One energy drink or 12 cans of Coke?
Energy drinks can contain as much caffeine as two six-packs of Coke, according to a recent study out of Johns Hopkins. Unlike soda, such as Coke or Pepsi, energy drinks are sold as dietary supplements and aren’t required to limit the amount of caffeine the way traditional sodas are. Although soda manufacturers aren’t required to disclose on the label the amount of caffeine in their products, they are restricted by the FDA to 71mg of caffeine per 12 ounces. Some energy drinks have been found to have as much as 500 mg of caffeine, and are not required to reveal this on the label.
This is legal in the United States because energy drinks fall into the category of dietary supplements. Interestingly, an over-the-counter stimulant medication, which falls into a different category, containing 100 mg of caffeine per tablet must include warnings on the label.
The public is not only unaware of the amount of caffeine in these products but also the consequences of caffeine intoxication, according to the researchers. The symptoms of caffeine toxicity include nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, GI upset, tremors, tachycardia, and psychomotor agitation. At least 42 cases have been reported to US poison control centers as a result of energy drinks between 2002 and 2004, but more recently energy drinks are growing in popularity and the incidence of caffeine toxicity is on the rise. Further, these drinks are heavily marketed towards young males, many of whom do not have the tolerance to caffeine that many adults have.
Another danger of high-caffeine energy drinks is that combining caffeine and alcohol can be a problem. One study, for example, found that Red Bull mixed with vodka reduced the participants’ perception of motor coordination compared with vodka alone.
via MedPageToday, Sept 25, 2008
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An ER nurse in a local hospital says that they are seeing the kids come in with tachycardia after they have had several Red Bull drinks.