Stay away from energy drinks, doctors say

[Hum]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? In a new report, a large group of American doctors urge kids and teens to avoid energy drinks and only consume sports drinks in limited amount.

The recommendations come in the wake of a national debate over energy drinks, which experts fear may have side effects.

"Children never need energy drinks," said Dr. Holly Benjamin, of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who worked on the new report. "They contain caffeine and other stimulant substances that aren't nutritional, so you don't need them."

And kids might be more vulnerable to the contents of energy drinks than grownups.

"If you drink them on a regular basis, it stresses the body," Benjamin told Reuters Health. "You don't really want to stress the body of a person that's growing."

For the new recommendations, published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers went through earlier studies and reports on both energy drinks and sports drinks, which don't contain any stimulants.

They note that energy drinks contain a jumble of ingredients -- including vitamins and herbal extracts -- with possible side effects that aren't always well understood.

While there aren't many documented cases of harm directly linked to the beverages, stimulants can disturb the heart's rhythm and may lead to seizures in very rare cases, Benjamin said.

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[iamawesomewicked]

I thought this was common sense?

[qdave]

And that is why i never drink them.

[ambiance]

Cocaine is my energy drink of choice.

[OuchOfDeath]

Not very surprising. Same reason why people should not drink large amounts of coffee too often. Caffeine is a stimulant, and while it is quite safe it can kill people, usually those with previously undiagnosed heart arrhythmias.

EDIT: I should add that in the case of an undiagnosed hearth arrhythmias, it's not the fault of the stimulant for the death. Anything could have triggered the heart to seriously malfunction in such a situation, such as a workout or an extremely stressful day or event.

[s1k3sT]

Some of those things taste as "sugary" as koolaid... :x

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I'm sure this isn't a new report. Doctors have been saying this for years.

I can't remember when I started drinking them, but I still do today. A couple of j?gerbombs on a night out is sometimes what you need to kick the party in to the early hours of the morning!

[Unix2]

I drank energy drinks before, however I stop drinking after having bad experience not able to sleep at night.

[LightShadow]

No thanks, stop making them nice and energy boosting then I'll stop. 1 a day is enough I guess.

[Digitalx]

"They contain caffeine and other stimulant substances that aren't nutritional, so you don't need them."

Well kids, stop drinking coffee, tea, juice etc too. Drink water full of chlorine and fluoride courtesy of your local counsel.

[e-berlin.org]

Cocaine is my energy drink of choice.

Yeah, like you ever had something more than a joint, kiddo

On-topic: Energy drinks such as Red Bull have the same effect on me as regular cola so I don't really drink them, but I love natural low-sugar high-caffeine (~20 mg per 100 ml) drinks such as Club Mate:

Water

Inverted sugar syrup

Sugar

Mate tea extract

Citric acid

Caffeine

Natural flavors

Caramel color

Carbonic acid

Also, I think "energy drinks" should be available only for people above 18 y.o., because it's not so hard to get a heart attack after 6-7 Red Bulls especially if you mix them with vodka (I've almost reached that point).

[Astra.Xtreme]

"Well we can't really tell you why they are bad, but they are. So don't drink them." haha :rofl:

[OuchOfDeath]

Also, I think "energy drinks" should be available only for people above 18 y.o., because it's not so hard to get a heart attack after 6-7 Red Bulls especially if you mix them with vodka (I've almost reached that point).

"Not hard to get a heart attack" is a bit of an exaggeration, but yes it's definitely a very bad idea to mix high amounts of caffeine with alcohol and can be lethal in certain cases. I'm not sure what the point of making energy drinks restricted to legal age is though. It won't stop people from drinking them with alcohol. Only proper education can do that. I have a hunch the main population segment that mixes energy drinks with alcohol are college students anyway.

[DocM]

Next thing someone's going to be stationed in your house making sure you don't put 2-3 cubes in your black coffee :p

[iamawesomewicked]

"They contain caffeine and other stimulant substances that aren't nutritional, so you don't need them."

Well kids, stop drinking coffee, tea, juice etc too. Drink water full of chlorine and fluoride courtesy of your local counsel.

As if the **** thats in energy drinks is any better.

[ahhell]

Drink water full of chlorine and fluoride courtesy of your local counsel.

Ah, I see you are one of THOSE guys. :rolleyes:

[Detection]

I went through a phase of drinking them for a few weeks, and I started getting really bad headaches, I was drinking those little energy shots too, was all fun and games at first, then I was really feeling bad and then only thing I could think of was the mount of blood pressure increase they must be causing.

Stopped them dead, all the headaches went away

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

Energy drinks have weird medicinal flavours. Is that why they are so expensive?

[Crisp]

[Malisk]

I went through a phase of drinking them for a few weeks, and I started getting really bad headaches, I was drinking those little energy shots too, was all fun and games at first, then I was really feeling bad and then only thing I could think of was the mount of blood pressure increase they must be causing.

Stopped them dead, all the headaches went away

Welcome to caffeine addiction.

I think it's funny how where I live, they don't want to sell energy drinks to people younger than 18, but no such labels on coffee. *shrug*

[seasonic]

What is a energy drink: Gatorade or Red Bull?

[OuchOfDeath]

Welcome to caffeine addiction.

I think it's funny how where I live, they don't want to sell energy drinks to people younger than 18, but no such labels on coffee. *shrug*

The irony is quite sad.

What is a energy drink: Gatorade or Red Bull?

It would be Red Bull. Energy drinks are classified as having stupid amounts of caffeine and sometimes other stimulants in them. I don't think Gatorade has much if any caffeine. These (Gatorade and Powerade) used to be called "Energy Drinks", but they're more of a sugary drink that is loaded with electrolytes that are good at rehydrating the body.

[DocM]

The original use of Gatorade was to be an electrolyte/fluid/caloric supplement for athletes. It was developed in 1965 by a team of researchers at the University of Florida at the request of assistant football coach Ray Grave, whose team tested it. Team name: "the Gators," hence Gator-ade. After its use by the Gators it was commercialized then spread nation, then world, wide. Today you'd be hard pressed to find an athletic team in the US that doesn't use something like it.

Typical: water, sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, potassium chloride, monopotassium phosphate and lemon juice for flavor

[LightShadow]

Welcome to caffeine addiction.

I think it's funny how where I live, they don't want to sell energy drinks to people younger than 18, but no such labels on coffee. *shrug*

That's what poundland or self-service is for, I'm sure a can a day or having it every so often is fine (I have about 4 cans a week = 1 Bottle = 1 Litre. It's just the people who glug so many bottles a week, or mix it with Alcohol/Drugs etc.

[Biotoxic_hazard_835]

I used to drink them but no more since I saw that when I did not drink one I felt weird like my body was asking for it.