Red Bull® is only one of many tall skinny cans teenagers grab off of store shelves these days. Amp®, Bawls®, Charge® and Jolt® – the names themselves suggest the results teenagers are seeking when they down the contents sold in aluminum cans shaped like batteries.
Many teenagers and young adults are mixing energy drinks with alcohol, but even consuming the highly caffeinated drinks alone is cause for concern warns the medical community. Although the generic name contains the word “energy” and the many drinks contain vitamins, especially vitamin B, parents should be cautioned that these high caffeine drinks are not essentially healthy for teenagers.
Caffeine Content in Energy Drinks
More than two dozen brands names of drinks have hit store shelves in the past few years. Red Bull was invented in 1987, but wasn’t marketed in the US until 1997 spawning the energy drink market to surge in 2001. The caffeine content in the drinks varies widely. Teens are likely to be more familiar with the caffeine levels found in drinks than are parents.
Parents and professionals can check an alphabetized list of commonly sold drinks along with the amount of caffeine milligrams found in each. It turns out that Red Bull is one of the low level offenders compared to other drinks when counting caffeine content. This caffeine content list is available on-line at the Energy Field website. A Starbucks® large coffee contains 260 milligrams of caffeine while Red Bull weighs in at 80 milligrams of caffeine for an 8 ounce serving. Parents may want to pay attention to brand drinks such as Vamp, Rockstar® and Cocaine® Energy Drinks.
High Caffeine Content Poses Health Risks
Too much caffeine adds excess stress on the heart. Martha Grogan, a doctor employed by the Cardiovascular Diseases services at the Mayo Clinic advises that too much caffeine poses health risks and is not healthy for teenagers.
High caffeine levels can affect sleep, decrease blood flow to the heart and dehydrate the body. She warns that it can be dangerous for teens to consume high caffeine content drinks before and during exercise. According to Grogan, in some cases, an excess of caffeine can cause abnormal heart rhythms resulting in fainting or heart attack.
Vitamin B Content Helps Marketing But Not Health
Many popular energy drinks contain vitamins, especially derivatives of vitamin B, known for its contribution to the body’s metabolism of energy. Surely vitamins are healthy for teenagers, right? But an LA Times article published in 2008 educated the public that the average person does not lack in B vitamins and gets plenty of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B in a normal diet.
Normally, the body flushes out any excess of vitamin B, but the LA Times article, "B Vitamins Don't Boost Energy Drinks' Power," warns that at some point, the body does experience effects of too much vitamin B. The health risks of ingesting a constant overdoes of vitamin B turn out to be nerve damage in the arms and legs.
Consumption of Energy Drinks Linked to Alcohol Dependence
Research released in November of 2010 revealed that adolescents who consume a large number of energy drinks had higher health risks of developing a drinking problem or engaging in episodes of alcoholic drinking binges. The number of drinks isn’t at the overdose level one might guess though. Consuming energy drinks even one day a week proved to be unhealthy for teenagers regarding risk factors for struggles with alcohol.
The study at University of Maryland School of Public Health the showed a statistically significant correlation between students who consumed energy drinks 52 days out of the year and their likelihood for becoming dependent on alcohol. The full study results will be published in the February 2011 print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
After analyzing the nutritional information about energy drinks, it’s easy to see why the medical community is not subscribing to the idea that extra vitamin B and caffeine content is not healthy for teenagers. Relying on the contents of drinks like Red Bull too often can pose health risks for teens, both physically and emotionally. But the marketing patterns for energy drinks continue to be aimed at teenagers.
Kelly Pfeiffer - Kelly Pfeiffer teaches Positive Discipline workshops to parents and trains child care providers on various child development topics.
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