{"id":2683,"date":"2008-10-22T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-22T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/too-much-caffeine.html"},"modified":"2016-09-21T10:30:08","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T14:30:08","slug":"too-much-caffeine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2683","title":{"rendered":"Too Much Caffeine???"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Too much caffeine — and it’s likely you don’t know just how much caffeine is in each drink — poses a potential health risk to the teens and kids they are marketed to. This, according to Dr. Roland Griffiths, a caffeine researcher.<\/p>\n

He says that while there are no known effects <\/span><\/span>from caffeine that are particular to children, they are at a higher risk from caffeine intoxication because of their smaller size and generally lower tolerance to the stimulant.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Caffeine intoxication is an overdose of caffeine, with symptoms including restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, rapid heartbeat and stomach problems. In extreme cases, it can be fatal.Energy drinks usually contain caffeine and sugar, or a calorie-free sugar substitute like aspartame.<\/p>\n

That’s what helps give them their kick. But unlike soda drinks, in which caffeine content is limited by law, and over-the-counter caffeine stimulants like No-Doz, energy drinks suppliers don’t have to spell out their caffeine content on the label because those drinks are marketed as nutritional supplements and not food.
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<\/span><\/span>ALL THE SUGER, TWICE THE CAFFEINE
<\/strong>The energy drinks market isn’t new: Remember Jolt <\/span><\/span>Cola? That was the precursor to today’s energy beverages, making its splash in 1985 with the slogan, “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.”Red Bull was introduced in the United States in 1997, and a slew of competitors have since followed.<\/p>\n

Now, the energy drinks segment is among the fastest growing in the U.S. soft-drinks market. In 2006, the market for energy drinks was worth $5.4 billion, having grown an average 50 percent a year from 2001 to 2006, according to market research group Mintel.The caffeine content in energy drinks varies widely by brand: Red Bull has 80mg per 8 oz. can. The limit on a can of soda is no more than about 70mg. The 16-oz. cans of Monster and Rock Star have 160mg and Cocaine has 280mg.<\/p>\n

By comparison, a cup of instant coffee has about 100 mg and a cup of tea or a can of cola have 45 mg each.Of course, taking caffeine isn’t new. Many adults use it regularly, with their morning coffee for example. But children’s exposure to the substance is usually limited and their bodies can be unprepared for the large doses they may get through energy drinks. And when people consume energy drinks mixed with alcohol, for example, the risk of adverse effects increases, he said.<\/p>\n

The energy drink industry disputes claims that their marketing takes aim at children or encourages possibly dangerous use of their products, and many beverages contain labeling advising maximum daily doses and warnings that the product is not intended for children.<\/p>\n

But the writing may be on the wall: After an investigation by 11 state attorneys general, Anheuser-Busch this year agreed in a settlement to stop making alcoholic beverages containing caffeine because of the increased risk they posed to the typically young consumers of the drinks.<\/p>\n

Some jurisdictions are looking at restricting access to the beverages. In Canada, doctors in Prince Edward Island are pushing for a ban on the purchase of energy drinks by minors. In neighboring province Nova Scotia, energy drinks are not allowed for sale in the school system, though students can bring them on campus if they buy them outside the school.<\/p>\n

Parents should talk to their children about energy drinks as they’d talk to them about alcohol and other drugs, Griffiths advised. As with drinking, energy drinks are not going to go away, so the best tactic is to educate kids about their responsible use and the risks of abuse, he said.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Too much caffeine — and it’s likely you don’t know just how much caffeine is in each drink — poses a potential health risk to the teens and kids they … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[418],"class_list":["post-2683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-caffeine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-Hh","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2685,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2685","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":0},"title":"Caffeine Intoxication","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Write this down: A little is good ... A lot is not.Surging global demand for high-caffeine energy drinks has led to increased reports of negative health impacts linked to the stimulant\u2019s use in beverages, according to a new review.Researchers from John Hopkins University suggest that the labelling and aggressive marketing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2367,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2367","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":1},"title":"I don’t buy it. “Caffeine addicts get no perk”","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"British scientists report that caffeine consumers actually \"get no perk\" from their morning joe. I don't buy it. It is true, as they say, that we develop a tolerance to caffeine over time. But they're saying that \"Although frequent consumers feel alerted by caffeine, evidence suggests that this is actually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bookmark and Share","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/v2\/lg-share-en.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2684,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2684","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":2},"title":"Red Bull. A drug delivery device?","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Are stimulant drinks just a vehicle for drug injection?Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are raising the issue, and recommending that caffeine be subject to the very same regulations as other drugs. Stimulant drink manufacturers have skirted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation by selling their products, which contain from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1955,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1955","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":3},"title":"Healthiest sources of caffeine … corrected","author":"Will Clower","date":"April 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This AOL infographic is interesting, but misleading. Of course, plain black coffee is wicked healthy for you, as is Green, Black, and Oolong tea.\u00a0But soda? With its phosphoric acid that can contribute to brittle bones? They list this as \"even better\". Weird. I'm guessing that this should NOT be on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/healthiestsourcescaffeine.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2682,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2682","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":4},"title":"Putting Caffeine in Food?","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"According to this Food Industry Report, you should expect to see caffeine-spike foods and snacks appearing on your grocer's shelves.The brand, Morning Spark\u2019s, for example, now produces a caffeine-fortified instant oatmeal in addition to their energy bars.Even weirder, if that were possible, Dakota Valley Products manufactures natural, healthy seeds infused\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5367,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=5367","url_meta":{"origin":2683,"position":5},"title":"Energy Drinks Worse for Your Heart Than Caffeine Alone: Study","author":"Will Clower","date":"May 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(via Reuters) Drinking 32 ounces of energy drink is associated with potentially harmful changes in blood pressure and heart function that are beyond those seen with caffeine alone, according to a new study. There are more than 500 energy drink products on the market, and their increased popularity is matched\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3678,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2683\/revisions\/3678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}