Is High Performance in a Can A Bad Thing?

If you're one of those people who routinely burn the candle
at both ends, you may find yourself running out of energy
midway through the day. Yesterday's overachiever reached
for a cup of coffee; today's overachiever might reach for
an energy drink instead. Oh, by the way, today's
overachiever in need of an energy boost is also more likely
to be 12 to 24 years old.

Energy drinks are soft drinks advertised as providing
energy to improve physical activity of the drinker, as
compared to a typical drink. Rather than providing food
energy, these drinks are designed to increase mental
alertness and physical performance by the addition of
caffeine, vitamins, and herbal supplements which may
interact to provide a stimulant effect over and above any
effect from just caffeine.

There is a second type of energy drink, more often referred
to as a sports drink, that combines fluid/electrolyte
replacement with either simple or complex carbohydrates
(usually glucose or maltodextrose) to provide energy and
hydration during strenuous physical exercise. These drinks
are not included in this discussion.

Most energy drinks rely on caffeine or a combination of
caffeine and sugar or a combination of caffeine, sugar and
other supplements such as amino acids, vitamins and herbal
extracts to create an energy boost.

Caffeine is almost always the primary ingredient in energy
drinks. Once ingested, caffeine acts like adenosine, a
biochemical with a number of specialized functions in the
body. When adenosine binds to adenosine receptors in the
nervous system, it inhibits nervous system activity,
creating a calming, drowsy effect. Caffeine mimics
adenosine, and binds to the adenosine receptors in your
brain, preventing the real adenosine from slowing down
nerve impulses so your brain becomes more alert. At the
same time, the absence of bound adenosine results in a
higher level of dopamine being released into the blood
system. Dopamine improves feelings of well-being and
enhances mood. It's this dopamine effect that is the root
of caffeine's addictive properties.

Energy drinks vary widely in the amount of caffeine they
contain. With drinks packing as much as 171 mg of caffeine
per ounce, it's easy to ingest a lot of caffeine without
knowing it.

The sugar found in most energy drinks is in a very simple
form which can be quickly digested and transformed into a
short-lived burst of energy. Sugar is an energy-only
constituent, adding no proteins, minerals or other
nutrition.

Taurine is an amino acid that is found in abundance in
muscle tissue. While some studies have indicated that
taurine, combined with caffeine, improves mental
performance, those studies have generally been too small to
draw definitive conclusions. On the other hand, Cornell
researchers recently discovered a receptor for taurine in
the brain, suggesting that taurine may have a role in
neurological development and may actually contribute to the
crash people often experience after the energy jolt from an
energy drink.

Guarana is a berry that grows in Venezuela and Brazil. Its
extract is used as a flavoring and as a caffeine-like
stimulant. The few studies that exist suggest that guarana
may have either no effect or a limited stimulant effect.
Energy drinks add guanara as an additional source of
nervous system stimulation.

Yerba mate is a type of holly native to South America.
Leaves from this bush-like plant are steeped to access the
chemically active ingredient mateine, which chemists do not
distinguish from caffeine.

So what's the fuss? The controversy around energy drinks
focuses on several issues including safety, especially
effects of excessive caffeine, quality control and labeling
issues, combination with alcohol and marketing that is
targeted at tweens and teens.

Although a ubiquitous component of daily life, caffeine is
not without risks. Most of us have at least some anecdotal
evidence of the effects of too much caffeine, the heart
racing jitters that accompany a few too many espressos. In
fact, excessive caffeine intake can lead to not only a fast
heart rate and tremors but also excessive urination,
nausea, vomiting, restlessness, anxiety, depression and
difficulty sleeping.

Many, many studies have done to determine whether caffeine
is good for you or bad for you and frankly it's still not
completely clear. However, both the American Medical
Association (AMA) and The National Institutes on Health
(NIH) indicate that moderate caffeine intake is not
associated with any health risk. So what's moderate and
what's excessive? Again, according to NIH, a moderate
amount of caffeine consumption is 250 mg per day (2-3 8 oz.
cups of coffee). Excessive intake is identified as ten cups
of coffee per day.

