Is Your Energy Drink Killing You?

A great deal of focus has been put on deaths linked to alcohol and caffeine-laced energy drinks like Four Loko, but what about the movement that started it all? Highly caffeinated drinks like Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar, 5-Hour Energy and Full Throttle are especially popular with teenagers and young adults.

Often the combination of ingredients in these beverages, which are sold next to sodas and sport drinks in supermarkets, drugstores and convenience stores, are unknown and potentially harmful. Studies at The Mayo Clinic question both the effectiveness and safety of energy drinks. They contain high levels of caffeine and can trigger dangerous, even life-threatening, effects on blood pressure, heart rate and brain function.

Four documented cases of caffeine-associated death have been reported, as well as five separate cases of seizures associated with consumption of energy drinks. But what about the long term? What about liver and cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes? We could speculate about a lot of possible problems, but we just don’t know.

The scary part? Anyone can buy these drinks, even 12-year-old kids. A 16-ounce can of an energy drink may contain 13 teaspoons of sugar and the amount of caffeine found in four or more colas. Other ingredients often found in energy drinks include taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba and milk thistle. For adults, adding alcohol to the mix can really be a recipe for disaster. Under the stimulation of energy drinks, people may think they are sober when they are not, getting behind the wheel to drive.

Most energy drinks, as of yet, are not largely regulated.