coffee.
Energy drinks contain from about 50 mg to a whopping 500 mg of caffeine per serving. Increased caffeine levels consumed by children can cause a wide range of health consequences. Some of these adverse effects are serious enough to require seeking medical help.
Overall, the number of annual emergency department visits linked to energy drinks consumption increased from 10,068 in 2007 to a staggering 20,783 in 2011. Plus, there have been 34 deaths associated with energy drinks, warranting investigation on the safety of these beverages.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1,145 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 went to the emergency room for emergencies linked to drinking energy drinks in 2007. In 2011, the number soared to 1,499.
What are the health effects of energy drinks on children?
Although healthy individuals can tolerate caffeine in moderation, heavy caffeine consumption, just like drinking energy drinks, has been linked to serious health effects like mania, seizures, stroke, and even sudden death.
Children and adolescents are at a higher risk of developing adverse effects from drinking energy drinks. These include palpitations, sleeping problems, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and seizures. Children who drank more energy drinks were likely to use alcohol or have binge drinking, to smoke, or use other drugs, and display hyperactivity and other high-risk behavior.
This was also linked to self-destructive behavior, problems with behavioral regulation and other social skills, as well as poor lifestyle choices such as junk food consumption. In the long term, the high sugar content of these drinks causes dental caries, weight gain, obesity or overweight, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Large amounts of caffeine may cause severe heart and blood vessel problems like heart rhythm disturbances, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. In children, caffeine may negatively impact their still-developing cardiovascular and nervous systems.
In some cases, children and adolescents drink these beverages without control. They gulp several bottles a day, which can turn deadly. Caffeine intoxication, caffeine withdrawal symptoms, sleep disturbances, dehydration and anxiety are among the immediate dangers of unregulated energy drink consumption.
In fact, the American Heart Association (AHA) warns against children drinking these beverages. In a randomized study conducted by experts, they found that caffeinated energy drinks markedly prolong the QTc interval, a measurement made on an electrocardiogram used to assess some of the electrical properties of the heart, and also increase the central and brachial blood pressure. Prolonged QTc interval increases the likelihood of ventricular tachycardia, a type of fast heart rate that comes from an altered electrical activity in the heart.