Oct 15, 2001 (Los Angeles Daily News) - The slogans for ``energy
drinks'' promise benefits with instant appeal: Athletes will excel,
partiers can stay on the go-go later, students will be alert enough
to study till dawn, and you'll be more productive than that annoying
co-worker in the next cubicle.
In fact, canned energy in the form of Sobe Adrenaline Rush, Red
Bull, Hype, 180 and countless other flashy caffeine- and
sugar-choked beverages crowding the shelves has the potential not
only to give you a lift but drop you on your own slim designer can.
THE NEED FOR SPEED
The boost in these hip-sounding products comes largely from
caffeine - about the same as a cup of strong-brewed coffee in each
8-ounce serving.
``It's entirely misleading to call them energy drinks,'' said
Dr. Timothy Horita, a family medicine doctor at Kaiser Permanente
Woodland Hills. ``There are no benefits compared to the potential
harm involved. All you're getting is a lot of caffeine and
concentrated sugars.''
Kids chug these sweet-flavored carbonated drinks to get through
a day of classes, athletes gulp them before workouts and, on the
social scene, barflies mix them with alcohol for a wide-awake buzz.
Sherman Oaks hair stylist Lauren Vass, 30, said she has an
energy drink or a Coca-Cola almost every morning. ``I need
something that picks me up and gives me energy,'' she said outside
a Van Nuys convenience store.
Vass said she has not noticed any side effects from her morning
dose of sugar and caffeine.
Janis Metcalfe, 17, a North Hollywood High School student, was
buying a diet Pepsi, a box of powdered-sugar doughnuts and a can of
Hype.
``Breakfast,'' she said with a smile. ``No, I eat better than
this, but I have long days on Fridays. This keeps me going.''
She added that she sometimes has more caffeine in the shape of
coffee or another soda in the late afternoon.
A JOLT OF REALITY
Besides caffeine, most energy drinks contain around 125 calories
and 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates, mostly in the form of sugars,
and either guarana or taurine. The latter ingredient is an amino
acid naturally present in the human body and found in meat, red
wine and other foods. Guarana, produced from the seeds of a
creeping Amazonian shrub called the guarana plant, is a source of
caffeine.
So, in that sense, you are getting a ``natural source of
energy.'' But like so much in nature, there are both positive and
negative sides to these substances - and the beverages that utilize
them. It's enough to give you the jitters.
In normal quantities, caffeine is a mild stimulant to the
nervous system, producing an alert, focused state. Its toxic
effects can include nausea, agitation and, in severe cases,
seizures and heart palpitations.
``Caffeine in moderate doses is not dangerous,'' said Dr. Sam
Chia, a doctor affiliated with St. Luke's Medical Center in
Pasadena. ``When you get to the equivalent of six to 10 cups of
coffee a day, some of the side effects start to kick in. And with
high sugar content, anybody who has diabetes should stay away. I
really don't think these things should be sold as health drinks.''
It's hard to say exactly what they're selling. Although B
vitamins are usually part of the package, health may be last on the
list.
The drink Rockstar, for example, crows that one can ``party like
a rockstar'' while hyping itself as ideal for everyone ``from
athletes to rockstars.'' KMX urges customers to ``be bold, stay
focused, don't miss a beat.'' Hype, a ``complete-lifestyle'' drink,
wants you to ``live life, love life, love Hype.'' And Piranha's
``bone-crushing citrus'' will ``bite back with a high-intensity
taurine energy blend.''
Pepsi's Adrenaline Rush, on the other hand, has a one-track
mind: ``Get it up, keep it up.'
A NATURAL HIGH?
Health experts, though, reserve their stiffest warnings for
products with ephedra, a powerful herbal stimulant closely related
to chemicals used in cold medications, Ritalin and street speed.
The stimulant, used for centuries in Chinese medicine, is trumpeted
on cans of such diet drinks as Metab-O-Lite (``with Ephedra!'').
Yet, products containing ephedra are banned by athletic
associations of nearly all stripes.
``Ephedra and caffeine is a lethal combo,'' said Dr. Michael
Hirt, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at
Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center. ``It's herbal speed and you
can become addicted and end up with serious health problems. It's a
powerful herb that needs to be treated with respect.''
Dr. Marc Lavin, an internal medicine specialist at West Hills
Hospital and Medical Center, agrees: ``You put ephedra with
caffeine and give it to someone who may have heart disease or
hypertension and you could be precipitating heart attack or stroke.
I see that with people who take ephedra by itself.''
FROM THE MAKERS OF ...
Of all the brands, Red Bull - which does not contain ephedra -
is clearly the most popular, with a snug hold on almost 70 percent
of the energy-drink niche. Sales of the products make up about $150
million of the $57 billion market for soft drinks in the United
States, according to Bloomberg News.
As a result, the biggest names in soda have entered the picture.
Coca-Cola has KMX, Anheuser-Busch boasts 180, and Pepsi is making a
stand with Adrenaline Rush. The slim-line cans cost around $2 to $3
in stores and $4 to $7 in bars and nightclubs.
But despite the hot and heavy ad campaigns, there's apparently
little value in flooding the body with stimulants and sugar.
``There's no true benefit from these drinks at all,'' Lavin
said. ``The potential dangers clearly outweigh anything that might
possibly be gained. And they're terrible for kids. Young boys who
think this stuff will build muscle or give them increased energy
are making a big mistake. And unless you're very, very careful,
you're going to become dehydrated.''
The Food and Drug Administration so far has not gotten involved
in evaluating the safety of energy or diet drinks, but some doctors
believe a certain amount of oversight is needed.
``I think we have to recognize that just because it's natural
doesn't mean it's safe,'' Hirt said. ``There's something wrong when
you need a license to pick up a six-pack of beer but anyone can buy
an ephedra drink. There's definitely something wrong with that.''
Most of the energy drinks we found claim to contain about the
same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. A 7-ounce cup of coffee
has 115-175 mg of caffeine, according to Bunker and McWilliams in
the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. An 8.3-ounce can
of Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine. By comparison, a 12-ounce can of
Coca-Cola has approximately 46 mg of caffeine and Pepsi has 37 mg,
according to the National Soft Drink Association. However, energy
drinks also contain sugar and other herbal boosters, including:
TAURINE: One of the most abundant amino acids in our bodies.
Naturally found in seafood and meat, it is believed to help
detoxify and cleanse the system.
GUARANA: An herb that grows in the Amazon jungle in South
America. Traditionally, guarana was used in herbal teas in Brazil
and is still widely used in drinks. Its effects are similar to
those of caffeine.
GINSENG: A Chinese herb that is believed to stimulate mental and
physical activity.
