“Strongest Energy Drink” and its many variations is the most-searched keyword on my health-focused Web site. Is this a sign of trouble to come?
I frequently talk with young people who like energy drinks, trying to learn their perspective. I try to advise them about healthier options than the sugar-and-caffeine-filled energy drinks they typically consume. I get the impression they’re not hearing me.
There is a Grand Canyon-sized gap between Youth and Experience
My belief is that if you want to keep your child or teen away from the dangers of unhealthy energy drinks, you should have begun when they were in diapers.
After doing a lot of reading of medical research on the many ingredients in energy drinks, the two prominent danger sources are the high sugar content and the heaping on of more and more caffeine, to claim the title of “strongest energy drink”.
“High added sugar consumption which occurs most commonly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, both independently, and through the development of obesity,” wrote pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Rae-Ellen W. Kavey from the University of Rochester Medical Center in a commentary accompanying a recent study. (Quoted from TIME magazine.)
So, sugar by itself is contributing to cardiovascular disease — and then, along comes mega-dose after mega-dose of caffeine to put stress on the heart and blood vessels of kids who probably aren’t aware of what they could be getting into.
Sugar Is Everywhere In Our Foods
Children develop a sweet tooth with the help of everything from infant formula to birthday cakes. Sugar is associated with gifts, parties, and fun — so, is it any wonder they turn to sweets when things aren’t going well?
To compound the problem of our overindulgence with sweets, processed food manufacturers know how we feel about sweets and they also know that including even tiny amounts of sugar in the formula for any food or drink will make us tend to consume more of it. As a result, sugar — unless you are extremely vigilant — is everywhere.
(Substituting aspartame or other artificial sweeteners doesn’t change the fact that the sweet taste is an invitation to over-consume these drinks. Aspartame has been found to have health dangers of its own.)
When a child already has a liking for highly sweetened food and drinks, it is only natural for them to tend to over-do their consumption of these items. If you have permitted this to happen, then you may have set them on a collision course with the strongest energy drink.
Look at it this way — No child is likely to drink three or four Starbuck’s Grande coffees in a sitting, but they may drink a similar number of equally caffeinated energy drinks with potentially life-threatening results.
It is not my intent to demonize energy drinks, per se. I believe there are some unique advantages to those which are intelligently formulated, i.e., avoiding high sugar and caffeine content.
My point is to warn parents about the fascination that many young people seem to have with the pursuit of some idealized strongest energy drink, without realizing the dangers (and unpleasant effects) of over-consumption of caffeine. Ironically, the “gateway drug” here is the seemingly harmless sugar.
