First, we were all up in arms about kids and Ritalin. Now it's energy drinks. Kentucky state legislators may pass a bill that would ban the sale of energy drinks to minors. This bill will join many other attempts to regulate the energy drink industry.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate energy drinks. This means that energy drink makers do not even have to list the ingredients on the container. According to bevnet.com, some research has shown that energy drinks can contain three times more caffeine than found in a cup of coffee. Countries such as Denmark and France have already banned Red Bull.
Maybe I agree that excessive amounts of caffeine, whether it is in energy drinks or in coffee, could be harmful to children, who likely do not understand the ingredients and whose parents probably feel they already have more than enough energy. But what about the rest of us? Is it so bad that during the four endless days of the Kogod case competition, my team spent more time buying energy drinks from the Eagle's Nest than we did analyzing the cases?
In one 16-ounce can of Monster, you can find glucose, citric acid, taurine, niacinamide and about 15 other unpronounceable ingredients, including my personal favorite: natural flavoring - whatever that means. You can also find a mere 52 milligrams of sugar and 10 milligrams per ounce of caffeine. This compares to 13.44 milligrams per ounce of caffeine in brewed coffee. Sounds like an energy-filled good time to me.
This brings up the age-old debate about caffeine. Researchers are constantly trying to discover if caffeine is bad for us and, if so, how bad it is. The drug caffeine affects several hormones in your body. It increases your adrenaline and dopamine, hence the lack of sleep it causes. Like most drugs, caffeine is addictive, and we can experience withdrawal symptoms (say, around 11 a.m. when we haven't had our cup of coffee), but the risks are still said to be relatively minimal.
Given all of this information, I would think it would be no more dangerous to have an energy drink than a cup of coffee. Yet there is still a ton of uproar about energy drinks. There seems to be great concern over the fact that energy drinks are not regulated, but then again, neither are vitamins. Where's the vitamin-banning bill?
Although there are risks associated with consuming energy drinks, that doesn't mean that you need to cease and desist all energy drink consumption. It is important to be aware of what you are putting into your body and realize those ingredients are not being regulated.
I may think twice before I consume my next energy drink. I will ask myself, "Am I exhausted because I haven't slept in three days and still have four more term papers to write, or am I just tired and need to take an eight-hour nap?" If it is the latter, I may just do exactly that: Save myself $3 and get that sleep I keep hearing so much about.