There is not the same uncertainty about the issue of
caffeine in children. NIH says that "A child's caffeine
consumption should be closely monitored". Although caffeine
is safe to consume in moderation, it may negatively affect
a child's nutrition. Caffeinated beverages may be replacing
nutrient-dense foods such as milk. A child may also eat
less because caffeine acts as an appetite suppressant. This
caution regarding children and caffeine speaks directly to
the issue of marketing energy drinks to young people that
we'll explore in a moment.

Like many industries that are not regulated, the energy
drink industry would like to keep it that way and has
vigorously resisted imposition of governmental standards on
quality or ingredients, including labeling standards.
Interestingly, while sodas are limited to 71 milligrams per
12-ounce serving, there are currently no restrictions on
the amount of caffeine an energy drink can contain.

In the fall of 2008, one hundred scientists and physicians
sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration, asking
for more regulation of energy drinks based on their
caffeine content, noting that young drinkers may be at
possible risk for caffeine intoxication and higher rates of
alcohol-related injuries.

A third breed of energy drink (along with non-alcoholic
energy drinks and sports drinks that contain carbohydrates
for energy) combines caffeine and other stimulants with
alcohol. When someone consumes too much alcohol, their head
spins and they feel tired. Energy drinks cancel out these
warning signs. The person feels good and therefore keeps
drinking without realizing they are drunk or may drive a
car because they are simply unaware that their reflexes may
be too impaired for them to drive safely. In addition, the
non-alcoholic and alcoholic versions of the drinks are
often marketed side by side, making it more possible to
make the wrong selection.

In early 2008 Anheuser Busch was forced to reformulate
several of its alcohol/caffeine combo drinks after an
eleven state investigation charged that they were marketing
the drink to minors and misrepresenting health benefits.

U.S. energy drink sales topped $6 billion in 2006,
according to Goldman Sachs. The most popular drink, Red
Bull, reportedly generates over $1 billion in sales
annually. Drink makers target teens and young adults,
promote the performance-enhancing and stimulant effects of
energy drinks and equate drink use with coolness and
popularity. One product, Go Girl, comes in a pink can and
advertises as sugar-free and containing a mild appetite
suppressant, clearly appealing to young woman who want both
energy and weight control.

Many teenagers don't have enough information about the
effects of energy drinks' ingredients. "If they use it for
three or five days in a row, and then suddenly quit, then
they're going to be thrown into withdrawal," says Roland
Griffiths, professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins
University.

Moreover, a 2008 study of 1,253 college students found that
energy drink consumption significantly predicted subsequent
non-medical prescription stimulant use, raising the concern
that energy drinks might serve as "gateway" products to
more serious drugs of abuse.

The combination of no labeling requirements, significant
side effects and complications from excessive use and
indications that young adults will move from these drinks
to stronger stimulants creates a disturbing backdrop to the
popularity of energy drinks.

Very simply, energy drinks provide a possibly
performance-enhancing energy boost wrapped in a pleasant,
convenient to buy and carry, beverage. Most energy drinks
do not contain more than the recommended moderate level of
caffeine intake for a normal adult. For some audiences, the
energy drink creates a fun, legal high that can be shared
with others, not unlike the morning coffee klatch, huddled
around a steaming pot of java or the hordes of Americans
who stop by a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts at all hours of
the day or night for a quick pick me up.

Secondly, although research documentation is thin, there is
some evidence that the addition of other ingredients such
as amino acids and herbal extracts combine to create a
better, safer boost than their caffeine equivalent.

The bottom line seems to be that informed, thoughtful use
of energy drinks can be a great way to get a short term
energy boost. However, if you plan to use an energy drink,
make sure you know how much caffeine you are actually
ingesting and don't risk mixing your energy beverage with
alcohol.

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