Heavy use of energy drinks can threaten teens’ health

Energy drinks have turned into a sort of designer beverage for the young and the restless. Of course, those young people might be restless because of the drinks themselves.

“They should really be labeled as stimulant drinks,” said Christopher Ryder, a Mechanicsburg, Pa., pediatrician. “The main ingredient in virtually all of them is caffeine.”

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Energy drinks, whose sales are booming, typically have as much sugar and three times as much caffeine as soda.

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All that caffeine gives energy drinkers a jolt or hyped-up feeling. But chugging cans of Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar or other drinks can leave the drinker with something more serious than a case of the jitters.

“Kids usually come in complaining that they’re anxious, nervous, can’t sleep at night, and the first thing we ask is ‘What are you drinking?’” Ryder said. “Once or twice a month we’ll get kids coming in saying they’ll have palpitations.”

Heart palpitations are rapid, strong heartbeats that sometimes can be caused by excessive caffeine consumption. Too many stimulants can also cause nervousness, irritability and higher blood pressure.

“Sadly, they’re marketed quite aggressively to kids and teenagers,” Ryder said. “Kids really have increased sensitivity to many of the ingredients.”

The drinks also can interfere with a person’s sleep cycle. Too much caffeine can make it harder to nod off, even when you’re tired. Then you risk falling into a vicious cycle.

“You have the cycle of insomnia, then you’re using more to wake up,” said Richard Levine, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Penn State University College of Medicine and chief of the division of adolescent medicine and eating disorders at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. If someone drinks an energy drink and can’t sleep that night because of it, he might drink another the next day to help wake up. That drink can lead to difficulty sleeping the next night — and so it goes.

So regular energy drink users might have difficulty kicking the habit.

“I used to get headaches if I didn’t drink one,” said Eric Williams, 15, who will be a junior at Northern High School in Dillsburg, Pa., this year. Williams said he used to drink two to four energy drinks a day, and sometimes used them to stay awake to finish a big homework project.

“I think people get addictions to them and then don’t want to stop drinking them,” Williams said. He said he decided to stop drinking energy drinks about two months ago and managed to quit — although it took him two weeks.

Energy drinks come with other problems, too. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it makes the body lose water. Downing the heavily caffeinated beverages before playing sports can lead to dangerous dehydration.

“It’s important to distinguish between sports drinks and energy drinks,” Levine said. “This is not Gatorade.”

There’s another serious concern: Although it hasn’t been proved, one report indicated excessive consumption of energy drinks might even be linked to seizures, Levine said. And then there are the dangers of cocktails like Red Bull and vodka.

One can hope teenagers aren’t in a position to worry about it, but energy drinks and alcohol are a bad combination. The caffeine can counter some of the sensations of alcohol and make people feel more alert, but without increasing coordination or decision-making abilities. It can, however, make someone stay awake and keep drinking. Not surprisingly, this can lead to dangerous behavior and excessive drinking.

Energy drinks are often high in sugar, too. As with soda, drinking too much can lead to unhealthy weight gain. Young people who chug a lot of energy drinks might not be getting enough of healthier drinks like milk or water, either. So if you must drink energy drinks, the key is moderation.

“It’s like drinking a morning cup of coffee,” Levine said. “If you drink one, that’s one thing. But if you’re drinking them throughout the day, you can have side effects from the caffeine.”

DRINK WISELY

From a health standpoint, energy drinks are probably never a good idea. But if you really want to drink them, follow these tips to be smart about it:

• Young teens shouldn’t drink energy drinks.
• Drink them in moderation.
• Pay attention to the side effects, and be aware of what the drinks are doing to you.
• Don’t drink them before sports.
• Never mix energy drinks and alcohol.

Source: Richard Levine, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Penn State University College of Medicine and chief of the division of adolescent medicine and eating disorders at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.