You could fill a store with all the energy drinks now
available. They promise to make people feel more energetic and think more
clearly. These products have names like Red Bull, Monster, Ripped Force, Speed
Stack and 5-Hour Energy. They appeal mainly to young people and are fueled
mainly by caffeine. Chad Reissig at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, Maryland, is a medical researcher who studies drug dependence.
He says the team he works on got interested in studying energy drinks
because of the explosion in their popularity in the last few years.
He says the researchers found three major things. One: there are hundreds
of brands of energy drinks in most major countries. Two: the drinks are not
clearly labeled with enough information. And three: the amount of caffeine
varies greatly. Some contain as little as fifty milligrams, others as much
as five hundred. By comparison, a cup of Starbucks brewed coffee contains
three hundred thirty milligrams in four hundred seventy- three
milliliters. Some energy drinks contain a mixture of ingredients
listed as an "energy blend." Ingredients like taurine, guarana and inositol are
natural substances. But Chad Reissig says scientists do not know a lot about
them and how they interact with each other and caffeine. And worse, he says,
there is no listing of the amount of each ingredient. Some
people combine energy drinks with alcohol. They think they can drink more
alcohol that way and not be affected. Studies, however, suggest that they are
still under the influence of the alcohol even if they do not feel that
way. Some makers of energy drinks do provide warnings. For
example, a popular energy shot warns against use by people who are pregnant,
nursing a baby or under the age of twelve. Energy shots are small bottles of
liquid. The directions also advise people to limit caffeine products and to
drink only half the bottle which is regarded as a moderate amount.
The team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published a report
in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. They suggested better labeling with
the amount of caffeine and other ingredients clearly listed on the drink. The
researchers are continuing to study energy drinks. They are currently seeking
young people who have had an unpleasant experience after drinking them. Now the researchers are focusing on those who experienced ______.