Energy drinks are now becoming a popular drink option among
adults and young adults around the country. These types of drinks are thought to boost
energy in ways similar to coffee, soda, and other caffeinated drinks. Studies
have found that energy drinks are, in fact, more harmful than coffee or soda. Statistics
collected from the U.S. poison control centers reveal that there were more than
5,000 cases of people who got sick from energy drinks between 2010 and 2013. According
to Eric Schumaker of the Huffington Post, canned energy drinks do not come with
health warnings. Energy drink companies are able to leave out health warnings,
because they contain plant and herbal extracts along with caffeine. The
inclusion of plant and herbal extracts allows energy drink companies to label
their products as dietary supplements.
What
is the big deal you still ask? Since energy drinks are labeled as a dietary supplements
the Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate energy drinks because they
do not considered them a food. This can be a serious issue, because those who
consume energy drinks are not aware of the amount of caffeine that they are
consuming. Even more problematic, if an adult is not aware of the amount of caffeine
that is in their drink they may assume there is less caffeine in the drink than
there actually is. Along with excessive amounts of caffeine, the plants and
herbs that are in energy drinks contain natural energy boosters. The effects of
combining natural energy boosters and caffeine are unknown, but combining these
two could be potentially dangerous. This
is because many of the natural ingredients placed in these drinks have not been
studied in depth.
Why
should you care? Not only have over 5,000 people become sick from the
consumption of energy drinks, but many have also been sent to the hospital. In
an effort to try to reduce the amount of people becoming sick and being sent to
the hospital it is best know what is in your beverage. Also, since the amount
of caffeine in energy drinks is unknown people should limit their consumption
of energy drinks to one per day.
Questions:
How many energy drinks do college
students usually consume in a day? What are the effects that young adults are
experiencing after drinking energy drinks?
Source(s):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/23/just-how-dangerous-are-energy-drinks_n_5515647.html
http://www.livescience.com/48765-energy-drinks-side-effects.html
Most college students are probably aware that energy drinks are not really healthy, but they are willing to sacrifice their health if it means getting A's on exams. However, if energy drinks were labelled with warnings that were very obvious, some long-term thinking students may think twice about consuming them. Yet, there will always be the population of students who will continue trading their health for better grades. The consumption of these drinks may be motivated by the stress people feel from their daily schedules.
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