By Ryan Afable
Energy drinks. A drink sold and bought by people in stores across the country, and indeed all around the world, drunk by many for both the taste and their iconic ability to keep someone awake and energized. In the article “Energy Drinks” from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health it states that “next to multivitamins, energy drinks are the most popular dietary supplement consumed by American teens and young adults. Men between the ages of 18 and 34 years consume the most energy drinks, and almost one-third of teens between 12 and 17 years drink them regularly.”
Now you may be wondering, “what’s the big deal with energy drinks, and what’s so wrong with them?” Well, to answer that all one needs to do is look at the ingredients of any energy drink. The first thing in energy drinks is all the caffeine. Now, unsurprisingly, energy drinks obviously have a lot of caffeine. The 5 most sold energy drinks are Red Bull, Monster, Celsius, Bang, and finally Rockstar. Together, the average amount of caffeine within them is 180 mg. The highest caffeine count was Bang with 300 mg. For comparison, one of the most common sodas, Coca Cola, only has 34 mg in a 12 oz can. Now, while it is relatively rare, caffeine has been shown to have addictive properties since caffeine is able to affect the reward hormone known as dopamine. This could cause a dependency on them.
One of the larger problems with energy drinks is how accessible they are to get. If you go to any store you will see thousands of cans of differing energy drinks. The America Academy of Pediatrics wrote an article called “Children should Avoid Drinks with Sugar, Caffeine.” They said, “In addition, up to 12% of secondary schools in some districts sell energy drinks in vending machines, school stores and snack bars, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Apart from the negative effects of drinking energy drinks—both those listed in this article and not, which are incredibly important and dangerous—the biggest problem is that there is no age restriction to purchasing the drinks. With kids not being fully developed, they are more likely to have more severe symptoms. In 2017, 16 year old Davis Cripe drank one can of energy drink right before class. Only a few minutes later, his heart went into arrhythmia—or irregular heartbeat. He died in his high school from what the coroner deemed a caffeine overdose. Perhaps you have never heard of an energy drink negatively impacting a person, but there are many other stories out there like that of Davis Cripe, including even younger people who died from the drinks. Of course, not all energy drinks will result in death, but if you were to ask around I am positive you will find stories of people whose lives were either endangered or disimproved due to the consumption of energy drinks, some maybe even in your own family and friend circle.
So, the next time you’re at the store and you want something to drink, don’t pick an energy drink, pick anything else. And if you do pick an energy drink, remember to please drink responsibly.
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