Walking into her local 7-11 on a scorching hot afternoon, freshman Rukan Said knows exactly what to buy that will fully quench her thirst and leave her alert for the day. With bottles of Monster, Red Bull, Gatorade and water displayed in the refrigerator, she decides to purchase the water.
“I’ll pick water over anything. I think it’s definitely the best form of hydration and energy,” said Said. “It’s not chemically altered and is the most natural and beneficial refreshment on the market.”
Energy drinks such as Venom Energy have commonly been used as substitutes for energy-boosting foods and drinks such as bananas, apples, coffee or water. Furthermore, energy drinks have consistently been more popular among a younger crowd, consisting of teens and young adults between the ages of 13 – 35.
Unlike Said, many adolescents resort to energy drinks as a way to assist them in staying awake to complete an assignment or to endure the remainder of their day. These serve the ultimate purpose of being the easiest, least expensive way of getting that extra boost of energy in today’s society.
“I occasionally have a Red Bull, just for some extra energy whenever I need it. It doesn’t really make me crash, but I know that the artificial preservatives may have harmful effects on my health in the long run,” said Said.
On the ingredients list, sugar, caffeine, vitamin B, and several different herbal ingredients such as ginseng, guarana or yerba mate are found in energy drinks. These ingredients make it possible for about one average energy drink to have an amount of caffeine equivalent to a cup of brewed coffee, or two cans of Coke or Pepsi.
Short term effects through consumption include temporarily boosted energy, alertness, headaches, mild spasmatic movements, an upset stomach, or trouble sleeping. Anxiety, palpitations, irritability, or insomnia are also side effects caused by energy drinks.
Due to concerns in regards to safety, energy drinks such as Red Bull have been banned from countries such as France and Denmark for causing death and heart complications for athletes and pregnant women.
Unaware of the unsafe consequences, junior Zeni Saife-Selassie likes to drink energy drinks, “I drink 5-hour energy all the time to stay up for all-nighters and complete assignments when I get really tired. I usually have about a bottle a week,” she said.
In contrast to Saife-Selassie, some students are opposed to taking any beverage notoriously known for such effects. According to freshman Bouziane Belfiroud, “I don’t drink energy drinks because they taste bad and I am aware of all the negative effects on a person’s health. They all have so much sugar so you end up crashing.”’
Regardless of the way energy drinks may negatively affect people, the United States has now been making a greater profit on such items than ever before. In 2001, more than $8 million a year was being made on energy drinks alone. In 2005, the amount grew over 50 percent, reaching over $3 billion. It is predicted that by 2010, sales will increase by another $7 billion.
With the knowledge that energy drinks are not healthy, schools have been banning them from all student-athletes. Coaches such as Physical Education teacher and baseball coach Ron Abrigo have stressed not to drink energy drinks if you are an athlete. “It is important to drink water, the drink of champions. Energy drinks are all sugar, and they are not good for you,” said Abrigo.
