Evil Energy Drinks
Yesterday I was examining one of the smaller bottles of “energy drinks” at the convenience-store check out counter, and the clerk said, “that’s for when you don’t have time to drink the regular-sized one”. I mentioned my concern about their drug-like quality, and she responded that she sometimes sees parents allow their kids to consume them regularly. Unbelievable!
I hate sounding like some sort of old fogey—I’m as much a fan of “better living through chemistry” as the next guy—but I have to ask: what has our world come to when so many people use these mind-altering concoctions, that they have become so accepted as to consider them OK for use by children. Yes, parents have been letting kids drink colas for decades, but remember that caffeine is no less a drug than the cocaine in the original colas.
My number one concern is simply this: caffeine, the main ingredient in most energy drinks contributes to “stress” in general, and can have a number of unintended negative effects, especially when used in large amounts or on a frequent basis. Caffeine alone has long been known to be associated with addiction, withdrawal (terrible headaches and more), irritability, anxiety, panic attacks, and sleep disturbance. Now, new findings are linking high caffeine use to psychosis, and energy drinks to heart problems. There are actually four specific “caffeine-related disorders” identified in the current diagnostic manual of mental disorders, involving symptoms of anxiety, intoxication, withdrawal, and sleep disturbance. For more technical information, see the John’s Hopkins website on the subject, http://www.caffeinedependence.org/caffeine_dependence.html, where you’ll also find a fascinating table of the caffeine content of common foods and drinks.
One [composite] client came to see me because of severe anxiety symptoms, including chest pains. He had already seen a psychiatrist who had apparently not screened for caffeine use and prescribed Xanax, an addictive tranquilizer in the same family with Valium. I asked how much coffee he drank, and he said, “oh, a pot or two every day”. I responded by asking if he realized that the medication and coffee—the reason he needed the medication—were actually “fighting each other”. I then suggested that he begin slowly reducing his coffee use, then return if he still needed help.
It would be interesting to know how many emergency room patients who show up with psychological or medical symptoms are actually there because of energy drink use, especially those who use them a lot, acting out our obsession with the notion that “more is better”. More work, to make more money. More partying, to de-stress from the work. More stimulants to work and party more.
What to do? If you use a lot of caffeine—whether coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks—it would be in your best interest to begin slowly weaning yourself to the equivalent of no more than two [measuring] cups of regular coffee (or one of the double-strength stuff sold at some popular boutiques), which comes to about 200 milligrams per day. This is considered the limit for “moderate use”.
And for those parents who think that it’s a good idea to let their children have energy drinks, or for that matter, ANYthing with caffeine, I leave you with a quote from a gift shop window I recently saw in Sarasota: “Unattended children will be given two free puppies and an espresso”. Think about it.
Filed under: Children, Lifestyle & Behaviors, Parenting, Stress, Substance Abuse
