It’s back to school season, which means America’s students are back to studying. And some kids are turning to energy drinks to handle their workload.
But energy drinks aren’t the same as your morning cup of coffee. In one serving, there’s way more caffeine and other ingredients to enhance the “energizing” effect. But that’s nothing new. They’ve been around for years, with flashy branding and the promise of a quick jolt of activity. But they might not be the healthiest option for those of us whose bodies are just beginning to develop.
Doctors advise against children drinking them, yet between 30 and 50 percent of adolescents do.
The effect that these kinds of beverages have on young people isn’t a new concern. In fact,it’sbeen a topic for discussion for years. It even got the attention of the 2013 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
It’smore than 10 years later and the energy drink industry is going strong.There’s Prime energy, Bang energy, Monster, Rockstar, the list goes on.
For this installment of our “In Good Health” series,we break downdown what exactly an energy drink is and how they interact with the bodies of young people.
A statement from the American Beverage Association:
Energy drinks are regulated and recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and have been safely consumed worldwide for more than 30 years. American Beverage Association member companies do not market to children or sell energy drinks in K-12 schools. They also voluntarily go beyond federal labeling requirements by displaying the total amount of caffeine in every can. A similar-sized cup of brewed coffeehouse coffee typically has about twice as much caffeine as an energy drink. Additionally, other ingredients included in mainstream energy drinks are found in a broad range of familiar food products that have a long history safe of consumption. For example, taurine is a common amino acid that is naturally present in the human body and is found in many foods, including meats, seafood and infant formula.
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