Energy Drinks: Liquid Meth? Essay

Over the last decade, drinks containing high amounts of caffeine, sugar, and other ingredients that increase energy have been rapidly growing in popularity. Clearly these beverages are known as energy drinks. Energy drinks have gotten so popular that it is extremely rare to find a convenience store that doesn’t sell a variety of them. Students use energy drinks to cram the night before a test, athletes use them to exercise, party animals mix them with alcohol to drink more than humanly possible, and some people just drink them to stay awake at work after a sleepless night. Red Bull, one of the most popular energy drinks in the market, claim to enhance productivity, concentration, energy and help handle stressful situations. It seemed these beverages were a godsend to overworked employees and sleep-deprived college students. But after a few deaths were linked to the drink, controversy arose. Apparently Red Bull gives you wings, but what other side-effects can these sugary, over-caffeinated drinks cause? Many people have been asking this question lately, wondering how harmful drinking them really is. Despite that consuming a large amount of the drink may be dangerous, as long as people drink energy drinks responsibly they are relatively safe. Energy drinks have a lot in common with other popular drinks. All these drinks contain high amounts of sugar and caffeine. These drinks are consumed daily by millions of people, despite the caffeine and sugar content in the drinks. Many Americans have made a habit of getting together with friends or old acquaintances to drink coffee and catch up. The increasing number coffee shops prove that most Americans don’t have a problem with the distribution of coffee. In addition, sodas which also contain high amounts of sugar and caffeine are widely accepted. Some would even consider a person who throws a party without coke just cruel. Despite the similarities between energy drinks and these other beverages (coffee, soda) they are put two different categories. According to the people who oppose energy drinks the most dangerous ingredient in them is the high amount of caffeine. A 16-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee contains about 330 milligrams of caffeine, the same size can of Coca-Cola has 45. 3 mg, and a 16oz Red Bull has 154mg (Meier). According to the Food and Drug Administration or F. D. A. a person can safely consume 400 mg of caffeine a day, even though some experts argue that 600 mg of caffeine won’t cause any adverse side effects (Meier). Either way all these drinks are safe as long as they aren’t abused. Basically, people drinking coffee in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Most warning labels on energy drinks recommend that children, pregnant or nursing women, and persons sensitive to caffeine stay away from the drink. For obvious reasons certain groups of people should stay away from overly-caffeinated beverages but what kind of negative effects can they have on normal adults? From 2007 to 2010 visits to emergency rooms of people who drank high amounts of energy drinks have doubled from 10,000 to 20,700 (Anderson). Some of the negative side-effects people in the E. R. reported experiencing are insomnia, anxiety, irritability, headaches, irregular heart rhythms, and muscle twitching (Liberatore). In addition, people with a heart condition could face more severe consequences like a heart attack. Since it’s hard to prove that energy drink were the exact cause of the heart attack, there aren’t that many documented cases of people dying from heart attacks solely because of energy drinks. However, common sense dictates that any substance that stresses the heart can lead to health problems. Strangely enough, most deaths related to energy drinks aren’t from heart attacks but of alcohol poisoning. Because energy drinks cause alertness many alcohol consumers mistake being alert and awake for being sober. This causes the user to continue drinking past safe limits. The FDA informed Americans how dangerous the mixture of the two was while they banned Four Loko (mixture of alcohol with an energy drink) and Joose (Benac). Despite all the controversy, most people can agree how useful a jolt of extra energy can be some days. Energy drinks can help a doctor be more alert during surgery during a graveyard-shift, help college students get that â€Å"A† they have been working towards all semester, or keep police officers vigilant and energized on the job. There’s no way of knowing exactly how many college students that graduated owe their diploma to caffeine, but it sure didn’t hurt to be able to pull all-nighters while being alert. People that enjoy exercise can lift-weights or do cardio way more effectively by drinking one before the work-out. Energy drinks are not only safe but they are making people more effective workers, students, or athletes. Besides the obvious and immediate effects of drinks containing high amounts of caffeine there are a few long-term benefits worth mentioning. Depression is a horrible condition that slowly eats away at a person until there is nothing left of them. Coffee has been shown to fight depression (â€Å"Does Caffeine Reduce the Risk of Depression? ). By drinking a few cups of coffee or one can of an energy drink chances of depression decrease (â€Å"Does Caffeine Reduce the Risk of Depression? â€Å"). Caffeine also helps prevent various diseases. People suffering from Parkinson’s disease can better control their motor-skills by taking caffeine (â€Å"Caffeine may ease Parkinson’s symptoms†). Energy drinks can be extremely harmful if abused or they could be a great source of energy. Like most things in life it can be destructive if done in excess. Most of the negative side-effects can be avoided if by taking the recommended doses. The companies that create these drinks should put warning labels on cans to prevent uninformed consumers from getting hurt. In addition, more research is needed to find out about the long-term effects of these drinks. Aside from that, energy drinks are safe in moderation. The benefits of them far outweigh the potential harmful effects. It is surprising how little evidence there is suggesting energy drinks are not safe. The reputation of these drinks was most likely was tarnished by lazy reporters, mob mentality and a few great people that just didn’t want the party to end. Work Cited Benac, Nancy. â€Å"United States Food and Drug Administration signals crackdown on caffeinated alcohol drinks. † CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 11 Jan. 2011: E47+. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Caffeine may ease Parkinson’s symptoms. † Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week 18 Aug. 2012: 158. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Does Caffeine Reduce the Risk of Depression? † OB/GYN Clinical Alert 1 Jan. 2013. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Liberatore, Stephanie. â€Å"Q: With the increasing popularity of energy drinks, I wonder-are these drinks safe? How do they affect teens? † The Science Teacher 76. 2 (2009): 64. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Meier, Barry. â€Å"Doctors Urge F. D. A. to Restrict Caffeine in Energy Drinks. † New York Times 20 Mar. 2013: NA(L). Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.