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September 02, 2008
The Low Down on Energy Drinks
The staple ingredient in energy drinks is caffeine -- lots of it. If you're wondering how much caffeine energy drinks have compared with other beverages, here's your answer, according to the caffeine database at www.energyfiend.com:
8 ounces of tea (brewed): 47 milligrams
12 ounces Coca-Cola: 34 milligrams
12 ounces Sunkist: 41 milligrams
8 ounces coffee: 108 milligrams
8 ounces Amp: 75 milligrams
16 ounces Full Throttle: 144 milligrams
16 ounces Rock Star: 160 milligrams
16 ounces SoBe No Fear: 174 milligrams
8 ounces Red Bull: 80 milligrams
8 ounces Redline RTD: 250 milligrams
Besides traditional forms of caffeine, many energy drinks include caffeine-containing substances such as guarana, a South American plant whose seeds are crushed and added as a stimulant. Other common ingredients include ginseng (thought to increase endurance, although studies have never proved it), carnitine (a protein thought to improve muscle performance, but again, that claim remains unproved) and other snake oil we don't know a whole lot about. All of these ingredients are classified as nutritional supplements by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning they can be sold over-the-counter without any trials to demonstrate their effectiveness or safety.
The label on Redline recommends consuming no more than one a day. Clearly, though, few consumers seem to notice the small print (and there's little motivation to make it larger, because a four-bottle pack of Redline can cost about $15).
Drinking several a day have been reported to cause gastritis: severe inflammation, bleeding and ulcerations.
Posted by Lisa at September 2, 2008 09:29 AM
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