Energy Shmenergy

Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle, AMP. We all know of them, but do we know about them? Generally, energy drinks are sweet, carbonated and caffeinated beverages that promise a healthier and better tasting alternative to coffee. Such benefits claimed are increased alertness, a burst of energy, and an intake of numerous vitamins and supplements that you have probably never even heard of!

But let's cut the crap.

Most people are aware that drinking energy drinks are bad for you, but many do not know that they can actually be dangerous.
Created in 1987, Red Bull was the first energy drink to hit U.S. shelves and has begun an irrevocable trend among young people, especially college students.
Although energy drink manufacturers claim to improve performance and endurance, experts argue that any boost you get from drinking energy drinks are solely from the sugar and caffeine. While the great amounts of sugar that are typically found in energy drinks can give you a sudden burst of energy, expect to crash and burn the day away after the effects have worn off.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) currently limits caffeine to 65 milligrams (mg) per serving of a food or beverage. The average cup of coffee contains 65-175 mg of caffeine. But since energy drinks are currently not regulated by the FDA (because the ingredients they contain are not yet considered drugs), they can contain as much as 300 mg of caffeine in a single serving.

300 milligrams of caffeine per day is exactly the amount that studies have shown can actually affect an individual's fertility. Pregnant women are advised to stay away from caffeine because large amounts have been found to cause miscarriages. Recently, caffeine has also been linked to osteoperosis, a disease that can lead to broken bones. Caffeine is an addictive drug. Regular caffeine users often suffer from withdrawal symptoms that may include intense headaches or fatigue.

Today, the ingredients in energy drinks have also been found to increase your heart rate, your blood pressure and even cause heart palpitations, an abnormal awareness of the heartbeat, leading to a possible increase in risk for heart disease. It is not only the sugar and caffeine that can cause negative effects on the human body; Many of the 'supplements' that are included in energy drinks take advantage of the naivete of energy drink lovers.

Energy drinks are beverages that contain massive amounts of sugar and legal stimulants such as caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng. Taurine, an amino acid produced by the human body naturally, was found to cause self-mutilation in lab rats. The effects of adding unnatural amounts to the human system remain unknown. In 2000, the death of an Irish athlete who consumed four energy drinks during a game led to the taurine ban in countries such as France, Norway and Denmark.

Despite such negative findings, the energy drink market seems unstoppable. With the soft drink industry raking in $56 billion annually, energy drink competitors have great interest in attaining even a fraction of the beverage industry profits. Energy drinks have recently gone to marketing extremes. By sponsoring extreme sports such as sky diving, bungee jumping and even airplane racing, marketers have been able to throw their name out to the public in hopes that some young, curious soul will pay 3 bucks for it the next time they see it in a convenience store. Products such as Red Bull and Monster have even gone so far as to drive up to college campuses to handout chilled cans (even cases!) of their product to passer-bys.

With marketing strategies that appeal to people between the ages of 13 and 30, consumers have begun to depend on energy drinks as a regular energy source, sometimes even ignoring their need for healthy foods. After all, energy drinks claim to be healthy! In fact, the desire to establish a regular home in the hands of consumers has influenced their marketing strategies to an extreme. They have names that suggest better health, power, speed, virility, and even... getting high?!

Cocaine, an energy drink boasting of over 200 mg of caffeine, has caused controversy since the day it hit shelves. Similarly, a new product, called Blow (a slang word for cocaine), with 240 milligrams of caffeine per serving, (5,750 mg per package) can already be ordered online as an energy drink powder. Packaged in Styrofoam to resemble a package of cocaine, the white powder comes in a tube with a handy dandy mirror, credit card and photos of the drug being processed and smuggled onto a plane to complete the kit. The powder is intended to simply be poured into a beverage, stirred or shaken and then consumed. So what's with the accessories?

Law officials are clearly against it, arguing that such products promote a criminal lifestyle.
Blow Creator, Logan Gola, says concerned parents should get a life, worry about other things. Supporters agree. Worry about alcohol, they say.
Maybe they have a point. Turns out, the combination of energy drinks with alcohol have increased the dangers of drinking.
But what exactly are the effects of a combination of alcohol, caffeine and longer periods of binge drinking? A study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine has found that college students who mix alcohol with caffeinated energy drinks were twice as likely to be hurt or injured, twice as likely to require medical attention, and twice as likely to ride with an intoxicated driver. The study also found that these students were more than twice as likely to take advantage of someone else sexually, and almost twice as likely to be taken advantage of.

Alcohol is a depressant. Caffeine is a stimulant. Caffeine is also a diuretic (causes you to urinate) and, like alcohol, dehydrates the body. The combination of the diuretic effects of alcohol and caffeine can cause your body's fluids to drop to dangerous levels. Dehydration caused from vomiting can cause seizures, permanent brain damage and even death. But because fatigue is one of the ways to tell that you've had enough to drink, the stimulating effect of energy drinks counter the depressive effects of alcohol and may hide just how intoxicated you are. In 1991, two people in Sweden who drank alcohol with an energy drink reportedly died of dehydration.
If you do not take energy drinks fairly often, fear not. It is in the routine use of energy drinks to keep you up in class and then to party with on the weekends where the danger ultimately lies. What is important is that you know what you're putting into your body and that you realize there are healthier ways of getting energy. Try an apple just before class for a change.

How Caffeine Works
Caffeine works by blocking the effects of adenosine, a brain chemical involved in sleep. When caffeine blocks adenosine, it causes neurons in the brain to fire. Thinking the body is in an emergency, the pituitary gland initiates the body's "fight or flight" response by releasing adrenaline. This hormone makes the heart beat faster and the eyes dilate. It also causes the liver to release extra sugar into the bloodstream for energy. Caffeine affects the levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain's pleasure center. All of these physical responses make you feel as though you have more energy. - HowStuffWorks.com

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