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Are Energy Drinks Harmful?

Are Energy Drinks Harmful?

Introduction

“Energy drinks” are the beverages that are marketed to increase the energy level, stamina, concentration, athletic performance, and weight loss. They contain caffeine, vitamins, taurine, sugar, and herbal supplements. These drinks are available in 140 countries and said to be the fastest growing beverage in U.S. with the estimated sales of $9 billion in the year of 2011. The major market segment of energy drinks includes children, adolescents and young adults. The inclusion of caffeine makes its use adverse for health (Seifert, et al. 2011, pp. 511-528). This paper will detail out the possible harmful effects of energy drinks. In order to accomplish this task, role of the ingredients of energy drink will be reviewed along with its negative effects such as cardiovascular effects, diabetes, neurological effects and feeling alcohol deprived. At the end, it will also give certain recommendations regarding the issue of harmful effects of energy drinks.

Discussion

Many laboratory studies have suggested the positive effects of energy drinks. These positive effects include reducing fatigue, improving psychomotor speed and controlling behavior. However, the conducted literature is limited which also does not show that these improvements happen due to the herbal ingredients or the caffeine or it is the result of combination of these ingredients. On the other hand, researchers who have studied about the effects of energy drinks tend to attribute the cognitive behavior and mood changes to the amalgamation of taurine, glucose and caffeine (Babu et al. 2008, pp. 35-42). It is the presence of different ingredients, especially caffeine, that impose different health and cognitive effects to the consumers. Different researchers have found that certain countries are either debating or have already restricted the advertising and sales of energy drinks. For instance, Red Bull has been investigated by the UK's Committee on Toxicity. They determined that energy drinks consumption is safe for the general public; however, children younger than 16 years or people who are vulnerable to the caffeine must avoid using products having high level of caffeine (NHS, 2011, pp. 1-2).

Caffeine is the key ingredient in most of the energy drinks which is supplemented by an array of amino acids, herbal supplements and B vitamins. Caffeine is said to be the most widely used psychoactive substance all around the world (Giles, et al. 2012, pp. 569-577). For example, in North America, most of the adults use coffee and tea as a major source of diet while children and adolescents use energy drinks, carbonated drinks, and chocolates. Single serving of energy drink i.e. 8 to 12 fl oz, may contain caffeine from 72 to 150 mg. nonetheless, most of the bottles have 2-3 servings which increase the level of caffeine up to 294mg per bottle (Gunja and Brown, 2012, pp. 46-49). Such as Red Bull and Sobe No Fear have contain caffeine between 14 and 31 mg per 100ml. though, this concentration of caffeine might be similar to coffee, but higher volumes of their package increase the caffeine ...