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With more and more people looking for more energy to help keep up with a hectic schedule, many turn to supplements to get through the day. Energy drinks, one of the newer crazes in the food industry, are becoming exceedingly popular in this aspect. Whether you’re a student trying to stay awake, a working parent trying to cram as much as possible into one day, or working the graveyard, we’ve all felt the need for a boost. However, energy drinks tend not to be the best way to get one.

Energy drinks have very little nutritive value. The basic ingredients tend to be carbonated water, sweetener, and caffeine in various forms. Guarana, a common source of caffeine in soft drinks, is a climbing plant common to Brazil. Each fruit contains one black seed, which contains approximately five times the caffeine of a coffee bean. It also has a chocolate-y taste that makes it quite popular for use in soft drinks.

There are quite a few energy drinks widely available. A trip to the local 7-11 produced six types of energy drinks, not counting the energy drinks that are marketed as mere ‘soft drinks’. These include:

Most of these drinks don’t include any calories, especially those sweetened with sucralose. Sucralose (ie. Splenda) is a no-calorie sugar replacer that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar itself. This means companies can use much smaller amounts in their drinks, which leads to lower costs and calories. This, plus the addition of some vitamins, allows companies to market their drinks as ‘health’ drinks. Don’t be fooled! Just because a drink doesn’t have any calories doesn’t make it healthy. They provide few nutrients or calories, so these drinks should never be used as a meal replacement. Side effects of caffeine are, urinary frequency, nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyper-reflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis, digestive problems, heart palpitations and hyperactivity. People with heart problems or hyperactivity, as well as pregnant or lactating women, should avoid caffeine as much as possible. Only 300 mg of caffeine is considered an overdose, so two of these drinks will usually get your caffeine intake dangerously close to toxicity.

One frightening aspect of energy drinks is their popularity with children. Caffeine stunts growth and decreases bone density, as well as all the other common symptoms. In fact, many energy drinks have ‘Not intended for children’ in small print on the bottom, but this is easily missed or ignored. Your child can become addicted to caffeine as well as the energy power-up in these drinks, especially with children leaning more towards carbonated drinks and away from healthier choices such as juice, milk, and water. Young adults are also major consumers, using energy drinks to stay up late studying or partying. However, the energy buzz due to sugar and caffeine will only lead to a crash later, and mixing energy drinks with alcohol does not lessen the effects of the alcohol. Instead of being drunk and sleepy, you will just be drunk and awake.

The Bottom Line: Energy drink consumption should be carefully considered. If you do drink them, only drink one. Keep them away from your children and take care that you do not use these drinks for the wrong reason. Be aware that they are a caffeine boost, and not an adequate meal replacement, so keep up a healthy diet.