14 DAY TRIAL // According to a recent survey carried out by Simmons Research, 31% of adolescents in the US consume energy drinks on a regular basis, most of them being unaware of the harmful effects the sugary and caffeinated drinks may have on their health. 31% of the American teens means about 7,6 million adolescents who are in danger of having their health damaged by high doses of unhealthy chemicals in energy drinks.
In order to cause the 'revival' effect in consumers, energy drinks are laden with sugar and caffeine. Besides this, what worries medical experts the most is the fact that the amount of 'energizing' chemicals used for the preparation of the particular beverages cannot be known for sure. Moreover, the caffeine may come from multiple sources which cannot be always tracked down and investigated by nutritionists.
Lead researcher of the study Dr. Danielle McCarthy of Northwestern University cautioned that adolescents should stay away from large amounts of caffeine, as this may take them directly into the emergency room: "Young people are taking caffeine to stay awake, or perhaps to get high, and many of them are ending up in the emergency department. Caffeine is a drug and should be treated with caution, as any drug is."
Along with high doses of sugar and caffeine, a part of energy drinks producing companies use large amounts of vitamin B to help the consumer regain his stamina, liveliness and vitality. Even if B vitamins are known to be very beneficial for one's health, large doses of it may bring about a wide range of side effects.
The Daily Recommended Dose of vitamin B6, for instance, is 1,2 mg for women and 1,4 mg for men, while the maximum recommended dose is 100 mg per day. High doses of vitamin B6 (more than 200 mg) can lead to extremities paresthesia (numbness, tingling and prickling in the feet and hands), disorder that is medically termed "peripheral neuropathy." In some cases, the effects are irreversible. Too large amounts of vitamin B may also trigger rapid heartbeat and heart palpations.
There are also other considerably harmful substances in the composition of beverages which promise to make individuals energetic, such as taurine, glucuronolactone and guarana. Dr. Sandra Braganza, Pediatrician and Nutrition Expert at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York commented on the risks such substances may bring about: "The truth is we don't know what kind of effects these ingredients can have. We have to start doing more studies on this."
Nutritionists and medical experts are also highly concerned about the wrong way in which many teenagers may consume energy drinks. Even if warning labels on such energizing beverages recommend drinking no more than half of a bottle once, many adolescents admitted there are times when they drink several bottles of energy drinks to get energetic and full of vitality.