Low Side to High Energy Drinks

Energy drinks deliver on what it claims to do. But at what cost to your health? The ingredients found in most energy drinks, are contained in other beverages that we have always consumed. That gives a false sense of security, because the problem is the concentration of ingredients and who is drinking it. An alarming number of teenagers have taken to these energy drinks as a means to boost productivity on the field and in the classrooms. It is almost as if energy drinks have replaced taking vitamins and drinking water.

An energy drink is basically a high sugar content (at least a quarter cup of sugar), high caffeine drink that are loaded up with stimulants as listed on the can; Guarana, Creatine, Taurine and B vitamins with a content of 473ml. What this means is that you are going to get a sugar-high from these drinks that prove addictive in a short space of time. No one admits to being addicted to energy drinks, the preferred slang is that “It gives me the boost I need.”
Coming down from this sugar-high can result in headaches, nausea and fatigue and to avoid these side-effects. The individual would choose to drink another can of energy drink. Insomnia and irritability from the high caffeine content is a frequent side effect from regular use.

Energy drinks also disrupts the eating pattern of some people by being a high calorie drink it gives the sensation of feeling full. Doctors warn that the ingredient mixture of energy drinks can cause seizures, heart palpitation and even sudden death in kids. In fact, mixing energy drinks and alcohol can land you in hospital.

You would never guess, by the way energy drinks are promoted the potential for harm it contains. Many sporting events are heavily sponsored by the manufacturers. Celebrity endorsements are pivotal to the viral spread of energy drinks, touting it to be the answer to a lackluster performance.

In order for energy drinks to be seen for what it is, the laws governing its distribution need to be amended. In America, energy drinks are distributed as dietary supplements which mean the manufacturers are not obligated by law to state how much caffeine or sugar it contains. A warning label is also not mandatory.
This billion dollar industry has grown astronomically in the last decade, mainly because of its misleading promotional claims and easy access to the teenage market. Proper regulation is needed to avoid the risk to health.
One last point to note that may be of interest to a lot of people is the type of people that advertise these kind of high energy drinks and products.

Probably one of the more effective ones is lucozade. Lucozade are well known for getting top performing athletes to advertise their products and help boost sales by leading people to believe that top athletes and sport stars actually use their product to gain what they like to call a small competitive edge over their opponents. There is indeed a very good chance that none of these athletes that help advertise a particular product are in fact believers of the product and use it on a regular basis themselves to help improve their performance. Am I being a bit harsh here? Have a think about it.